CMC Markets vs IG

Most comparison sites publish a spread table and stop there. The figure that actually matters is the all-in round-turn cost on the pair you trade most. Here is a worked example on one standard lot (100,000 units) of EUR/USD, where one pip is worth roughly €10. Both brokers use a spread-only model, so there is no separate commission to add.

IG: 0.6 pips average spread, no commission. That is about €6 round-turn per standard lot. Trade 10 standard lots a month and your EUR/USD cost is roughly €60. IG also runs a volume-based rebate for high-turnover traders, lowering effective cost further.

CMC Markets: 0.7 pips average spread, no commission — about €7 round-turn per standard lot, or roughly €70 over 10 lots a month. CMC's spreads can widen more noticeably around major economic releases and market opens, so news traders may see higher effective costs than the average suggests.

Verdict: IG is marginally cheaper on forex — roughly €1 per standard lot on EUR/USD at typical pricing, or about €10 a month at 10 lots. For most retail traders the difference is small enough that platform and instrument fit should drive the decision rather than this margin.

This is the clearest dividing line between the two, and it is a genuine trade-off between depth and breadth. CMC's Next Generation platform is a repeatedly award-winning proprietary environment with charting that rivals standalone analysis packages: 115+ technical indicators, 12 chart types including Renko and Point-and-Figure, 70+ drawing tools, automatic pattern recognition, and real-time client sentiment data. Guaranteed stop-loss orders are available on most instruments for a small premium — a risk-management tool that genuinely helps during gap events. Its one weakness is a lack of alternatives: only MetaTrader 4 sits alongside it, with no MT5, no cTrader, no TradingView, and no public API.

IG takes the opposite approach: five platforms, the most varied ecosystem of any major broker. The proprietary IG Platform offers 100+ indicators, integrated Reuters news, and client sentiment. ProRealTime adds professional automated trading and advanced screening. TradingView integration connects IG execution to the world's most popular charting community. MetaTrader 4 serves traders with existing Expert Advisor libraries, and L2 Dealer provides direct market access with Level II pricing. Like CMC, IG does not support MetaTrader 5 or cTrader.

Verdict: CMC wins on single-platform charting depth — Next Generation is arguably the better standalone environment. IG wins on choice and third-party integration, especially TradingView and ProRealTime. If you want one exceptional platform, CMC; if you want to pick your environment, IG.

This is the closest-matched dimension of the comparison. Both brokers are FTSE 250 constituents on the London Stock Exchange — an unusual level of transparency for retail brokers — and both serve EU clients through a BaFin-regulated German entity. CMC Markets Germany GmbH operates under BaFin licence 154814; IG Europe GmbH operates under BaFin licence 148759. BaFin is among the most demanding regulators in the EU, imposing strict capital-adequacy requirements, regular audits, and exacting client-money rules on both.

The protections are effectively identical for an EU retail client: segregated client funds held at major banks, ESMA-mandated negative balance protection, and Investor Compensation Fund cover up to EUR 20,000 per client in Germany. IG additionally routes UK clients through an FSCS-covered entity up to GBP 85,000, and both groups hold FCA (UK) and ASIC (Australia) authorisations. As publicly listed companies, both file audited accounts and operate under continuous scrutiny from institutional shareholders — a layer privately held brokers cannot match.

IG's longer history (founded 1974 versus CMC's 1989) and its scale give it a marginal edge on perceived institutional weight, and neither broker carries a record of material regulatory sanction. For an EU-based trader, the entity you contract with in each case sits inside the single market, keeping MiFID II protections and ICF coverage intact.

Verdict: both are genuinely safe, publicly listed, and BaFin-regulated for the EU. There is no material safety gap; IG's track record gives it only a slight edge.

IG offers 17,000+ instruments — forex, indices, shares, commodities, bonds, interest rates, and options — among the broadest ranges in the industry, though primarily CFD-based. The sheer count means most traders will find whatever market they want to trade from a single account.

CMC Markets offers 12,000+ instruments across a similar spread of asset classes: forex, indices, commodities, shares, treasuries, and crypto CFDs. That is a deep catalogue by any standard — narrower than IG's on paper, but wide enough that the difference will not bind for the vast majority of traders. CMC also runs a stockbroking arm in the UK and Australia, though its EU entity focuses on CFDs.

Verdict: IG wins on raw breadth. Unless you trade obscure single-stock or niche markets, both ranges are more than deep enough.

Under ESMA rules, both brokers cap retail leverage at 30:1 on major forex pairs, 20:1 on minors, 10:1 on commodities, 5:1 on equities, and 2:1 on crypto. These are regulatory mandates that apply identically to both for EU retail clients.

For professional clients who qualify under MiFID II criteria, CMC lists leverage up to 500:1 and IG up to 222:1. Qualification requires meeting at least two of three tests: relevant professional experience, a portfolio above EUR 500,000, and sufficient trading frequency. Professional status removes several retail protections, so the higher ceiling carries materially higher risk.

Verdict: no difference for EU retail clients — both are capped at 30:1. CMC offers a higher professional ceiling, but that is relevant only to the minority who qualify and accept the reduced protections.