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InvestinGoal » Capital.com vs Interactive Brokers: Comparison and Analysis

Capital.com vs Interactive Brokers: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD trading

Interactive Brokers has a small advantage over Capital.com for CFD trading in the UK, thanks to its lower EUR/USD cost (3.33 USD per lot against 7.00 USD), its wider catalogue of tradable symbols (15,000 against 3,800) and the absence of a minimum deposit, where Capital.com asks for 20.00 USD. Interactive Brokers allows scalping, hedging, expert advisors and high-frequency strategies next to API access, runs TradingView and opens a raw spread account, with the account held in more currencies (17 against 5). Capital.com runs MetaTrader 4, offers a guaranteed stop loss on CFDs and credits deposits on the same day against 1 day. Both Interactive Brokers and Capital.com are regulated in the UK by the FCA. The two brokers trade through their own platform, cover CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks, and provide a demo account. They pay out withdrawals in 1 day, and both open micro, Islamic and professional accounts.

Our verdict · Real stock investing

A comparison between Capital.com and Interactive Brokers for real stock investing in the UK is not possible, because Capital.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks to buy. If you are choosing between the two and you want to invest in real stocks, Interactive Brokers is the better option, because it lets you own bonds, crypto, ETFs, funds, forex and stocks outright and opens options and futures trading. Its commission on US stocks is 2.10 USD.

Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD brokers: leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers: real shares and ETFs you own outright.

Capital.com

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Capital.com holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Capital.com review ›
81CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. not offeredStocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

84% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best overall Best overall

Interactive Brokers

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Interactive Brokers holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Interactive Brokers review ›
86CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. 85StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders Capital.com and Interactive Brokers are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.
1 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Capital.com for day traders, long-term investors and professional traders. Both are a good fit for swing traders, news traders and CFD stock traders.

Best for
Overall score Capital.com 81 -5 not offered Interactive Brokers 86 Best 85
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise Capital.com and the ones that supervise Interactive Brokers.
2 / 12

Capital.com and Interactive Brokers are both regulated in the UK, by the FCA.

Regulation
Section score Capital.com 100 not offered Interactive Brokers 100 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that Capital.com and Interactive Brokers have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
3 / 12

Both Capital.com and Interactive Brokers offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme. Interactive Brokers also offers additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score Capital.com 78 -17 not offered Interactive Brokers 95 Best 95
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2016 1978
Parent company i Capital Com SV Investments Ltd IBG LLC
CEO i 0 Milan Galik
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i N/A N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 3,000,000 3,337,000
Annual revenue i USD 0 USD 6,205,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i 2M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with Capital.com and with Interactive Brokers in United Kingdom, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Capital.com for CFD costs, since Interactive Brokers is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 3.33 USD per lot (against Capital.com's 7 USD), and offers volume discounts, which Capital.com does not. Neither Capital.com nor Interactive Brokers charges inactivity fees or account maintenance fees.

Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for real stock costs, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Capital.com is a CFD broker.

Costs
Section score Capital.com 76 -9 not offered Interactive Brokers 85 Best 74
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i Free USD 4.65
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.7 pips
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 7 USD 3.325
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.4 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.5 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i Free USD 0.005
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Spread Commission, Percentage
US stocks fees (real) i USD 2.1
ETF fees (real) i USD 8.12
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i USD 0.85
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i USD 0.65
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with Capital.com and with Interactive Brokers in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Capital.com for CFD markets, since Interactive Brokers gives access to 15,000 tradable symbols (against Capital.com's 3,800), lets you own bonds, crypto, ETFs, funds, forex and stocks outright, which Capital.com does not, and offers futures on bonds, commodities, crypto, forex and indices, which Capital.com does not. Both Capital.com and Interactive Brokers offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks.

Capital.com does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for real stock markets.

