Interactive Brokers vs AvaTrade 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, founded in 1977, stands out as a highly trusted online broker with a stellar Trust Score of 99 out of 99 from ForexBrokers.com. It is publicly traded, which adds an additional layer of transparency for investors. Although it is not a bank, Interactive Brokers is reinforced by 9 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, ensuring a well-regulated trading environment for its users.

AvaTrade, established in 2006 and not publicly traded, still maintains a reputable status with a Trust Score of 94. Like Interactive Brokers, AvaTrade is not a bank but is supported by 4 Tier-1 licenses and 3 Tier-2 licenses. This regulatory framework positions AvaTrade as a trusted option for online trading, providing secure channels for users to engage in the financial markets.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Year Founded info	1977	2006
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	4
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	3
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	1
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

Comparing commissions and fees, Interactive Brokers (5/5 stars; ranked #2 of 63) is built for low-cost forex trading at scale, while AvaTrade (4.5/5 stars; ranked #13 of 63) keeps things straightforward with spread-based pricing. AvaTrade’s typical EUR/USD spread is about 0.9 pips (June 2024), or 0.6 pips if you qualify as a Professional client. Interactive Brokers charges a commission instead of marking up spreads, which can deliver a lower all-in cost—especially on standard lots and higher volumes.

Interactive Brokers doesn’t publish average forex spreads broadly, but during Q3 2024 we recorded an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips, translating to an effective all-in cost of about 0.59 pips after commission. Commissions start at 0.00002 of the USD trade value per side (0.2 bps) with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), roughly $16–$40 per million round turn. On a $100,000 EUR/USD trade, the commission-equivalent is about 0.40 pips on top of the spread. Note the $2-per-side minimum makes sub-100k trade sizes proportionally pricier. Discounts are available for active traders: the minimum drops to $1.50 per order above $1B in monthly volume and to $1 above $5B. Prices are aggregated from 17 top interbank dealers, and large orders can be handled via RFQ. IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro both support forex, but neither is commission-free.

AvaTrade’s pricing centers on spreads that are near the industry average: about 0.9 pips on EUR/USD for retail traders, which is a bit higher than entry-level accounts at CMC Markets and Tickmill. If you qualify as an elected professional, AvaTrade’s Professional account tightens EUR/USD to around 0.6 pips, comparable to FP Markets. For traders who value a simple, spread-only setup, AvaTrade is easy to understand; for those chasing the lowest possible all-in costs on larger or more frequent trades, Interactive Brokers can come out ahead.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$100
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	0.93 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	0.61 info
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Range of investments

Interactive Brokers offers a wider range of investments than AvaTrade. It lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols versus AvaTrade’s 1,260, and 90 forex pairs compared with 53 at AvaTrade. Both support forex trading either as CFDs or spot contracts. A key difference is market access: Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international stock exchanges (for example, Apple or Vodafone), while AvaTrade focuses on CFDs and does not offer direct share dealing.

For digital assets, Interactive Brokers supports both actual (delivered) cryptocurrency and crypto CFDs, whereas AvaTrade offers crypto CFDs only. AvaTrade does, however, provide copy trading, which Interactive Brokers does not. Based on the Range of Investments category at ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers, while AvaTrade earns 4 stars and ranks #33. In short, choose Interactive Brokers for the broadest market access and product depth, or AvaTrade if you prefer a CFD-focused experience with copy trading.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	1260
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	53
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

Interactive Brokers and AvaTrade both check the key boxes for trading platforms and tools. Each offers simulated paper trading with a free demo account, proprietary platforms built in-house, a Windows desktop platform, and a web-based platform you can use in your browser. Charting is a strong point at both brokers, including the ability to place trades directly from charts, along with access to multiple indicators and customizable watchlists.

Where they differ: AvaTrade supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Interactive Brokers does not. For ratings, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and is ranked #3 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com for Trading Platforms and Tools; AvaTrade earns 4.5 stars and ranks #13. In short, Interactive Brokers suits traders who want a highly rated, feature-packed in-house experience, while AvaTrade appeals to those who prefer MT4/MT5 and copy trading alongside its own platform options.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
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	80
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and AvaTrade both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports stock and forex price alerts and keeps your watchlists synced between mobile and your online account. You can draw trendlines on charts in both apps; the only shared drawback is that chart drawings do not auto-save.

For charting, Interactive Brokers includes 97 technical studies, compared with AvaTrade’s 73. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 for Mobile Trading Apps, while AvaTrade earns 4.5 stars and ranks #13. Traders who want more indicators and a higher-rated app may prefer Interactive Brokers, while AvaTrade remains a strong choice for alerts, synced watchlists, and on-the-go trading on iPhone or Android.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	97	73
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 AvaTrade for market research: Interactive Brokers delivers daily market commentary, while AvaTrade does not. Both brokers stream forex news from top‑tier sources like Bloomberg or Reuters, include Trading Central tools, offer a sentiment tool showing long vs. short positioning, and feature an economic calendar. Neither broker provides Autochartist. Where Interactive Brokers pulls ahead is in extra third‑party research: it adds TipRanks and Acuity Trading (Signal Centre), which AvaTrade lacks.

These differences show up in the scores. Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com. AvaTrade earns 4 stars and ranks #35. If you want daily commentary and added research from TipRanks and Acuity, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick; if you mainly need Trading Central, sentiment data, and headline news, AvaTrade covers the essentials.

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

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Interactive Brokers and AvaTrade both give beginners plenty of ways to learn. Each broker runs client webinars at least once a month and offers sizeable video libraries with 10 or more beginner lessons, plus another 10 or more for advanced topics. That means you can start with the basics of trading and build up to more complex ideas over time, with content that touches on forex and CFDs through videos and live sessions.

For quality scores, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Education and is ranked #3 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. AvaTrade earns 4 stars and holds the #2 spot out of 63. Put simply, Interactive Brokers gets the higher education score, while AvaTrade sits slightly higher in the rankings. Beginners who want a perfect education rating may lean toward Interactive Brokers; those who prefer a broker placed near the top of the category list may consider AvaTrade.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

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 AvaTrade. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while AvaTrade finished with an overall rank of #13.

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	AvaTrade
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	94
Range of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platforms & Tools
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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What funding options does each broker offer?

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	94
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	AvaTrade Review

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

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Trust Score info	99	94
Year Founded info	1977	2006
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	Yes info
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	4
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	3
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	1
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (FSA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
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	Yes info

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

Investments	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	1260
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	53
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	AvaTrade
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	0.93 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	0.61 info
Inactivity Fee info	No	Yes
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	No
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$100
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
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	AvaTrade
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	80
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
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	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	97	73
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	No
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

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

Education	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
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	AvaTrade Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	94
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	AvaTrade Review