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ThinkMarkets vs IG - 2024 Comparison | FX Scouts
AuthorAuthor: Björn MichelsUpdated: Oct 12, 2023

Last Updated On Oct 12, 2023

Björn Michels

Trading with a reputable online broker is a crucial factor for success in the international markets. At FX Scouts, we help you find the broker that suits your trading needs.

Each year we spend thousands of hours testing brokers by opening accounts, testing their platforms, and rating them according to a set of over 200 metrics. We deposit real money with the brokers to ensure that the products and user experience they advertise are consistent with reality.

We have found that the best way for traders to choose a broker is to compare brokers side-by-side. The comparison tool below allows you to compare two brokers based on their ratings and features.

Select brokers to compare

Select brokers to compare

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Broker Score
Min. Deposit
Regulation
Trading Desk Type
Trading Instruments
Forex Pairs
Crypto Pairs
Pros
Cons
Regulation
Trading Conditions
Trading Platforms
Deposit & Withdrawal
Education & Research
Assets Available
Customer Service
% Lose with this broker
Leverage
Spread
Hedging
Scalping
Account Types
Islamic Account
Trading Platforms
Funding Methods
Trading Commission
11110.54.43/ 5 USD 0FSCA Regulated Forex BrokersFCA Regulated BrokersASIC Regulated Forex BrokersThe Seychelles Financial Services AuthorityCySEC Regulated BrokersFinancial Services AgencyECN/DMA, STPCommodities, Cryptocurrencies, Stock CFDs, ETFs, Forex, Futures, Indices, Metals4627
  • Low minimum deposit
  • Well regulated
  • Great platform choice
  • Limited market analysis
  • Non-transparent spreads
Read Review 11110.54.5/ 5 111104/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 111115/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 71.89%500:10 pips Standard, ThinkZero MT4, MT5, ThinkTraderBank Transfer, Visa, Mastercard, Skrill, Neteller7 USD / lot - ThinkZero Account
11110.54.69/ 5 USD 0FCA Regulated BrokersASIC Regulated Forex BrokersFSCA Regulated Forex BrokersBundesanstalt für FinanzdienstleistungsaufsichtSwiss Financial Market Supervisory AuthorityMonetary Authority of SingaporeFinancial Markets Authority of New ZealandDubai Financial Services AuthorityFinancial Services AgencyCommodity Futures Trading AssociationFinansinspektionenMarket MakerBonds, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Digital 100s, Stock CFDs, ETFs, Forex, Indices, Interest Rates8010
  • Well regulated
  • Tight spreads
  • Great platform choice
  • Excellent education
  • Excellent market analysis
  • High minimum deposit
Read Review 111115/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 11110.54.5/ 5 111115/ 5 111115/ 5 111115/ 5 111104/ 5 69%200:10.60 pips DMA, Live Account, Spread Betting MT4, L2 Dealer, ProRealTimeBank Transfer, Visa, Mastercard, PaypalFees Included in Spread

How do IG and ThinkMarkets 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.

IG

ThinkMarkets

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 ThinkMarkets, 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 ThinkMarkets 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 ThinkMarkets holds three 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 ThinkMarkets financially regulated?

Yes ThinkMarkets was founded in 2010 and is regulated by ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSA-Japan, FSCA and FSA-Seychelles.

 

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

Does IG or ThinkMarkets 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 ThinkMarkets. 

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Broker
Trading Conditions
Base Currencies
EURUSD (Standard)
Trading Cost (Standard)
EURUSD (Best)
GBPUSD (Best)
USDJPY (Best)
Commission
ThinkMarkets
111104/ 5
ZAR, USD, EUR, CHF, GBP, AUD, NZD, JPY, CAD, SGD
1.10 pips
USD 11
0.00 pips
0.00 pips
0.00 pips
USD 0
IG
11110.54.5/ 5
AUD, USD, JPY, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, NZD, SGD, HKD
0.60 pips
USD 6
0.85 pips
1.40 pips
0.94 pips
USD 0

 

Does IG or ThinkMarkets 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 IG and ThinkMarkets offer copy trading.

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Broker
Platform Choice
Copy Trading
Platforms
ThinkMarkets
11110.54.5/ 5
ThinkTrader
IG
11110.54.5/ 5
L2 Dealer
ProRealTime

 

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 IG offers a greater range and depth of instruments to trade than ThinkMarkets. IG offers 80 Forex pairs to trade and ThinkMarkets offers 46 Forex pairs to trade.

Toplist Forex Pairs

And what about Cryptocurrencies?

In this case, ThinkMarkets offers 27 cryptocurrencies while IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies. So if you want to trade cryptocurrencies, we advise trading with ThinkMarkets.

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 IG nor ThinkMarkets charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than ThinkMarkets. 

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. 

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

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Broker
Beginner Course
Advanced Course
Well Structured Education
Education Quality
Webinars
ThinkMarkets
High
IG
High

 

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 0 offers better research analysis than 0 and that both IG and ThinkMarkets offer frequent webinars.

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Broker
Economic Calendar
Autochartist
Trading Central
Trading View
Free VPS
ThinkMarkets
IG

 

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 ThinkMarkets

An internationally and FSCA-regulated broker, ThinkMarkets appeals to experienced traders who value a broad range of tradable assets and an extensive suite of trading tools, though trading costs are higher than average on its entry-level account. 

ThinkMarkets offers trading on a wider range of tradable assets than other brokers, including 46 Forex pairs, 27 indices, 13 commodities, 1541 share CFDs, and 20 crypto pairs. The ThinkMarkets Standard Account, with no minimum deposit requirement, has high trading costs compared to other brokers, at 12 USD per lot EUR/USD. On the other hand, the 500 USD minimum deposit ThinkZero account delivers better pricing at 8 USD per lot EUR/USD, which may interest more experienced traders. 

ThinkMarkets offers support for the MT4, MT5, and inhouse ThinkTrader platforms, and traders have access to some of the best trading tools in the industry, including Autochartist, Trading Central, Zulutrade, and a VPS hosting service. AutoChartist and Trading Central are offered free of charge to account holders. The Zulutrade copy-trading service requires a subscription of 30 USD per month, and the VPS service has a subscription fee unless traders trade over 15 lots per month. 

The ThinkMarkets education package targets all traders levels and is a good place to start for beginners. Daily market commentary is missing from the website, but real-time news from FX Wire Pro is integrated into the ThinkTrader platform, along with advanced order management, risk management tools, charts, and more.

Which broker has the highest overall rating?

IG has an overall rating of 4.69 and ThinkMarkets has an overall rating of 4.43. For more detail please read our reviews of IG and ThinkMarkets.

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