IG vs Saxo API
The same fields from the IG record and the Saxo OpenAPI record, side by side. No winner is picked: which one suits you depends on what you are building.
Independent and unofficialNewest check
Risk warning: CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You can lose money on these products, and each provider publishes its own loss figure under FCA rules. You should consider whether you understand how they work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Automated and API trading can amplify losses through bugs, connectivity failures and runaway orders.
What the two records show
Differences you can see in the records themselves. These are counts of what this site holds, not a verdict on either API.
- IG is recorded as a broker with an API of its own. Saxo OpenAPI is recorded as a broker with an API of its own.
- This site documents 49 endpoints for IG and 68 endpoints for Saxo OpenAPI. That counts what has been documented here, not what each API offers.
- This site has decoded 132 error codes for IG and 143 error codes for Saxo OpenAPI.
- The limits register holds 5 limit records for IG and 1 limit record for Saxo OpenAPI. Each limit record carries its own scope.
- The IG record holds a demo claim, verified at its source. The Saxo OpenAPI record holds a demo claim, verified at its source. The wording of each is in the Demo row below.
- Claims marked unverified or as sources conflicting: 1 in the IG record and 0 in the Saxo OpenAPI record. Each is labelled where it appears.
- A quickstart is built here for both.
IG and Saxo OpenAPI, field by field
| Field | IG | Saxo OpenAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Broker with its own API | Broker with its own API |
| API family | REST, Streaming | REST, WebSocket streaming |
| How you get access | API keys are only issued to existing live account holders: generate one in My IG > Settings > API keys.How to use IG APIchecked | Create a developer portal account for SIM (24 hour token or registered app); apply for live app credentials after testing.Saxo OpenAPI Learnchecked |
| Who can use it | Spread bet and CFD accounts only. Share dealing, ISA and SIPP are not supported (error stockbroking-not-supported).trading-ig FAQ (community source)checked | Direct retail and professional clients may use it for personal use; a live account must be funded before creating a live app. The approval criteria for a retail live environment are unverified: the environments and security pages read on 19 Sep 2026 say live requires permission and testing before deployment but do not state what is required.Saxo Support: personal usechecked |
| Demo | Partial: demo API works, but no key from a standalone demo account unless it is linked to a live account.How to use IG APIchecked | Yes: SIM environment; 24 hour portal tokens work in SIM only.Saxo Environmentschecked |
| Authentication | API key plus username and password returns CST and X-SECURITY-TOKEN, valid 12 hours on a rolling basis with each call resetting the clock on the IG Labs FAQ, while IG's REST trading API guide says 6 hours at first, extended up to a maximum of 72 hours: a disagreement between two IG pages that the blocked reference page could not settle on 23 Sep 2026. The v3 OAuth access token lasts as long as the login response says, with a refresh token that expires later. All tokens are invalidated during weekend maintenance.Sources conflict IG Labs FAQ: 12 hours between calls, reset by each call. IG Labs REST trading API guide: 6 hours at first, extended up to 72 hours while in use.IG Labs REST trading API guidechecked | OAuth 2.0 authorization code (with or without PKCE); app key and secret for live. Refresh tokens rotate: each is invalidated on use and replaced. Certificate-based auth is for select partners only, not retail.Saxo OpenAPI Learnchecked |
| Streaming | Streaming runs on Lightstreamer: IG's Streaming API Guide starts by sending you to the Lightstreamer client library, and the server address to connect to comes back from the /session call. By default a connection holds up to 40 simultaneous subscriptions. The guide asks you to contact IG to raise that quota and the FAQ says to manage it by unsubscribing and subscribing as needed; both warn that opening extra connections to get past it may cost you the API key or your API permissions. The streaming API does not take OAuth tokens, only the CST and X-SECURITY-TOKEN pair.IG Labs Streaming API Guidechecked | WebSocket streaming (SIM and live hosts). The connection allowance and the instrument cap are unverified as of 20 Sep 2026: the streaming pages no longer publish either figure and say only that the number of WebSocket connections depends on the throttling profile assigned to the application.Saxo Environmentschecked |
| History depth | Up to 20 years of price history depending on resolution; 10,000 historical data points per week. Transactions and activity history are paged.IG: How to use IG APIchecked | Chart samples max 1,200 per request; some FX data back to 2002. Trades report takes FromDate and ToDate with no stated limit.Saxo OpenAPI Support: How many samples can be returned at a time?checked |
| Limits |
|
|
| Endpoints documented here | 49 | 68 |
| Error codes decoded here | 132 | 143 |
| Official documentation | labs.ig.com | developer.saxo |
Go deeper on each side
IG
- IG API page, the full record
- IG API quickstart, credentials to a first call
- IG API limits, in the table above
- IG API error codes, each with its fix
- IG API endpoints, each with its source
- ChatGPT trading bot with the IG API, the safe way
- Get your IG trade history into a spreadsheet
- IG deal confirms: turning a deal reference into a result
- IG demo API key: how to get one and what it allows
- IG streaming with Python
Saxo OpenAPI
- Saxo API page, the full record
- Saxo API quickstart, credentials to a first call
- Saxo API limits, in the table above
- Saxo API error codes, each with its fix
- Saxo API endpoints, each with its source
All comparisons. New to this? Getting started with API trading.