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Head to head
Interactive Brokers or Saxo? 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.
A Danish bank that trades like a professional platform — broad, polished, and no longer expensive.
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 4.4 out of 5. Interactive Brokers is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €2.50 there against €4.00. Saxo scores 96 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 11. On platform and app Saxo is ahead, 4.7 against 4.6 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
Interactive BrokersSaxoInteractive BrokersSaxoInteractive BrokersSaxoInteractive BrokersSaxoInteractive BrokersSaxoUp to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026
| Criterion | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 4.5 — Better | 4.4 |
| Group index | 90 of 100 | 96 of 100 |
| Best for | Active and professional tradersMulti-currency investorsOptions and futures tradersAlgorithmic and API tradingGlobal stock pickers | Multi-asset portfoliosBond investorsOptions and futures tradersPlatform quality seekersEuropean investors wanting a bank |
| Regulation | SECFCACBIASICMAS | DFSAFCAFINMAMASJFSA |
| Top-tier licences | 5 | 5 |
| Investor protection | US$500,000 — Better | CHF 100,000 |
| Listed group | Yes | No |
| Banking licence | No | Yes |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes |
| Audited financials | Yes | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | 2 | None |
| Founded | 1977 | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, US | Copenhagen, DK |
| Fees | 4.9 — Better | 4.2 |
| Safety & regulation | 4.8 — Better | 4.7 |
| Trading platform | 4.8 — Better | 4.7 |
| Product range | 5.0 — Better | 4.8 |
| Mobile app | 4.3 | 4.6 — Better |
| Research | 4.4 | 4.5 — Better |
| Customer support | 3.2 | 3.8 — Better |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Account opening | 3.5 | 4.2 — Better |
| Education | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €2.50 — Better | €4.00 |
| Minimum deposit | None | None |
| Stocks (per order) | 0.05 % — Better | 0.08 % |
| US stocks | US$0.0035/share — Better | 0.08 % |
| ETFs | 0.05 % — Better | 0.08 % |
| Options | US$0.65 — Better | US$2 |
| Futures | US$0.85 — Better | US$3 |
| Crypto | n/a | n/a |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | 0.2 % |
| Funds (order) | n/a | Free |
| EUR/USD spread | 0.1 pips — Better | 0.7 pips |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | 0.002 % — Better | 0.25 % |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Custody fee | None — Better | 0.15 % p.a. |
| Withdrawal fee | €1 | free — Better |
| Deposit fee | free | free |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 12 — Better | 11 |
| Exchanges | 160 — Better | 50 |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | Yes | Yes |
| Futures | Yes | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | SaxoTraderGOSaxoTraderPROSaxoInvestorSaxo mobile appSaxo OpenAPITradingView integration |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | Yes | No |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 · Pro 1:200 | 1:30 · Pro 1:200 |
| Account opening | Fully online; typically 1–3 business days, longer if documents need manual review | Fully online with electronic ID in most markets; often same day, otherwise 1–3 business days |
| Account types | IBKR ProIBKR LiteMargin account | ClassicPlatinumVIP |
| Payment methods | Bank transferSEPACheque | Bank transferSEPA |
| Account currencies | USDEURGBPCHFAUDCADJPYHKDSGDSEK+8 | EURUSDGBPCHFDKKSEKNOKAUDCADJPY+9 |
| Deposit time | SEPA 1–2 business days; international wire 1–4 business days | SEPA same day to 2 business days; international wire 1–3 business days |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days | Usually 1 business day to the registered bank account |
| Free withdrawals | 2/month | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishGermanFrenchSpanishItalianDutchPortugueseRussianChineseJapanese+1 | EnglishDanishGermanFrenchItalianSpanishDutchPolishCzechSwedish+4 |
| Channels | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system | PhoneEmailLive chatTicket system |
| Availability | 24/5, from Sunday evening to Friday evening US time | Monday to Friday, local office hours across 16 service locations; trading desks cover market hours |
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
Saxo
A Danish bank that trades like a professional platform — broad, polished, and no longer expensive.
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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