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Interactive Brokers vs Plus500 2024

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Written by ForexBrokers.com

August 29, 2023

Is Interactive Brokers better than Plus500? In our analysis of 23 international regulators across 62 of the best forex brokers, Interactive Brokers is considered Highly Trusted, with an overall Trust Score of 99 out of 99. Plus500 is considered Highly Trusted, with an overall trust score of 99 out of 99. Learn more about Trust Score.

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Compare

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Overall Rating Interactive Brokers Plus500
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platform & Tools 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 99
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Plus500 Review
Broker Screenshots Interactive Brokers Plus500
Trading Platforms Gallery (click to expand) info
Mobile Trading Gallery (click to expand) info
Research Gallery (click to expand) info
Education Gallery (click to expand) info
Regulation Interactive Brokers Plus500
Trust Score info 99 99
Year Founded info 1977 2008
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes Yes
Bank info No No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info Yes info Yes info
Tier-1 Licenses info 9 6
Tier-2 Licenses info 1 3
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 1
Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) Interactive Brokers Plus500
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info Yes Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info Yes No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info Yes No
Japan (SFC Authorised) info Yes Yes
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info Yes Yes
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info No No
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info Yes Yes
USA (CFTC Authorized) info Yes No
New Zealand (FMA Authorised) info No Yes
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info Yes info Yes info
Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) Interactive Brokers Plus500
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info No No
Israel (ISA Authorised) info No Yes
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info No Yes
UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) info No Yes
India (SEBI Authorised) info Yes No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info No No
Investments Interactive Brokers Plus500
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes info
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 5500 info
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 65
U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) info Yes Yes
Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) info Yes Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading info No No
Cryptocurrency (Physical) info Yes No
Cryptocurrency (Derivative) info No Yes info
Disclaimers Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account.
Cost Interactive Brokers Plus500
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard info 0.63 info N/A
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.63 info N/A
Active Trader or VIP Discounts info Yes No
Inactivity Fee info No No
Execution: Agency Broker info Yes No
Execution: Market Maker info No Yes
Funding Interactive Brokers Plus500
Minimum Deposit info $0 โ‚ฌ100
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) info No Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes
Trading Platforms Interactive Brokers Plus500
Proprietary Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info Yes No
Web Platform info Yes Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading info No No
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info No No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info No No
cTrader info No No
DupliTrade info No No
ZuluTrade info No No
Trading Tools Interactive Brokers Plus500
Virtual Trading (Demo) info Yes Yes
Alerts - Basic Fields info Yes Yes
Watchlists - Total Fields info 640 10
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 128 110
Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) info 6 21
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes No
Charts can be saved info Yes Yes
Mobile Trading Interactive Brokers Plus500
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple iOS App info Yes Yes
Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields info Yes Yes
Mobile Watchlist info Yes Yes
Watchlist Syncing info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info 70 110
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave info No No
Mobile Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Research Interactive Brokers Plus500
Daily Market Commentary info Yes Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info Yes No
Autochartist info No No
Trading Central (Recognia) info Yes Yes
TipRanks info Yes No
Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs info Yes Yes
Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Education Interactive Brokers Plus500
Education (Forex or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Client Webinars info Yes Yes info
Client Webinars (Archived) info Yes Yes info
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Investor Dictionary (Glossary) info Yes No
Major Forex Pairs Interactive Brokers Plus500
GBP/USD info Yes Yes
USD/JPY info Yes Yes
EUR/USD info Yes Yes
USD/CHF info Yes Yes
USD/CAD info Yes Yes
NZD/USD info Yes Yes
AUD/USD info Yes Yes
Review Interactive Brokers Review Plus500 Review
Overall Interactive Brokers Plus500
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Offering of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platform & Tools 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 99
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Plus500 Review
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Interactive Brokers vs Plus500 Comparison

Weโ€™ve made it easy to compare the best forex brokers, side-by-side. Our editorial team has collected thousands of data points, written hundreds of thousands of words of research, and tested over 60 brokers to help you find the best forex brokers in the industry. Our research is unbiased and independent; learn more about how we test. That same research and data powers our broker comparisons. Let's compare Interactive Brokers vs Plus500.

Can I trust Interactive Brokers?

Interactive Brokers is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by nine Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), one Tier-2 regulator (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). Interactive Brokers is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Securities Futures Commission (SFC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

Can I trust Plus500?

Plus500 is publicly traded and does not operate a bank. Plus500 is authorised by six Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), three Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (High Risk). Plus500 is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Financial Markets Authority (FMA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

Is Interactive Brokers good?

Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. It delivers competitive fees and high-quality research and education, as well as a modern, institutional-grade trading platform suite.

Is Plus500 good?

Plus500 is a trusted global brand that offers an easy-to-use trading platform for online traders, alongside access to a thorough selection of CFDs. Share trading is available, but only via its Plus500 Invest product offering.

What is the minimum deposit requirement for opening an account with Interactive Brokers?

To open a trading account with Interactive Brokers, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.

What is the minimum deposit requirement for opening an account with Plus500?

Plus500 requires a minimum deposit of โ‚ฌ100 before you can open an account and start trading.

What funding options does each broker offer?

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. Interactive Brokers offers Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Plus500 provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).

Does Interactive Brokers or Plus500 offer lower pricing?

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that Interactive Brokers offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

Is Interactive Brokers or Plus500 safer for forex and CFDs trading?

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that Interactive Brokers holds 9 global Tier-1 licenses, while Plus500 holds 6. Plus500 holds 3 global Tier-2 licenses, while Interactive Brokers holds 1.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that Interactive Brokers and Plus500 have earned the same Trust Score (99).

Which trading platform is better: Interactive Brokers or Plus500?

To compare the trading platforms of both Interactive Brokers and Plus500, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Interactive Brokers offers a better experience. With research, Interactive Brokers offers superior market research. Finally, we found Interactive Brokers to provide better mobile trading apps.

Hereโ€™s what trading platforms are available at Interactive Brokers:

  • Proprietary Platform - Yes
  • Web Platform - Yes
  • cTrader - No
  • DupliTrade - No
  • MT4 - No
  • MT5 - No
  • ZuluTrade - No
  • TradingView - Yes

Hereโ€™s what trading platforms are available at Plus500:

  • Proprietary Platform - Yes
  • Web Platform - Yes
  • cTrader - No
  • DupliTrade - No
  • MT4 - No
  • MT5 - No
  • ZuluTrade - No
  • TradingView - No

What about MetaTrader? How about copy trading?

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Neither broker offers Meta Trader. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. Copy trading is not offered by either broker.

What can I trade with each broker?

Interactive Brokers provides traders 90 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Plus500's 65 available pairs. If you are interested in trading CFDs, Interactive Brokers offers traders access to 8500 CFDs, while Plus500 offers access to 5500 CFDs; so Interactive Brokers offers 3000 more CFDs than Plus500.

We found in our testing that Interactive Brokers offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Plus500, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) and Cryptocurrency (Physical). Neither have Social Trading / Copy Trading and Spread Betting.

Overall winner: Interactive Brokers

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announcementPlease note:

We review each brokerโ€™s overall global offering โ€“ a โ€œYesโ€ checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.


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