IG vs TradeLocker API
The same fields from the IG record and the TradeLocker API 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. TradeLocker API is a platform API, offered through the brokers that carry the platform.
- This site documents 49 endpoints for IG and 23 endpoints for TradeLocker API. That counts what has been documented here, not what each API offers.
- This site has decoded 132 error codes for IG and 5 error codes for TradeLocker API.
- The limits register holds 5 limit records for IG and no limit records for TradeLocker API. Each limit record carries its own scope.
- The IG record holds a demo claim, verified at its source. The TradeLocker API 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 1 in the TradeLocker API record. Each is labelled where it appears.
- A quickstart is built here for IG only.
IG and TradeLocker API, field by field
| Field | IG | TradeLocker API |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | Broker with its own API | Platform API, offered by many brokers |
| API family | REST, Streaming | REST, Streams API (Socket.IO WebSocket), Python package |
| 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 | Use your TradeLocker login (email, password, server) against the public REST API; no separate app registration found.TradeLocker API connectivitychecked |
| 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 | TradeLocker users only, via a broker or prop firm that offers TradeLocker.Getting Started with TradeLocker Public APIchecked |
| 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: separate demo environment at demo.tradelocker.com.Getting Started with TradeLocker Public APIchecked |
| 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 | POST email, password and server to /auth/jwt/token; send the JWT as Bearer token; refresh tokens issued. /trade/* routes also need the accNum header (not the accountId).Getting Started with TradeLocker Public APIchecked |
| 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 | Unverified. TradeLocker's public API documentation, re-read 12 Oct 2026, describes a request and response REST API only, and its index of pages lists no streaming page. The record's API family names a Streams API from an earlier reading that could not be confirmed on a page that opens today.UnverifiedTradeLocker public API, getting startedchecked |
| 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 | /trade/history by resolution (1m to 1M) and from/to; max rows per request and orders history rows come from /trade/config.TradeLocker Public API docschecked |
| Limits |
| None recorded |
| Endpoints documented here | 49 | 23 |
| Error codes decoded here | 132 | 5 |
| Official documentation | labs.ig.com | public-api.tradelocker.com |
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
TradeLocker API
- TradeLocker API page, the full record
- No TradeLocker API quickstart is built here yet
- TradeLocker API limits, in the table above: none recorded
- TradeLocker API error codes, each with its fix
- TradeLocker API endpoints, each with its source
All comparisons. New to this? Getting started with API trading.