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Head to head
Interactive Brokers or Charles Schwab? 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.
The cheapest serious route to almost every market on earth — if you can live with the learning curve.
The full-service US giant that also happens to own the best retail trading platform in the business.
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 Charles Schwab takes it, 4.6 against 4.5 out of 5. Charles Schwab is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €0.00 there against €2.50. Charles Schwab scores 93 against 90 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. We rate platform and app at 4.6 out of 5 for both. 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 | 4.5 | 4.6 — Better |
| Group index | 90 of 100 | 93 of 100 |
| Best for | Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers | US long-term investorsOptions and futures tradersRetirement accountsInvestors who want branchesOne-account consolidation |
| Regulation | SECFCACBIASICMAS | SECFINRAFDIC |
| Top-tier licences | 5 — Better | 3 |
| Investor protection | US$500,000 | US$500,000 |
| Listed group | Yes | Yes |
| Banking licence | No | Yes |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | No |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 2 | 1 |
| Founded | 1977 | 1971 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, US | Westlake, US |
| Fees | 4.9 — Better | 4.6 |
| Safety & regulation | 4.8 | 4.9 — Better |
| Trading platform | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Product range | 5.0 — Better | 4.2 |
| Mobile app | 4.3 | 4.4 — Better |
| Research | 4.4 | 4.7 — Better |
| Customer support | 3.2 | 4.8 — Better |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.0 | 4.2 — Better |
| Account opening | 3.5 | 4.3 — Better |
| Education | 4.0 | 4.6 — Better |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €2.50 | €0.00 — Better |
| Minimum deposit | None | None |
| Stocks (per order) | 0.05 % | Free |
| US stocks | US$0.0035/share | Free |
| ETFs | 0.05 % | Free |
| Options | US$0.65 | US$0.65 |
| Futures | US$0.85 — Better | US$2.25 |
| Crypto | n/a | Not offered |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | US$1 |
| Funds (order) | n/a | US$49.95 |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.1 pips | n/a |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.002 % — Better | 1 % |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | €1 — Better | US$15 |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 12 — Better | 9 |
| Exchanges | 160 — Better | 12 |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | Yes | Yes |
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes | No |
| Crypto | Yes | No |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | Yes |
| Commodities | Yes | Yes |
| Indices | Yes | Yes |
| Warrants | Yes | No |
| Spread betting | No | No |
| Social trading | No | No |
| Platforms | Trader Workstation (TWS)IBKR DesktopClient PortalIBKR MobileIBKR GlobalTraderTWS API / Web API / FIXTradingView and other third-party front ends | Schwab.com web platformthinkorswim Desktopthinkorswim WebSchwab Mobilethinkorswim MobileSchwab Trader API |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 · Pro 1:200 | 1:2 |
| Account opening | Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review | Under 10 minutes online for US residents; 1–2 weeks for a Schwab One International account |
| Account types | IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account | Schwab One brokerageSchwab Global AccountTraditional / Roth / Rollover IRASchwab One International |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACheque | Bank transferCheque |
| Account currencies | USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8 | USD |
| Deposit time | SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days | Instant to 3 business days (ACH, wire, cheque) |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days | 1–3 business days by ACH; same day by wire |
| Free withdrawals | 2/month | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1 | EnglishSpanishChinese |
| Channels | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system | PhoneEmailLive chatBranch |
| Availability | 24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time | 24/7 |
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
Interactive Brokers
The cheapest serious route to almost every market on earth — if you can live with the learning curve.
Pros
Cons
Best for
Charles Schwab
The full-service US giant that also happens to own the best retail trading platform in the business.
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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