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Head to head
IC Markets or Interactive Brokers? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.
Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.
The cheapest serious route to almost every market on earth — if you can live with the learning curve.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.
Overall Interactive Brokers takes it, 4.5 against 4.2 out of 5. Interactive Brokers is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €2.50 there against €5.00. Interactive Brokers scores 90 against 70 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. Interactive Brokers covers more ground with 12 of 14 asset classes against 9. On platform and app Interactive Brokers is ahead, 4.6 against 4.1 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
Interactive BrokersInteractive BrokersInteractive BrokersInteractive BrokersInteractive BrokersUp to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 4.2 | 4.5 — Better |
| Group index | 70 of 100 | 90 of 100 |
| Best for | Algorithmic and EA tradersScalping and high-frequency FXcTrader usersHigh-volume tradersCopy trading | Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers |
| Regulation | ASICCySECFSCAFSASCBCMA | SECFCACBIASICMAS |
| Top-tier licences | 1 | 5 — Better |
| Investor protection | €20,000 | US$500,000 — Better |
| Listed group | No | Yes |
| Banking licence | No | No |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 1 | 2 |
| Founded | 2007 | 1977 |
| Headquarters | Sydney, AU | Greenwich, Connecticut, US |
| Fees | 4.7 | 4.9 — Better |
| Safety & regulation | 3.9 | 4.8 — Better |
| Trading platform | 4.5 | 4.8 — Better |
| Product range | 3.7 | 5.0 — Better |
| Mobile app | 3.6 | 4.3 — Better |
| Research | 3.6 | 4.4 — Better |
| Customer support | 4.5 — Better | 3.2 |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.4 — Better | 4.0 |
| Account opening | 4.3 — Better | 3.5 |
| Education | 3.3 | 4.0 — Better |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €5.00 | €2.50 — Better |
| Minimum deposit | €200 | None — Better |
| Stocks (per order) | 0.1 % | 0.05 % — Better |
| US stocks | US$0.02/share | US$0.0035/share — Better |
| ETFs | Not offered | 0.05 % |
| Options | Not offered | US$0.65 |
| Futures | in the spread | US$0.85 |
| Crypto | in the spread | n/a |
| Bonds (order) | in the spread | n/a |
| Funds (order) | n/a | n/a |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.8 pips | 0.1 pips — Better |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | n/a | 0.002 % |
| Inactivity fee | €10 · after 6 months | None — Better |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | free — Better | €1 |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 9 | 12 — Better |
| Exchanges | n/a | 160 |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | No | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | No | Yes |
| Commodities | Yes | Yes |
| Indices | Yes | Yes |
| Warrants | No | Yes |
| Spread betting | No | No |
| Social trading | Yes | No |
| Platforms | MetaTrader 4MetaTrader 5cTraderTradingViewIC Markets appFIX API | Trader Workstation (TWS)IBKR DesktopClient PortalIBKR MobileIBKR GlobalTraderTWS API / Web API / FIXTradingView and other third-party front ends |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | No | Yes |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 · Pro 1:500 | 1:30 · Pro 1:200 |
| Account opening | Digital application, usually approved within one business day | Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review |
| Account types | Raw Spread (MT4/MT5)cTrader RawStandardRaw ProRaw Pro+Swap-free | IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACredit cardDebit cardPayPalSkrillNetellerApple PayGoogle PayCrypto | Bank transferSEPACheque |
| Account currencies | EURUSDGBP | USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8 |
| Deposit time | Instant to 12 hours on cards and e-wallets, 1-3 business days by bank transfer | SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days |
| Withdrawal time | Same day to 1 business day on e-wallets and crypto, 2-5 business days by bank wire | 1–3 business days |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | 2/month |
| Languages | EnglishGermanSpanishFrenchItalianPortugueseChineseVietnameseThaiArabic | EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1 |
| Channels | PhoneEmailLive chat | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system |
| Availability | 24/7 | 24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time |
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
IC Markets
One of the cheapest routes to raw institutional FX pricing - as long as you check which entity you are signing with.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Interactive Brokers
The cheapest serious route to almost every market on earth — if you can live with the learning curve.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Open an account with either
A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
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