In the battle of IG vs Vantage markets, you’d only expect one result, but Vantage Markets surprisingly offers fantastic spreads and is highly competitive on almost every category.
Which is the Better Trading Platform: IG or Vantage Markets?
IG is definitively the better broker. IG offers a wider range of tradable assets, 16,000+ vs Vantage’s 900+, and better global regulation. However, Vantage Markets Raw ECN & Premium ECN accounts for professional traders are exceptional products for short-term trading positions due to tighter spreads and low commissions.
Here’s the full breakdown:
1. Key Features Comparison
| IG VS City Index | 
First | 
Second | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation | FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), NFA (US), and more | FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), FSCA (South Africa) and more. | |
| Trading Platforms | Proprietary Web Trader, MT4, MT5, TradingView, L2 Dealer, ProRealTime | Proprietary Web Trader, MT4, MT5, TradingView | |
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | $50 | |
| Spreads | Starting from 0.6 pips on forex | Starting from 1.4 pips on STP (Standard) or 0.0 on Raw ECN | |
| Spread Betting | Yes | Yes | |
| Range of Assets | 16,000+ | 900+ | |
| Education Resources | Extensive: IG Academy, webinars, tutorials | Comprehensive | |
| Customer Support | 24/5 via live chat, phone, and email | 24/5 via phone, chat, and email | |
| Funding Options | Credit/Debit Card, PayPal, Bank Transfer | Credit/Debit Card, PayPal, Bank Transfer | |
| Inactivity Fee | £0 | £0 | |
| Join IG | Join CMC |
TLDR: IG offers better spreads on a standard account than Vantage, 0.6 vs 1.4 pip spreads, respectively. IG also offers more instruments to trade, 16,000+ vs 900+, and are more globally regulated. However, both have great education offerings for beginner traders; and Vantage Markets Raw & Premium ECN accounts are better for scalping than IG’s standard account.
2. Fees and Spreads
IG Fees
IG’s forex spreads start from 0.6 pips on major pairs like EUR/USD with an average of 0.85 (see screenshot above), making it a competitive choice for active traders. For share CFDs, IG charges a £10 per side commission, so it’s worth factoring into equities trades – it’s not a huge amount but it can make a difference to overall profitability. There’s no deposit or withdrawal fee, and they abolished the inactivity fee this year. All-in this makes IG a competitive broker for standard account fees.
Vantage Fees
Vantage Markets, by contrast, has industry-average fees for their standard account, roughly comparable to XTB, and brokers similar to Trading 212 – hovering at around 1.4 – 1.8 pips for the standard account (see screenshot above). This significantly higher than IG’s 0.6 – 0.9 pips for the same pairs. However, where Vantage really starts to make ground on competitors is in their Raw & Professional ECN accounts. Spreads here start from 0.0 and for more illiquid pairs they hover at around 0.3. This is more competitive than IG’s standard account, and the commission is only $1.00 (about 80p) each way on the Raw ECN account. This is even tighter than a Pepperstone Razor account which starts at $2.25 each way. Vantage also doesn’t charge a deposit or withdrawal fee and have no inactivity fee. They do however, require a minimum deposit of $50 (around £35) when opening an account.
Verdict
Vantage Markets is similar to IG for fees and spreads. Especially when comparing the Vantage Raw ECN account with IGs Standard account. Both hover at around 0.5 pips with Vantage Markets actually beating IG for competitive fees despite the $1 each way commision. Neither charge inactivity, withdrawal or inactivity fees. For fees, we have to give this to Vantage Markets. They have better spreads for retail traders overall, despite their standard account being higher, their Raw ECN account spreads and industry-lowest commission is a winner.
3. Trading Platforms
IG Trading Platforms
IG has a range of proprietary platforms like ProRealTime, Tradingview integration, L2 Dealer, and their own proprietary webtrader. They also support Metatrader (MT4 and MT5) integration. It’s relatively easy for anyone to access and start using, it’s slightly more complicated than Vantage Markets but honestly, anything would be more complicated than Vantage’s platform.
