Interactive Brokers vs Alpari 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

When it comes to choosing an online broker, understanding their trust levels can be crucial. Interactive Brokers, established in 1977, stands out as a highly trusted platform with a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 99. It holds an impressive nine Tier-1 licenses, the highest level of trust. The company is also publicly traded, which adds another layer of transparency for its users. Although not a bank itself, Interactive Brokers still provides a secure environment for online trading.

In contrast, Alpari, founded in 1998, holds a more modest position on the trust scale with a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 68, categorizing it as high risk. Unlike Interactive Brokers, Alpari does not hold any Tier-1 or Tier-2 licenses, and is not publicly traded, aspects that may impact its transparency and perceived reliability. Both Interactive Brokers and Alpari operate as non-banking financial services providers, yet the difference in their creditability speaks volumes when evaluating which broker to trust with your investments.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Year Founded info	1977	1998
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	0
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	0
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

Comparing commissions and fees, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) earns 5/5 stars and ranks #2 of 63 at ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari earns 4/5 stars and ranks #42. A key difference is pricing visibility: IBKR doesn’t publish average forex spreads broadly, but Q3 2024 data showed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips and an effective all-in cost around 0.59 pips after commission. For Alpari, average spread data is not available, which makes direct, apples-to-apples comparisons harder.

IBKR charges a commission instead of marking up spreads, aggregating quotes from 17 major interbank dealers. Forex commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the U.S. dollar trade value per side, with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), roughly $16–$40 per million round turn. On a $100,000 EUR/USD buy-and-sell, the commission is about 0.40 pips on top of the spread. Because of the $2-per-side minimum, trading smaller than 100,000 units becomes proportionally more expensive. High-volume traders can qualify for lower minimums ($1.50 per order above $1B in monthly volume, $1 at $5B). IBKR’s forex trading is not commission-free (including IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro).

With Alpari’s average spread data unavailable, prospective clients should check live spreads and any per-trade or per-lot commissions for their specific account type and typical trade size. In short: IBKR’s published structure and third-party data point to very competitive all-in costs—especially for larger or higher-volume orders—while Alpari’s 4/5-star, #42 ranking signals that its pricing may be less competitive or less transparent than top-tier peers.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$20
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	N/A info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	N/A info
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
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 Alpari both let you trade forex as either CFDs or spot, but their product lineups differ widely. Interactive Brokers offers about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while Alpari lists roughly 105 symbols and 46 forex pairs. If you want stocks and ETFs, Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. markets as well as international exchanges; Alpari supports exchange-traded securities on international exchanges but not on U.S. exchanges.

For crypto, Interactive Brokers supports buying actual cryptocurrencies and trading crypto CFDs, whereas Alpari offers crypto CFDs only. Copy trading is available at Alpari but not at Interactive Brokers. Reflecting this breadth, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 for Range of Investments, while Alpari holds 3 stars and ranks #64.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	105
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	46
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
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

Interactive Brokers and Alpari both cover the essentials: free paper trading (demo accounts), their own in-house platforms, Windows desktop downloads, web platforms, and the ability to place trades directly from a chart. The key differences come down to extras and third‑party choices. Interactive Brokers does not support copy trading and does not offer MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. Alpari, by contrast, supports copy trading and offers both MT4 and MT5, which can be appealing if you want familiar forex tools, expert advisors, or social strategies.

If platform quality is your top priority, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 for Trading Platforms and Tools, while Alpari holds 4 stars and ranks #56 out of 63. In short: choose Interactive Brokers for a top‑rated, in‑house platform experience on desktop and web, and pick Alpari if you value MT4/MT5 access and built‑in copy trading, with both brokers offering a demo account to practice first.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
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

Interactive Brokers and Alpari both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, with price alerts and the ability to draw trendlines on stock and forex charts. A key difference is watchlists: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the app and your online account, while Alpari does not. Neither app auto-saves chart drawings, so you’ll need to reapply them if you close a chart.

For charting depth, Interactive Brokers includes 97 technical studies compared with Alpari’s 30. That extra toolkit helps with deeper analysis on the go. Reflecting this, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks 4th out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps on ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari holds 4 stars and ranks 57th. If you want more indicators and synced watchlists, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick; if you need the basics with alerts and chart drawing, Alpari covers the essentials.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
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	No

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers vs Alpari for market research: Interactive Brokers stands out with daily market commentary, top-tier forex news (e.g., Bloomberg/Reuters), Trading Central tools, a sentiment gauge showing long/short positioning, TipRanks insights, Acuity Trading tools (e.g., Signal Centre), and an economic calendar. Alpari includes top-tier forex news, Autochartist for technical and fundamental ideas, and an economic calendar, but it does not offer daily commentary, a sentiment tool, or Trading Central. Integration with TipRanks and Acuity Trading for Alpari is not indicated.

Based on independent reviews, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari scores 3 stars and ranks #58. If you want deeper in-platform research and sentiment data, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick; if you mainly need Autochartist plus news and a calendar, Alpari may suffice.

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

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Interactive Brokers vs Alpari for beginner education: Both brokers provide at least 10 forex/CFD learning pieces, and each has a library with 10 or more beginner-friendly videos. Interactive Brokers also hosts client webinars at least once a month, giving new traders a chance to learn live and ask questions, while Alpari does not offer monthly educational webinars.

For depth, Interactive Brokers includes 10+ advanced videos for experienced traders, whereas Alpari lacks that advanced video coverage. Reflecting this gap, Interactive Brokers earns a 5-star education rating and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers for Education on ForexBrokers.com, while Alpari holds a 3-star rating and ranks #48. If you want a fuller learning path with live sessions and advanced material, Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice; Alpari suits beginners who mainly want a basic video library.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Webinars info	Yes	No
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 Alpari. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Alpari finished with an overall rank of #58.

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	Alpari
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	68
Range of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platforms & Tools
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or Alpari?

What funding options does each broker offer?

×

×

Sponsored

+ Add Broker

Close Menu ×

navigate_before navigate_next

Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	68
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review

Broker Screenshots	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Trust Score info	99	68
Year Founded info	1977	1998
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	0
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	Alpari
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	No
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	Alpari
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

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	105
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	46
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
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	Alpari
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	N/A info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	N/A info
Inactivity Fee info	No	No
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	Yes
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$20
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
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	Alpari
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	Alpari
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	No
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

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

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

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
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

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Alpari
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	68
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review