Head to head

Interactive Brokers vs comdirect — which broker is better?

Interactive Brokers or comdirect? 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.

Interactive Brokers

The cheapest serious route to almost every market on earth — if you can live with the learning curve.

4,5

Group index 90/100Protection depends on your legal entity

SECFCACBI+2

Stocks (per order): 0.05 %
Minimum deposit: None
EUR/USD spread: 0.1 pips

Visit broker Full review

comdirect

Germany's most complete online broker — every product, every platform, and a price list to match.

3,9

Group index 93/100Protection depends on your legal entity

BaFinECB

Stocks (per order): 0.25 %
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 1 %

Visit broker Full review

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.

The verdict in numbers

Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.

Overall Interactive Brokers takes it, 4.5 against 3.9 out of 5. Interactive Brokers is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €2.50 there against €12.50. comdirect 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 10. On platform and app Interactive Brokers is ahead, 4.6 against 4.4 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.

Overall score

Interactive Brokers: 4.5 — Better
comdirect: 3.9

Costs

Interactive Brokers: €2.50 — Better
comdirect: €12.50

Group indexNo winner

Interactive Brokers: 90 of 100
comdirect: 93 of 100

Product range

Interactive Brokers: 12/14 — Better
comdirect: 10/14

Platform & app

Interactive Brokers: 4.6 — Better
comdirect: 4.4

Compare brokers side by side

Up to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.

Data as of: 30 Aug 2026

Best value in the row

Interactive Brokers · comdirect
Criterion	Interactive Brokers 4,5 Visit broker	comdirect 3,9 Visit broker

Overall score	4.5 — Better	3.9
Group index	90 of 100	93 of 100
Best for	Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers	Investors who want one full-service accountEurex options and futures tradersActive traders needing a real deskAnyone prioritising deposit protectionClients who also want a German Girokonto

Regulation	SECFCACBIASICMAS	BaFinECB
Top-tier licences	5 — Better	2
Investor protection	US$500,000 — Better	€100,000
Listed group	Yes	Yes
Banking licence	No	Yes
Segregated client accounts	Yes	Yes
Negative balance protection	Yes	Yes
Audited financials	Yes	Yes
Disclosed regulatory actions	2	1
Founded	1977	1994
Headquarters	Greenwich, Connecticut, US	Quickborn, DE

Fees	4.9 — Better	2.9
Safety & regulation	4.8 — Better	4.6
Trading platform	4.8 — Better	4.4
Product range	5.0 — Better	4.6
Mobile app	4.3	4.3
Research	4.4 — Better	4.2
Customer support	3.2 — Better	2.4
Deposit & withdrawal	4.0	4.0
Account opening	3.5	4.0 — Better
Education	4.0	4.0

Reference order EUR 5,000	€2.50 — Better	€12.50
Minimum deposit	None	None
Stocks (per order)	0.05 % — Better	0.25 %
US stocks	US$0.0035/share — Better	0.25 %
ETFs	0.05 % — Better	0.25 %
Options	US$0.65 — Better	€1.50
Futures	US$0.85 — Better	€4.50
Crypto	n/a	Not offered
Bonds (order)	n/a	0.25 %
Funds (order)	n/a	0.25 %
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	free — Better
Deposit fee	free	free
Overnight financing	n/a	n/a
Other fees	Inactivity fee: None — abolished in 2021 Custody / platform fee: None Currency conversion: 0.20 basis points of the converted value, minimum USD 2 per conversion Market data: Real-time exchange data is a paid subscription; prices vary by exchange and by professional status Free withdrawals: Two per calendar month, regardless of method	Custody fee (accounts opened from 15 July 2026): EUR 0.00 per month Custody fee (accounts opened up to 14 July 2026): EUR 1.95 per month (EUR 5.85 per quarter), waived with 2+ trades in the quarter, a Girokonto under the same customer number, or at least one savings plan execution in the quarter Venue fee: 0.0025% min EUR 2.50 at Xetra, Tradegate, gettex, LS Exchange, Quotrix, Stuttgart and Frankfurt Zertifikate AG; 0.005% min EUR 5 at the regional exchanges; none in LiveTrading Savings plan: 1.50% of the amount invested per execution for ETF, share and certificate plans Telephone, fax or letter order: EUR 14.90 surcharge Viel-Trader discount: 15% off commissions in the following half-year from 125 trades in the prior half-year; excludes venue fees, savings plans, promotions and Eurex +8