Vantage Markets Platforms
Vantage has perhaps the most simplistic proprietary web trader experience I’ve seen. And that’s not a bad thing! It feels hyper-focused on one thing, taking you from discovery, to charting then trading. With an instrument list on the left, chart in the middle and trading interface on the right, that’s it. That’s the whole platform… and frankly, it works. For beginner traders, this is great. It doesn’t boast the largest number of tradable instruments (900+) so they can’t have different workspaces or collapsible sections like IG, so it feels…complete. If you are not a fan, Vantage also offers Tradingview, MT4, and MT5.
Verdict
Both IG and Vantage Markets offer the same number of core platform options: a webtrader, Tradingview, MT4, MT5 and app. This means that the judgement is purely down to whether IG’s webtrader experience is better than Vantage Markets. However, they are really designed for two different audiences. IGs platform is designed for beginner through to advanced traders, but Vantage’s platform is focused pretty much exclusively on beinner traders due to its simplicity. IG’s web trader platform is fundamentally better but beginner traders may enjoy Vantage Markets simplicity.
4. Range of Tradable Instruments
IG Asset Range
IG offers 16,000+ instruments to trade. This is still the undisputed largest number of tradable instruments from any UK broker in 2026. From that list, they offer 12,000 stocks and ETFs, frankly a huge number.
Vantage Markets Asset Range
Vantage offers 900+ instruments, and unfortunately that shows. The web trader platform feels like it’s missing a large chunk of tradable assets you would get on even another mid-tier platform.
Verdict
IG simply offers a much larger range of tradable instruments than Vantage – it’s not even close – 16,000+ vs 900+.
5. Regulation and Security
IG Regulation
IG is one of the most trusted names in the industry, regulated by top-tier authorities, including the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), and the NFA (US). Client funds are securely held in segregated accounts, and UK clients are protected under the FSCS up to £85,000.
Vantage Markets Regulation
Vantage is a regulated broker in the UK under FCA code: OC376560. They are also regulated in South Africa, Mauritius and Australia – so they are also a globally regulated broker. The UK entity is registered in London and their global offices are headquatered in Vanuatu.
Verdict
Both brokers are regulated, but IG wins for its broader global regulation and reputation amongst UK traders.
6. Customer Support
IG Support
IG offers 24/5 support via live chatbot, phone, and email. We tested their customer support via email, and found them to be responsive and using a ticket-based query system which was resolved quickly. However, the star of the show was Gio – their native chatbot – after asking the same questions to Vantage and IG – IG’s chatbot knew details of the company like spreads and answered in detail. Finally, a company that actually used a knowledge base of the company they work for!
Vantage Support
Vantage also offers the same support and also have a chatbot integrated on their homepage. After testing, it was OK… like most chatbots it didn’t seem to have the knowledge base of the actual company like the average spreads or key details, but for quick queries it’s not bad. However, when I clicked talk to an agent i was redirected quickly and honestly their customer service is fantastic.
Verdict:
IG offers a better customer service experience, with Gio, their native chatbot answering questions quickly and with a comprehensive knowledge base. The in-person customer service team also responded quickly and I could track it with a ticket based system. Vantage offers the same ability but a more frustrating chatbot experience defaulting to a human nearly 90% of the time.
7. Educational Resources
IG Education
IG excels with IG Academy. They offer comprehensive courses, webinars, tutorials, and live market analysis. Their market commentary through videos is legendary. The depth of resources here is fantastic and still unmatched.
Vantage Markets Education
Vantage Markets is surprisingly very dedicated to producing articles, commentary and resources for traders. Their Vantage Academy is not bad and they even offer an e-book download, similar to XTB.
Verdict:
Both offer Academy content for beginner traders which is excellent, especially the level of effort Vantage puts into their Academy. However, IG Academy is a market-leading educational resource for traders of all levels and delivers consistent output of different types of content – videos, articles, webinars. IG is better than Vantage markets for educational offering.
