IQ Option

IQ Option can be a great choice if you want to speculate on any of the most commonly traded currency pairs, but only two dozen currency pairs are available here, so the selection is limited. If you are looking for something more exotic you may not find it. There are plenty of other brokers available who offer considerably more currency pairs for speculation than IQ Option.

In addition to forex, IQ Option is also used for speculating on cryptocurrency, stocks, indices, commodities, and ETFs.

IQ Option has been around since 2013. Today, they have around 7 million registered customers in 28 different countries, including many European countries. In an average day, IQ option executes over 20,000 trades.

Short facts about IQ Option

This is a no-dealing desk broker

IQ Option is a no-dealing desk broker, which is a big plus for some traders.

Proprietary platform only

With IQ Option, you will only get access to their own proprietary trading platform. You will not get access to any third-party platform, e.g. MT4 or cTrader.

Suitable for micro-traders

The minimum deposit is just 10 USD and the smallest trade is 1 USD, so you do not need a big bankroll to get started here.

A withdrawal fee for some methods

For some transaction methods, IQ Option will charge a withdrawal fee, so be careful when you select which method to use. The withdrawal fee for wire transfers is 30 USD.

Inactivity fee after just 90 days of inactivity

Your account will be classified as inactive after just 90 days of no trading. In may opinion, this is a bit on the short side. A 10 USD inactivity fee is charged each month when an account has become inactive.

There is a post-termination fee

There is a 1% post-termination fee when you close your account.

Regulation

IQ Option is active through various subsidiaries to comply with local laws and license requirements.

Within the European Union, IQ Option is registered with several membership countries, including Cyprus. IQ Option Europe Ltd has registration number 247/14 with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). IQ Option is also registered with Italy’s Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) and the Czech National Bank (ČNB). 

IQ Option Europe Ltd office address: Spyrou Kyprianou 83, Eleneio Megaro, 1st Floor, Larnaca, 6300, Cyprus 

In parts of the world where it is required, including the European Union, IQ Options gives negative balance protection to non-professional traders. If this applies to you, make sure you understand how it works before you start trading.

Account types

• Most of the traders use the retail account type, which is for non-professional traders. If you want to be classified as a professional trader instead and get a professional account, contact the IQ Option support team to find out about the requirements.
• There is no tiered account system (e.g. Bronze, Silver, Gold levels).
• There are no speciality accounts available for specific trading strategies, e.g. a tight-spread account where you pay commissions in exchange for tighter spreads.
• There is no swap-free account available, which means that IQ Option is not a good choice for traders looking for a Muslim / Islam / Sharia / Halal Account.

Opening a real-money IQ Option account

Opening a real-money IQ Option account is mostly a quick process, but how long it takes to pass point five and get your documents approved can vary depending on how busy the staff is.

1. I completed the registration form. This included entering information such as my name, country of residence, and email address. I also created a password.
2. I agreed to the terms and conditions.
3. I selected “Open an account for free”.
4. I confirmed my email address, using the link sent by IQ Option to that address.
5. I sent in digital copies of my ID card and utility bill to prove my identity and address.

Comission-free trading

With this broker, you will not pay any commissions on your trading. Instead, the broker makes their money from the floating spreads. The spreads will vary depending on various factors, including asset and market volatility.

During my trading, the lowest spread I have gotten for EUR/USD so far has been 0.8 pips. For GBP/USD, the lowest has been 0.9 pips. This is reasonable for a non-commission brokers, but if you are doing a strategy where you need really low spreads, you will probably be better off with one of the brokers where you pay commissions and get access to really tight spreads.

Forex speculation

Only two dozen currency pairs are available for speculation with this broker, which is less than what many of the competitors are offering. It is for instance not possible to find USD/HKD here.

A lot of the speculation takes place using Contracts for Difference (CFDs), which makes it easy to gain exposure to a currency exchange-rate without actually buying, owing and selling currency.

Examples of available pairs:

• EUR/USD
• GBP/USD
• USD/JPY
• EUR/GBP
• USD/CHF
• USD/CAD
• AUD/CAD
• GBP/JPY

Can I speculate on cryptocurrency?

Yes, 25+ cryptocurrencies are available for speculation with this broker. You can for instance gain exposure to Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple.

Speculating on other asset types

In addition to forex and cryptocurrency, IQ Option also offers exposure to stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), commodities, and indices.

Over 180 different companies are available for stock speculation, including giants such as Tesla, Apple and Amazon. If you prefer to speculate on stock baskets instead of individual stocks, that is also possible, by speculating on indices such as S&P 500 and FTSE 100.

The list of commodities is pretty short, but it does include both energy, metals and agricultural commodities. You can for instance gain exposure to crude oil, natural gas, gold, and wheat.

20+ ETF:s are available, including famous ones such as the QQQ Trust and iShares Russell 2000.

Note: Exactly what is available to you will depend on your location.

Leverage

How much leverage the broker can give you depends on applicable laws and licensing rules. Some countries, including the UK and Australia, have rules in place that limit how much leverage that can be given to non-professional traders.

For more information about what is required to be re-classified as a professional trader, contact the IQ Option support.

When IQ Option is not limited by third-party regulations, they offer up to 1:1000 leverage.

Trading platforms

With IQ Option, all the trading takes place on the proprietary platform. It is a good platform, but personally, I prefer brokers who also give me access to at least one of the major third-party platforms, e.g. MT4 , MT5 or cTrader. This is just a personal preference though.

The IQ Option proprietary platform is easy to understand and the interface is not complicated to navigate. You can use several different order types and risk-management features, including stop-loss, take-profit and trailing stop orders.

