Most people do thorough research when searching for a good online trading provider, but are not sure how to locate the best day trading platform. Learn how to search for and find the best day trading platform.
A day trading platform is the technology used to facilitate the trade of financial instruments, enabling positions to be opened and closed within a single day. This trading style is not suitable for people seeking to trade or invest in the longer term.
When trading with us, a fee will be charged to your account for keeping your intraday trade open until the following day. You should refer to the Product Details for information on when the cut-off time for overnight funding charges applies.
Note that there’s a difference between an online trading provider and a trading platform. An online trading provider provides the platform, while the platform facilitates the trading activity on the financial markets. An online provider like us enables you to open an account for trading or investing1 securities in the financial markets.
Our day trading platform will enable you to trade using a derivative product – CFDs. CFDs are leveraged products, meaning you’ll amplify your exposure to the markets. Leverage will magnify profits and losses you make on your day trade – manage your risk carefully.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Alternatively, you could open an intraday position without leverage by trading shares. Trading shares offers decreased assets and market exposure, which means you’d need sufficient market movements in the day to make the day trade worthwhile.
To find the best day trading platform, there are several things to take into consideration. These include your experience as a trader, trading goals, the types of assets you’d like to trade, costs and charges involved and the type of support you will be offered.
Taking your experience and trading goals into consideration when venturing into day trading will enable you to have clear goals in mind. This will ensure you put in the time to practise and fine-tune your trading style and strategy before you open your first position.
You can use fundamental analysis as part of your trading style or plan to predict market price movements and use technical indicators for your strategy. Your strategy is determined by your preference and the level of risk you’re willing to be exposed to when trading the markets.
If you’re a beginner, you’ll need to choose the trading strategy that suits your preferences. For example, if you choose to use scalping as your day trading strategy, you’d make lots of small trades of the asset you’re trading with the aim of profiting from the little price changes.
Once you’ve chosen your strategy, ensure that you diligently stick to it as one impromptu move may lead to a trade that results in a huge loss. Your aim is to make a series of small wins from your trade and benefit from them instead of a few large ones.
You can learn more about trading strategies by visiting our Analyse and Learn section on the website or IG Academy. You can also try out these trading strategies by opening a demo account with us and practice with $20,000 in virtual funds. Once you have gained your confidence with using our platform, you can open a live account with us.
There are some essential day trading concepts you’ll need to educate yourself on when it comes to the financial markets:
CFDs are the main day trading products used. These are leveraged products that will increase your market exposure at a fraction of the full value of your trade. But while they’ll magnify your profits when the markets move in your favour, they’ll amplify your losses if they move against you.
Carefully manage your risk and only trade using an amount you’re comfortable losing. There are over 17,000 markets you can trade with CFDs.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
These are the four assets that are most popular among our traders:
These four popular markets are not an exhaustive list. With us, you can also trade ETFs, interest rates, bonds and many more asset classes. When trading with us, you’ll get access to key indices and forex pairs 24/7,3 including at the weekend. You’ll also have exposure to trading key US shares out-of-hours. Other online trading providers might not offer you the same access to extended hours on their day trading platforms.
There are costs and fees associated with day trading platforms. It’s important to compare these to determine how much the overall cost of your trade will be. An online provider like us will provide full disclosure of the costs and charges associated with your day trade.
Some of the costs and charges you can expect to incur when day trading with us will include the spread. Overnight fees are charged when you keep your position on the spot markets open until the following day. Note that overnight fees are not applicable when open positions on futures and options are not closed on the same day since these have a set expiry date.
Our day trading platform offers these features and tools:
You can deposit funds at the click of the ‘add funds’ button via our web trading platform or mobile app. You’ll then choose the payment method of your choice. Funds can be deposited using a credit card, debit card, PayPal account or via BPAY in Australia or EFT in New Zealand. You must ensure that any card, PayPal or bank account is in your name when depositing into your IG account, as we’re unable to accept any third-party funding.
There’s no minimum or maximum deposit amount when making bank transfers. Once there are funds in your account, you can start opening positions on your share trading or CFD trading accounts.
With us, you’ll have a responsive customer support team to field your queries. Our client services team is available to give you a one-on-one walk through our platform to set up your account, if you need it.
We also have 24-hour3 live support to ask trading experts for assistance. You can reach us either via phone call or email.
Familiarise yourself with your online trading provider’s day trading platform to determine if it suits your needs as a trader. Some providers might offer a web platform or only synchronise with third-party tools like MetaTrader 4 (MT4).
With our award-winning platform, you can access and place your day trade via our web or mobile app.4 You’ll also get exclusive access to these third-party platforms – L2 Dealer, DMA platform, ProRealTime and MT4.
There are various aspects to take into consideration when choosing a day trading account and online trading provider like us. An online trading provider like us facilitates the trades in the financial market, while a day trading platform is the technology used to facilitate the buying and selling of those assets.
When you choose an online provider, you’ll consider the type of trading accounts you like to use, markets and assets you’d like to trade and the costs and charges of your trade. When choosing an online trading platform, you might find it useful to consider the ease of trade when using the technology and the overall customer experience.
How much money do you need to start day trading?
With us, you won’t be required to have a minimum deposit to start day trading. But, if you’re trading leveraged products, ensure you understand how they work and manage your risk. You’ll need to deposit enough funds in your account in case the market turns against you once you open your trade.
Discover how to open your first trade with us
Find out how leveraged trading works
Trade or invest1 on our award-winning platform4
1 When investing with us, you’ll do so via our share trading platform using our custodial model. This means that we manage, hold and safeguard securities you choose to buy and sell on your behalf. Via our custodial model, you’ll be able to buy and have a stake in actual assets – for example, shares in an ASX 200-tracking ETF or ASX 200-constituent company. You’ll also be entitled to dividends if any are paid, and granted voting rights if applicable.
2 Based on IG Group's OTC data for April – June 2022.
3 24/7 excludes the hours from 9am to 7pm (AEDT), and 20 minutes just before the weekday market opens on Monday morning. Note: These times do change when daylight savings ends/starts across AU/UK/US time zones.
4 Best Finance App, Best Multi-Platform Provider and Best Platform for the Active Trader as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2024.
5 Number 1 in Australia by primary relationships, CFDs & FX, Investment Trends November 2024 Leveraged Trading Report.
6 Based on IG Group's OTC data for Jun – Aug 2023