This IQ Option 2021 review reveals the whole truth about the investment platform. Here you will find out all its pros and cons.
Disclaimer: Binary options are prohibited in EEA
IQ Option is one of the largest CFD & binary options brokers in the world and can often be seen in the rankings. It’s developing extremely rapidly and now operates in 178+ countries. Thus, more than 74 million accounts are registered on this investment platform.
Every trader wants to find a reliable, safe and legal broker for online trading. And of course, with good trading conditions, platform, app and no fraud. Is this broker like this? You will find out now.
Content
Trading conditions
| Official site | www.iqbroker.com |
| Year of foundation | 2013 |
| Regulated by | CySEC (IQ Option Europe Ltd) |
| Trading instruments | 330+ assets Digital and binary options*, CFD on Forex, stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, ETF, OTC |
| Spreads and commissions | Average / below average floating spreads and commissions |
| Average and maximum profitability of BO | 80%-92%, up to 99%** |
| Options expiration time | 1m – End of the month |
| Most popular | IQ Option in India, Nigeria, Maldives, South Africa, Somalia, Philippines, Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Panama, Egypt, El Salvador, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Serbia, Sri Lanka and many others |
| Provision of services in the US, UK, Canada, European Economic Area | the US, UK and Canada the European Economic Area |
| Min. trade size | 0.01 (CFDs) 1 $/€ (BO & DO) |
| Multiplier | ×50 – ×1000 |
| Account types | |
| Minimum deposit | $ 10 |
| Minimum withdrawal | |
| Deposit & withdrawal methods | 20+ |
| Payment Fees | One withdrawal is free every calendar month, with the next withdrawal a fee of 2% is charged. |
| Trading hours | 24/7 |
| Trading platforms | Proprietary platform |
| Mobile App | |
| Demo | |
| Copy Trading | |
| AT/Robots | |
| Bonus | |
| Affiliate program | https://affiliate.iqoption.com |
*Binary options are prohibited in EEA
**Amount to be credited to the account for a successful trade
Is IQ Option legal?
IQOption is a group of companies that operate in different jurisdictions.
IQ Option Ltd. is registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This company is unregulated and provides CFD, binary and digital options trading services*. The lack of reliable regulation is explained by binary and digital options. In fact, there is practically no highly trusted or government regulator in this industry. And therefore, trading with brokers of binary and digital options always carries high risks.
However, registration in St. Vincent and the Grenadines gives IQ Option Ltd. the right to work in many countries around the world on legal grounds. It means that every user of the platform is protected by international law. Traders’ funds are safely stored in the segregated accounts, so no one could make unauthorized use of them.
IQ Option Europe Ltd. is registered in Cyprus and regulated by CySEC. This company provides CFD trading services for the countries of the European Economic Area on a legal basis. Certainly, CySEC regulation, compliance with the MiFID directive and more than 7 years of experience indicate the safety and reliability of IQ Option Europe Ltd.
*Binary options are prohibited in EEA
Is IQ Option a scam broker?
Of course, IQ Option Ltd is unregulated and therefore less credible. Traders are virtually unprotected in the event of broker scam. We can say that IQ Option Ltd is a low-trusted broker. But the platform has been around for over 7 years and has proven a certain level of security.
There are both positive and negative reviews from traders. In some reviews, traders claim that IQ Option is a scam. However these traders rarely show proof and disappear when the broker’s support representative answers.
Most likely, IQ Option isn’t a scam broker. As mentioned, binary options brokers are not regulated by the government. They are all high risk. But this isn’t a reason to talk about a broker’s fraud, and there is no other evidence for this. Personal testing of the investment platform didn’t reveal any problems when trading or withdrawing funds.
Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Trading platform
The IQ Option trading platform stands out in several ways.
Firstly, it’s custom-made. It was developed from the ground up to meet traders’ expectations on every level: from registration to withdrawal requests. The platform has a kinetic interface and an uncluttered design: you won’t get lost in the embedded functionality, although it is vast.
The platform has versions for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Web.
Secondly, the platform is customizable: you can change the chart layout and type, apply technical indicators that you need, and add widgets to make better trading decisions.
Thirdly, the platform allows you to do all the trading actions right from the chart — no need to switch between the tabs and memorize complex navigation.
1 — Assets panel. It displays the tabs with all the ongoing trades. Add the new ones from the dropdown menu.
2 — Order settings. Here, you can specify the investment amount, configure the risk management settings, and make trading decisions.
3 — User panel. Find your full portfolio and trading history, check out market news, get help, etc.
4 — Technical analysis tools. Apply indicators and widgets, configure charts type, and add graphical tools. There are over 100 trading indicators here. Indicators are grouped into the momentum, trend, volatility, moving averages, volume, popular, and others. Widgets include traders’ sentiment, high and low values, trades of other people, news, and volume.
The minimum deposit at IQOption starts from $10. The minimum investment amount is just $1.
It can be an equivalent amount in other account currencies, which depend on the region. This means that both experienced traders and those who are just starting to explore the possibilities of the global market can trade on IQOption.