Asset classes (of 14)	12 — Better	10
Exchanges	160	n/a
Stocks	Yes	Yes
ETFs	Yes	Yes
Options	Yes	Yes
Futures	Yes	Yes
Forex	Yes	No
CFDs	Yes	Yes
Crypto	Yes	No
Bonds	Yes	Yes
Funds	Yes	Yes
Commodities	Yes	Yes
Indices	Yes	Yes
Warrants	Yes	Yes
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	comdirect web (Persönlicher Bereich)ProTradercomdirect Appcomdirect trading AppCFD Trader and CFD AppO&F-TraderREST APIstock3, TraderFox and Quant4you
Demo account	Yes	Yes
Fractional shares	Yes	Yes
Maximum leverage	1:30 · Pro 1:200	1:30
Account opening	Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review	Fully online in a few minutes with identity verification and photoTAN activation; the Eurex O&F account is a separate paper application
Account types	IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account	comdirect DepotPure DepotJunior DepotZweit-DepotCFD-KontoO&F-Kontocominvest

Payment methods	Bank transferSEPACheque	Bank transferSEPA
Account currencies	USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8	EUR
Deposit time	SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days	SEPA credit transfer, typically same day to 1 business day; instant if transferred from a comdirect Girokonto
Withdrawal time	1–3 business days	1–2 business days to the reference account
Free withdrawals	2/month	n/a

Languages	EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1	German
Channels	PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system	PhoneEmailLive chat
Availability	24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time	24/7 by phone, e-mail and live chat; the CFD desk runs Mon–Fri 08:00–22:00, Sat 10:00–18:00 and Sun 12:00–20:00

Strengths and weaknesses side by side

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.

4,5

Pros

US stocks from USD 0.0035 per share on the Tiered plan, minimum USD 0.35 per order and capped at 1% of trade value
Currency conversion at 0.20 basis points (minimum USD 2) — an order of magnitude cheaper than most European brokers' 0.25%–1.5%
Roughly 160 market destinations in 36 countries from a single multi-currency account, with 28 settlement currencies
No inactivity fee since 2021, plus no custody fee and no platform fee
Trader Workstation offers over 100 order types plus a mature Python/Java/REST API used widely by retail algo traders
Nasdaq-listed parent (IBKR) with published quarterly financials and around USD 21 billion of equity capital
Top-tier licences in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, with per-entity investor compensation disclosed
Paper trading account mirrors the live platform, including the full API

Cons

Customer support is the standout weakness — ticket-first, slow, and frequently answered with generic templates
Trader Workstation has a genuinely steep learning curve; the first session is intimidating even for experienced traders
The fee schedule is complicated: Fixed versus Tiered, pass-through exchange fees, and per-exchange minimums make cost prediction harder than it should be
Real-time market data is a paid subscription per exchange, so the headline commissions understate the true monthly cost for active traders
Account opening is longer and more document-heavy than at app-first brokers, and the website navigation is poor
Spot crypto is only available to US clients via a separate arrangement; EEA clients get futures and exchange-traded products instead

Best for

Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers

comdirect

Germany's most complete online broker — every product, every platform, and a price list to match.

3,9

Pros

The broadest product range of the three German incumbents: shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, certificates, warrants, CFDs and direct Eurex options and futures in one depot
Excellent platform stack — ProTrader for real-time multi-monitor trading, O&F-Trader with a margin simulator, CFD Trader with a free demo, plus a documented REST API and stock3, TraderFox and Quant4you integrations
Cash sits behind Commerzbank AG: statutory EdB cover of EUR 100,000 plus the voluntary BdB Einlagensicherungsfonds protecting private individuals up to EUR 3 million, with direct ECB supervision as a significant institution
Custody is now free for depots opened from 15 July 2026, and the second depot has always been free
Cheap Eurex derivatives pricing: EUR 1.50 per single-stock option contract and EUR 1.50 for the MicroDAX future, each with a EUR 9.90 execution minimum
Fully tax-simple for German residents — automatic Abgeltungsteuer withholding, Freistellungsauftrag, loss-offset pots and free annual tax certificates
A EUR 1.00 Pure Depot exists for investors who only need gettex and savings plans, and a 15% Viel-Trader discount rewards 125+ trades per half-year

Cons

Standard commissions are among the highest in the market: EUR 4.90 plus 0.25% of order value, minimum EUR 9.90 and maximum EUR 59.90, plus a EUR 2.50 venue fee — roughly four times what flatex charges on a EUR 10,000 order
Savings plans cost 1.50% of the amount invested per execution. On a EUR 500 monthly ETF plan that is EUR 7.50 a month, or EUR 90 a year, where Consorsbank and flatex both charge zero
Customer service is the standout failure: 1.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot across 4,117 reviews, dominated by complaints about extremely long telephone hold times and unhelpful responses, despite the advertised 24/7 desk
The advertised EUR 3.90 per trade applies only to new depot customers for 36 months, after which the full tariff returns — the headline number is not the price you end up paying
The cheap Pure Depot is heavily restricted: gettex only, no off-exchange trading, no derivatives, no IPOs, no ProTrader, no securities credit, no joint or second depot
No spot cryptocurrency and no wallet — exposure is limited to crypto certificates and ETNs, and foreign trades settle at Commerzbank reference rates rather than a published percentage markup; comdirect's own cost disclosure estimates the conversion at 1%

Best for

Investors who want one full-service accountEurex options and futures tradersActive traders needing a real deskAnyone prioritising deposit protectionClients who also want a German Girokonto

Open an account with either

A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.

