IG Markets Review Australia 2026

Is IG Markets safe? ASIC AFSL 515106

IG Australia Pty Ltd holds ASIC AFSL 515106, current since 2020, and has operated in Australia since 2002 under the group’s original licence, AFSL 220440. The LSE-listed FTSE 250 parent adds FCA, MAS and CIRO oversight, a regulatory stack that is the baseline you want before funding an account.

ASIC regulation and global licences

The ASIC register shows IG Australia Pty Ltd holds AFSL 515106 with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. That register records that licence as current since 2 June 2020. The longer Australian presence runs on the earlier licence, AFSL 220440, held by IG Markets Limited, a separate entity within the group. Our register check found no material ASIC enforcement action or imposed licence condition against IG Australia Pty Ltd in the last 36 months. I would put that clean record in the plus column for you, though it is a snapshot rather than a promise.

The licence stack holds five further entries:

• Financial Conduct Authority, UK (Tier 1), the home regulator since 1974
• Monetary Authority of Singapore (Tier 1)
• Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (Tier 1)
• DFSA, UAE (Tier 2)
• Financial Sector Conduct Authority, South Africa

Few retail brokers hold Tier-1 licences in this many jurisdictions. In my view, the practical licence effect is that IG Markets operates under multiple capital and disclosure regimes at once, which constrains the regulatory arbitrage weaker brokers sometimes use. That is the kind of multi-regulator overlap you want if holding large balances.

History and ownership

Stuart Wheeler founded IG Markets in London in 1974 as Investors Gold Index, to let UK investors trade gold price movements without owning the metal. The business pioneered spread betting in the 1970s and CFDs in the 1990s, listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2000, and is a current FTSE 250 constituent. Australian operations opened in 2002, so IG entities have been ASIC-regulated for over two decades. That long history matters because the entity you deal with has survived multiple market shocks.

IG Markets client money protection and AFCA membership

Mandatory negative balance protection and segregation at an Approved Australian Bank form the client money protection at IG Markets. Both measures matter for a live balance, and AFCA membership carries disputes to an external ombudsman at no cost to the client.

Money held in client accounts sits separate from company funds. AFCA hears claims up to A$1,263,000 and awards compensation up to A$631,500. The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort sits behind that with an A$150,000 cap, but it excludes CFD trading losses, so it covers unpaid awards for misconduct rather than losing trades. That scheme is useful but narrower than many traders assume, so you should not treat it as insurance against a losing position. That retail protection standard is set out in the guide to protection against negative balances.

One account carve-out matters before you chase leverage. The Pro and Wholesale classification surrenders negative balance protection along with the ASIC leverage caps.

The public-company entity structure is the additional protection here. A FTSE 250 constituent files audited annual reports and answers to a market regulator on top of ASIC, and IG Markets traded through the 2008 financial crisis, the 2015 Swiss franc de-pegging, the 2020 volatility spike and the 2022 commodity squeeze while remaining well capitalised. That capital record is a relevant data point rather than a guarantee, and I would treat it as evidence rather than a promise. For you, the practical value is a listed parent with public reporting that can be checked.

Public reviews

IG holds a Trustpilot rating of 3.7 out of 5 from 9,979 reviews, which Trustpilot labels average, captured September 2026. The profile has been claimed by the broker since March 2016.

Recurring platform praise covers stability, product breadth and support quality. Complaints recur around withdrawal verification delays, the share CFD financing rates and the inactivity fee structure. I would weigh those complaints most heavily if you rely on fast withdrawals or hold positions overnight.

How popular is IG Markets in Australia?

Australians made 11,070 branded searches for IG Markets in July 2026, placing it 4th of the 32 brokers we test. Search interest measures attention, not quality; the score above is the review verdict.

4of 32Search interest rank

11,070

Brand searches, July 2026

-8.7%

vs June 2026

2,320

Login searches

6.5%

Share of all broker searches

Source: Google search volume, Australia, July 2026. How this is measured

What other review sites say

IG Markets' iOS app rates 4.57 out of 5 from 13,726 ratings on the Australian App Store (August 2026), listed as IG Trading: CFDs & Shares.

TradingView users rate IG Markets 3.9 out of 5 from 1,076 ratings (September 2026). 15.8K TradingView users have connected a IG Markets account.