Trading CFDs and Binary Options on IQOption
IQ Option Ltd: the broker offers CFDs on 260+ assets, with a multiplier depending on the trading instrument. Traders have access to detailed information on each asset, which includes daily price changes, news, technical analysis, economic events and trading conditions.
Particular attention should be paid to trading conditions. This tab shows the size of the spread, overnight funding, commissions and more. Spreads and overnight funding are floating and relatively small/average for many assets during the day. The total spread and overnight funding depend on the size of the multiplier. However, spreads can widen greatly at night and during times of high volatility.
In addition, IQ Option Ltd clients can trade binary and digital options on over 55 assets, including forex, stocks (Apple, Tesla, Google, etc.), commodities and OTC. The average profit on binary options is 80-92%* on many assets during the day. And the maximum profit on digital options reaches 99%*. These are high values compared to competitors.
The option expiration date can be set from 1 minute to the end of the month. But traders are offered only certain expiration dates from a given interval. You can’t set your own expiration date here.
IQ Option Europe Ltd: the broker offers CFDs on 260+ assets, with leverage depending on the trading instrument.
Major forex – 1:30
Minor Forex and gold – 1:20
Commodities (excluding gold) – 1:10
Indexes – from 1:5 to 1:20
Stocks and ETF – 1:5
Cryptocurrencies – 1:2
Binary options are not promoted or sold to retail EEA traders by IQ Option Europe Ltd. Spreads, overnight funding and commissions can vary slightly between companies.
Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
*Amount to be credited to the account for a successful trade
Free demo account
Every user is assigned with both demo and real accounts upon registration.
The demo account comes with 10,000 virtual dollars. This amount is replenishable — you can refill your account anytime you want.
Another thing that distinguishes the IQ Option practice account is the fact that it doesn’t have the expiration date. People can use it for as long as they need, without being pushed to switch to the real trading after a certain while.
Here’s when the Practice account might come in handy:
- You can test the platform and study its functionality;
- Practice in the real market with play money.
The demo account fully duplicates the functionality of the real one: you will have access to the charting tools, trading instruments, indicators, and news.
Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
Deposit and withdrawal
IQ Option focuses on adding various payment options to meet the expectations of its international client base. Certainly, the company works with the world’s most popular payment systems like AdvCash, VISA, Mastercard, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, Perfect Money, etc.
There are also multiple e-wallets and local payment options available, depending on the region. For example, users from the European Union can pay with PayPal; users from Africa can deposit and withdraw via mPesa; Boleto is available for traders from Latin America; UPI available in India, etc. On top of that, IQ Option accepts payments in Bitcoin.
Deposits can be made in any currency — the money will be converted to the account currency automatically.
Anyone of legal age can register an account for free and start trading right off the bat. Users must verify their accounts when they first request a withdrawal. The 3-step authentication includes:
- ID verification (a photo of your passport or ID)
- Address verification (a document proving that you live where you live)
- Payment method verification( a photo of both sides of your card)
Deposit and withdrawal requests at IQ Option are processed instantly, although there might be delays on the payment system’s side. For this reason, most traders choose to work with e-wallets — they are faster.
There is no commission for withdrawals once a month. The broker charges a commission of about 2% for each subsequent withdrawal during the month.
Mobile app
The specialists tried to make the most convenient and simple application for trading anywhere. And they did it very well. The IQ Option mobile trading app won multiple international awards and got very popular among traders for its simple design and powerful functionality.
With the app, investors can trade on the go, deposit and withdraw money, manage their accounts, track their progress, get market updates, access analytical tools, play with charts and settings, set alerts, and so on.
There are a few small differences between the web platform and the application.
Firstly, so that traders can clearly see the chart of the selected asset, some sections are grouped. For example, the Chart type and candle time period, Graphical tools and trading indicators were grouped. Also, the placement of pending orders and the setting of take profit and stop loss have been slightly changed.
Secondly, the “Chart Layot” tab has been removed from the mobile version. This option shows several charts of different assets on one screen. However, IQ did this because of the small smartphone screens on which it would be impossible to clearly see multiple graphs at once.
Thirdly, there is no possibility to trade binary options in the mobile application.
Customers can download IQ Option mobile app for Android and iOS for free.
To trade from a smartphone without downloading the application, you can use PWA. PWA (Progressive Web App) is an app that looks like a native mobile app but opens in a browser.
Multilingual support
Whenever you’re struggling with a problem, feel free to contact IQ Option support team:
- Online chat (average response time is 40 seconds)
- Phone (toll-free numbers are available for multiple countries — check out if your country is on the list)
- Email (the response time is around 14 minutes).
Customer support works round the clock, and you can ask your questions in your native language.
Another great place to search for the answers is the traders’ chat rooms. You can access them from the Traderoom.
For example, the English chat room is a hangout for all types of investors where they share tips and opinions. Chat rooms are a great place to enroll in meaningful discussions and get answers from the IQ Option community.