Visit broker: Interactive Brokers Visit broker: comdirect

More comparisons

Alternatives people weigh up alongside these two.

Interactive Brokers vs comdirect — which broker is better?

Interactive Brokers or comdirect? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.

The verdict in numbers

Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.

Interactive Brokers · comdirect
Criterion	Interactive Brokers 4,5 Visit broker	comdirect 3,9 Visit broker

Overall score	4.5 — Better	3.9
Group index	90 of 100	93 of 100
Best for	Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers	Investors who want one full-service accountEurex options and futures tradersActive traders needing a real deskAnyone prioritising deposit protectionClients who also want a German Girokonto

Regulation	SECFCACBIASICMAS	BaFinECB
Top-tier licences	5 — Better	2
Investor protection	US$500,000 — Better	€100,000
Listed group	Yes	Yes
Banking licence	No	Yes
Segregated client accounts	Yes	Yes
Negative balance protection	Yes	Yes
Audited financials	Yes	Yes
Disclosed regulatory actions	2	1
Founded	1977	1994
Headquarters	Greenwich, Connecticut, US	Quickborn, DE

Fees	4.9 — Better	2.9
Safety & regulation	4.8 — Better	4.6
Trading platform	4.8 — Better	4.4
Product range	5.0 — Better	4.6
Mobile app	4.3	4.3
Research	4.4 — Better	4.2
Customer support	3.2 — Better	2.4
Deposit & withdrawal	4.0	4.0
Account opening	3.5	4.0 — Better
Education	4.0	4.0

Reference order EUR 5,000	€2.50 — Better	€12.50
Minimum deposit	None	None
Stocks (per order)	0.05 % — Better	0.25 %
US stocks	US$0.0035/share — Better	0.25 %
ETFs	0.05 % — Better	0.25 %
Options	US$0.65 — Better	€1.50
Futures	US$0.85 — Better	€4.50
Crypto	n/a	Not offered
Bonds (order)	n/a	0.25 %
Funds (order)	n/a	0.25 %
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	free — Better
Deposit fee	free	free
Overnight financing	n/a	n/a
Other fees	Inactivity fee: None — abolished in 2021 Custody / platform fee: None Currency conversion: 0.20 basis points of the converted value, minimum USD 2 per conversion Market data: Real-time exchange data is a paid subscription; prices vary by exchange and by professional status Free withdrawals: Two per calendar month, regardless of method	Custody fee (accounts opened from 15 July 2026): EUR 0.00 per month Custody fee (accounts opened up to 14 July 2026): EUR 1.95 per month (EUR 5.85 per quarter), waived with 2+ trades in the quarter, a Girokonto under the same customer number, or at least one savings plan execution in the quarter Venue fee: 0.0025% min EUR 2.50 at Xetra, Tradegate, gettex, LS Exchange, Quotrix, Stuttgart and Frankfurt Zertifikate AG; 0.005% min EUR 5 at the regional exchanges; none in LiveTrading Savings plan: 1.50% of the amount invested per execution for ETF, share and certificate plans Telephone, fax or letter order: EUR 14.90 surcharge Viel-Trader discount: 15% off commissions in the following half-year from 125 trades in the prior half-year; excludes venue fees, savings plans, promotions and Eurex +8

Asset classes (of 14)	12 — Better	10
Exchanges	160	n/a
Stocks	Yes	Yes
ETFs	Yes	Yes
Options	Yes	Yes
Futures	Yes	Yes
Forex	Yes	No
CFDs	Yes	Yes
Crypto	Yes	No
Bonds	Yes	Yes
Funds	Yes	Yes
Commodities	Yes	Yes
Indices	Yes	Yes
Warrants	Yes	Yes
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	comdirect web (Persönlicher Bereich)ProTradercomdirect Appcomdirect trading AppCFD Trader and CFD AppO&F-TraderREST APIstock3, TraderFox and Quant4you
Demo account	Yes	Yes
Fractional shares	Yes	Yes
Maximum leverage	1:30 · Pro 1:200	1:30
Account opening	Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review	Fully online in a few minutes with identity verification and photoTAN activation; the Eurex O&F account is a separate paper application
Account types	IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account	comdirect DepotPure DepotJunior DepotZweit-DepotCFD-KontoO&F-Kontocominvest

