Compare Forex Brokers side by side

How do IG and Hantec Markets stack up against each other?

The Radar Chart below highlights how the brokers stack up against each other across various metrics. The highest score a broker can receive in each area is 5.

At FX Scouts, we help traders find the broker that suits their trading needs. In many cases, the best way to achieve this is to compare brokers side-by-side.

To compare IG and Hantec Markets, we used the same factors we use when reviewing brokers: The trust and regulation of the broker, the trading platform, the costs and trading conditions, and the level of education and market analysis available at the broker.

Does IG or Hantec Markets have a better trust and regulation rating?

Trust and regulation are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a Forex broker. Trust in the Forex trading business is almost entirely founded upon regulation. We spend many hours evaluating the safety of each broker by delving into their fine print and confirming each one of their regulatory licences on the online registers. The more top-tier authorities a broker is regulated by, the higher its trust rating.

In our comparison, we found that IG holds six Tier 1 and four Tier 2 licences, and Hantec Markets holds two Tier 1 and one Tier 2 licences.

 

Is IG financially regulated?

Yes IG was founded in 1974 and is regulated by ASIC, BaFin, CFTC, DFSA, FCA, FMA, FSA-Japan, Fi, FSCA, MAS and FINMA.

 

Is Hantec Markets financially regulated?

Yes Hantec Markets was founded in 1990 and is regulated by ASIC, FCA, FSA-Japan, FSC and JSE.

 

Based on these findings, IG earned a higher trust rating than Hantec Markets.

Does IG or Hantec Markets have lower costs?

Another important aspect we consider when comparing brokers is the cost of trading. When evaluating trading costs, we always consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and the ongoing trading costs, including the spreads and commissions. When calculating trading costs, we measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit. The cost includes both the spread and any commission charged. 

Not all brokers publish their trading costs, so we often open accounts and trade on their platforms to verify the spreads and commissions. Based on our reviews, we found that IG has overall lower trading costs than Hantec Markets. 

 

Does IG or Hantec Markets offer a better choice of trading platforms?

Traders want Forex brokers to offer them a choice of trading platforms, so we give brokers who offer multiple platforms higher ratings. Trading platforms we consider include MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader and proprietary mobile and web-based platforms. 

In this case, 0 offers support for and 0 offers support for . 

Do the brokers offer copy trading?

Copy trading is a great option for beginner traders who can’t trade full-time or lack experience with Forex trading. In this case both Hantec Markets and IG offer copy trading.

 

Which broker offers a better choice of trading instruments?

A variety of CFD instruments – and a large range of CFDs for each instrument category allow traders more opportunities for profitable trading. The best brokers will have thousands of CFDs to trade, covering all these instrument categories. We found that Hantec Markets offers a greater range and depth of instruments to trade than IG. Hantec Markets offers 130 Forex pairs to trade and IG offers 80 Forex pairs to trade.

And what about Cryptocurrencies?

In this case, Hantec Markets offers 48 cryptocurrencies while IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies. So if you want to trade cryptocurrencies, we advise trading with Hantec Markets.

Which broker offers better deposit and withdrawal processes?

Although brokers may have reasonable trading fees, many traders are caught out by the high non-trading fees charged by some brokers, including deposits and withdrawals. Traders want to be able to deposit and withdraw funds quickly and cheaply. Most brokers have multiple funding methods with zero fees for making deposits, but some brokers make it more expensive and take longer to process withdrawals. 

We rate brokers more highly that process withdrawals within 24 hours by multiple withdrawal methods and without charging processing fees. We found that neither Hantec Markets nor IG charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than Hantec Markets. 

Which broker offers better educational support?

We often find that brokers offer very little in the way of educational materials, forcing traders to use other third-party sites or self-educate elsewhere. Beginner traders need well-structured, well-presented materials in multiple formats to get a good start at trading. More experienced traders also benefit from webinars led by experts in the field and advanced trading strategy sections with new trading ideas. 

Hantec Markets and IG both have very good educational support. Both Hantec Markets and IG offer educational support for more experienced traders.

 

Which broker offers better market analysis materials?

To successfully predict the price movements of an instrument, traders will need access to frequent market research and analysis. We find that research and market analysis are always better when they are produced in-house and updated frequently. Third-party resources don’t show the same expertise in trading ideas, so we place a strong emphasis on frequent in-house updates. Some brokers also often offer interactive webinars where traders can learn from experts in the field. 

We found that IG offers better research analysis than Hantec Markets and that both Hantec Markets and IG offer frequent webinars.

 

Our overall Verdict on IG

One of the most popular brokers in Nigeria and the largest CFD broker in the world by revenue, IG Markets has two low-cost trading accounts - one of which provides direct market access. With possibly the widest range of CFDs in the world, IG Markets offers trading on over 17,000 instruments, including Forex, indices, share CFDs, commodities, cryptocurrencies, digital 100s, options, ETFs, bonds, and interest rates.  

On both accounts – the OTC Account and the DMA Account - IG Market’s trading costs are low compared to other similar brokers, with no minimum deposit requirements and tight spreads, averaging 0.86 pips on the EUR/USD.  IG Markets offers trading on its own award-winning platform, as well as MT4 and L2 Dealer - a DMA specific platform for experienced traders. In addition to a wide range of trading tools, IG Markets also provides a world-class selection of educational and market analysis materials to get new traders started. 

Overall, both beginner and experienced Forex traders won’t find a much better broker than IG Markets, and it is one of our highest-rated brokers for good reason. Combined with regulation from the FCA and ASIC, a long history of satisfied clients, and vast industry recognition, IG Markets is hard to beat.

Our overall Verdict on Hantec Markets

For experienced traders who like simple account options, low trading fees, and the MT4 trading platform, Hantec Markets is a good option. But with no other trading platforms, a limited range of CFDs, and no trading tools apart from the Trading Central indicator, some traders may find Hantec lacking.

Hantec Markets' Forex account has a high minimum deposit of 100 USD putting it out of the reach of most beginner traders, but spreads start at 0 pips (EUR/USD), extremely tight compared to other brokers, and no commissions are charged for Forex trading. However, Hantec Markets does not publish its average spreads and is not transparent about how its spreads are derived.

Hantec Markets caters to both beginners and more experienced traders with its learning material, including webinars that are held three times a week, but market analysis is sorely lacking and rarely updated.

Which broker has the highest overall rating?

IG has an overall rating of 4.69 and Hantec Markets has an overall rating of 4.33. For more detail please read our reviews of IG and Hantec Markets.