Research and education
The review finds that IQ Option offers a variety of educational and analytical materials to help people better understand how to invest.
IQOption crafts all sorts of educational materials: website video tutorials in 17 languages, trading blog, live streams, market analysis, news, FAQ, webinars, etc. There are also educational channels on YouTube and Vimeo with thousands of video guides.
Trading tournaments
IQ Option holds regular tournaments for its community*. These are contests where people can win a withdrawable money prize. The average prize fund is $10,000-50,000, but some go as high as $200,000. The prize fund is distributed among the first 9-30 winners, so the odds are high.
There are free and paid tournaments. Prize funds are higher in the paid ones, the entry fee is usually around $2-20. Check out the ongoing tournaments in the Tournaments section of the website.
*Tournaments are not available for European clients
Pros and Cons
Pros
The brand was founded in 2013 and is extremely popular in the world. IQ Option Europe Ltd is regulated by CySECConvenient proprietary trading platform & apps
High average and maximum profit on many assets for binary options*
IQ Option spreads and commissions are relatively small/average
Good selection of expiration times and trading indicators
Free and unlimited demo account
Low minimum trade size, deposit and withdrawal
Many payment methods
A lot of material for education and marketing research
Cons
IQ Option Ltd isn’t regulated.Strong widening of spreads at night and periods of high volatility
Relatively few CFD assets
*Binary options are prohibited in EEA
Conclusion
As a result of the review, IQ Option is a good choice for online CFD trading and the best choice for binary options trading*.
They offer a great trading platform and app. It has a simple and flexible interface, multiple trading tools, custom charts, and multiple assets to trade. With a low barrier to entry of just $ 10 minimum deposit, IQ Option is an easy start for all types of traders.
Overall, the trading conditions for CFDs are good. But spreads and commissions are relatively average for many trading instruments. And just 260+ CFD assets are relatively small for a leading investment platform.
On the other hand, IQ Option Ltd provides binary options trading and the best conditions for them. As a result, IQ Option Ltd has no government regulation. This definitely lowers the level of trust in the company. But the company has existed for over 7 years and has earned a reputation as a reliable broker.
*Binary options are prohibited in EEA
Accepted countries
IQOption.com provides services to traders from over 178 countries. At the moment, more than 70 million client accounts are registered here. This is an impressive figure.
IQ Option Ltd accepts traders from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East and is most popular in India, Nigeria, Maldives, South Africa, Somalia, Philippines, Trinidad & Tobago, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Panama, Egypt, El Salvador, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, Serbia, Sri Lanka.
IQ Option Europe Ltd accepts traders from the European Economic Area and is most popular in Serbia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, France.
Restricted countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Iran, Israel, Japan, Latvia, North Korea, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, USA.
IQ Option vs Olymp Trade
A short review of IQ Option vs Olymp Trade
| IQ Option | Olymp Trade | |
|---|---|---|
| Official site | www.iqbroker.com | www.olymptrade.com |
| Year of foundation | 2013 | 2014 |
| Regulation | CySEC (IQ Option Europe Ltd) | Financial Commission |
| Trading instruments | CFDs, digital and binary options* | CFDs, Fixed Time Trades |
| Profitability of BO / FTT | 80%-92%** | 80%-92%** |
| Providing a free demo account | 10 000 $ (Replenished) | 10 000 $ (Replenished) |
| Minimum trade | 1 $ | 1 $ |
| Minimum deposit | 10 $ | 10 $ |
| Deposit and withdrawal methods | 20+ One withdrawal is free every calendar month, with the next withdrawal a fee of 2% is charged. | 15+ No fees |
| Number of assets | 330+ | 170+ |
| Potential expiration time of a BO | 1m – End of the month | 1m – 23h |
| The number of trading assets for BO | 60+ | 85+ |
| Number of trading indicators | 100 | 25 |
| Bonuses | Up to 100% | |
| Privilege / status system | ||
| Platform versions | Web, app for PC, iOS and Android | Web, app for PC, iOS and Android |
*Binary options are prohibited in EEA
**Amount to be credited to the account for a successful trade
FAQ
IQ Option Ltd. is registered at St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This type of license gives IQ Option the right to work in many countries around the world on legal grounds.
IQ Option Europe Ltd. is registered in Cyprus and regulated by CySEC. This company provides CFD trading services for the countries of the European Economic Area on a legal basis.
In short, IQ Option is an industry-leading investment platform facilitating trading in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. IQ Option is the best and most reliable binary options broker (It is important to note that binary options are prohibited in the EU). Also it allows you to trade CFDs on forex (currency pairs), stocks, cryptocurrency, ETFs, commodities.
Yes, you can. To trade from a smartphone without downloading the application, you can use PWA. PWA (Progressive Web App) is an app that looks like a native mobile app but opens in a browser.
This is easy to understand, as when you go to the official website, you will receive a message: “IQ Option does not work in your country.”
IQ Option accepts traffic from all countries except the following:
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