Available markets
Section score Capital.com 75 -25 not offered Interactive Brokers 100 Best 100
Total tradable symbols i 3,800 15,000
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices
Options i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Assets you can own i Bonds, Crypto, ETF, Funds, Forex, Stocks

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that Capital.com and Interactive Brokers make available to their clients in United Kingdom.
6 / 12

Capital.com and Interactive Brokers are equally good for platforms, since Capital.com offers MetaTrader 4. On the other hand, Interactive Brokers offers TradingView. Both Capital.com and Interactive Brokers offer a proprietary platform and one-click trading.

Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be set side by side for platforms, as Capital.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Platform
Section score Capital.com 83 not offered Interactive Brokers 80 -3 80
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of Capital.com and Interactive Brokers in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Capital.com for mobile trading, because Interactive Brokers offers mobile charting tools and mobile drawing tools, which Capital.com does not. Capital.com and Interactive Brokers both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for mobile trading, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Capital.com is a CFD broker.

Mobile
Section score Capital.com 73 -7 not offered Interactive Brokers 80 Best 80
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that Capital.com and Interactive Brokers allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.
8 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Capital.com for CFD trading features, since Interactive Brokers offers tier-1 liquidity providers, which Capital.com does not, and allows for scalping and automated trading. Both Capital.com and Interactive Brokers offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Capital.com does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for real stock trading features.

Trading features
Section score Capital.com 67 -14 not offered Interactive Brokers 81 Best 85
Trade execution
Broker type i Agency NDD
Average execution time i
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1 30:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1 20:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1 20:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 10:1
Gold leverage i 20:1 20:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1 10:1
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 0 USD 1
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at Capital.com and at Interactive Brokers in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Capital.com for CFD account types, as Interactive Brokers offers a raw spread account, which Capital.com does not. Capital.com and Interactive Brokers both offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

There is no like-for-like comparison for real stock account types, as Capital.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Account types
Section score Capital.com 50 -4 not offered Interactive Brokers 54 Best 53
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with Capital.com and with Interactive Brokers in United Kingdom.
10 / 12

Capital.com is better than Interactive Brokers for account opening, as Capital.com credits deposits faster, within the same day (against Interactive Brokers' 1 day), and offers debit cards and local payment methods, which Interactive Brokers does not. However, Interactive Brokers does not require a minimum deposit at all (against Capital.com's 20 USD).

Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for account opening, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Capital.com is a CFD broker.

Account opening
Section score Capital.com 72 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 65 -7 65
Minimum deposit i USD 20 USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i AUD, EUR, GBP, PLN, USD AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, RUB, SEK, SGD, USD
Deposit waiting time i Instant up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of Capital.com and Interactive Brokers in United Kingdom, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

Capital.com is better than Interactive Brokers for customer care, because Capital.com offers customer support in 25 languages (against Interactive Brokers' 8), and has a website in 28 languages (against Interactive Brokers' 8). Capital.com and Interactive Brokers both offer phone support and live chat.

Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for customer care, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Capital.com is a CFD broker.

Customer care
Section score Capital.com 67 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 58 -9 58
Number of languages supported i 28 8
Website languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Greek, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that Capital.com and Interactive Brokers provide to their clients in United Kingdom.
12 / 12

Capital.com is better than Interactive Brokers for learning, given that Capital.com offers daily market commentary, which Interactive Brokers does not. Capital.com and Interactive Brokers both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Capital.com does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Capital.com cannot be compared for learning.

Learning
Section score Capital.com 100 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 92 -8 92
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
Capital.com
Open Account 84% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Interactive Brokers
Open Account 57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

Capital.com vs Interactive Brokers: which one should you choose?

Capital.com

CFD Choose Capital.com if you want a CFD and forex broker with a guaranteed stop loss, MetaTrader 4 and fast deposits.

Open Account 84% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Interactive Brokers

CFD Choose Interactive Brokers if you want an online CFD broker for scalping and for automated trading, with low trading costs.

Stocks Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a share dealing service for options and futures trading, with a wide choice of markets.

Open Account 57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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