IG Vs Oanda: Brokers Compared

When it comes to online trading and investing, your choice of broker can make or break your investment strategy. But with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to determine which broker fits your needs best.

Take IG and Oanda for instance. Both platforms have been established for quite a while and offer a wide variety of trading options. If you are unsure which of the two industry giants fits you best, this comparison is just what you need.

In this article, we’ll discuss the differences between IG and Oanda, including the pros and cons of each, their service offerings, fee structures, and other factors.

What’s an Online Broker?

Online brokers offer their clients the ability to open and close positions using a digital interface. Prior to the internet becoming ubiquitous, individual investors had to place trades over the phone or rely on their brokers to do so.

With online brokers, traders have much greater control over their trades, they can execute them much faster than over the phone, and they can manage multiple positions simultaneously. Execution-only brokers that offer online trading at lower costs than advisory or discretionary services have made financial trading accessible to a wider variety of people than ever before.

Brokers fall into four main categories: stock brokers, forex brokers, full-service brokers, and discount brokers. In spite of the fact that they all act as intermediaries between you and another party, they operate differently. There are brokers who offer execution only, as well as brokers who offer advice and portfolio management services.

IG Vs Oanda: General Overview

IG Trading

The IGG (LON: IGG) company is a well-established, well-regulated forex brokerage that attracts forex traders looking for the best safety, products, tools, and research available. IG will provide you with a competitive trading environment regardless of whether you’re trading Forex or contracts for difference (CFDs). A branch of IG is located in the United States, although it is headquartered in London.

Despite the volatile nature of this industry, a broker’s endurance is a believable claim. Since its founding forty-six years ago, IG has grown tremendously.

Brokers get tier-1 regulation by complying with the strict norms and regulations of their respective jurisdictions. As a tier-1 company, IG is supervised by authorities in the United States, Australia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The fact that IG is a regulated bank strengthens its validity.

There are more than 17,000 trading products available at IG, as well as the most CFDs. Forex and CFD traders seek out IG to improve their chances of success. Client service is available in sixteen locations around the world. In terms of financial spread betting and contracts for difference, IG is a global leader.

Pros

• Wide range of financial products
• Competitive fees
• Spread betting and CFD trading.
• Educational resources
• Accepts U.S. clients.
• Regulated by FCA (U.K.) & CFTC, NFA (U.S.)
• Advanced trading tools
• Research and analysis
• Trading platforms
• Offers protection for U.K./E.U. client accounts.

Cons

• Fees for share-CFDs are high.
• Clients in the U.S. do not have guaranteed stop losses.
• U.S. clients do not have account protection.
• IG’s platform does not support copy trading or backtesting.

Oanda

“All Things Currency” is OANDA’s motto, which includes currency conversion, FX data services for enterprises, and an established retail online brokerage service.

A broad range of CFDs and spread betting products are available through OANDA’s global account categories, including basic and premium. It is important to note, however, that not every service is available worldwide. The broker offers trading opportunities across all financial markets, including foreign exchange, metals, commodities, and bonds. Customers at OANDA can choose from different levels of account security depending on their area of interest. Negative balance protection is provided by OANDA Europe Limited as required by the European Securities and Markets Authority. A guaranteed stop loss order is also available from OANDA Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. U.S. customers are not provided with this measure of assurance by OANDA Corporation.

Adjusted for realized and unrealized net profit or loss, OANDA has become one of the largest retail forex brokers in the United States.

Because of its transparent website, emphasis on customer education and research, and multiple user interfaces, OANDA is among the elite of online forex brokers.

Pros

• More Transparent Pricing
• Faster Trade Execution
• Zero Conflict of Interest
• Lower Costs

Cons

• Lack of Trade Execution Control
• Higher Minimum Deposits
• Higher Volatility
• Less Personalized Service

IG Vs. OANDA: Service & Feature Comparison

Now that we’ve taken a look at both brokers and their general history, let’s do a deep dive into their services, fee structure, and other factors to consider before making your choice of broker:

Fee Structure

Both brokers have low commission-free cost structures, starting at 0.6 pips or $6 for every 1.0 standard lot. A commission-based Forex platform from OANDA begins at 0 pips with a $5.00 commission. IG Markets offers a standard CFD pricing environment with a 0.10 percent minimum fee. There is a volume-based rebate scheme provided by both brokers, which reduces the ultimate transaction fees for active traders. Overnight swap rates and third-party payment processor fees are provided by IG Markets and OANDA. Trading costs are quite competitive with both brokers.

Inactivity fees are often charged by brokers. An inactive account is one that has not been used for a certain period of time, as the name implies. As opposed to IG, OANDA does not charge inactivity fees.

There should be a number of notifications alerting you to upcoming deadlines. You can choose whether to continue using your account or close it. If the issue can simply be avoided, there is no reason to worry about the fines, especially when they are negligible.

Investment Options

In addition to currency pairs, forex brokers offer a greater variety of trading instruments. Traders can expand their trading portfolios and investigate other marketplaces that are potentially lucrative.