App Store AU

4.57

13,726 ratingsAugust 2026

TradingView

3.9

1,076 ratings15.8K Traders via TradingViewSeptember 2026View on TradingView

IG Markets at a glance: 17 key facts

IG Australia Pty Ltd, ABN 93 096 585 410, holds ASIC AFSL 515106 and has run Australian operations since 2002 under the group’s earlier licence, AFSL 220440. I focus on that entity because it is the one you deal with as an Australian client, and the 17 key facts in the table below cover six regulators.

Those two licence numbers are the fact most often confused about this broker, and the trust section below separates them.

IG Markets standard-account spreads, measured

Our standard-account spread capture, run by Noam Korbl, measured IG Markets at 1.13 pips on EUR/USD and 1.62 pips across the eight-pair basket. That sits against an advertised 0.6 pips at the London and New York overlap. The capture ran May to June 2026. The measured number reflects the full rolling sample and belongs in a realistic cost model rather than the advertised one.

The gap between advertised and measured spreads is the honest headline. That advertised figure is real at the most liquid hour of the day, and the measured figure is what a full rolling sample returns. In my view, that measured figure is the one you should plan around.

Forex Direct is the raw-pricing route at IG Markets, a direct market access product open to retail clients in Australia. Its spreads are not in the table above, and that is deliberate: the figures IG publishes for Forex Direct (EUR/USD 0.16 pips, 0.59 across eight pairs) are IG’s own advertised data carrying IG’s own footnote, “average spread for the 12 weeks ending 19th March 2019”. The IG UK page publishes the identical numbers with no footnote at all, and the IG South African page carries the same March 2019 footnote against a different dataset, so the window and the data do not reconcile. These are unmaintained advertised figures rather than a measurement, and they do not belong in a measured column. I would not plan a cost comparison around them, and you should not anchor a cost estimate to them.

Unlike the standard account, Forex Direct does not price per lot. IG charges a volume-tiered commission in US dollars per US$1 million of notional, billed on top of the market spread rather than instead of it. Before comparing a real round-turn cost, add that commission to the raw spread.

Under the Australian Margin PDS, the cap is US$60 per US$1 million traded, converted to the account base currency where that is not USD, with no published per-trade minimum. At the entry tier a standard lot costs roughly US$6 a side. Both accounts appear in the lowest spread brokers in Australia comparison, where Forex Direct placed 15th tightest of the raw accounts we tested and the standard account 20th of 21. The Forex Direct placement rests on the advertised figures above rather than on our own capture. For your own shortlist, treat that ranking as provisional, because the measured standard account tells a different cost story.

One practical point the pricing pages do not make obvious: DMA has to be activated on the account, and app users cannot do it themselves. In IG’s own wording, “you will need to give us a call to request DMA access” (IG Forex Direct, checked 29 July 2026).

For anyone placing more than a few standard lots a week, the spread cost here runs above a raw account at IC Markets, Pepperstone or Fusion Markets. In my view, forex pricing is not what IG Markets competes on, so you should not choose this account for forex cost alone.

What it costs to trade with IG Markets

With no separate commission on forex, your cost to trade one standard lot of EUR/USD is the 1.13 pip measured spread alone. Treat that spread as the full execution line on a forex trade, while share CFDs carry commission plus overnight financing instead.

Share CFD costs

Share CFD pricing is where the IG Markets trading-floor heritage shows. On Australian share CFDs, commission starts at A$10 per trade or 0.10% of trade value, whichever is greater. US shares start from US$15 or 2 cents per share. Check that minimum against trade size, because smaller orders can pay a much higher effective percentage.

The overnight financing charge runs at the relevant benchmark rate, being the RBA cash rate plus 2.5% on AUD-denominated long positions, with a similar structure in other currencies and a reduced benchmark received on short positions. Those financing rates run above the Australian market average, which I would call the main cost weakness here and the line you should model first for any overnight share CFD.

On a position held overnight for weeks at a time, the financing line dominates the commission. I would run the numbers against Interactive Brokers before committing, because its commission-driven model usually works out cheaper at that scale and leaves more of your return intact.

Other fees AU traders should check

• Overnight holding cost applies to CFD positions held past 5 PM New York time, direction-dependent, with long positions paying benchmark plus a margin.
• Currency conversion runs 0.50% on any instrument priced outside the account base currency.
• The inactivity fee runs A$25 per quarter after 24 months without trading activity, a more lenient window than the CMC Markets 12 months and a heavier charge once it starts.
• The guaranteed stop-loss premium is charged only when the guaranteed stop triggers, and the premium is shown before the order is placed.