Payment methods	Bank transferSEPACheque	Bank transferSEPA
Account currencies	USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8	EUR
Deposit time	SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days	SEPA credit transfer, typically same day to 1 business day; instant if transferred from a comdirect Girokonto
Withdrawal time	1–3 business days	1–2 business days to the reference account
Free withdrawals	2/month	n/a

Languages	EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1	German
Channels	PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system	PhoneEmailLive chat
Availability	24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time	24/7 by phone, e-mail and live chat; the CFD desk runs Mon–Fri 08:00–22:00, Sat 10:00–18:00 and Sun 12:00–20:00

Criterion

4,5

3,9

Overall score

4.5

3.9

Group index

90 of 100

93 of 100

Best for

Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers

Investors who want one full-service accountEurex options and futures tradersActive traders needing a real deskAnyone prioritising deposit protectionClients who also want a German Girokonto

Regulation

SECFCACBIASICMAS

BaFinECB

Top-tier licences

Investor protection

US$500,000

€100,000

Listed group

Banking licence

Segregated client accounts

Negative balance protection

Audited financials

Disclosed regulatory actions

Founded

1977

1994

Headquarters

Greenwich, Connecticut, US

Quickborn, DE

Fees

4.9

2.9

Safety & regulation

4.8

4.6

Trading platform

4.8

4.4

Product range

5.0

4.6

Mobile app

4.3

Research

4.4

4.2

Customer support

3.2

2.4

Deposit & withdrawal

4.0

Account opening

3.5

4.0

Education

4.0

Reference order EUR 5,000

€2.50

€12.50

Minimum deposit

None

Stocks (per order)

0.05 %

0.25 %

US stocks

US$0.0035/share

0.25 %

ETFs

0.05 %

0.25 %

Options

US$0.65

€1.50

Futures

US$0.85

€4.50

Crypto

n/a

Not offered

Bonds (order)

n/a

0.25 %

Funds (order)

n/a

0.25 %

EUR/USD spread

0.1 pips

n/a

Index CFD spread

n/a

FX conversion

0.002 %

1 %

Inactivity fee

None

Custody fee

None

Withdrawal fee

€1

free

Deposit fee

free

Overnight financing

n/a

Other fees

Inactivity fee: None — abolished in 2021
Custody / platform fee: None
Currency conversion: 0.20 basis points of the converted value, minimum USD 2 per conversion
Market data: Real-time exchange data is a paid subscription; prices vary by exchange and by professional status
Free withdrawals: Two per calendar month, regardless of method

Custody fee (accounts opened from 15 July 2026): EUR 0.00 per month
Custody fee (accounts opened up to 14 July 2026): EUR 1.95 per month (EUR 5.85 per quarter), waived with 2+ trades in the quarter, a Girokonto under the same customer number, or at least one savings plan execution in the quarter
Venue fee: 0.0025% min EUR 2.50 at Xetra, Tradegate, gettex, LS Exchange, Quotrix, Stuttgart and Frankfurt Zertifikate AG; 0.005% min EUR 5 at the regional exchanges; none in LiveTrading
Savings plan: 1.50% of the amount invested per execution for ETF, share and certificate plans
Telephone, fax or letter order: EUR 14.90 surcharge
Viel-Trader discount: 15% off commissions in the following half-year from 125 trades in the prior half-year; excludes venue fees, savings plans, promotions and Eurex
+8

Asset classes (of 14)

Exchanges

160

n/a

Stocks

ETFs

Options

Futures

Forex

CFDs

Crypto

Bonds

Funds

Commodities

Indices

Warrants

Spread betting

Social trading

Platforms

Trader Workstation (TWS)IBKR DesktopClient PortalIBKR MobileIBKR GlobalTraderTWS API / Web API / FIXTradingView and other third-party front ends

comdirect web (Persönlicher Bereich)ProTradercomdirect Appcomdirect trading AppCFD Trader and CFD AppO&F-TraderREST APIstock3, TraderFox and Quant4you

Demo account

Fractional shares

Maximum leverage

1:30 · Pro 1:200

1:30

Account opening

Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review

Fully online in a few minutes with identity verification and photoTAN activation; the Eurex O&F account is a separate paper application

Account types

IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account

comdirect DepotPure DepotJunior DepotZweit-DepotCFD-KontoO&F-Kontocominvest

Payment methods

Bank transferSEPACheque

Bank transferSEPA

Account currencies

USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8

EUR

Deposit time

SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days

SEPA credit transfer, typically same day to 1 business day; instant if transferred from a comdirect Girokonto

Withdrawal time

1–3 business days

1–2 business days to the reference account

Free withdrawals

2/month

n/a

Languages

EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1

German

Channels

PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system

PhoneEmailLive chat

Availability

24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time

24/7 by phone, e-mail and live chat; the CFD desk runs Mon–Fri 08:00–22:00, Sat 10:00–18:00 and Sun 12:00–20:00