IG vs CMC Markets: which UK broker wins in 2026?

How IG and CMC Markets compare at a glance

IG and CMC Markets are the two giants of the UK retail CFD and spread-betting industry. IG launched as IG Index in 1974 — the year sports spread betting was invented — and has since become the world's largest CFD broker by client count, with public listing on the London Stock Exchange and a multi-jurisdiction footprint spanning Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, the UAE, Switzerland, and Germany. CMC Markets launched in 1989, took the same UK base, and built its reputation around an award-winning proprietary platform — Next Generation — that has spent more than a decade winning broker-platform-of-the-year awards in the UK and Australia.

The headline differences sit on the three pillars. IG wins on instrument breadth (17,000+ markets versus around 12,000 at CMC), on the depth of UK retail products (share dealing accounts, ISAs, SIPPs, options, knock-outs), and on global regulator coverage (JFSA in Japan, FINMA in Switzerland, MAS in Singapore, BaFin in Germany). CMC Markets wins clearly on the proprietary platform — Next Generation is widely cited as the best CFD platform in the industry — and on tighter typical spreads on major indices like the FTSE 100 and US 500. The side-by-side table below summarises every key spec.

Side-by-side: spec comparison

The "winner" tag flags the broker with the more favourable value for that row only. UK and Australian residents will weight different rows, and the share-dealing capabilities at IG matter little to a pure CFD trader.

Spreads compared

CMC Markets quotes a typical EUR/USD spread of around 0.7 pips with a minimum of 0.5 pips during deep-liquidity windows. IG quotes a typical EUR/USD spread of around 0.8 pips with a minimum of 0.6 pips. CMC Markets is therefore the narrowly cheaper broker on FX majors. The gap widens on major indices: CMC Markets quotes the FTSE 100 from 1 point and the US SPX 500 from 0.4 points, both noticeably tighter than IG's 1-point FTSE 100 and 0.4-point US 500 — although the gap is small enough that liquidity at the moment you trade matters more than the headline rate.

Both brokers run market-maker pricing on the proprietary platforms, with no separate commission on forex or indices CFDs (commissions apply on share CFDs and on options). Spreads on both brokers widen during the daily 21:00 GMT rollover window and during major data releases. IG's "share-dealing" account (real UK and US shares) is commission-free on US stocks for accounts trading three or more US-share deals per month, and £3 per UK share trade otherwise. CMC has its own commission-free Invest product but only in the UK and Australian markets.

Cost per round-turn trade — example

Take a 1.0 standard-lot EUR/USD CFD trade ($100,000 notional). On CMC Markets at 0.7 pips, the total cost is roughly $7 per round-turn. On IG at 0.8 pips, the total cost is roughly $8 per round-turn — about a 12% difference. On the FTSE 100, a 1-contract trade at CMC's 1-point spread costs £10 round-turn versus IG's 1-point spread for £10 round-turn (effectively a tie on UK index trades). Real spreads vary by market conditions — check live spreads on each broker's platform before opening trades.

Regulation and safety compared

This is as strong as the regulatory pillar gets in retail CFD trading. IG holds the FCA (UK, FRN 195355), ASIC, MAS Singapore, FINMA Switzerland, JFSA Japan, FSCA South Africa, BaFin Germany, and DFSA Dubai authorisations, giving it a tier-1 regulator footprint that is arguably the broadest in the industry. CMC Markets holds FCA (UK, FRN 173730), ASIC, MAS, BaFin, CySEC, and IIROC Canada, which is itself a top-tier list, and both brokers are publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange's main market.

Client funds are segregated in tier-1 banks at both brokers. UK retail clients of either broker get FSCS protection up to £85,000 per person per institution. EU clients are covered by the ICF up to €20,000. Both brokers have decades of operating history and no material recent regulatory enforcement that should swing your decision. IG's slightly broader regulator coverage matters most for traders resident in Japan, Switzerland, or South Africa, where IG offers a domestic entity that CMC Markets does not.

Trading platforms compared

This is CMC's category. The CMC Next Generation platform has been a near-permanent fixture in the "best CFD platform" award lists since 2014, and for good reason: it bundles a deep charting suite (more than 115 technical indicators, custom annotation tools, advanced chart types), pattern-recognition scanning, an integrated news feed, client-sentiment data, "Module Linking" that ties chart actions to order tickets, and one of the cleanest mobile experiences in the industry. IG also offers strong platforms — ProRealTime is exceptional for advanced charting, the IG Web platform is solid and intuitive, and L2 Dealer offers true DMA execution for share traders — but the depth of integration on CMC's Next Generation is unmatched in proprietary CFD platforms.

Both brokers offer MetaTrader 4 alongside their proprietary platforms, but neither offers MT5 or cTrader. Automation support is available on MT4 via expert advisors at both brokers, but the proprietary platforms are not designed for high-frequency algorithmic trading. For traders who already know they want MetaTrader, IC Markets or Pepperstone will be a better fit. For traders who want a polished, web-based, proprietary platform with deep charting, CMC Markets has the clearest edge in this comparison.

Who wins for which use case

For scalpers and high-frequency traders

Neither broker is built for serious scalping. Both run market-maker pricing on their proprietary platforms and do not offer raw ECN spreads. Scalpers should consider IC Markets or Pepperstone. That said, CMC's Next Generation has a slight edge on rapid-fire manual trading thanks to its lighter UI, one-click ticket, and faster server response.

For beginners

IG wins narrowly. The IG Academy is the most comprehensive education hub in the industry, with structured courses, live webinars, and per-asset-class training paths. CMC Markets has its own learning hub but it is less structured. CMC's £0 minimum deposit lets you fund with any amount, which beginners often prefer over IG's £250 starting point — so consider that trade-off.

For swing and position traders

IG wins. The IG share-dealing account lets UK clients hold real shares, ETFs, ISAs, and SIPPs alongside CFD positions in the same login, with commission-free US share trades for active traders. Position traders who want to actually own the underlying — rather than hold a CFD over a multi-month horizon and pay daily overnight financing — get a much cleaner product on IG.

For copy trading and social traders

Neither broker is a copy-trading specialist. Both have light "client sentiment" indicators (CMC's is particularly well-presented), but neither runs a first-party copy-trading product. Copy traders should look at eToro, AvaTrade, or Pepperstone's third-party copy integrations instead.

For high-leverage trading

Tie at retail level — both capped at 1:30 in the UK and EU under FCA and ESMA rules. CMC offers up to 1:500 leverage to ASIC-classified professional clients, which edges out IG's 1:222 pro limit. Important caveat: high leverage magnifies losses just as fast as gains, and broker pro-classification rules are non-trivial.

Pros and cons of each broker

Final verdict: IG vs CMC Markets

This is one of the cleanest "depends on what you want to trade" comparisons in the industry. Both brokers are tier-1 regulated, decades old, publicly listed, and trusted by hundreds of thousands of UK retail clients. IG wins clearly on market breadth — the 17,000-market range, plus share dealing, ISAs, SIPPs, and options under one login — and on the depth of global regulator coverage. CMC Markets wins clearly on the proprietary platform — Next Generation is the standout CFD trading interface in the industry — and on tighter typical spreads on FX majors and major indices.

Our decision rule: if you want to trade across many asset classes and also hold long-term share and ETF positions in the same login, choose IG. If you mostly trade FX, indices, and shares as CFDs and value a polished proprietary platform with tight spreads, choose CMC Markets. UK residents who want the IG Academy and the share-dealing account should go with IG; Australian and European residents who value the Next Generation platform should go with CMC. Either way, both brokers are top-tier picks for the regulated CFD trader — see our methodology page for the full scoring framework.

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