Written by ForexBrokers.com
Is Interactive Brokers better than XM Group? 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. XM Group is considered low-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 88 out of 99. Learn more about Trust Score.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 88 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | XM Group Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 88 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2009 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | Yes | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1429 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 55 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | No | Yes | |
| 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). |
| Cost | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.63 | 1.6 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.63 | 0.8 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $5 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 640 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 128 | 30 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 6 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 70 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | XM Group Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 88 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | XM Group Review |
We’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 XM Group.
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.
XM Group is not publicly-traded and does not operate a bank. XM Group is authorised by four Tier-1 regulators (highly trusted), one Tier-2 regulator (trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (average risk), and one Tier-4 regulator (high risk). XM Group is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) via its parent company's other brand Trading.com, and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.
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.
XM Group is a MetaTrader-only broker that offers a strong selection of high-quality educational content and market research.
To open a trading account with Interactive Brokers, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.
XM Group requires a minimum deposit of $5 before you can open an account and start trading.
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 XM Group provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw).
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.
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 XM Group holds 4. Both Interactive Brokers and XM Group hold 1 global Tier-2 licenses.
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 (99) earned a higher Trust Score than XM Group (88).
To compare the trading platforms of both Interactive Brokers and XM Group, 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.
Here’s what trading platforms are available at Interactive Brokers:
Here’s what trading platforms are available at XM Group:
The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. XM Group offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Interactive Brokers does not. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. While XM Group offers copy trading, Interactive Brokers does not.
Interactive Brokers provides traders 90 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to XM Group's 55 available pairs. If you are interested in trading CFDs, Interactive Brokers offers traders access to 8500 CFDs, while XM Group offers access to 1429 CFDs; so Interactive Brokers offers 7071 more CFDs than XM Group.
We found in our testing that Interactive Brokers offers a more diverse selection of investment options than XM Group, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) and Cryptocurrency (Physical). Neither have Spread Betting.
Overall winner: Interactive Brokers
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We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” 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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