Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IG vs Trading 212, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
Your capital is at risk.
Alongside the cost per trade, most UK online brokers also charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual management fee, which varies based on the account type and balance. Based on our thorough review, Trading 212 offers better pricing than IG for share dealing.
What type of trader are you?
New to the world of investing? See our picks for the Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners. More experienced traders should read our guide to the Best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders.
IG and Trading 212 both let UK investors buy and sell shares, ETFs, and investment trusts, and each provides CFD trading. Neither platform offers funds, corporate bonds, gilts, or adviser services. A key difference is crypto: IG offers crypto trading, while Trading 212 does not.
For investment choice, UK.StockBrokers.com rates IG at 5 stars (11th of 21 brokers) and Trading 212 at 4.5 stars (16th of 21). If you want access to crypto alongside mainstream shares and ETFs, IG may suit you; if you’re focused on shares, ETFs, and trusts without crypto, Trading 212 stays in the mix.
| Feature |
IG
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual Funds | No | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | No | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | Yes | No |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | No |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Investment Choices |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
IG vs Trading 212 for charting and trading tools: IG offers more on-chart context for UK traders. You can display corporate events (earnings, splits, dividends), add index and stock overlays, and write notes on charts. IG also lists 19 drawing tools and 33 technical indicators. Trading 212 lets you add notes but doesn’t show corporate events or index/stock overlays, and it doesn’t publish counts for drawing tools or technical indicators.
Both brokers provide a browser-based platform, real-time market data, and price alerts. If you want richer chart features and a clearly stated toolset, IG is the stronger fit. If you mainly need straightforward charts with live prices and alerts in your browser, Trading 212 covers the essentials.
| Feature |
IG
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 19 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
For UK investors exploring online brokers for retirement savings, IG and Trading 212 both offer Stocks and Shares ISAs, allowing individuals to invest in a tax-efficient manner. However, when it comes to Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), only IG provides this option, giving their users the means to manage their retirement funds directly. Conversely, Trading 212 does not offer SIPP accounts. Choosing between these platforms will largely depend on whether the availability of SIPP accounts is a key factor in your retirement planning strategy.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors seeking seamless trading on the go, both IG and Trading 212 offer highly-rated mobile apps available for both iPhone and Android users. Ranked by UK.StockBrokers.com, IG stands out at #2 among 21 brokers, while Trading 212 follows closely at #3, showcasing their commitment to user-friendly mobile trading. Each app has earned a perfect 5-star rating, reflecting high user satisfaction and reliable performance. Whether you choose IG or Trading 212, both provide strong options for mobile trading, empowering users to trade efficiently from their mobile devices.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
For UK beginners comparing broker education, IG stands out by offering live client webinars with on-demand replays and covering funds and retirement (but not share trading), earning a 5/5 beginner education score and the #1 rank out of 21 brokers from UK.StockBrokers.com; Trading 212 provides no webinars or archives, focuses on share trading only (no funds or retirement), and holds a 4.5/5 rating and #13 ranking.
| Feature |
IG
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | No | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
IG vs Trading 212: For UK investors comparing market research features, both brokers offer shares and ETF research and let you see portfolio allocation by asset class. IG stands out by providing research reports for funds, which Trading 212 does not. That said, neither platform has a dedicated funds research centre or bonds research. If you want core equity and ETF insights with clear asset allocation, both fit the bill; for fund-specific reports, IG has the edge.
| Feature |
IG
|
Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | No | No |
| Research - Funds | No | No |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, IG or Trading 212? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found IG to be a better trading platform overall.
IG is an investment platform aimed at experienced investors looking to make frequent trades on the stock market, with thousands of shares, trusts and ETFs to trade. It offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use trading platform that is used by both private and professional investors.
| Feature |
IG
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Trading 212
|
|---|---|---|
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Comparing IG vs Trading 212, IG offers crypto trading while Trading 212 does not, making IG the better choice for traders seeking cryptocurrency exposure.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | IG | Trading 212 | |
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| Review | IG Review | Trading 212 Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | IG | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | No | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Mutual Funds | No | No | |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Corporate | No | No | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | No | No | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes | |
| Spread Betting | Yes | No | |
| Crypto Trading | |||
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Trading Fees | IG | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £1 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £0 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £0 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £0 | £0 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000 | N/A | £0 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £250K-£500K | N/A | £0 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £500,000 - £1m | N/A | £0 | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £1m and over | N/A | £0 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | N/A | N/A | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | N/A | N/A | |
| ETFs - Fee | £0 | £0 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £0 | £0 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £50 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | IG | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Platforms & Tools | IG | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | ||
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 19 | ||
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
| Research | IG | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | |||
| Research - Funds | No | No | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | No | No | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IG | Trading 212 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | No | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Overall Summary | IG | Trading 212 | |
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| Review | IG Review | Trading 212 Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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