Traders consistently seek trusted and reliable trading platforms that suit their trading styles and preferences. Etoro and Interactive Brokers are top-tier regulated brokers providing online trading services worldwide. Etoro is known for its social trading and multi-asset platform, regulated in four tier-1 jurisdictions and one tier-4 jurisdiction including CySEC, FCA, Finra, FSA-S, and SIPC. On the other hand, Interactive Brokers specializes in online forex trading regulated by eight Tier-1 jurisdictions and two Tier-2 jurisdictions including ASIC, IIROC, MNB, SFC, SEBI, CBI, FSA-Japan, MAS, FCA, FINRA, and SEC. While these brokers offer similar services, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, I have compared Etoro and Interactive Brokers in terms of trading platforms, Pros, Cons, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. This analysis aims to help you determine which broker better suits your trading style and preferences.
eToro vs Interactive Broker: In a Nutshell
eToro:
For over 15 years, eToro has been championing the art of social trading among forex traders. It has built a huge community comprising over 30 million traders who interact with each other while investors automatically copy the trades of expert traders. Additionally, you can trade real stocks, ETFs, and cryptos with eToro.
Etoro Overview
- Founded In: 2007
- Founder: Yoni Assia, Ronen Assia
- Headquarters: UK
- Minimum Deposit: $50
- Maximum Leverage: 30:1 EU, 50:1 USA
- Regulations: SEC, FINRA, FCA, CySEC, FSA-S, SIPC
- Trading platform: eToro Trading Platforms
- Account Types: Standard, Professional, Corporate
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard, Giropay, Local Bank Deposits, Local Bank Transfers, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, UnionPay, WebMoney, Yandex Money
Interactive Broker:
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 is an American Multinational brokerage firm headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. 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. To learn more about IBKR, you can read our review of Interactive Brokers.
Interactive Brokers Overview
- Founded In: 1978
- Founder: Chairman Thomas Peterffy
- Headquarters: Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
- Minimum Deposit: None
- Maximum Leverage: 500:1
- Regulations: SEC , CFTC ,FCA, FSCS, ASIC , IIROC , FSA
- Trading platform: WebTrader, FIX API, MobileTrader
- Account Types: Family Office Account ,UGMA/UTMA, IRA, Trust ,Joint, Individuals
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), ACH (Automated Clearing House), BPAY, Check, Direct Debit, Local Bank Deposits, Transfer from Existing Broker
- US Traders: Accepted
eToro vs Interactive Brokers: Features
eToro
- Trading Instruments: Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Currencies, Commodities, Crypto
- Maximum leverage: 1:3000
- Minimum Deposit: $5
- Account Types: Personal (retail) account, professional account, corporate account, and Islamic accountÂ
- Trading Fees: Spread starting from 1 pipÂ
- PAMM/ MAM: Not available. A dedicated Copy trading Platform is availableÂ
- Scalping: Not AllowedÂ
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Not Allowed
Interactive Brokers
- Trading Instruments: 5000+Trading instruments including forex, CFDs, warrants, ETFs Options, Futures, Mutual Funds, stocks, options, and Bonds
- Maximum leverage: 50:1 for US Clients, 30:1 for EU clients, and 400:1 for global clients.
- Minimum Deposit: The Interactive Brokers minimum deposit is $0 for a cash account, $2,000 for a T Reg margin account, and $110,000 for a portfolio margin account. The minimum deposit is subject to change depending on the trading account opened and the base currency selected.
- Trading Fees: spreads starting from as low as 0.1 pips, Stock fees USD 0.005 per share.
- PAMM/ MAM: Not Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed with Capitalise.ai
eToro vs Interactive Broker: Pros and Cons
eToro:
- Regulated in numerous jurisdictions including CySEC, FCA, ASIC, FinCEN, MSB, FSA Seychelles, FSC Gibraltar, and FSA Malta.
- Trading over 5,000 forex and CFD assets plus real stocks/ETFs and Cryptocurrencies.
- A large community of social traders
- Trading tools like market sentiments, news feed, Trading Central analysis, etc.
- Investors can copy the trades of expert traders or invest in ‘CopyPortfolios’
- Real Stocks and ETFs are Available
- Negative Balance Protection
- Traders pay withdrawal fees, inactivity fees, and conversion fees.
- You have no other platform choice than the eToro platform.
- You cannot automate your strategies via trading robots.
- No multiple account types; you can only have a retail account or a professional account.
- Margin trading is not available to U.S. users
- No limit orders for stocks.
- Not Available in American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
Interactive Broker
- 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.
- 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
eToro vs Interactive Broker: Side-by-Side Comparison
eToro Vs Interactive Broker: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, eToro and Interactive Broker, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 0.1 increments. To achieve a comprehensive rating, we broadly grouped all services offered by brokers into 6 macro categories and assigned percentage weights to them. Each macro category is subdivided into several data points which contributes to the total score of 1.0-10.0 assigned to each macro category. Since all categories are not equally important, our weight percentage plays a significant role in assessing the broker accurately. For example, Regulation and Security contributes a total weight of 40% to the whole ratings because this is the most important rating category. To learn more, read our methodology.
eToro:
Interactive Broker:
Final Verdict:
Both eToro and Interactive Brokers are regulated online trading platforms in the industry, offering services to traders and investors. However, there are some differences between them. eToro is a multi-asset and social trading platform, providing over 5000+ trading instruments, including Forex, CFDs, real stocks, and cryptocurrencies. It offers both leverage and non-leverage tradable assets. On the other hand, Interactive Brokers is a forex and CFD broker offering Stocks, options, futures, futures options, SSFs, ETFs, EFPs, currencies, fixed income, warrants, and funds. Both platforms accept US clients.
Our score for eToro is 8.5, and for Interactive Brokers, it is 9.1 (based on our research; a score above 8 is considered safe and trustworthy). If you are seeking a social trading platform where you can copy other successful traders and have a one-stop solution for various types of trading, you may choose eToro. However, if you prefer US US-based online forex broker that offers stocks, options, futures, EFPs, futures options, forex, bonds, funds, and some cryptocurrencies, you may choose Interactive Brokers.