FAQ’s
1. Is IG better than Vantage Markets for Forex trading?
IG offers a wider range of instruments to trade and better fees on their standard account. However, Vantage Markets Raw and Professional ECN accounts offer competitive, and occasionally tighter, spreads than IG. If you are looking for market variety then IG is unmatched, but if you are looking for lower spread costs then Vantage Raw ECN is one of the best on the market for retail forex traders.
2. Is IG better than Vantage for beginner traders?
No, Vantage Markets native webtrader platform is better suited to beginners than IG. The Vantage platform is simple, easy to setup and use and more geared towards beginner traders. IG is more suited to intermediate to advanced level traders.
3. Is IG better than Vantage for day trading?
Yes, IG has a wider range of tradable assets to trade, and competitive fees across a wider range of instruments. Vantage Markets has a better range of account types but generally IG is more suited to day traders.
4. Is IG better than CMC for UK traders?
Yes, our research found that IG is better than Vantage overall. It offers global regulation and the widest range of tradable instruments of any broker.
5. Is IG better than CMC for stock trading?
Yes, IG offers 16,000+ instruments to trade, including 12,000 stocks and ETFs. This is a larger range of an tradable assets than Vantage which offers 900+ instruments as of May 2026.
6. Is IG better than Vantage for trading platforms?
IG and Vantage offer the same platform variety – Tradingview, MT4, MT5, a native webtrader, and app. However, IGs web trader platform is significantly better for a wider range of traders – beginner, intermediate and advanced, whereas Vantage’s platform is only geared towards beginner traders.
7. Is IG better than Vantage for educational resources?
Both offer an Academy, IG Academy and Vantage Academy respectively, but ultimately IG Academy is unmatched for depth and breadth, as well as the range of media content offered.
8. Is Vantage Markets safe for UK traders?
Yes, Vantage Markets is regulated by the FCA under code: OC376560. They are also regulated by ASIC, and other international regulatory bodies. However, their headquarters in in Vanuatu which is perhaps not as encouraging as other international brokers who are headquartered in global financial centres like London or New York.
9. Is IG better than Vantage for high-volume trading?
No, Vantage markets is better for high-volume trading and short-term trading. Vantage markets offers a professional ECN account that is one of the most competitive in the market – although it requires a $25,000 USD deposit, the spreads are extremely tight starting from 0.0 spreads and $0.75 per lot, each way meaning 1 lot traded would be $1.5 which could work out cheaper than a variable spread cost. It depends on the amount traded.
10. Is Vantage Markets better than IG for spread betting?
G is better than Vantage Markets for spread betting. IG created spread betting in the UK, and now offers thousands of instruments to trade. vantage markets has a few hundred instruments to trade in a spread betting account so IG is is comprehensively better than Vantage.
Final Verdict
| Criteria | Winner |
|---|---|
| Fees and Spreads | Vantage |
| Platforms | IG |
| Asset Range | IG |
| Regulation and Security | IG |
| Customer Support | IG |
| Educational Resources | IG |
IG is the clearly better broker across platform, asset range, regulation, customer support and educational resources. Vantage Markets has the edge for their RAW and Professional ECN accounts being some of the most competitive in the market, but IG offers more competitive spreads on their standard account – often rivalling those on the Raw ECN account.
No Minimum Deposit
Best for Stocks
IG offers 17,000+ trading instruments and combines robust regulation with cutting-edge platforms like ProRealTime, TradingView, and L2 Dealer.
68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Who Should You Choose?
IG is great for most traders, beginner, intermediate and advanced, looking to get started on an easy-to-use webtrader experience and start trading or investing in 16,000+ instruments.
Vantage on the other hand, is great for more price-sensitive traders who need low spreads. They have a range of account types and this is really their unique selling point. They offer great spreads to a range of different traders.
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