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Interactive Brokers vs Saxo: Comparison and Analysis

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

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for CFD trading in the UK by a small margin, because it lists far more tradable symbols (71,000 against 15,000), charges lower US stock fees (0.02 USD against 2.10 USD), opens managed and corporate accounts, allows VPS hosting, runs a programme for high-volume traders, fills orders in 12 ms and provides a demo account. Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, has a lower EUR/USD cost (3.33 USD per lot against 7.00 USD), runs TradingView next to the proprietary platform both brokers share, lets you own crypto and forex outright next to the bonds, ETFs, funds and stocks both brokers cover, allows hedging, opens micro, Islamic and professional accounts, holds more account base currencies (seventeen against two) and settles deposits and withdrawals in 1 day, against 2 days. Interactive Brokers and Saxo are both regulated in the UK by the FCA. The two brokers ask for no minimum deposit, cover CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks, add options and futures trading, open raw spread accounts, and allow scalping, expert advisors, high-frequency strategies and API access.

Our verdict · Real stock investing

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for real stock investing in the UK by a small margin, because it charges lower US stock fees (0.02 USD against 2.10 USD), lists far more tradable symbols (71,000 against 15,000), opens managed and corporate accounts, allows VPS hosting, runs a programme for high-volume traders, fills orders in 12 ms and provides a demo account. Interactive Brokers, on the other hand, lets you own crypto and forex outright next to the bonds, ETFs, funds and stocks both brokers cover, runs TradingView next to the proprietary platform both brokers share, allows hedging, opens micro, Islamic and professional accounts, holds more account base currencies (seventeen against two) and settles deposits and withdrawals in 1 day, against 2 days. Interactive Brokers and Saxo are both regulated in the UK by the FCA. The two brokers ask for no minimum deposit, add options and futures trading, open raw spread accounts, and allow scalping, expert advisors, high-frequency strategies and API access.

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.

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 overall Best overall

Saxo

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 Saxo holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Saxo review ›
89CFDOverall 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. 89StocksOverall 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

65% 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 Interactive Brokers and Saxo are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.

Interactive Brokers and Saxo are equally good for day traders, long-term investors and high-volume traders.

Best for
Overall score Interactive Brokers 86 -3 85 -4 Saxo 89 Best 89 Best
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 Interactive Brokers and the ones that supervise Saxo.
Regulation
Section score Interactive Brokers 100 100 Saxo 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 Interactive Brokers and Saxo have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
Safety
Section score Interactive Brokers 95 95 Saxo 93 -2 93 -2
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1978 1992
Parent company i IBG LLC Saxo Bank A/S
CEO i Milan Galik Kim Fournais
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i N/A Citibank
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 3,337,000 1,200,000
Annual revenue i USD 6,205,000,000 USD 727,595,340
Monthly website search traffic i 1.7M monthly visits

Costs

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

Interactive Brokers is better than Saxo for CFD costs, given that Interactive Brokers is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 3.33 USD per lot (against Saxo's 7 USD).

There is little between Interactive Brokers and Saxo on real stock costs. Saxo has a slight edge, as it charges lower US stock fees, at 0.02 USD (against Interactive Brokers' 2.1 USD), and charges lower ETF fees, at 0.02 USD (against Interactive Brokers' 8.12 USD).

Costs
Section score Interactive Brokers 85 Best 74 Saxo 81 -4 71 -3
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 USD 4.65 Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.1 pips
0.7 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 3.325 USD 7
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.5 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.25 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.005 USD 0.02
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Commission, Percentage
US stocks fees (real) i USD 2.1 USD 0.02
ETF fees (real) i USD 8.12 USD 0.02
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i USD 0.85 USD 3
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i USD 0.65 USD 2
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 Interactive Brokers and with Saxo in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.

Interactive Brokers and Saxo are equally good for CFD markets.

Interactive Brokers and Saxo are equally good for real stock markets.

Available markets
Section score Interactive Brokers 100 100 Saxo 100 100
Total tradable symbols i 15,000 71,000
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 Commodities, Forex, Indices
Options i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Forex, Indices
Assets you can own i Bonds, Crypto, ETF, Funds, Forex, Stocks Bonds, ETF, Funds, Stocks

Platform

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

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for platforms.

Platform
Section score Interactive Brokers 80 -6 80 -6 Saxo 86 Best 86 Best
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 Interactive Brokers and Saxo in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for mobile trading.

Mobile
Section score Interactive Brokers 80 -7 80 -7 Saxo 87 Best 87 Best
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 Interactive Brokers and Saxo allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for CFD trading features.

Interactive Brokers is better than Saxo for real stock trading features.

Trading features
Section score Interactive Brokers 81 -4 85 Best Saxo 85 Best 77 -8
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD NDD
Average execution time i 12 ms
Slippage occurrence i 20.7%
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 1 USD 0
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 Interactive Brokers and at Saxo in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.

Interactive Brokers is better than Saxo for CFD account types.

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for real stock account types.

Account types
Section score Interactive Brokers 54 Best 53 -30 Saxo 46 -8 83 Best
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 Interactive Brokers and with Saxo in United Kingdom.

Interactive Brokers and Saxo are equally good for account opening.

Account opening
Section score Interactive Brokers 65 65 Saxo 65 65
Minimum deposit i USD 0 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, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, RUB, SEK, SGD, USD EUR, USD
Deposit waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 2 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 2 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

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

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for customer care.

Customer care
Section score Interactive Brokers 58 -29 58 -29 Saxo 87 Best 87 Best
Number of languages supported i 8 15
Website languages i German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese Arabic, Danish, English, French, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Slovenian, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese Arabic, Czech, German, English, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Slovenian, 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 Interactive Brokers and Saxo provide to their clients in United Kingdom.

Saxo is better than Interactive Brokers for learning.

Learning
Section score Interactive Brokers 92 -8 92 -8 Saxo 100 Best 100 Best
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
Interactive Brokers
Open Account 57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Saxo
Open Account 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

Interactive Brokers vs Saxo: which one should you choose?

Interactive Brokers

CFD Choose Interactive Brokers if you want an online CFD broker with tight spreads and several account base currencies.

Stocks Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a stock brokerage service with a wide range of assets to own and several account base currencies.

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

CFD Choose Saxo if you want a CFD and forex broker with a wide choice of markets, low US stock fees and fast execution.

Stocks Choose Saxo if you want a broker for securities investing with low US stock fees, a wide choice of markets and fast execution.

Open Account 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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