Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets Comparison
Weโve made it easy to compare the best forex brokers, side-by-side. Our editorial team has collected thousands of data points, written hundreds of thousands of words of research, and tested over 60 brokers to help you find the best forex brokers in the industry. Our research is unbiased and independent; learn more about how we test. That same research and data powers our broker comparisons. Let's compare Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets.
Can I trust Interactive Brokers?
Interactive Brokers is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by nine Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), one Tier-2 regulator (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). Interactive Brokers is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Securities Futures Commission (SFC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.
Can I trust CMC Markets?
CMC Markets is publicly traded, does not operate a bank, and is authorised by five Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), one tier-2 regulator (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). CMC Markets is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Financial Markets Authority (FMA), and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Is Interactive Brokers good?
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.
Is CMC Markets good?
CMC Markets is well-trusted across the globe, and delivers a terrific trading experience thanks to its excellent pricing and selection of over 12,000 tradeable instruments.
What is the minimum deposit requirement for opening an account with Interactive Brokers?
To open a trading account with Interactive Brokers, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.
What is the minimum deposit requirement for opening an account with CMC Markets?
CMC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $0 before you can open an account and start trading.
What funding options does each broker offer?
It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. Interactive Brokers offers Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas CMC Markets provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).
Does Interactive Brokers or CMC Markets offer lower pricing?
Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that CMC Markets offers better pricing overall for traders.
Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.
Is Interactive Brokers or CMC Markets safer for forex and CFDs trading?
At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that Interactive Brokers holds 9 global Tier-1 licenses, while CMC Markets holds 5. Both Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets hold 1 global Tier-2 licenses.
After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets have earned the same Trust Score (99).
Which trading platform is better: Interactive Brokers or CMC Markets?
To compare the trading platforms of both Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Interactive Brokers offers a better experience. With research, Interactive Brokers offers superior market research. Finally, we found CMC Markets to provide better mobile trading apps.
Hereโs what trading platforms are available at Interactive Brokers:
- Proprietary Platform - Yes
- Web Platform - Yes
- cTrader - No
- DupliTrade - No
- MT4 - No
- MT5 - No
- ZuluTrade - No
- TradingView - Yes
Hereโs what trading platforms are available at CMC Markets:
- Proprietary Platform - Yes
- Web Platform - Yes
- cTrader - No
- DupliTrade - No
- MT4 - Yes
- MT5 - No
- ZuluTrade - No
- TradingView - No
What about MetaTrader? How about copy trading?
The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. CMC Markets offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Interactive Brokers does not. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. While CMC Markets offers copy trading, Interactive Brokers does not.
What can I trade with each broker?
CMC Markets provides traders 156 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Interactive Brokers's 90 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, CMC Markets offers traders access to 11925 tradeable symbols, while Interactive Brokers offers access to 8500 tradeable symbols; so CMC Markets offers 3425 more tradeable symbols than Interactive Brokers.
We found in our testing that Interactive Brokers offers a more diverse selection of investment options than CMC Markets, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), U.S. Stocks (CFD), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) and Cryptocurrency (Physical).
Overall winner: Interactive Brokers
travel_explore See the best forex brokers in your country.
Use our international search tool to find a broker that accepts clients from your country.
Popular Forex Reviews
Popular Forex Guides
Popular Forex Education
More Forex Guides
Popular Forex Broker Reviews
announcementPlease note:
We review each brokerโs overall global offering โ a โYesโ checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.