Overview of IG fees and charges
When trading or investing at an online broker, fees can have a big impact on your results, so it's good to know what kind of charges you'll be facing and how these compare to fees at other brokers.
If fees are your top concern, IG is a good choice, as it has low fees in general. Check our toplist for cheaper brokers.
I've personally tested dozens of global brokers, carefully looking at their fees not just on their website but also in the course of live trading. Here's how IG fared:
- IG charges low FX fees and high CFD fees.
- There is no inactivity fee even if you leave your account idle for a long time.
- The basic withdrawal fee is $0, but some transactions may cost more.
- Read our full review of IG for info on safety, trading platforms and funding.
| Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 CFD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 0.4 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Europe 50 CFD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 1.5 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| EURUSD | Low | The fees are built into the spread, 0.6 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Inactivity fee | Low | No inactivity fee |
Visit broker
75% of retail CFD accounts lose money
The fee structure is transparent, you'll easily find all the necessary information on the website. There are separate fee structures for different asset classes:
- Trading commission for share CFDs, real shares, and options.
- All-inclusive spreads for forex, stock index CFDs, commodity CFDs, and bond CFDs.
- Administration fee and spreads for Smart Portfolios.
Low FX fees
|
EURUSD spread
|
0.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
GBPUSD spread
|
0.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 |
|
AUDUSD spread
|
0.9 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
|
EURCHF spread
|
2.0 | 5.0 | 1.6 |
|
EURGBP spread
|
0.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
High CFD fees
The broker charges average stock index CFD fees, but stock CFD fees are high.
|
S&P 500 index CFD fee
|
$2.9 | $3.8 | $1.4 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Euro Stoxx 50 index CFD fee
|
$2.8 | $4.2 | $2.9 |
|
Apple CFD fee
|
$22.9 | $10.4 | $8.1 |
|
Vodafone CFD fee
|
$29.1 |
-
|
$11.3 |
No inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee
IG charges no account, deposit, or withdrawal fees.There is an inactivity fee of $12 per month, but it is only charged after 2 years of inactivity. This fee, however, may be different based on the legal entity: for clients belonging to the Bermuda entity, for example, it is $18 per month after 2 years of inactivity.
Other commissions and fees
You can find IG's fees for other asset classes below. Click 'Show more' for details.
Low options commission
Real stock fees
IG provides real stocks onlyfor some of its clients, such as UK and Australian residents.
IG charges higher fees for real stocks than its competitors.
| IG | eToro | XTB | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock | $15.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 |
| UK stock | $9.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 |
| German stock | $9.9 | $0.0 | $0.0 |
In the UK, there is a £24 quarterly custody fee, which is charged if you hold share-dealing or ISA investments at the end of the quarter.
You will be exempt from the charge if you fulfill one of the following criteria:
-
Deal three or more times on your share dealing account during the quarter
OR - Hold investments worth £15,000 or more across your IG Smart Portfolio accounts only, at the end of the quarter
At IG, commission for the UK and US markets depends on how many trades you made in the preceding months. For example, if you traded UK shares more than two times, your commissions per trade for UK shares will be £3 instead of £8 for the next month. In the case of US shares, if you traded more than two times, you will be able to trade commission-free next month.
| Market | Commission per trade | Minimum fee |
|---|---|---|
| UK – 0-2 trades (preceding month) | £8 | £8 |
| UK – 3+ trades (preceding month) | £3 | £3 |
| USA – any number of trades (preceding month) with manual currency conversion | $0.02 per share | $15 |
| USA – 0-2 trades (preceding month) with instant currency conversion | £10 | £10 |
| USA – 3+ trades (preceding month) with instant currency conversion | Free | Free |
| Ireland Germany Netherlands Belgium Austria |
0.10% | €10 |
| Australia | 0.10% | AUD 10 |
For residents of certain countries, the share fee structure can be different. For example, at the Australian entity, US and UK share trades are free.
Smart Portfolios
Smart Portfolios are available only to UK residents. IG Smart Portfolios are iShares ETF portfolios managed by BlackRock. This is basically a robo-advisory service, that is, automatically managed low-cost portfolios.
If you invest in IG's Smart Portfolios, you will pay a 'Total Cost of Ownership' fee, consisting of several components: the cost of the underlying ETF (0.12%-0.16%), the management fee (capped at £250/year) and the spread costs.
| Total value of Smart Portfolio | Up to £50,000 | For the amount over £50,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Average ETF costs | 0.14% (range: 0.12-0.16%) | |
| Management fees for a year | 0.50% | no additional fee, capped at £250 for the first £50,000 |
| Estimated costs of spreads | 0.07% | 0.07% |
| Total cost of ownership for one year | 0.71% | £250 (for the first £50,000) + 0.21% of the total amount |
Options
IG's options fees are low, although the contract sizes are also smaller compared to regular exchange-traded options. Both trade barrier and vanilla options are available.
Options trading is available only in the following countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden.
| Market | Commission per contract |
|---|---|
| GBP | £0.1 |
| USD | $0.1 |
| EUR | €0.1 |
Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.
Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.