IG Markets funding methods and withdrawal times

IG Markets processes withdrawals same day on PayPal to three business days on a card refund across seven funding methods. Card fees are the exception to the A$0 rule: Visa credit costs 1%, Mastercard credit 0.5%, both 1.5% on non-AUD. Stick to the fee-free methods, because the card surcharge can be avoided without losing much speed.

Deposit methods (AU clients)

Three of the seven funding methods carry a percentage charge, which is unusual in this field. Most Australian brokers absorb card costs entirely. Debit card, PayID and bank transfer are the fee-free routes and cover most needs. Avoid the credit card option for deposits, because the full balance should stay working.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals cost A$0 on all standard methods. IG Markets requires withdrawals to use the same source as the deposit where possible, in line with AUSTRAC anti-money-laundering rules, so keep at least one original deposit method active because a withdrawal may need to trace back to it. Card refunds clear within one to three business days, bank transfers in one to two, and PayPal same day in testing.

Account opening

Account opening runs fully online and AUSTRAC-compliant, taking one photo identity document and one proof of address. Most Australian applications clear within 24 hours and some within an hour. The application asks more questions than the lightest-touch onboarding at Plus500 or eToro, which is proportionate given how many products sit behind it. Set aside 20 minutes for the application so the process does not catch anyone out mid-way.

IG Markets account types and minimum deposit

At IG Markets, you have four account types, and the minimum first deposit is A$100 by card, Apple Pay or PayPal, A$10 by BPAY, and A$450 only for an EFT deposit sent with a proof-of-payment upload. Pick the card or BPAY route for speed unless the bank details are already linked.

Those tiered deposit figures come from the IG help page dated 10 April 2026. I would look closely at the Limited Risk account where downside control is the priority for you, because every position must carry a guaranteed stop, capping the maximum loss at a known figure before the trade is placed.

Pro and wholesale

The Pro and Wholesale account requires the Corporations Act wholesale client criteria through one of two paths: a Wealth Test of net assets over A$2.5 million or income over A$250,000 for two consecutive years plus recent trading, or an Experience Test of income over A$100,000 or savings over A$500,000 plus sufficient volume and a knowledge assessment. Pro leverage rises to 250:1 on major forex and gold and 167:1 on minors, though the MT4 Pro accounts run 200:1 and 133:1 instead, which is why both figures circulate. Either wholesale path surrenders negative balance protection, so only take that route if the leverage benefit outweighs the loss shield given up.

Minimum deposit and account notes

Spread betting accounts exist on the IG UK entity and are not available to Australian clients. IG Markets runs no swap-free account, confirmed with the desk in July 2026, so you need another broker if overnight swap cannot be paid or received. The free unlimited demo account runs the full web platform.

IG Markets trading platforms

At IG Markets, you have six platform routes: the IG web platform, MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer for direct market access, the trading API and native TradingView. The platform list excludes MT5 and cTrader on the Australian entity. The absence of MT5 and cTrader is the first thing to check against a workflow.

IG web platform (proprietary)

IG’s web platform is the flagship route and the one most retail clients use. It runs in browser, on Windows and macOS desktop apps, and on iOS and Android. The build is clean and quick, order placement is straightforward, and guaranteed stops and trailing stops work natively. It gives up some technical-analysis depth to the CMC Markets Next Generation platform, but covers more product types, with the full 17,000-market range sitting behind it. For most Australian clients, this is the default you will live in day to day.

ProRealTime and MetaTrader 4

ProRealTime is the premium charting partner, carrying 100+ indicators, multi-timeframe analysis, automated trading through ProBuilder code and dataset access going back decades. The ProRealTime fee is waived for clients trading four or more times a month and charged as a subscription otherwise. MT4 covers legacy expert advisors with the full forex and key CFD ranges, though the MT4 build excludes the full 17,000-instrument range, so pick ProRealTime for charting depth unless a legacy MT4 advisor locks you in.

L2 Dealer and the trading API

L2 Dealer is the direct market access platform for high-volume share traders. It exposes the underlying order book and routes to the exchange where supported, rather than internalising against the IG quote. Volume thresholds and additional fees apply, and most retail traders have no use for it. I would not send most retail traders here, because you need real size to justify the added complexity. The IG trading API covers REST and streaming, is free with an active account, and supports the full product range.

What IG Markets does not offer

No MT5, no cTrader and no integrated copy or social trading exist on the Australian entity. That platform absence is the single biggest reason an active forex trader picks a competitor here if you rely on either platform. The IG mobile app is among the better trading apps in the Australian market, with biometric login and full order types.

