Interactive Brokers vs ACY Securities 2025

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Regulation

Interactive Brokers, established in 1977, and ACY Securities, founded in 2011, stand as notable entities in the online brokerage industry. Interactive Brokers is publicly traded, allowing greater transparency, while ACY Securities remains privately owned. Neither of the two companies functions as a bank, ensuring they are focused solely on providing brokerage services. Interactive Brokers distinguishes itself with an impressive nine Tier-1 licenses, the highest level of regulatory trust, along with two additional Tier-2 licenses. This robust regulatory framework reflects its commitment to security and reliability. In contrast, ACY Securities holds a single Tier-1 license, lacking any Tier-2 validations, suggesting a less extensive regulatory backing.

The Trust Score provided by ForexBrokers.com further cements Interactive Brokers' reputation, as it achieves a perfect score of 99 out of 99, placing it firmly in the highly trusted category. Meanwhile, ACY Securities receives a Trust Score of 75, indicating an average level of risk. These scores reflect the brokers’ adherence to safety standards and reliability, informing potential users about the different levels of assurance they can expect. For traders seeking a highly trusted brokerage platform with extensive regulatory oversight, Interactive Brokers appears to hold the edge over ACY Securities.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Year Founded info	1977	2011
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	1
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	0
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

Interactive Brokers vs. ACY Securities: both are known for competitive commissions and fees, but they cater to different needs. Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 for Commissions and Fees, while ACY Securities earns 4.5 stars and ranks #22 out of 63. IBKR shines for active and high-volume forex traders with agency-style pricing, whereas ACY offers flexible account choices, including a commission-free option with a very low minimum deposit.

Interactive Brokers does not publish average forex spreads, but in Q3 2024 the EUR/USD averaged 0.19 pips, with an effective all-in cost of 0.59 pips after commission. Forex commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 bps) of the USD trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), comparable to $16–$40 per million round turn. On a $100,000 EUR/USD trade, the commission-equivalent is roughly 0.40 pips plus whatever the spread is. Note that the $2 minimum per side makes smaller-than-100k trades proportionally pricier. High-volume discounts can reduce the minimum to $1.50 per order above $1B in monthly volume, and to $1 at $5B; IBKR also supports RFQ for large orders and aggregates prices from 17 interbank dealers.

ACY Securities offers three account types. The Standard account is commission-free, averaged about 1.2 pips on EUR/USD in September 2021, and requires just a $50 deposit—ideal if you want simplicity but can accept wider spreads. Its commission-based ProZero and Bespoke accounts had average spreads around 0.25 pips during the same period, with $6 and $5 round-turn commissions, and $200 and $10,000 minimum deposits, respectively. If you reside in Australia, ProZero’s commission drops to $3 round turn, bringing the effective spread to 0.55 pips (September 2021). ACY also runs a 10-tier active trader program that can trim costs by 0.5 pips per lot once you exceed 50 standard lots per month.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$50
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	1.2 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	0.85 info
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	Yes
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Range of investments

Interactive Brokers and ACY Securities both let you trade forex as CFDs or spot, but their overall ranges differ. Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while ACY Securities offers roughly 2,200 symbols and 66 pairs. If you want to buy real stocks, Interactive Brokers provides exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, whereas ACY Securities does not offer direct share dealing (it focuses on CFDs). ACY Securities does include copy trading, which Interactive Brokers doesn’t.

For crypto, Interactive Brokers supports both actual, delivered cryptocurrency and crypto CFDs; ACY Securities offers crypto via CFDs only. Reflecting this breadth, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Range of Investments and is ranked #1 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. ACY Securities holds 4 stars and is ranked #31 out of 63. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want the widest choice and access to real shares and crypto; choose ACY Securities if you prefer CFD trading with the option to copy other traders.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	2200
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	66
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Disclaimers	Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients).	Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients).

Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.

Trading platforms and tools

Choosing between Interactive Brokers and ACY Securities for trading platforms and tools? Both brokers provide free paper (demo) trading, proprietary platforms, Windows-based desktop software, web platforms, and the ability to trade directly from charts.