Forex, gold, and silver are among the products OANDA offers, as are CFDs and cryptocurrencies. There are a number of trading options available with IG, including gold, Forex, silver, CFDs, cryptocurrencies, and even oil.

The asset selection of IG Markets remains one of the best in the world. There are 102 currency pairs available to Forex traders, including three new weekend pairings. There are over 17,000 CFDs in existence. CFDs are written by IG Markets if there is a demand from customers.

On OANDA, you can trade 61 currency pairs, 9 non-index futures, 22 commodities (mainly gold and silver), 16 index CFDs, and 5 bond CFDs. While OANDA provides Forex traders with a good selection, it does not cater to sophisticated traders.

Account Types

There are two account options available at OANDA, along with an Islamic account, the two types of accounts are: Standard and Premium. The Standard account is based on the spread and charges less. A Sharia-compliant Islamic Account is also available for merchants who follow Sharia. IG only offers a standard account. Demo accounts are available for each.

Those with no trading experience can benefit from demo accounts. In this way, you are free to try your trading skills in a risk-free environment without incurring any financial risk. Demo accounts with OANDA and IG are recommended for those without any trading experience.

Traders with more experience can access a basic account. ETFs, commodities, and cryptocurrencies can be traded with this account. To open an account with these retail investors, you must deposit a minimum of $100. The majority of people will open this type of account. Clients can open Standard accounts at both OANDA and IG.

Withdrawal Options

Deposit and withdrawal options are available on both OANDA and IG. You should be able to deposit and withdraw money from your OANDA and IG accounts using your preferred payment method. Comparing OANDA and IG will help us understand how they differ. You may be charged additional fees by your payment provider or bank, depending on your chosen payment method. Neither OANDA nor IG will be responsible for all possible charges.

Trading Platform

Our world is becoming increasingly accessible. It is therefore necessary to take this into account when designing your trading platform. A button-based trading system is crucial. On both OANDA and IG platforms, you can make trading selections at your convenience. The financial markets wouldn’t be able to provide you with any possible opportunities without it.

Clients can trade the markets using four methods offered by OANDA. Downloads, web browsers, and mobile applications are available for its flagship product, fxTrade. Moreover, they offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4) downloads for desktops and mobile smart devices.

Trading instruments, sophisticated order types, and account statistics are all available via OANDA’s central user interface, fxTrade. Third-party vendor Tradingview provides proprietary and sophisticated charting in the desktop edition.

A famous trading platform called MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is also available for traders. MT4’s advanced charting, research, watchlists, and trade automation via “expert adviser” plug-ins are valued by many traders. Traders switching from other brokers to OANDA will be familiar with the MT4 platform since it is an industry standard.

IG’s web-based platform is easy to use for beginners. Trade is facilitated by a number of characteristics, including:

• Charts with multiple periods.
• The charts can be used directly for trading.
• The live broadcast includes market updates, trade analysis, and expert commentary. You can stream live news from Reuters.
• Your platform can send trading signals directly to your account.
• Fast and precise trade execution and pricing are provided by this platform.

IG’s dealer platform offers MetaTrader 4 for advanced investors to trade shares. Automated trading is available on this system. Real-time charting is available on all systems.

Customer Services

OANDA and IG offer more than just helpful customer service. The importance of live chat cannot be overstated. As a result, knowing that a problem may be resolved as soon as possible is comforting. Moreover, chatting in person is much less irritating than sending multiple emails back and forth. There is live chat support available from OANDA as well as IG.

Email assistance is crucial when trading any kind of asset. There may be times when you need to contact a specific member of the OANDA or IG support team in order to receive a satisfactory response. You will need the email support of OANDA and IG at this point. Email assistance is provided by both IG and OANDA.

The majority of inquiries can be handled over the phone, but it is helpful to be able to speak with someone at OANDA or IG. By cutting to the chase, we can save ourselves time and aggravation. It is possible to get phone support from both OANDA and IG.

Training and Education Materials

Both novices and seasoned investors can benefit from OANDA’s instructional programs and articles. Additionally, live webinars cover a wide range of topics, including market analysis, platform education, economic analysis, and Q&A sessions.

However, OANDA uses inconsistent graphics and videos, and some of the information is out of date compared to the latest trading platforms. Furthermore, navigating their education offerings can be challenging because they are not centralized.
IG users have access to the IG Academy. You can become a more effective trader by taking advantage of the IG Academy’s free educational resources. They offer a wide variety of webinars and courses for you to choose from.

Market research is IG’s top priority. In order to provide the most up-to-date market data, they use both internal and external sources.

Conclusion

While both brokers are definitely solid choices, IG does come out on top in a few key areas. IG has far more liquidity, and a wider amount of investment options. If you are trading from the US, OANDA might be preferable, but for international traders IG triumphs overall.

Still, that’s not to say OANDA isn’t a solid choice. Their use of MT4 and its own customized trading platform offers them a lot of great perks, on top of a great fee structure and account options. Before you choose one over the other, make sure to check that their fee structure is agreeable to you.