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Forex.com vs Interactive Brokers: Comparison and Analysis

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

Forex.com and Interactive Brokers are two great brokers in the UK for scalping and automated trading. That said, Forex.com is the better choice if you are looking for MetaTrader 4 next to the proprietary platform both brokers run, for fixed-spread accounts, for a programme for high-volume traders and for orders filled in 3 ms. Interactive Brokers is better because it has a lower EUR/USD cost (3.33 USD per lot against 4.50 USD), lists far more tradable symbols (15,000 against 150), asks for no minimum deposit, where Forex.com asks for 100.00 USD, runs TradingView, opens micro accounts, holds more account base currencies (seventeen against three) and settles deposits and withdrawals in 1 day, against 2 days. Forex.com and Interactive Brokers are both regulated in the UK by the FCA. The two brokers cover CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks, open raw spread, Islamic and professional accounts, allow hedging, expert advisors, high-frequency strategies and API access, and provide a demo account.

Our verdict · Real stock investing

Forex.com and Interactive Brokers cannot be compared for real stock investing in the UK, because Forex.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks to buy. If you want to invest in real stocks and you are choosing between Forex.com and Interactive Brokers, Interactive Brokers is the better option of the two, because it lets you own bonds, crypto, ETFs, funds, forex and stocks outright, with options and futures trading. Interactive Brokers charges 2.10 USD on US stocks.

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.

Forex.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 Forex.com holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Forex.com 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. 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

75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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

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

Forex.com is better than Interactive Brokers for news traders. Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, is better for long-term investors, futures traders and options traders. Both are a good fit for day traders, high-volume traders and scalpers.

Best for
Overall score Forex.com 86 not offered Interactive Brokers 86 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

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

3 / 12
What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that Forex.com and Interactive Brokers have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
Safety
Section score Forex.com 86 -9 not offered Interactive Brokers 95 Best 95
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1999 1978
Parent company i StoneX Group (via GAIN Capital) IBG LLC
CEO i Glenn Stevens 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 400,000 3,337,000
Annual revenue i USD 169,500,000 USD 6,205,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i 1.9M monthly visits

Costs

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

Interactive Brokers is better than Forex.com for CFD costs, as Interactive Brokers is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 3.33 USD per lot (against Forex.com's 4.5 USD).

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

Costs
Section score Forex.com 81 -4 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
0.2 pips
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 4.5 USD 3.325
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.6 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.1 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.018 USD 0.005
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage 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

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

Interactive Brokers is better than Forex.com for CFD markets.

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

Available markets
Section score Forex.com 85 -15 not offered Interactive Brokers 100 Best 100
Total tradable symbols i 150 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

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

Forex.com is better than Interactive Brokers for platforms.

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

Platform
Section score Forex.com 88 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 80 -8 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

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

Forex.com is better than Interactive Brokers for mobile trading.

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

Mobile
Section score Forex.com 93 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 80 -13 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

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

Forex.com is better than Interactive Brokers for CFD trading features.

Only Interactive Brokers can be assessed for real stock trading features, since Forex.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Trading features
Section score Forex.com 87 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 81 -6 85
Trade execution
Broker type i Agency NDD
Average execution time i 3 ms
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

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

Forex.com and Interactive Brokers are equally good for CFD account types.

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

Account types
Section score Forex.com 52 -2 not offered Interactive Brokers 54 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

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

Interactive Brokers is better than Forex.com for account opening.

Only Interactive Brokers can be assessed for account opening, since Forex.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Account opening
Section score Forex.com 62 -3 not offered Interactive Brokers 65 Best 65
Minimum deposit i USD 100 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 EUR, GBP, USD AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, RUB, SEK, SGD, USD
Deposit waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

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

Forex.com is better than Interactive Brokers for customer care.

Only Interactive Brokers can be assessed for customer care, since Forex.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Customer care
Section score Forex.com 66 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 58 -8 58
Number of languages supported i 7 8
Website languages i Arabic, German, English, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Chinese German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i English, 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

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

Forex.com is better than Interactive Brokers for learning.

There is no like-for-like comparison for learning, as Forex.com is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Learning
Section score Forex.com 95 Best not offered Interactive Brokers 92 -3 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
Forex.com
Open Account 75% 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

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

Forex.com

CFD Choose Forex.com if you want an online CFD broker with fast execution and fixed-spread accounts.

Open Account 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Interactive Brokers

CFD Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a CFD and forex broker with tight spreads, a wide choice of markets and no minimum deposit.

Stocks Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a broker for securities investing with a wide range of assets to own.

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

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