IG Markets execution speed and slippage

Our 2026 execution capture measured IG Markets at around 50ms on market orders. That is mid-pack across the brokers timed here, on a market-maker model that internalises flow before hedging the residual. I would read that as a relevant figure if you trade news events or scalping strategies, where slower fills show up in the outcome.

That pricing model is the structural difference from the ECN brokers on this site. Order flow is matched against the IG book first, and only the residual reaches tier-1 liquidity providers. That is why the latency figure sits behind the 28ms at Pepperstone and the 32ms at IC Markets. If you need raw ECN execution, those two figures are the stronger comparison points.

Share CFD and index execution came in faster than the broker average over the same window, and weekend crypto execution was competitive. L2 Dealer delivers full exchange execution where available, which is a different model again. Choose the platform route that matches the product, because this mixed speed record means the headline number only tells part of the story.

Slippage on the standard CFD account is comparable to the rest of the major Australian market makers. It runs tighter than the field average and looser than the Pepperstone Razor account on forex. For your planning, treat that as acceptable but not class-leading on forex.

IG Markets instrument counts across nine asset classes

IG Markets lists more than 17,000 tradeable markets across nine asset classes, including more than 13,000 share CFDs. That is the broadest count of any ASIC-regulated broker on this site. If you want a single login that reaches most global share markets, this is the catalogue I would check first.

Forex runs to 80 plus pairs with six AUD crosses, enough for any Australian strategy though not the cheapest place to run one. Commodities reach 35 plus across metals, energy and agricultural softs. Direct share investing sits in a separate account for investors who want to own shares rather than trade them as CFDs, so keep that separation in your planning.

Share CFDs and rates

IG Markets lists 13,000 plus share CFDs across ASX, NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, EU and Asian exchanges. That is the broadest share CFD range of any ASIC-regulated broker and the lead strength this review scores. The share CFD range prices a less-traded LSE mid-cap, a Hong Kong-listed industrial or an ASX small-cap where most Australian brokers cannot quote them at all. CMC Markets and Interactive Brokers are the only realistic alternatives at this level, so this range is the direct reason you would open an account if small-cap names matter.

In rates CFDs, IG Markets and CMC Markets are also the two Australian brokers with real depth, covering the Australian 10-year bond, US T-Notes, the German Bund and UK Gilts. Look here if you trade macro rates rather than just forex, because most competitors do not quote the full set.

IG Markets Knock-Out and Barrier options

Retail clients can trade Knock-Out and Barrier options at IG Markets, a product no other broker in the 32-broker set on this site lists, alongside the 17,000 plus markets on the same login. That exclusivity is the most distinctive product point available here.

Both instruments are defined-risk products. The knockout level caps the maximum loss at the moment the position opens, so your worst case is a known figure rather than a margin calculation that moves with the market. That cost sits inside the product rather than in a separate commission line, and the figure is shown at the point of trade. Check that knockout cost before entry, because it is the price paid for the known loss.

This product structure answers a real problem. An ordinary margined account cannot show the worst case in advance, because a gapping market can close a position past the stop. A knockout cannot gap through its own level, because the level is the contract. That distinction matters if you need to know the maximum loss before committing.

No comparison page exists for the class anywhere on this site, so this section is the coverage. In my view, the Knock-Out range is genuinely uncommon in the Australian retail market, and it is the clearest thing IG Markets offers that no rival here matches. If that defined-risk exposure is what you are missing, this is the account feature to investigate first.

IG Markets leverage and margin under ASIC rules

IG Markets leverage and margin operate under a maximum retail leverage of 30:1 on major forex pairs, which is the starting constraint you face, with lower caps on minors, indices, commodities and cryptocurrency.

ASIC caps retail CFD leverage at 30:1 on major forex pairs, 20:1 on minor pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 on commodities other than gold, 5:1 on share CFDs and 2:1 on crypto assets. The caps come from a product intervention order extended to 23 May 2027, so they apply at every ASIC broker rather than at IG Markets alone, making retail leverage a pointless point of comparison between providers.

Knock-Out margin works differently by design, because maximum loss is fixed by the knockout level rather than by leverage. The Limited Risk account takes the same idea further and puts a guaranteed stop on every position. Choose one of those structures if you want a hard cap on loss rather than a leverage calculation.

