I've thoroughly tested IG services with our analyst team by opening a real-money account and these are my most important findings:
- IG doesn't offer commission-free stock trading
- Commission-free stock trading is increasingly common among stock brokers
- Commission-free stock brokers often charge users via a wider buy/sell spread
You can view stock trading fees charged by IG in the most popular trading locations in the table below.
| Country | Fee amount |
|---|---|
| US | Real stocks available only in a few countries, like UK, Ireland, or Australia. US stock fees: $0.02 per share with $10 min |
| UK | Real stocks available only in a few countries, like UK, Ireland, or Australia. UK stock fee: £8 per trade |
| Germany | Real stocks available only in a few countries, like UK, Ireland, or Australia. German stock fee: 0.1% of trade value with €10 min |
Data updated on December 18, 2024
At BrokerChooser, we only publish objective analyses based on live testing. Every recommendation is unbiased and based on first-hand experience: we open a live account anonymously at each broker, deposit real money and test every important feature.
How does commission-free stock trading work?
Are you worried that stock trading commissions will put a dent in your investment performance? There's an easy remedy for that: commission-free stock trading. Yes, you heard that right. Many brokers in the US, and now also increasingly in Europe, charge you nothing for buying or selling stocks (or ETFs).
Some of you must be wondering, how can brokers make a living if they offer stock trading for free? First of all, while stock trading may be free, these brokers often charge fees for trading assets other than stocks (such as bonds or mutual funds), or for other services such as money withdrawals or currency conversion.
Also, did you notice that tiny spread between the buy/sell prices of a stock? That spread goes toward the profit of so-called market makers - basically large traders that help execute everyone's buy/sell orders. Brokers can receive a slice of this profit in exchange for channeling your buy/sell order to a specific market maker; this is called payment for order flow. Because of this, you may get slightly less favorable price quotes than at non-commission-free brokers.
Like with all things free, watch the fine print. Commission-free trading sometimes applies to US stocks only, not international stocks. Be mindful of conversion fees, which may apply if you trade an asset in a currency other than that of your account. In general, don't let a tiny stock commission deter you from a broker if its other fees are low and its services overall are great.
To read more about possible expenses you may face as a long-term investor, check out our summary of the most common brokerage fees.
Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.
Further reading
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.
