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FXCM vs Interactive Brokers: Comparison and Analysis

Trying to figure out whether to use FXCM or Interactive Brokers? This comparison article lays out the features of both brokers in detail, so you can see which is the best platform according to your needs.

We’ve compared more than 100 variables and features so you can see the pros and cons of FXCM and Interactive Brokers side by side. We’ve divided the comparisons into a logical structure so it’s easy to navigate.

Scroll the whole post below, or use the quick menu to jump to the relevant section.

Open Account
67% of retail investor accounts lose money
FXCM review
Open Account
74-89% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Interactive Brokers review

Overall Ratings


Rated
81
Rated
79

General Breakdown. This graph highlights the key scores from each Macro, uniquely calculated by us.

  • FXCM
  • Interactive Brokers

Security 94
Security 95

Cost 69
Cost 67

Trading 73
Trading 71

Education 83
Education 75

Company Info


Foundation
1999
1978
Is it Regulated?
Is it Publicly Traded?
Is it a Bank?
Segregated Clients Funds ?
No-ESMA Branches? ?
Accepts EU Clients?
Accepts US Clients?
Accepts Canadian Clients?
Website Languages
en, ar, de, es, fr, gre, heb, po, ind, viet, mal, tag, chi
en, chi(t/s), de, es, fr, ru, it, jpn

Leverage


Non-EU Leverage ?
400:1
0
European Leverage ?
30:1
30:1
Australian Leverage ?
30:1
0
US Leverage ?
0
0
Canadian Leverage ?
50:1
50:1

Tier 1 Regulation


FSA ?
MAS ?
FINMA ?
FCA ?
CFTC ?
MIFID-ESMA ?
ASIC ?
CIRO ?
SFC ?

Tier 2 Regulation


FMA ?
CBR ?
FSCA ?
SEC ?
DFSA ?
CBRC ?
CySEC ?
ISA ?

Tier 3 Regulation


Offshore ?
MMA (Maldives) ?
EDR ?
FSA (Seychelles) ?
SCB (Bahamas) ?
FSC (Mauritius) ?
VFSC (Vanuatu) ?
IFSC (Belize) ?
CIMA (Cayman Islands) ?
SVG (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) ?
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) ?
BMA (Bermuda) ?
BVI (British Virgin Islands) ?

Brand Power


SimilarWeb - Website Ranking
89071
SimilarWeb - Total Visits
807860
Facebook Likes
83544
Twitter Likes
92400
Instagram Likes

Deposit and Withdrawal


Minimum Deposit ?
50 USD
Minimum Withdraw ?
Credit Card ?
Bank Transfer ?
PayPal
Neteller
Skrill
Other Methods Available ?
Check, Bpay
Deposit Waiting Time ?
1 business day
1 business day
Withdraw Waiting Time ?
1-2 business days
1 business day
Bonus Program ?

Costs and Fees


Deposit Fees ?
Withdrawal Commissions ?
Overnight/Swap Fee ?
Inactivity Fee ?
Conversion Fee ?

Account Types


Demo Account ?
Demo Account Expiration ?
Account Currencies ?
AUD, EUR, GBP, USD, CHF
AUD, EUR, GBP, USD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, HKD, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, RUB, SEK, SGD
Standard Account ?
Micro Account ?
Low-cost Account ?
Variable Spread Account ?
Fixed Spread Account ?
Zero Spread Account ?
ECN Account ?
Swap Free Account ?
Islamic Account ?
Professional Traders Account ?
Active Trader Program ?

