IG vs Saxo Bank

Both IG and Saxo Bank sit at the top tier of regulatory credibility in Europe, but they achieve it through different structures. IG Europe GmbH is regulated by BaFin under licence 148759, subjecting it to Germany's rigorous capital adequacy requirements, on-site audits, and operational compliance standards. IG also holds FCA (UK) and ASIC (Australia) licences. As a FTSE 250 constituent on the London Stock Exchange, IG publishes audited financial statements and operates under continuous scrutiny from institutional shareholders and equity analysts — a transparency layer that privately held brokers cannot replicate.

Saxo Bank A/S holds a full Danish banking licence from the Finanstilsynet, which is a higher regulatory classification than an investment firm licence. Banking regulation imposes Basel III capital adequacy standards, comprehensive stress testing, and liquidity coverage ratios that exceed what BaFin requires of a broker entity. The Danish Guarantee Fund protects deposits up to EUR 100,000 — five times the EUR 20,000 ICF coverage available to IG's EU clients. Since March 2026, Saxo is majority-owned by J. Safra Sarasin, a Swiss private bank regulated by FINMA with over CHF 250 billion in assets under management, adding institutional backing that is difficult to overstate.

Both brokers have navigated every major market crisis of the past decades without disruption to client funds. Both segregate client money at tier-1 banks. Both provide ESMA-mandated negative balance protection for all EU retail clients. Neither has a history of material regulatory sanctions.

Verdict: Saxo Bank holds a slight edge on pure fund safety due to its banking licence and EUR 100,000 deposit protection. IG counters with the transparency of public listing and a 50-year track record. Both are among the safest brokers available to European traders.

IG operates a spread-only model on standard CFD accounts with no separate commission. EUR/USD averages 0.6 pips, translating to roughly per standard lot round-turn. GBP/USD averages approximately 0.9 pips, USD/JPY around 0.7 pips. High-volume traders qualify for a volume-based rebate programme that reduces effective costs further. There are no deposit fees, no withdrawal fees, and no inactivity fee (removed May 2026 for UK accounts; EU removal expected).

Saxo Bank uses a tiered pricing model. Classic accounts (default) carry EUR/USD spreads from 0.8 pips ( per lot). Platinum tier (EUR 200,000+ balance or 100+ trades per quarter) narrows this to 0.6 pips. VIP tier (EUR 1,000,000+) delivers approximately 0.4 pips. On stocks, options, and futures, commission rates follow the same tiered structure. Custody fees of 0.15% p.a. (minimum €5/month) apply to stock, ETF, and bond positions on Classic accounts — an additional cost that CFD-only brokers do not charge but that reflects genuine asset custody. No inactivity fee.

For a trader executing 10 standard lots per month on EUR/USD: IG costs approximately ; Saxo Classic costs approximately ; Saxo Platinum costs approximately — matching IG but requiring a €200,000 balance to reach that level.

Verdict: IG wins on forex trading costs for the majority of retail traders. Saxo's pricing improves dramatically at higher tiers, but the Classic pricing is a clear disadvantage for smaller accounts.

IG offers five trading platforms — the most varied ecosystem of any major broker. The proprietary IG Platform provides advanced charting with 100+ technical indicators, integrated Reuters news, and client sentiment data. ProRealTime adds professional-grade automated trading via ProOrder. TradingView integration connects IG execution to the world's most popular charting community. MetaTrader 4 serves traders with existing EA libraries. L2 Dealer provides direct market access with Level II pricing for professional clients.

Saxo Bank's proprietary platform suite is more focused but arguably more polished. SaxoTraderGO is a responsive web and mobile platform with advanced charting, integrated research, and seamless multi-asset trading across all 72,000 instruments. SaxoTraderPRO is the desktop powerhouse: multi-screen support, algorithmic execution tools (iceberg, TWAP), and professional-grade order management. SaxoInvestor simplifies the experience for passive investors building diversified portfolios. Saxo's OpenAPI enables custom application development.

The critical difference: IG supports MetaTrader 4 and TradingView; Saxo supports neither. Traders with existing MT4 Expert Advisors or TradingView Pine Script strategies cannot migrate to Saxo without rebuilding. Conversely, Saxo's platform handles multi-asset portfolio management — real stocks, bonds, options, futures — in ways that IG's platform ecosystem does not attempt.

Verdict: IG wins on platform variety and third-party integration. Saxo wins on platform polish and multi-asset portfolio management. Neither offers cTrader or MetaTrader 5.

This is Saxo Bank's strongest differentiator. With 72,000+ instruments, Saxo offers the widest product range of any retail-accessible broker in Europe — rivalled only by Interactive Brokers. The range covers forex, indices, shares on 60+ global exchanges (genuine ownership, not just CFDs), bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, futures, and commodities. For investors who want a single account covering every asset class, Saxo is essentially unmatched.

IG offers 17,000+ instruments, which is still exceptionally broad by industry standards and covers forex, indices, shares, commodities, bonds, interest rates, and options. However, IG's product range is primarily CFD-based. Share dealing (direct ownership) is available in select markets, but the scope is far narrower than Saxo's. IG does not offer futures, mutual funds, or bonds as directly held instruments.

Verdict: Saxo Bank wins decisively. 72,000 instruments with genuine multi-asset ownership versus 17,000 primarily-CFD instruments is the single largest gap between these two brokers.

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 professional clients who qualify under MiFID II criteria, IG offers up to 222:1 leverage; Saxo offers up to 200:1. The practical difference is marginal. Both require clients to meet at least two of three qualifying criteria: relevant professional experience, a portfolio exceeding EUR 500,000, and sufficient trading frequency.

Verdict: No meaningful difference. Both are capped at 30:1 for EU retail clients. Professional leverage is similar at both.

IG scores 9.3/10 on education in our ratings. IG Academy provides structured learning paths from beginner through advanced, covering technical analysis, risk management, and strategy development. The broker also offers daily market analysis, webinars, and in-platform tools including Autochartist pattern recognition and real-time client sentiment data.

Saxo scores 8.8/10 on education but compensates with stronger institutional-grade research. Saxo's in-house team of analysts produces daily macroeconomic commentary, trade ideas, and quarterly outlooks across multiple asset classes. SaxoStrats, the bank's strategy team, publishes long-form research that is genuinely insightful and widely cited in financial media.

Verdict: IG has the edge on structured education for developing traders. Saxo has the edge on professional-grade research and macro analysis. Both are strong.