• You can download and install the IQ Option platform on a computer.
• You can use the platform directly in the browser window.
• You can download and install an app on your mobile device. IQ Option apps are available for both iOS and Android.

Technical analysis

You will get access to 20 chart and grid layouts and 100+ indicators and drawing tools.

Personally, I would not recommend this platform to anyone who needs to carry out complex technical analysis. I think the MetaTrader5 (MT5) is a better choice for that.

Community

IQ Option has a lively trader’s community where traders use the live chat to keep in touch and discuss various trading-related topics.

Is copy trading available?

No, it is not.

IQ Option encourages certain aspects of social trading since they are offering the chat feature, but their platform does not support automated social trading or copy trading.

Getting a free IQ Option Demo Account

The IQ Option Demo Account is free and comes with $10,000 in play-money. If you run out of play-money, don’t worry, you can start over with $10,000 in new play-money as often as you like. Another positive thing about the IQ Option demo account is the lack of time limit. I like to continue to use my demo account to test-run new trading strategies, so for me, a demo account that can be kept active forever is a big plus.

Once you have a real-money account, switching between demo account and real-money account is very easy.

How to get an IQ Option Demo Account

The process of registering for a free IQ Option demo account is quick and straightforward, and it took me just a few minutes to complete.

1. I went to the IQ Option site and selected “Free Practise Account” .
2. I entered the required information, including my name and e-mail address, and I created a password.
3. I confirmed my email address.
4. I agreed to the terms and conditions.
5. I selected “Start Trading”.
6. I selected “Start trading on practise account” and the web browser version of the IQ Option platform was launched.

Demo trading contests

IQ Option is offering demo trading contests where you trade using play-money.

Contests can run anywhere from one day to one month, and the prize pot size varies – up to $10,000 (terms and conditions apply).

Personally, I think that trading contests are a great way to get to feel what it is like to trade when something is actually on the line. Trading with play-money is fun, but it also makes us reckless. We might for instance not notice if the interface is a bit convoluted, because we are not losing any real money from small mistakes and we are not feeling stressed over a few seconds of time lost here and there. When I enter a competition – even a free one – there is something at stake, and I begin to notice small things that I like or dislike with the platform. It helps me evaluate it more thoroughly before risking any of my own money.

To find out more, visit “Tournaments”. You´ll find it in the side-menu on the IQ Option client dashboard.

Trading Hours

Trading Hours will depend on the underlying asset.

Weekly trading specifications by instrument are published on the IQ Option site.

Forex is normally traded from Monday 12:00 am UTC +1 to 10:00 pm UTC+1 on Friday.

Deposits and withdrawals

IQ Option accept many different transaction method types, including credit/debit cards, e-wallets and bank wire transfer. You can for instance use Skrill, Neteller and PayPal.

Warning: There is a $30 withdrawal fee for withdrawals made through wire transfer. For me personally, this was not a problem, as I prefer other transaction methods. If making wire transfers is necessary to you, this fee will put a dent in your profits unless you very rarely make withdrawals.

How to make a deposit into an IQ Option account

Depositing into my IQ Option account was quick and easy.

1. I logged in.
2. At the client dashboard, I selected “Deposit”. (Look at the top right-hand side of the page.)
3. I selected my preferred deposit method (my credit card) in the menu on the left-hand side.
4. I filled in the amount I wanted to deposit. (You can also select one of the pre-defined amounts if you prefer.)
5. Review, then tick the box to approve the terms and conditions.
6. I selected “Go To Payment”.
7. I was redirected to a page where I submitted my credit card details.
8. I selected “Pay” to confirm the deposit.
9. I verified the card transaction using a 3D Secure code on the following page.

Important: I had to go through the process of verifying my identity and country of residence before I could start making deposits to IQ Option.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals requests are usually handled by IQ Option with 24 hours, but how quickly you will get your money will of course also depend on the transaction method, so chose wisely if very quick withdrawals are important to you.

Customer support

I was happy to see that the support is available 24/7. Many of the competitors only have support 24/5 (Monday – Friday) which is a big minus for me when they still offer certain types of trading during the weekends. With IQ Option, you can get help right away even during the weekends.

You can reach the support by calling, sending an email or using the live chat.

Phone

The phone number is +357 24 257 707. This is a phone call to Cyprus.

Email

support@eu.iqoption.com  

support@iqoption.com  

There is also a question box on the IQ site which can be used to send an email to the support.

Live chat

IQ Option has a live chat feature that can be used for both reaching the support and chatting with other traders. If you do not have a real-money account yet, you can only reach the support, not other traders.

After logging into your trading account (real-money or practise account), click on the chats and support feature on the right-hand side of the page. To reach the support, click on the Support button. Next, a field will appear where you will write your message to the support team.

Questions and answers

How big is the minimum deposit?

The minimum deposit is just $10.

Is hedging allowed?

Yes, hedging is allowed.

Is scalping allowed?

Yes, scalping is allowed.

Can I get a VPS through IQ Option?

No, IQ Option does not offer any Virtual Private Server (VPS) service.

Is there a welcome bonus?

This depends on your location. Many of the stricter countries and licensing authorities frown on big welcome bonuses for non-professional traders, so IQ Option (and many other brokers) have stopped offering them there.

Is there any free trading eduction available?

Yes, there is, but it is pretty limited compared to what many of the competitors have to offer. I did like some of the video tutorials, but would like to see more written materials for those who prefer that way of learning. Also, there isn’t much general trading education available here – it is very geared towards learning how the IQ Option platform works.

For some more general strategy content and technical analysis advice, you can visit the official IQ Option Blog, but to be honest, there are other blogs (both broker-produced blogs and independent blogs) out there that, in my opinion, are above and beyond what this blog offers.