IQ Option Review

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My Verdict on IQ Option Broker

Based on my personal review of IQ Option, I rate it 5.4 out of 10 as a untrustworthy broker with poor regulation.

I find it to be a broker with high CFD trading costs and a super simple trading platform that does not meet the demanding requirements of today’s traders. The oversight of this broker by a Tier-3 regulator is also questionable.

According to my personal experience, IQ Option could be acceptable for trading binary options only.

For those of you who do not plan to trade binary options, IQ Option does not offer anything extra. Regarding CFDs like shares, indices, crypto, metals, or forex, IQ Option is extremely expensive (e.g., forex spreads are well over 3 pips, which is abnormal nowadays).

Furthermore, IQ Option does not offer clients proper trading platforms such as MetaTrader or cTrader and does not even provide the possibility to connect the broker with TradingView.

Overall Rating

5.4out of 10

Trading Fees & Spreads2
Trading Platforms5
Customer Support Quality8
Education4
Range of Financial Instruments8

IQ Option Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Great Broker for Binary Options
  • CFD Cryptocurrencies
  • Min. deposit only $10
  • Leverage max. 1:1000
  • Large community of traders who interact
  • Very user friendly trading platform
  • Easy to use
  • Good customer support
  • Demo account free
  • Many local payment options 
  • Islamic account available
Cons
  • CFD product offerings are limited 
  • Education materials are limited
  • No cTrader, TradingView, Metatrader platform
  • Restricted for traders from various countries 

 

Details

iq option small logo
✅ Trading platformsPropriertary webtrader
✅ Forex pairs available30
✅ Minimum first deposit$10
✅ Max. leverage1000:1
✅ Languages availableEnglish, German, Espanol, French, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Thai, Chinesse ...
✅ Max payout if winning binary option trade100%

* max.payout in case of a winning trade
✅ Time frames to trade via binary optionsup to 1 month
✅ Type of digital optionsCall/Put, Turbo
✅ 1-click tradingYES
✅ Demoyes
✅ How many instruments are available300 (forex 30 pairs, stocks, commodities)
✅ Established 2013
✅ Webinars / Educationyes, slowly adding more and more
✅ Account currencyEURO, USD, GBP
✅ Payment methodsVisa, Mastercard, Giropay, Sofort, Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney
✅ LiveChat Yes for real clients
✅ Customer support email / LiveChat (for VIP clients, direct telephone line)

Trading Platforms: 5/10

Both PC webtrader  and mobile trading platforms offered by IQ OPTION are really too simple.

Broker has developed its own proprietary platform that you can open and control through your web browser. It offers some basic features (see the screenshot below) and very simple technical analytics. I would say that the platform is ridiculously simple, it looks like a chopped up demo. The controls are skeletal, many times during the review I managed to click on options even though I wanted to buy stocks and such.

” In a real account with real money these mistakes can cost you a lot of money, just because the broker uses an idiotic platform! ”

Based on the test of the trading platform, I think it is impossible to make consistent profits with it because it does not include proper technical analytical tools or link to Metatrader or integrate with TradingView. Forget it!

If you prefer trading via smartphone, you can download and install their mobile trading app, but don’t expect miracles.

iqoption webtrader
Screenshot of IQ OPTION webtrader

Financial instruments: 8/10

I rate this category the highest of all so far and it gets 8 points out of 10. The broker really offers a wide range of instruments in terms of CFD trading, but of course it is nowhere near the top of the industry like Pepperstone or XTB.

IQ Option broker currently offers over 300 trading instruments in the following categories:

  1. Forex trading
  2. Binary options
  3. CFD cryptocurrencies
  4. CFD indices
  5. CFD commodities
  6. CFD equities (stocks)
  7. Real stocks or ETFs are missing!
  8. Futures, Options, Bonds missing!

The list of available commodities currently includes oils and gold, and over 10 different stock indices.

Even if one or the other may find this selection too small, our experience with iqoption platform has shown that the values for the trade seem to have been carefully chosen.

With the exception of indices, 24 hours a day trading is possible in all categories, with at least one asset from a specific sector being always available in the equities category. Thus, strategies that focus on a specific economic segment are very well possible.

1. Forex Trading

A quick glance at the foreign exchange offer:

IQ Option offers all combinations of the majors. Some other currencies such as the New Zealand dollar, the Russian ruble or the Swiss franc can be traded here.

2. Binary Options

As the name of broker implies, IQ Option started as top notch binary options brand but has quickly turned into global trading brand (not only binary options but all kinds of trading instruments!