The wholesale tier reaches about 250:1 on major forex for clients passing the eligibility tests. Retail margin close-out sits at 50%: ASIC requires every CFD issuer to close a retail client’s positions once account equity falls below half the total initial margin on all open positions. Positions cannot be netted against each other to reduce that figure, and a gapping market can close a position below the 50% level. Model the 50% close-out rule into your risk plan, because it is the point where the broker must act regardless of the market. The leverage tier structure is set out in how trading leverage works.

IG Markets customer support

Customer support at IG Markets runs 24/7 on phone, live chat and email. Two of its closest Australian rivals do not match that: CMC Markets and Plus500 both close at the weekend. I would treat that 24/7 coverage as the practical safety net you need for weekend holdings.

Live chat replied in under 60 seconds during Australian business hours and around 90 seconds during the overnight US session. Agent knowledge of platform features is strong, and on Australian tax treatment agents correctly defer to a registered accountant rather than guessing. Set your expectations around those times, because support is fast but not instant.

Weekend support coverage is the differentiator that matters most to this broker’s audience. The support desk answers a weekend crypto question or an Asia-Pacific Sunday open query where most of the Australian field is closed. That gap is worth more than a few tenths of a pip to a client holding positions over a weekend, and it is the reason the service score sits where it does. Value that coverage highest if you carry positions outside Australian business hours.

Language support covers English, Mandarin, French, German, Italian and Spanish. That is broad for an Australian-facing desk and reflects the international group behind it.

IG Markets research, tools and education

The research, tools and education stack at IG Markets runs to eleven components across two stacks, built on an in-house analyst team publishing daily commentary across forex, indices, commodities and shares. Use that daily commentary as a starting point, but still check the numbers before acting.

Research feeds

• IG analyst daily commentary and weekly outlooks
• Reuters news feed integrated into the platform
• MetaTrader Charts for third-party technical setups
• ProRealTime advanced charting, free at four or more trades a month
• Economic calendar with custom alert support
• Client sentiment data showing position bias on each instrument
• IG TV on YouTube with regular market analysis

Education content

• IG Academy course library covering forex, CFDs, options and shares
• Beginner through advanced levels
• Live webinars on market events and platform features
• Glossary of trading terms

That stack runs well past the norm for a retail-tier broker. In my view, the integrated Reuters feed and analyst commentary carry real value for a client trading equities and indices alongside forex. The research stack is the deepest of any Australian broker in this coverage, so you can do much of the pre-trade reading inside the one platform.

How IG Markets compares to CMC Markets and Pepperstone

IG Markets lists 17,000 plus markets against 12,000 plus at CMC Markets. Our capture measured 1.13 pips on EUR/USD against 0.10 pips on the Pepperstone Razor account. How IG Markets compares to CMC Markets and Pepperstone splits cleanly: breadth against platform, and breadth against price. I would frame your choice that way rather than asking one broker to win both.

The two longest-running ASIC-regulated CFD accounts are set against each other in CMC Markets vs IG Markets. Both parent companies are LSE-listed with two decades of Australian operation. IG Markets leads on market count, 24/7 support and Knock-Out options. CMC Markets leads on integrated stockbroking and on the proprietary platform. Put the priority first, because the better account depends on whether breadth or platform quality matters more to you.

Pepperstone wins the pricing comparison outright, and it is not close. A forex-first trader pays materially more here for a range that may never be used. Absorb that cost only if the broad instrument list is actually being traded.

Should you open an IG Markets account?

I would send multi-asset traders here if they want 17,000 plus markets and 13,000 plus share CFDs behind one login. Traders running MT5 or cTrader workflows, or holding share CFDs overnight for weeks, are served better elsewhere than by an IG Markets account. For your own shortlist, the platform and financing lines should decide whether this account fits.

Clear value at IG Markets concentrates in two groups of trader. The instrument range reaches markets no other Australian broker prices, from LSE mid-caps to Australian government bonds. Its defined-risk range covers Knock-Outs and a Limited Risk account, neither of which has a rival here. I would start your review with that combination, because it is rare for one broker to offer both breadth and defined-risk products.

My advice is to look past an IG Markets account if you fall into two groups. Forex-first traders pay 1.13 pips measured where IC Markets measured 0.15. Overnight share holders pay financing above the market average, and Interactive Brokers is cheaper at scale. The cost gap will show up fastest in those two lines.

IG Markets ranks 13th among the top-rated forex brokers in Australia on the 2026 scoring. Cost holds it there rather than trust, where it scores at the top of the field. Read the ranking as a cost verdict you can offset only if the market range or defined-risk products matter more.