Commodities


Crude Oil ?
0.03
Natural Gas ?
0.01
Silver ?
0.04
Platinum ?
Copper ?
0.00
Soybeans ?
Corn ?
0.64
Gold ?
0.76

Forex Fixed Spreads


EUR/GBP Spread
EUR/USD Spread
USD/JPY Spread
GBP/USD Spread
USD/CHF Spread
AUD/USD Spread
USD/CAD Spread
NZD/USD Spread

Forex Variable Spreads


EUR/USD Average Spread
1.3
0.2
USD/JPY Average Spread
1.4
0.2
USD/CHF Average Spread
1.7
0.2
GBP/USD Average Spread
2.0
0.2
USD/CAD Average Spread
2.3
0.2
AUD/USD Average Spread
1.9
0.2
NZD/USD Average Spread
2.1
0.2
EUR/GBP Average Spread
2.6
0.2

Fees on Stocks


Apple
1.0
Facebook
1.0
Alphabet
1.0
Snapchat
1.0
BP
4.0
Tesco
4.0
Barclays
4.0
Lloyds
4.0

Fees on Indices


FTSE100
0.96
S&P500
0.38
Dow Jones
Nasdaq
1.01
CAC40
1.24
DAX30
1.15
Nikkei 225
8.57
Euro Stoxx 50
1.08

Fees on Cryptocurrencies


Bitcoin
1
0
Ethereum
0,94
0
Ripple
0,01
0
Litecoin
0,19
0
Bitcoin Cash
3,37
0
Dash
0
0
Monero
0
0
Neo
0
0

Platforms


cTrader Desktop
cTrader Web
Mirror Trader
ZuluTrade ?
MT4 Dekstop
MT4 Web
MT5 Desktop
MT5 Web
Proprietary Desktop Platform
Proprietary Web Platform
MAC Platforms
Sirix

Mobile Trading


Android ?
iOS ?
Windows ?
Trading Signals on Mobile ?
Smart Watch App ?
Forex Trading ?
CFD Trading ?
Alerts ?
Chartings-Drawing Tools ?
Mobile Available Language ?
en, ar, de, es, fr, heb, po, ru, it, ur, chi
en, chi(t/s), de, es, fr, ru, it, jpn
Watchlist Mobile ?

Available Markets


Forex Pairs ?
39
23
Crypto ?
8
23
Commodities ?
11
10
Stocks ?
15
5000
Indices ?
13
ETF ?
50
Futures ?
10
Options ?
10
Bonds ?
38000
Metal ?
3
Agricultural ?
3
5
Energies ?
5
5
Interest Rates ?
Penny Stocks ?
IPO ?
Blends ?
Dow Jones ?
FTSE ?
Dax ?
Nikkei ?
Gold Market ?
Bitcoin ?
Real Assets ?
ETF, Stocks

Trading Execution


Direct Market Access (DMA) ?
Straigh Through Processing (STP) ?
Electronic Communication Network (ECN) ?
Market Maker ?
Non Dealing Desk (NDD) ?
FIFO Applies? ?
4 Digits Decimal Pricing ?
5 Digits Decimal Pricing ?

Risk Management


Stop Losses ?
Take Profits ?
Limit Orders ?
Trailing Stop ?
Margin Call ?
OCO Orders ?
Guaranteed Stop Loss ?
Negative Balance Protection ?
Minimum Trade Size ?
0.001 lots
0.001 lots
Maximum Trade Size ?
100 lots
100 lots

Special Trading Conditions


MAM ?
PAMM ?
Social Trading ?
Copy Trading ?
LAMM ?

Available Trading Techniques


Scalping ?
Hedging ?
Spread Betting ?
Expert Advisor (EA) ?
Virtual Private Server ?
API ?

Trading Tools


One-Click Trading ?
Signal Trading ?
Price Alerts ?
Number Chart Indicators ?
51
51
Number Chart Drawing Tools ?
31
31
Trade Directly From Chart ?
Watchlist ?

