PureDeal

PureDeal was IG's downloadable trading application, built when installed software was the only way to get fast, reliable order entry and streaming prices. Browser technology has since closed that gap, and IG moved its clients onto web and mobile platforms that do the same job without an installation.

Current status

Treat the name as historical. IG's current retail offering runs in the browser and on mobile, with L2 Dealer as the separate direct-market-access platform for qualifying high-volume clients, and ProRealTime available for advanced charting and automated strategies. A broker listing still showing PureDeal has not been updated.

Why the download-versus-browser question stopped mattering

For years the received wisdom was that a desktop application executed faster than a web page. That was true of the browsers of the time, and it is no longer true of a well-built modern web platform: streaming prices over a persistent connection, charting rendered on the GPU, and order entry limited by network latency rather than by the interface. What the desktop still offers is workspace — multiple monitors, saved layouts, many windows at once — which is why professional platforms remain downloadable while retail ones have moved to the browser.

What actually determines execution speed

Traders attribute far too much to the platform. In practice the order is decided by:

• The broker's execution model — whether an order is filled against aggregated liquidity or handled internally, and at what latency.
• Distance to the server. A VPS near the broker's data centre changes fill quality measurably; a faster local application does not.
• Liquidity at the moment of the order, which no platform can improve.

None of these is visible in the interface, which is why comparing platforms on how responsive the buttons feel is a poor proxy for anything.

If you are researching IG

Look at the current platform list rather than legacy names, and match the platform to how you trade: the web platform for discretionary trading, ProRealTime for charting and automation, L2 Dealer only if you qualify and need direct market access.