Interactive brokers vs. Plus500

Comparison: Interactive brokers vs. Plus500 – Which broker is better? A quick comparison based on the trading platform, fees, deposit or withdrawal options, and regulation in 2026.

Winner of this comparison: Plus500 with an overall rating of 59%

Interactive brokers vs. Plus500
Interactive brokers
Plus500

Basic information

Deposit
10 EUR/USD
100 EUR/USD
Spreads
1 EUR/USD
1 EUR/USD
Established
1978
2008
Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs)
22
70
Country
UK
Cyprus, UK, Australia
Regulation
Authorised in the European Union (EU)
FCA (UK), Authorised in the European Union (EU), ASIC (Australia), Cysec, CFTC Registered (USA)
Trading app
Desktop Platform (Windows), Web Platform
Web Platform
Number of CFD asset classes
5
7
Broker type
ECN, STP
MM
Support
Phone, Mail, Chat
Mail, Chat
Funding methods
* Some of the payment methods may not be available in your country. Visa/Mastercard, Bank Wire
* Some of the payment methods may not be available in your country. GiroPay, Klarna, PayPal, Visa/Mastercard, Bank Wire
Real Stocks and ETFs
Yes
Yes

*The value is indicative from the broker's website. The spread amount is variable.

Plus500 · www.plus500.com

80% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Comparison Result

If you don’t want to read the full comparison, the winner of our review is Plus500, which takes the lead with a rating of 59%, while Interactive brokers only reaches 50%. Interactive brokers requires a minimum deposit of 10 EUR/USD, while Plus500 sets it at 100 EUR/USD. Thanks to the lower deposit, Interactive brokers is more welcoming to traders with smaller budgets. For Interactive brokers, the spread is 1 EUR/USD, while for Plus500 it is 1 EUR/USD. In this area, both brokers are on par. Interactive brokers offers 22 forex pairs, while Plus500 provides 70. More options come with Plus500. Interactive brokers was founded in 1978, while Plus500 has been operating since 2008. The longer tradition of Interactive brokers means greater experience. A big plus for Interactive brokers is the ability to trade real stocks, which Plus500 doesn’t offer. Interactive brokers is overseen by 1 regulatory bodies, while Plus500 has 5. Stricter oversight at Plus500 gives it an advantage. Interactive brokers supports 2 platforms, while Plus500 offers 1. A greater choice of platforms gives Interactive brokers the lead.
50%
Interactive brokers
59%
Plus500

Key Strengths

Interactive brokers
  • Extremely low fees
  • Wide range of products
  • Many great research tools
  • Low margin rates
  • No inactivity fee and no withdrawal fee
Plus500
  • User-friendly platform
  • Tight spreads
  • Good selection of crypto CFDs
  • Advanced risk management tools
  • Support assistance service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • More than 2800 trading instruments

Comparison by Categories

  1. Investments 62 88
  2. Cost 80 80
  3. Trading app 29 14
  4. Trading Tools 100 90
  5. Research 83 67
  6. Education 100 67
  7. Forex 100 100
  8. Commodities 100 91
  9. Indicies 100 100
  10. Cryptocurrencies 0 90
  11. Regulations 17 83
  12. Support 100 67
  13. Overall 50 59

Comprehensive Comparison: Interactive brokers vs Plus500

Interactive brokers
Plus500

Investments

62 % 88 %
Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs)
22
70
CFDs – Total Offered
100+
2800+
Options CFD
Yes
Yes
Share CFDs
No
Yes
Forex CFD
Yes
Yes
Commodities CFD
Yes
Yes
ETF CFD
Yes
Yes
Indicies CFD
Yes
Yes
Cryptocurrency traded as actual
No
No
Cryptocurrency traded as CFD
No
Yes
Winner
No
No

Cost

80 % 80 %
Average Spread EUR/USD *The value is indicative from the broker's website. The spread amount is variable.
1
1
Deposit from
10
100
Account fee
No
No
Inactivity fee
Yes
Yes
Active Trader or VIP Discounts
No
No
Withdrawal fees
No
No
Deposit fees
No
No
Winner
No
No

Trading app

29 % 14 %
Desktop Platform (Windows)
Yes
No
Web Platform
Yes
Yes
Social Trading / Copy-Trading
No
No
MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
No
No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5)
No
No
Currenex
No
No
cTrader
No
No
Winner
No
No

Trading Tools

100 % 90 %
Financial leverage
Yes
Yes
Virtual Trading (Demo)
Yes
Yes
Alerts – Basic Fields
Yes
Yes
Charting – Indicators / Studies (Total)
Yes
Yes
Charting – Drawing Tools (Total)
Yes
Yes
Charting – Trade From Chart
Yes
Yes
Stop-Loss
Yes
Yes
Finacial Calendar
Yes
Yes
Daily financial news
Yes
No
Order Type – Trailing Stop
Yes
Yes
Winner
No
No

Research

83 % 67 %
Daily Market Commentary
Yes
Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)
Yes
Yes
Weekly Webinars
Yes
No
Social Sentiment – Currency Pairs
No
Yes
Economic Calendar
Yes
Yes
Research
Yes
No
Winner
No
No

Education

100 % 67 %
Has Education – Forex
Yes
Yes
Has Education – CFDs
Yes
Yes
Client Webinars
Yes
No
Videos – Advanced Trading Videos
Yes
No
Investor Dictionary (Glossary)
Yes
Yes
Education
Yes
Yes
Winner
No
No

Forex

100 % 100 %
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
Winner
No
No

Commodities

100 % 91 %
Gold
Yes
Yes
Silver
Yes
Yes
WIT Oil
Yes
Yes
Brent Oil
Yes
Yes
Coffee
Yes
Yes
Cocoa
Yes
Yes
Soybeans
Yes
Yes
Rice
Yes
No
Corn
Yes
Yes
Platinum
Yes
Yes
Palladium
Yes
Yes
Winner
No
No

Indicies

100 % 100 %
DAX 40
Yes
Yes
S&P 500
Yes
Yes
Nasdaq
Yes
Yes
Dow Jones
Yes
Yes
Nikkei
Yes
Yes
Winner
No
No

Cryptocurrencies

0 % 90 %
Bitcoin
No
Yes
Litecoin
No
Yes
Ethereum
No
Yes
Ripple
No
Yes
Neo
No
Yes
Stellar
No
Yes
Cardano
No
Yes
Tron
No
Yes
Monero
No
No
EOS
No
Yes
Winner
No
No

Regulations

17 % 83 %
Cysec
No
Yes
ASIC (Australia)
No
Yes
FCA (UK)
No
Yes
Authorised in the European Union (EU)
Yes
Yes
CFTC Registered (USA)
No
Yes
FINMA (Switzerland)
No
No
Winner
No
No

Support

100 % 67 %
Chat
Yes
Yes
Phone
Yes
No
Mail
Yes
Yes
Winner
No
No

Overall

50 % 59 %
Winner
No
No

Our Recommendations

Best for Interactive brokers

Thanks to comprehensive educational materials and a user-friendly platform, Interactive brokers is an ideal choice for new traders.

Best Platform Interactive brokers

The trading platform of broker Interactive brokers offers an intuitive interface and advanced features for efficient trading.

Lowest Costs

Both brokers have comparable fee structures and spreads.

Interactive brokers Plus500