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%
Basic information
| Basic information |  Interactive brokers |  Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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
Comprehensive Comparison: Interactive brokers vs Plus500
Interactive brokers Plus500 Investments
62 % 88 %| Investments | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Cost
80 % 80 %| Cost | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Trading app
29 % 14 %| Trading app | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Trading Tools
100 % 90 %| Trading Tools | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Research
83 % 67 %| Research | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Education
100 % 67 %| Education | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Forex
100 % 100 %| Forex | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Commodities
100 % 91 %| Commodities | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Indicies
100 % 100 %| Indicies | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| DAX 40 | Yes | Yes |
| S&P 500 | Yes | Yes |
| Nasdaq | Yes | Yes |
| Dow Jones | Yes | Yes |
| Nikkei | Yes | Yes |
Cryptocurrencies
0 % 90 %| Cryptocurrencies | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Regulations
17 % 83 %| Regulations | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Support
100 % 67 %| Support | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Phone | Yes | No |
| Yes | Yes |
Overall
50 % 59 %| Overall | Interactive brokers | Plus500 |
|---|
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