Interactive Brokers Review: Features, Pros, Cons, and More 2024!

Interactive Brokers is a forex and CFD broker that provides online trading services globally. Based in the United States, it is regulated by top regulatory authorities including Asic, IIROC, SEC , CFTC ,FCA, FSCS. Interactive Brokers offers a variety of trading instruments, including Stocks, options, futures, futures options, SSFs, ETFs, EFPs, currencies, fixed income, warrants and funds. It supports popular trading platforms and tools such as IBKR.

Though Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted and regulated forex and CFD broker, it has its strengths and weaknesses. In this review, we will take an in-depth look at Interactive Brokers, exploring its features, pros, cons, and more. By reading this review, you will gain a better understanding of whether Interactive Brokers is the right broker for your trading needs and preferences.

What is Interactive Brokers?

Founded in New York, USA in 1978 by Thomas Peterffy, Interactive Brokers has grown into a global brand with over 2.1 million clients. It has become one of the leading online trading solutions for traders, investors, and advisors. The brokers give access to over 5000+ tradable assets including forex, CFDs, warrants, ETFs Options, Futures, Mutual Funds, and Bonds. To trade online, IBKR offers WebTrader, FIX API, MobileTrader (MobileApp), and TWS trading platforms.

Key Features:

• Available in : Available in for all jurisdictions including Asic, IIROC, SEC , CFTC ,FCA, FSCS
• Account Opening: Fully Online Account opening. It may take only 5 to 7 Minutes. The demo account has 30 days of validity. 
•  KYC Verification: Required 
• Trading Instruments:  Stocks, options, futures, futures options, SSFs, ETFs, EFPs, currencies, fixed income, warrants and funds
• Trading Platforms: IBKR, WebTrader, FIX API, MobileTrader (MobileApp), TWS 
• Minimum Deposit: $0
• Maximum Leverage: Up to 30:1 (CySEC, ASIC), up to 1000:1 (FSA), and up to 500:1 for a professional account.
• Trading Fees:  Only Spread is charged (No Commission). Variable spreads from 1.0 pips. A rollover commission is applied on open positions overnight.
• Minimum Trade Size: 0.01 lot. 
• Maximum Trade Size (Lot restriction per Ticket): 300 Lots 
• Funding Currencies:  AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, or USD
• Maximum Number of Positions ( At a time): 200 for MT4, MT5 Live account, 100 for MT4, MT5, demo accounts, 2000 for Ctrader trading account. 
• Maximum Volume per trade: The maximum volume per trade ranges from 50 to 250 lots, depending on the platform type and tradable assets. For Shares CFDs, the maximum volume is 1000 shares in total
• Trading Style Allowed: All including Scalping, hedging, and EA Trading. 
• Stop Out Level (retail): 0%
• Margin Call Level: 60% 
• Negative balance Protection: Yes 
• Investor Protection:  Available under ASIC and CySEC regulations. However, the Investor protection scheme does not apply to FSA jurisdiction. 

Interactive Brokers Pros and Cons

Pros:

• IBK is a Forex and Stock Broker 
• Excellent reputation (founded in 1978)
• Regulated by top regulators like  ASIC, FCA, FSA, SFC, IIROC 
• A wide range of products offered warrants, ETFs, Options, Futures, Mutual Funds, Bonds 
• Over 18,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds.
• No monthly inactivity fee
• Low trading fees and high interest (up to 4.58% for USD) on cash balances
• Access to international markets and exchanges 
• Mobile apps are convenient for individual investors.

Cons:

• Complicated account opening 
• Learning Curve for Beginners
• The maximum leverage is only 1:40 
•  No Metatrader platforms (MT4, MT5) offered 
• High minimum deposit requirements for some account types 
• Interactive Advisors (Robo-advisor feature) is only available for US customers
• No fixed spread is available 

Our Ratings for Interactive Brokers:

Review and Reputation on Public Domains:

Public review sites like Trustpilot and Forex Peace Army have become important sources of information about brokers. Many traders share their real-life trading experiences on these platforms. However, there are also many fake or paid reviews on these platforms, and sometimes competitors leave negative reviews. This makes it challenging to find genuine reviews. By carefully reading the content and context of the reviews, you can often discern their authenticity. Do not blindly rely on these reviews; instead, use them as part of your overall broker research process

Interactive Brokers Ratings and Reviews from Trustpilot:

Interactive Brokers has earned a rating of 3.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot. These high ratings indicate customer satisfaction and trust. After carefully examining the reviews, we found that most of them are genuine, provided by real users sharing their real-life trading experiences.

Interactive Brokers Ratings and Reviews from Forex Peace Army:

Interactive Brokers has achieved an average rating of 2.4 out of 5 on Forex Peace Army (FPA). We’ve observed numerous brokers on FPA, and most brokers tend to have lower ratings. Several reasons might contribute to this. There is a complaint that FPA does not approve all positive reviews and only approves negative ones for the sake of their business. To understand the real reviews, traders should focus on the content of the reviews. Typically, fake, paid, or competitor reviews are generic. While you should consider these reviews as part of your research process, you shouldn’t make decisions based solely on them. For instance, if you encounter any user complaints, you might discuss them with the broker to verify if such issues exist. Additionally, you should review the broker’s policy and terms of service.

Final Verdict:

Interactive Brokers is a regulated forex and CFD broker that offers its trading services to traders and investors worldwide. It provides a wide range of trading instruments, including Stocks, options, futures, futures options, SSFs, ETFs, EFPs, currencies, fixed income, warrants, and funds. The broker’s spreads start from as low as 1.0 pips, and it offers high leverage (up to 40) and a low minimum deposit (as low as $0). With top-tier regulations, a variety of trading instruments, high leverage, low minimum deposit, fast execution, and flexible account types, Interactive Brokers can be a good choice for many traders.

However, the broker does not offer CFDs to US clients due to regulatory restrictions. It also does not have any investor protection scheme for non-US/UK/EU/AU traders.

If you are a forex and CFD trader looking for a trusted broker, Interactive Brokers can be an ideal choice for your trading journey. However, We always encourage traders to test brokers with a demo account or with a small deposit. Once you are satisfied with the trading conditions of the broker, you may proceed with real trading.