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IG vs Plus500 CFD comparison
These are both well known CFD providers. Find out how they compare!
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51%-81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Both IG and Plus500 let you trade contracts for difference (CFDs). This lets you trade on loads of different things like indices, forex, shares and commodities without ever owning the underlying asset. These are both leading brokers for CFDs and are respected in their fields.
So, how do IG and Plus500 compare?
IG vs Plus 500: Vital statistics
 |  | |
| Finder score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Customer satisfaction survey | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Costs score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk. 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money | Capital at risk. 81% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| More Info |
Both IG and Plus500 are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which means that your deposits are protected by up to £85,000 if either provider were to go bust.
In our customer satisfaction survey in December 2020, IG’s customers felt that it had excellent customer service, that it’s inexpensive and that it’s easy to use. Some customers feel that the spreads are too high.
Plus500 customers thought that it was easy to use, said it was great to trade with and like that it has a demo account. They think it’s really good that you can customise the charts for technical analysis.
Round 1: Financial instruments
You can trade forex, shares, options and exchange traded funds (ETFs) through CFDs with both IG and Plus 500. This gets both providers 5 stars for financial instruments.
Winner: Tie
Round 2: Stock exchanges
| | |
| Exchanges covered score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| UK - London Stock Exchange | ||
| US - NASDAQ | ||
| US - New York Stock Exchange | ||
| Canada - Toronto Stock Exchange | ||
| Japan - Japan Exchange Group | ||
| Euronext | ||
| Germany - Deutsche Börse | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk. 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money | Capital at risk. 81% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| More Info |
Winner: Plus 500
Round 3: Fees
| | |
| Costs score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Borrow fee | ||
| Rolling position | ||
| Overnight funding | ||
| Open/Close trades | ||
| Stop order | ||
| Deposits | ||
| Withdrawals | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk. 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money | Capital at risk. 81% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| More Info |
Neither of these platforms charge commission for trading. In both cases, they earn money from a slightly wider spread. IG tends to have the smaller spreads, but Plus500 still has competitive costs, and in some cases might work out cheaper than IG.
There are some services which you may need to pay fees for on both platforms, such as overnight funding, currency conversion, guaranteed stop orders or inactivity fees.
Winner: IG
Round 4: Mobile and web features
| | |
| Features rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| iPhone app | ||
| Android app | ||
| Desktop/web app | ||
| Notifications | ||
| In-app news and research | ||
| Watch lists | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk. 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money | Capital at risk. 81% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| More Info |
Both IG and Plus 500 let you trade with a web or desktop app, Android app and iPhone app. You can also access advanced company details and financials with both providers. IG also lets you create a watchlist – something we’ve not been able to do with Plus 500.
Winner: Tie
Round 5: Learning resources
| | |
| Resources rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ |
| Guides | ||
| Videos and walkthroughs | ||
| Demo account | ||
| In-depth learning tools | ||
| Keep in mind | Capital at risk. 71% of retail CFD accounts lose money | Capital at risk. 81% of retail CFD accounts lose money |
| More Info |
IG easily wins in terms of learning resources and tools. It has all the information and research you need to execute trades and find out everything you need to know.
Plus500 isn’t so great in this regard, so you’d need to have another option to get research and insights. Both platforms have demo accounts available, though, which is really good for those just getting the grips with investing and CFD trading.
Winner: IG
Our verdict: Is IG better than Plus500?
All things considered, IG is probably the better of the two here. This is mainly due to the sheer amount of learning resources and tools there are available to help you understand the market better.
IG also has the functionality for other investment types, such as share dealing and smart portfolios, which makes it quite a nice all-rounder with available products.
That being said, Plus500 does have some nifty tools that you can use, such as an economic calendar and trading sentiment, which shows whether traders are buying or selling an instrument at a given time. It has some good charting, as well.
Winner: IG
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