Interactive Brokers vs FOREX.com 2023

Trust Score is a data-driven rating system that provides an at-a-glance rating of a broker’s overall trust by tracking 60+ brokers and over 100 regulatory jurisdictions across the globe. To make things clearer for everyday traders, we’ve created a five-tier system for regulators and Trust Score rating labels. Learn more about Trust Score, and check out our country guides to see the most trusted brokers in your country of residence.

Interactive Brokers has a Trust Score of 99, giving it a "Highly Trusted" Trust Score Label.

FOREX.com has a Trust Score of 99, giving it a "Highly Trusted" Trust Score Label.

Founded in 1977, Interactive Brokers is a long-standing highly trusted broker that holds a stunning nine Tier-1 licenses from regulatory jurisdictions across the globe numerous regulatory licenses. We've consistently rated Interactive Brokers as an excellent choice for professional traders, and its Trader Workstation (TWS) platform offers a variety of advanced trading tools that will be appreciated by experienced traders. Interactive Brokers delivers access to over 100 markets, including forex and CFDs. IBKR's recently introduced web-based platform is a great choice for beginner forex traders, and its powerful research and extensive educational content make for a balanced experience for newcomers and professionals alike.

FOREX.com, part of the StoneX Group, is a highly trusted brand with a long history of offering forex in the U.S. and across the globe. We love FOREX.com's flagship trading platforms for web and desktop (TradingView's powerful charting is fully integrated within the broker's web platform), and MetaTrader loyalists will appreciate that FOREX.com offers both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. An impressive number of CFDs are available within the broker's proprietary platform (though fewer are available on MetaTrader). FOREX.com's pricing is great for active traders, but our research found that FOREX.com is slightly expensive compared to the industry average. Overall, FOREX.com is a well-balanced choice for traders of all experience levels.

Tier-1 is reserved for the strictest, most stringent regulatory jurisdictions in the world. Tier-1 regulators impose additional capital requirements and require a tougher initial screening process. Interactive Brokers holds regulatory licenses in the following Tier-1 jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised), Canada (CIRO Authorised), Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized). FOREX.com, on the other hand, is licensed in these Tier-1 regulatory jurisdictions: Australia (ASIC Authorised), Canada (CIRO Authorised), Japan (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized). Neither have New Zealand (FMA Authorised) and Switzerland (FINMA Authorised)

Tier-2 and tier-3 licenses are still important in evaluating the overall trustworthiness of forex brokers. As far as tier-2 licenses go, Interactive Brokers is India (SEBI Authorised), while FOREX.com is Cyprus (CySEC Authorised) and UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised).. Neither have China (CBRC Authorised), Israel (ISA Authorised), Russia (CBR Authorised), South Africa (FSCA Authorised) and Thailand (SEC Authorised). When comparing tier-3 licenses Interactive Brokers is none, while FOREX.com is Cayman Islands (CIMA Authorised).. Neither have Bahamas (SCB Authorised), Belize (FSC Authorised), Bermuda (BMA Authorised), British Virgin Islands (FSC Authorised), Mauritius (FSC Authorised) and Vanuatu (VFSC Authorised).

Whether your broker develops its own proprietary platforms or provides access to popular third-party platforms, you should make sure you can use your preferred type of trading platform. In our testing, we found that both Interactive Brokers and FOREX.com offer a Proprietary Platform and Desktop Platform (Windows). Neither have cTrader, DupliTrade and ZuluTrade

For MetaTrader Interactive Brokers provides neither of these, while FOREX.com provides MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). If MetaTrader is a must for you, read our guides on the best MT4 brokers or best MT5 brokers.

Interactive Brokers requires a minimum deposit of $0, while FOREX.com requires a minimum deposit of $100. It's also important to ensure your broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. In our research, we've found that Interactive Brokers supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) for funding and deposit methods, whereas FOREX.com supports Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)

When choosing a broker, it’s important to check the availability of your preferred investment products and asset classes. We’ve tested each broker’s individual offering of investments to help you pick the right broker for what you want to trade. We found that both Interactive Brokers and FOREX.com offer Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Metals, Energies, Agriculturals, ETF and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Neither have Spread Betting and Social Trading / Copy Trading.

We also keep track of each broker’s total number of tradeable symbols; Interactive Brokers offers 8500, and FOREX.com offers a total of 5500 tradeable symbols.

Crypto trading has become popular among forex traders across a range of international jurisdictions. As a result, many forex brokers now offer crypto products to their clients; most crypto assets are offered either as an underlying physical asset (such as when you own actual bitcoin assets, for example) or as a derivative product like a CFD. If you are looking to trade physical cryptocurrencies, you’ll find that neither Interactive Brokers nor FOREX.com allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

The best forex brokers arm their clients with a variety of research tools and resources. Market research plays a huge role in any forex trader’s ability to conduct analysis within the global forex market. In our testing, we discovered that both Interactive Brokers and FOREX.com offer the same suite of research tools and resources. Here’s a comprehensive list of the tools provided by both brokers: Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) and Trading Central (Recognia).. Neither have Autochartist and Social Trading / Copy Trading

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