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Head to head
Interactive Brokers or Kraken? 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 most heavily licensed venue in crypto — and the only one that is also a chartered US bank.
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 4.1 out of 5. Kraken is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €0.00 there against €2.50. Interactive Brokers scores 90 against 78 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 7. On platform and app Interactive Brokers is ahead, 4.6 against 4.5 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
Interactive BrokersKrakenInteractive BrokersKrakenInteractive BrokersKrakenInteractive BrokersKrakenInteractive BrokersKrakenUp to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 4.5 — Better | 4.1 |
| Group index | 90 of 100 | 78 of 100 |
| Best for | Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers | Traders who prioritise regulatory qualityCrypto derivatives and margin tradersAPI and algorithmic tradersHigher-volume spot tradersUS investors wanting crypto and stocks together |
| Regulation | SECFCACBIASICMAS | CBICBICBIFCAFCAFCASECCFTCWY DoBCySEC+2 |
| Top-tier licences | 5 | 9 — Better |
| Investor protection | US$500,000 — Better | None |
| Listed group | Yes | No |
| Banking licence | No | Yes |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | No |
| Audited financials | Yes | No |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 2 | 2 |
| Founded | 1977 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, US | San Francisco, California, US |
| Fees | 4.9 — Better | 3.4 |
| Safety & regulation | 4.8 — Better | 4.6 |
| Trading platform | 4.8 — Better | 4.5 |
| Product range | 5.0 — Better | 4.6 |
| Mobile app | 4.3 | 4.4 — Better |
| Research | 4.4 — Better | 3.6 |
| Customer support | 3.2 | 4.0 — Better |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Account opening | 3.5 | 4.3 — Better |
| Education | 4.0 — Better | 3.8 |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €2.50 | €0.00 — Better |
| Minimum deposit | None — Better | €1 |
| Stocks (per order) | 0.05 % | Free |
| US stocks | US$0.0035/share | n/a |
| ETFs | 0.05 % | Free |
| Options | US$0.65 | tiered |
| Futures | US$0.85 | tiered |
| Crypto | n/a | tiered |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | n/a |
| Funds (order) | n/a | n/a |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.1 pips | n/a |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.002 % | n/a |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | €1 | €1 |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 12 — Better | 7 |
| Exchanges | 160 | n/a |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | Yes | Yes |
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| CFDs | Yes | No |
| Crypto | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes | No |
| Funds | Yes | No |
| Commodities | Yes | No |
| 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 | Kraken ProKraken DesktopKraken (mobile app)Kraken APIKraken CLIKrakKraken Institutional / Prime |
| Demo account | Yes | No |
| Fractional shares | Yes | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 · Pro 1:200 | 1:5 |
| Account opening | Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review | Fully online; verification typically completes the same day, faster for EEA applicants with a supported ID |
| Account types | IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account | KrakenKraken ProKraken+VIPKraken Institutional |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACheque | SEPASEPA InstantBank transferCrypto |
| Account currencies | USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8 | USDEURGBPCHFCADAUD |
| Deposit time | SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days | SEPA and SEPA Instant 0–3 business days or instant; USD ACH near-instant; GBP Faster Payments 0–1 business days; CHF SIC same day |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days | SEPA 0–5 business days, SEPA Instant near-instant; USD ACH 0–2 business days; GBP FPS near-instant; CHF SIC same day |
| Free withdrawals | 2/month | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1 | EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortuguesePolishRomanianCzech+6 |
| Channels | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system |
| Availability | 24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time | 24/7 live chat, with phone support and a ticket queue |
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
Kraken
The most heavily licensed venue in crypto — and the only one that is also a chartered US bank.
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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