Education


Education Center ?
Webinars
Platform Tutorial Video ?
Video on Trading for Beginners ?
Video on Trading for Experts ?
Tutorial Guide
Glossary

Customer Support


Call Back Request ?
Email Support
Phone Support
Live Chat
Support Language Available
en, ar, de, es, fr, gre, heb, po, ind, viet, mal, tag, chi
en, chi(t/s), de, es, fr, ru, it, jpn

Research


Professional Reports
Social Trading Features - Social Feeds ?
Economic Calendar
Daily Email With Trading Ideas
Analysis From Trading Central (Recognia)
Analysis From Delkos Research
AutoChartist
Traders Sentiment ?
News via Twitter
News via FaceBook
Daily Market Commentary

Security and Rating

Both FXCM and Interactive Brokers are highly regulated, with FXCM being regulated by FCA, ASIC, FSCA, CySEC, ISA, and IIROC, while Interactive Brokers is regulated by FCA, several EU regulators (CSSF, CBI and the Central Bank of Hungary), ASIC, HKSFC, SEBI, IIROC, FFAJ, MAS, SEC and CFTC. Both brokers have a high security rating, with FXCM having a rating of 94 and Interactive Brokers having a rating of 95.

Demo Account

Both FXCM and Interactive Brokers offer unlimited demo accounts with virtual funds. FXCM offers a demo account with $50,000 virtual funds, while Interactive Brokers offers a demo account with $1,000,000 virtual funds. Multiple demo accounts can be opened with the same email address for FXCM, while the virtual funds of the Interactive Brokers demo account can be restored by contacting customer support.

Minimum Deposit

FXCM requires a minimum deposit of $50 for non-EU clients and $300 for UK and EU clients, while Interactive Brokers doesn’t require a minimum deposit, but requires at least $2,000 to trade with margin.

Social Trading and Copy Trading

FXCM allows traders to engage in copy and social trading through third-party platforms such as ZuluTrade and Tradingview, while Interactive Brokers doesn’t offer social or copy trading.

CFD and Forex Trading

FXCM offers a range of CFD trading options, including forex, commodities, indices, crypto, and stocks. Interactive Brokers offers a wide range of trading assets that can be traded as CFDs, as real, as options, and as futures, including forex, commodities, crypto, stocks, ETFs, and futures and options.

Stock Market

FXCM offers 15 stocks, while Interactive Brokers offers over 5,000 stocks. Interactive Brokers offers very low fees with financing rates from 0.75% and no commissions on stocks and ETFs with the IBKR Lite Plan. With the IBKR Pro Plan, commissions start from $0,0005 per share or ETF.

Cryptocurrency Trading

FXCM offers 7 crypto assets for trading, while Interactive Brokers offers 23 crypto assets for trading.

Platforms

FXCM offers the Trading Station proprietary platform, which is available via desktop, web, and mobile, as well as the MetaTrader 4 platform, which is available via web, desktop, and mobile. Interactive Brokers offers a proprietary trading platform available as desktop, webtrader, and mobile, as well as VPS services, FIX API, and TWS API integration.

Education

Both FXCM and Interactive Brokers offer a range of educational resources for traders. FXCM provides FAQs, trading guides, and a research section, while Interactive Brokers offers a wide range of material for both beginners and advanced traders, including tutorial videos, IBKR blog, trader’s academy, and much more. Customer care is easy to contact via phone, email, and live chat for both brokers, with Interactive Brokers offering support in 8 languages.

In conclusion, both FXCM and Interactive Brokers offer a range of features and benefits for traders. FXCM is a good choice for traders who want to invest in a range of CFD trading options, including forex, commodities, indices, crypto, and stocks, as well as for short-term trading. Interactive Brokers is a good choice for traders who want to invest in a wide range of trading assets, including forex, commodities, crypto, stocks, ETFs, and futures and options, as well as for both short and long-term investing. Interactive Brokers offers very low fees with financing rates from 0.75% and no commissions on stocks and ETFs with the IBKR Lite Plan. Ultimately, the choice between the two brokers will depend on your individual needs and preferences.

Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. Cryptocurrencies can widely fluctuate in prices and are not appropriate for all investors. Trading cryptocurrencies is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk. The present page is intended for teaching purposes only. It shall not be intended as operational advice for investments, nor as an invitation to public savings raising. Any real or simulated result shall represent no warranty as to possible future performances. The speculative activity in forex market, as well as in other markets, implies considerable economic risks; anyone who carries out speculative activity does it on its own responsibility.
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2FC Financial Srl
Via Filippo Argelati, 10,
Milan, Italy
20143

VAT No. IT10004450960
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