Traders consistently seek trusted and reliable trading platforms that suit their trading styles and preferences. Etoro and IG are top-tier regulated brokers providing online trading services worldwide. Etoro is known for its social trading and multi-asset platform, regulated in four tier-1 jurisdictions and one tier-4 jurisdiction including CySEC, FCA, Finra, FSA-S, and SIPC. On the other hand, IG specializes in online forex trading regulated by six tier-1 jurisdictions and one tier-2 jurisdictions including FCA, FSA-Japan, NFA, AMF, FMA, MAS, and DFSA. While these brokers offer similar services, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, I have compared Etoro and IG in terms of trading platforms, Pros, Cons, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. This analysis aims to help you determine which broker better suits your trading style and preferences.
eToro vs IG.com: In a Nutshell
eToro:
eToro is a multi-asset investment company that offers 5000+ trading instruments for clients worldwide. Its headquarters are located in Central Israel. The platform is known for its advanced proprietary social investing and copy-trading platform. eToro is regulated by multiple regulatory authorities including FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FINRA, SEC, and SIPC. etoro is also available on NASDAQ with the FTCV ticker. It has built a huge community comprising over 30 million traders who interact with each other while investors automatically copy the trades of expert traders. Additionally, you can trade real stocks, ETFs, and cryptos with eToro. To learn more, you can read our review on Etoro.
Etoro Overview
- Founded In: 2007
- Founder: Yoni Assia, Ronen Assia
- Headquarters: UK
- Minimum Deposit: $50
- Maximum Leverage: 30:1 EU, 50:1 USA
- Regulations: SEC, FINRA, FCA, CySEC, FSA-S, SIPC
- Trading platform: eToro Trading Platforms
- Account Types: Standard, Professional, Corporate
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard, Giropay, Local Bank Deposits, Local Bank Transfers, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, UnionPay, WebMoney, Yandex Money
IG.com:
Founded in 1974 as IG Index by British financier Stuart Wheeler, IG is a well-known forex and CFD broker. Based in the United Kingdom, IG offers online trading services, including spread betting and CFD trading. It provides access to over 100 forex currency pairs, CFDs, commodities, stocks, indices, gold, silver, oil, bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies for personal investment and trading. As of 2021, IG had a market value of £2.9 billion and offered trading in 17,000 investment markets. Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), IG is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. To know more, read our review about IG.
IG Markets Overview
- Founded In: 1974
- Minimum Deposit: $250
- Maximum Leverage: 200:1
- Regulations: ASIC, FCA, FSA, NFA , AMF, FMA, MAS, DFSA
- Trading platform: MT4, WebTrader, MobileTrader (MobileApp), ProRealTime
- Account Types: Standard account, DMA Account
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard, PayPal
- US Traders: Accepted
eToro vs IG.com: Features
eToro
- Trading Instruments: Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Currencies, Commodities, Crypto
- Maximum leverage: 1:3000
- Minimum Deposit: $5
- Account Types: Personal (retail) account, professional account, corporate account, and Islamic accountÂ
- Trading Fees: Spread starting from 1 pipÂ
- PAMM/ MAM: Not available. A dedicated Copy trading Platform is availableÂ
- Scalping: Not AllowedÂ
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Not Allowed
IG
- Trading Instruments: 17,000+ trading instruments including forex, indices, cryptocurrencies, shares, commodities, bonds, options, etc
- Maximum leverage: 30:1 to 200:1 ( dependent on Jurisdiction and Tradable assets)
- Minimum Deposit: No Minimum Deposit. However, the Minimum requires $250 if traders use credit/debit cards or PayPal
- Account Types: Ig Offers couple of account types including Standard Accounts, Limited Risk Accounts, Spread Betting Accounts, Options Trading Accounts, Turbo24 Accounts, Share Dealing Accounts, Professional Accounts, etc
- PAMM/ MAM: Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed
eToro vs IG.com: Pros and Cons
eToro:
- Regulated in numerous jurisdictions including CySEC, FCA, ASIC, FinCEN, MSB, FSA Seychelles, FSC Gibraltar, and FSA Malta.
- Trading over 5,000 forex and CFD assets plus real stocks/ETFs and Cryptocurrencies.
- A large community of social traders
- Trading tools like market sentiments, news feed, Trading Central analysis, etc.
- Investors can copy the trades of expert traders or invest in ‘CopyPortfolios’
- Real Stocks and ETFs are Available
- Negative Balance Protection
- Traders pay withdrawal fees, inactivity fees, and conversion fees.
- You have no other platform choice than the eToro platform.
- You cannot automate your strategies via trading robots.
- No multiple account types; you can only have a retail account or a professional account.
- Margin trading is not available to U.S. users
- No limit orders for stocks.
- Not Available in American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
IG.com:
- Regulated by multiple top tire regulators like NFA, FCA, ASIC, FSA, AMF, FMA, MAS, DFSA
- Allows scalping, EA/ Robot Trading, News Trading
- Offers web trading, mobile trading and ECN Trading
- IG's acquisition of tastytrade for $1 billion brought options trading and listed-derivatives (such as futures) trading to clients in the United States
- 16,000 trading instruments, investments in IPOs and exchange-traded funds;
- Quality choice of trading platforms, including MT4, WebTrader, MobileTrader (MobileApp), ProRealTime
- Relatively good spreads, from 0.6-1 pips depending on the type of instrument;
- Offers passive investment programme ( MAM, PAMM accounts)
- Relatively high Minimum deposit ( Min Deposit $250)
- Conservative leverage in some areas ( The max leverage is 1:200)
- IG charges $/£12/€14 per month after 24 months of inactivity
- Limited product range on MT4
- High Stock CFD fees
eToro vs IG.com : Side-by-Side Comparison
eToro Vs IG.com: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, eToro and IG, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 0.1 increments. To achieve a comprehensive rating, we broadly grouped all services offered by brokers into 6 macro categories and assigned percentage weights to them. Each macro category is subdivided into several data points which contributes to the total score of 1.0-10.0 assigned to each macro category. Since all categories are not equally important, our weight percentage plays a significant role in assessing the broker accurately. For example, Regulation and Security contributes a total weight of 40% to the whole ratings because this is the most important rating category. To learn more, read our methodology.
eToro:
IG.com:
Final Verdict:
Both eToro and IG are regulated online trading platforms in the industry, offering services to traders and investors. However, there are some differences between them. eToro is a multi-asset and social trading platform, providing over 5000+ trading instruments, including Forex, CFDs, real stocks, and cryptocurrencies. It offers both leverage and non-leverage tradable assets. On the other hand, IG is a forex and CFD broker offering Indices, Forex, Shares, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, and bonds. Both platforms accept US clients.
Our score for eToro is 8.5, and for IG, it is 9 (based on our research; a score above 8 is considered safe and trustworthy). If you are seeking a social trading platform where you can copy other successful traders and have a one-stop solution for various types of trading, you may choose eToro. However, you may choose IG if you prefer online forex and CFD brokers.
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
