Verdict on IQ Option broker
Based on my personal review of IQ Option I find it as a broker with high CFD trading costs, a weak proprietary trading platform that does not meet today’s demanding requirements of traders.
According to my experience IQ Option is great for trading binary options only.
For those of you who don’t plan to trade binary options, IQ Option doesn’t offer anything extra. Concerning CFDs like shares, indices, crypto, metals or forex, IQ Option is terribly expensive (e.g. forex spreads are well over 3 pip which is something abnormal nowadays).
Furthermore, IQ Option does not offer clients proper trading platforms such as MetaTrader, cTrader and does not even have the possibility to connect the broker with TradingView.
Overall IQ Option Quality Score: 3,2 out of 5 (Average)
- Binary Options: 5/5 (Excellent)
- Financial Assets: 3/5 (Below Average)
- Trading Fees: 2/5 (Below Average)
- Trading Platforms: 3/5 ( Average)
- Customer Support: 3/5 ( Average)
IQ Option Pros & Cons
- 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
- CFD product offerings are limited
- Education materials are limited
- No cTrader, TradingView, Metatrader platform
- Restricted for traders from various countries
RISK WARNING: YOUR CAPITAL MIGHT BE AT RISK
Details
✅ Trading platforms | Propriertary webtrader |
✅ Forex pairs available | 30 |
✅ Minimum first deposit | $10 |
✅ Max. leverage | 1000:1 |
✅ Languages available | English, German, Espanol, French, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Thai, Chinesse ... |
✅ Max payout if winning binary option trade | 100% * max.payout in case of a winning trade |
✅ Time frames to trade via binary options | up to 1 month |
✅ Type of digital options | Call/Put, Turbo |
✅ 1-click trading | YES |
✅ Demo | yes |
✅ How many instruments are available | 300 (forex 30 pairs, stocks, commodities) |
✅ Established | 2013 |
✅ Webinars / Education | yes, slowly adding more and more |
✅ Account currency | EURO, USD, GBP |
✅ Payment methods | Visa, Mastercard, Giropay, Sofort, Skrill, Neteller, Webmoney |
✅ LiveChat | Yes for real clients |
✅ Customer support | email / LiveChat (for VIP clients, direct telephone line) |
IQ Option trading instruments
IQ Option broker currently offers over 300 trading instruments in the following categories:
- Forex trading
- Binary options
- CFD cryptocurrencies
- CFD indices
- CFD commodities
- CFD equities (stocks)
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
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. 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
IQ Options are transparent with their fees and costs. 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 Fees – Traders will be subject to a 2% withdrawal fee starting from the second withdrawal per month.
- Commission – On certain cryptocurrency trades, commission of 2.9% will be charged.
How to fund your 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.
Minimum deposit
The minimum initial deposit that is required by IQ Option is relatively modest at just $10. We 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.
IQ Option demo
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.
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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