Compare Forex Brokers side by side

How do IG and Tickmill stack up against each other?

The Radar Chart below highlights how the brokers stack up against each other across various metrics. The highest score a broker can receive in each area is 5.

At FxScouts, we help traders find the broker that suits their trading needs. In many cases, the best way to achieve this is to compare brokers side-by-side.

To compare IG and Tickmill, we used the same factors we use when reviewing brokers: The trust and regulation of the broker, the trading platform, the costs and trading conditions, and the level of education and market analysis available at the broker.

Does IG or Tickmill have a better trust and regulation rating?

Trust and regulation are some of the most important factors to consider when choosing a Forex broker. Trust in the Forex trading business is almost entirely founded upon regulation. We spend many hours evaluating the safety of each broker by delving into their fine print and confirming each one of their regulatory licences on the online registers. The more top-tier authorities a broker is regulated by, the higher its trust rating.

In our comparison, we found that IG holds six Tier 1 and three Tier 2 licences, and Tickmill holds two Tier 1 and one Tier 2 licences.

 

Is IG financially regulated?

Yes IG was founded in 1974 and is regulated by ASIC, BMA, BaFin, CFTC, DFSA, FCA, FMA, FSA-Japan, FSCA, MAS and FINMA.

 

Is Tickmill financially regulated?

Yes Tickmill was founded in 2014 and is regulated by CySEC, DFSA, FCA, FSCA and FSA-Seychelles.

 

Based on these findings, IG earned a higher trust rating than Tickmill.

Does IG or Tickmill have lower costs?

Another important aspect we consider when comparing brokers is the cost of trading. When evaluating trading costs, we always consider the minimum deposit required to open an account and the ongoing trading costs, including the spreads and commissions. When calculating trading costs, we measure the cost to trade one lot of EUR/USD using the broker’s account with the lowest minimum deposit. The cost includes both the spread and any commission charged. 

Not all brokers publish their trading costs, so we often open accounts and trade on their platforms to verify the spreads and commissions. Based on our reviews, we found that IG and Tickmill have the same trading costs. 

 

Does IG or Tickmill offer a better choice of trading platforms?

Traders want Forex brokers to offer them a choice of trading platforms, so we give brokers who offer multiple platforms higher ratings. Trading platforms we consider include MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader and proprietary mobile and web-based platforms. 

In this case, IG offers support for MT4, L2 Dealer and ProRealTime and Tickmill offers support for MT4 and MT5. 

Do the brokers offer copy trading?

Copy trading is a great option for beginner traders who can’t trade full-time or lack experience with Forex trading. In this case both IG and Tickmill offer copy trading.

 

Which broker offers a better choice of trading instruments?

A variety of CFD instruments – and a large range of CFDs for each instrument category allow traders more opportunities for profitable trading. The best brokers will have thousands of CFDs to trade, covering all these instrument categories. We found that IG offers a greater range and depth of instruments to trade than Tickmill. IG offers 80 Forex pairs to trade and Tickmill offers 62 Forex pairs to trade.

And what about Cryptocurrencies?

In this case, IG offers 10 cryptocurrencies while Tickmill offers 9 cryptocurrencies. So if you want to trade cryptocurrencies, we advise trading with IG.

Which broker offers better deposit and withdrawal processes?

Although brokers may have reasonable trading fees, many traders are caught out by the high non-trading fees charged by some brokers, including deposits and withdrawals. Traders want to be able to deposit and withdraw funds quickly and cheaply. Most brokers have multiple funding methods with zero fees for making deposits, but some brokers make it more expensive and take longer to process withdrawals. 

We rate brokers more highly that process withdrawals within 24 hours by multiple withdrawal methods and without charging processing fees. We found that neither IG nor Tickmill charges a withdrawal fee. Overall, IG has better deposit and withdrawal processes than Tickmill. 

Which broker offers better educational support?

We often find that brokers offer very little in the way of educational materials, forcing traders to use other third-party sites or self-educate elsewhere. Beginner traders need well-structured, well-presented materials in multiple formats to get a good start at trading. More experienced traders also benefit from webinars led by experts in the field and advanced trading strategy sections with new trading ideas. 

IG and Tickmill both have very good educational support. Both IG and Tickmill offer educational support for more experienced traders.

 

Which broker offers better market analysis materials?

To successfully predict the price movements of an instrument, traders will need access to frequent market research and analysis. We find that research and market analysis are always better when they are produced in-house and updated frequently. Third-party resources don’t show the same expertise in trading ideas, so we place a strong emphasis on frequent in-house updates. Some brokers also often offer interactive webinars where traders can learn from experts in the field. 

We found that IG offers better research analysis than Tickmill and that both IG and Tickmill offer frequent webinars.

 

Our overall Verdict on IG

Founded in 1974 and FSCA-regulated since 2021, IG has a long history of satisfied clients, low trading fees, and a vast range of trading instruments.

Our research found that IG has over 320,000 clients worldwide and has been the largest CFD broker globally by revenue for the last few years. It has two low-cost trading accounts with no minimum deposit requirements and offers trading on over 17,000 instruments, all of which can be accessed on its award-winning app and web trader platform. 

For more traditional investors, IG also runs a fully licenced stock brokerage on the side. And in addition to a wide range of trading tools, IG has a world-class selection of educational and market analysis materials to get new traders started.

Our overall Verdict on Tickmill

A trustworthy broker with MT4 and MT5 support and one of the lowest-cost trading accounts in the industry, Tickmill provides a perfect trading environment for serious beginners and more experienced traders. However, traders from Zambia will be onboarded through Tickmill’s Seychelles-based entity, which provides less protection than regulators in the EU or Australia.

With two account types on offer, the Raw has market-leading trading conditions, leaving the fixed-fee Classic Account feeling out of place. The Raw account has a spread from 0 pips on the EUR/USD, a 100 USD minimum deposit, and a commission of 6 USD (round turn) per 1 lot traded. The commission-free Classic Account, also with a 100 USD minimum deposit, has a spread of 1.6 pips (EUR/USD), which is higher than the industry average.

Education and market analysis are excellent and experienced traders will appreciate the wide range of currency pairs.

Overall, while Tickmill’s Classic account is more expensive than other similar brokers, the low-cost commission account makes it an excellent choice of broker for MetaTrader users looking for a new broker.

Which broker has the highest overall rating?

IG has an overall rating of 4.69 and Tickmill has an overall rating of 4.58. For more detail please read our reviews of IG and Tickmill.