The key differences come down to extras and ratings. ACY Securities supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, which can appeal to forex and automated strategies. Interactive Brokers does not support MT4/MT5 or copy trading, but it earns stronger expert marks: 5 stars and #3 out of 63 for Trading Platforms and Tools at ForexBrokers.com, versus ACY’s 4 stars and #42. If you want MetaTrader and copy trading, ACY fits the bill; if you want a top-rated in-house platform suite with paper trading and chart trading, Interactive Brokers stands out.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.

Forex trading apps

Choosing between the Interactive Brokers mobile app and the ACY Securities mobile app? Both offer iPhone and Android versions with price alerts built in. Independent ratings from ForexBrokers.com give Interactive Brokers 5/5 stars and a #4 rank out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps, while ACY Securities earns 4/5 stars and ranks #41. That suggests a stronger overall experience with Interactive Brokers, especially for active traders.

Charting tools are a key difference. Interactive Brokers provides 97 technical studies versus ACY Securities’ 30. Both apps let you draw trendlines, but only ACY Securities auto-saves those drawings; Interactive Brokers does not. Watchlist syncing is another divider: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, while ACY Securities does not. If you want deeper indicators and seamless watchlist syncing, Interactive Brokers stands out. If auto-saving chart drawings matters more, ACY Securities may suit you.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	97	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers and ACY Securities both provide daily market commentary and a global economic calendar. The differences show up beyond the basics: Interactive Brokers delivers premium forex news from top-tier sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, while ACY does not. Interactive Brokers also includes Trading Central analysis, a sentiment tool that shows long and short positioning, TipRanks insights, and tools from Acuity Trading. Neither broker offers Autochartist, and ACY lacks Trading Central, TipRanks, Acuity, and a sentiment gauge altogether.

These extras help Interactive Brokers earn a 5-star Research rating and a #3 ranking out of 63 brokers from ForexBrokers.com. ACY Securities holds a 3.5-star rating and ranks #46. For traders who want richer research and third-party analytics, Interactive Brokers is the stronger option; if you mainly want basic commentary and a calendar, ACY covers core needs.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	No
Autochartist info	No	No
Trading Central info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	No
TipRanks info	Yes	No
Acuity Trading info	Yes	No
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Comparing education for beginners, Interactive Brokers and ACY Securities both run client webinars at least once a month and each offers 10 or more beginner-friendly trading videos. New traders will find step-by-step content on trading basics, platform use, and key ideas in forex and CFD trading, presented in a format that’s easy to follow.

Interactive Brokers goes further with at least 10 advanced videos for when you’re ready to level up, while ACY Securities does not reach that same depth. Reflecting this, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars for Education and ranks it #3 out of 63 brokers, whereas ACY Securities earns 3.5 stars and ranks #43. If you want a learning path that grows with you, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick; if you mainly need core lessons and regular webinars, ACY Securities can do the job.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	No

Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.

Winner

After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than ACY Securities. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while ACY Securities finished with an overall rank of #41.

Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. It delivers competitive fees and high-quality research and education, as well as a modern, institutional-grade trading platform suite.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	75
Range of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platforms & Tools
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	75
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	ACY Securities Review

Broker Screenshots	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Trust Score info	99	75
Year Founded info	1977	2011
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	No info
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	1
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	0
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info	Yes	No
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info	Yes
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info	Yes	No
USA (CFTC Authorized) info	Yes	No
New Zealand (FMA Authorised) info	No	No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	No info

Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	No
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) info	Yes	No
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info		No

Investments	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	2200
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	66
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Disclaimers	Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients).	Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients).

Cost	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	1.2 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	0.85 info
Inactivity Fee info	No	No
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	No
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	No

Funding	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$50
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	Yes

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
cTrader info	No	No

Trading Tools	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] info
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	97	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	No

Research	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	No
Autochartist info	No	No
Trading Central info	Yes	No
TipRanks info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	No
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Education	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	No

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
GBP/USD [DELETED] info
USD/JPY [DELETED] info
EUR/USD info	Yes	Yes
USD/CHF [DELETED] info
USD/CAD [DELETED] info
NZD/USD [DELETED] info
AUD/USD [DELETED] info
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	ACY Securities Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	ACY Securities
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	75
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	ACY Securities Review