You can choose between two types of trading, as is the case with binary trading:

Put Options and Call Options

Traders can use put options to speculate on falling prices, and use call options to make predictions on rising prices. Turbo options with particularly short expiration time frames with durations of 30 and 60 seconds are also available for trading, but due to the associated high risk, they are more suitable for more experienced traders.

Time Frames

There are many time frames available at IQ Option for binary options. You can trade time frames with a duration up to 1 month.

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that traders can also trade during the weekend when the regular trading venues are closed.

For this, IQ Option platform offers OTC trading. This abbreviation stands for “over the counter” and means that trading takes place directly between the parties, ie between the broker and the investor, outside the regular stock exchange.

Interesting are the regularly organized competitions in which traders can compete against other traders.

3. CFD Cryptocurrencies

Currently there are over 10 different cryptocurrencies provided by IQ OPTION broker.

According to the broker, they constantly  add more cryptocurrencies over time, as new ones become popular. So far we think their choice is enough for each and every crypto trader.

4. CFD Commodities

There are several commodities available on the platform, while some of them can also be traded as binary options.

5. CFD Equities and Stock Indices

At the moment there are over 180 CFD stocks available for trading via IQ Option trading platform.

Overall traders have over 300 different asset classes available from commodities, forex, indices and CFD stocks.
Stock indices are focused on London stock exchange index (FTSE 100), Frankfurt (DAX 30), Paris (CAC40) and New York (S&P500 / NASDAQ / Dow Jones).

Besides many European and American stock titles, some Asian shares such as Toyota and Bank of China are available for trading. Overall we can say that the emphasis is put on stocks from banking and financial services, energy, the internet and telecom industry with which you can speculate.


Trading Costs And Fees: 2/10

IQ Options charges its clients an extraordinarily high fees and non-trading costs therefore the low rating 2 out of 10.

In order to see what trading at IQ will cost, you need to consider:

  • Spread – is the difference between buying (bid)and selling (offer) price. Spreads on this platform are variable spreads. That means the market price depends on current market volatility and liquidity at any given moment of the day.
  • Swap Fees – These are fees being charged by the broker for positions held overnight. Charges vary and depend on the asset class and type of trade (long vs. short).
  • Inactivity Account Fees – If an account is held inactive for 3 months, IQ will charge you with $10 per each month, assuming your account balance is positive.
  • Withdrawal FeesTraders will be subject to a 2% withdrawal fee (very expensive) starting from the second withdrawal per month.
  • Commission – On certain cryptocurrency trades, commission of 2.9% will be charged.

How to fund your trading account

In addition to the two credit card variants VISA and MasterCard, IQ Option investors  have the option of using a number of internet payment services for deposits and withdrawals. The list of available providers includes Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney, and of course WireTransfer. These services handle payments very reliably. However, no detailed information is available on the fees charged when using IQ Option service for payment services. It is therefore advisable to contact customer service on this matter in order to clarify this.

Because even the general terms and conditions help in this case only conditionally, as these currently, like many other contents, are only available in English. Here, from the customer’s point of view, there is still room for improvement.

Deposit and withdrawals were processed fine:  10/10

The minimum initial deposit that is required by IQ Option is relatively modest at just $10.

I think that this minimum deposit is low enough, that it allows  even for traders Asia and South America to make a deposit and join the exciting world of online trading.

I have reviewed a withdrawal and got the proof.

“Although I had read the bad reviews concerning delayed withdrawals from IQ OPTION on Trustpilot, I was expecting some hiccups. However, everything was processed quite smoothly. “

Educational materials: 4/10

Online learning materials are at a very low level compared to competitors. All the videos I have found in the client area only focus on explaining how the platform works, or at best poorly explain the very basics of forex or binary options. You certainly won’t learn how to trade from this!

IQ Option demo account

There is, of course, a demo account where you can practice your trading strategies without any risk using $10.000 virtual money. You can trade all types of assets completely stress free. Demo interface was identical with real account that I used later for broker testing.

Customer support

IQ Option customer support can be reached by phone, email, and live chat.

In addition, there is also a snail mail contact (a little old-fashioned but you never know when you will need it). Upon calling for customer service, a responsible client support person will either immediately pick up the line and and try to resolve your issue right away OR the system will create a so called  “Problem Ticket Nbr.” where you report a problem, and  employees will call you back later. This is a nice service to have, because it could perhaps save you a lot of money on your phone bills.

 

General Risk Warning

The financial products offered by the company carry a high level of risk and can result in the loss of all your funds. You should never invest money that you cannot afford to lose”. Make sure that risk warnings are clearly readable, visible and of appropriate size.

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