Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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.
Interactive Brokers, founded in 1977, and CMC Markets, established in 1989, are both prominent players in the online brokerage landscape, each with a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 99, indicating a high level of trust. Both companies are publicly traded and operate under multiple regulatory licenses. Interactive Brokers holds 9 Tier-1 licenses, while CMC Markets holds 6, classifying both as highly trusted entities. Additionally, Interactive Brokers has 2 Tier-2 licenses, compared to CMC Markets’ 1, further enhancing their standing in terms of regulatory oversight and trust.
Neither Interactive Brokers nor CMC Markets operates as a bank, focusing instead on providing brokerage services with a strong emphasis on compliance and security. Their similar Trust Scores reflect their strong regulatory credentials, making them both reliable choices for investors seeking secure trading platforms. Despite differences in licensing, both brokers demonstrate a commitment to maintaining high standards and transparency within the financial market.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1989 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 6 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets both offer competitive commissions and fees, appealing to traders who prioritize cost efficiency. Interactive Brokers is noted for its commission-based structure where forex pricing starts at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the U.S. dollar trade value with a minimum of $2 per order, amounting to approximately 0.40 pips for an example trade of $100,000 worth of EUR/USD. They achieve this by aggregating prices from major interbank forex dealers, ensuring transparency and robust execution. Interactive Brokers is ranked #2 in the Commissions and Fees category by ForexBrokers.com and has been awarded a 5-star rating.
Conversely, CMC Markets stands out in the industry with its award-winning low spread offerings, maintaining consistently competitive pricing for all segments and account types. According to their price data for August 2023, their typical spread for EUR/USD is 0.61 pips. Furthermore, the FX Active pricing structure, available in regions like Southeast Asia and the UK, introduces a commission of $2.50 per side which, combined with zero minimum spreads, leads to a total cost of 0.5 pip for EUR/USD. This transparent pricing model allows CMC Markets to secure the #1 spot in the Commissions and Fees category, again gaining a 5-star rating.
The strong positioning of both brokers in their respective categories highlights their commitment to providing excellent value for traders. Interactive Brokers benefits active traders through volume-based discounts while efficiently managing large order sizes. Similarly, CMC Markets' Price Plus Scheme offers spread discounts based on trading volume, making them an attractive option for high-frequency traders. Whether it is Interactive Brokers aggregating prices for lower commission costs or CMC Markets maintaining low spreads with program incentives, both brokers offer appealing choices depending on individual trading needs.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 1.3 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.65 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets both deliver a wide range of investments and each earns 5 stars for Range of Investments. Interactive Brokers is ranked #1 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, while CMC Markets is #9. Both offer forex trading either as CFDs or spot, with CMC Markets listing 12,029 tradeable symbols and 141 forex pairs, and Interactive Brokers offering 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs.
Both brokers let you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges, so you can trade names like Apple and Vodafone directly. For crypto access, Interactive Brokers supports both actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies and crypto CFDs, whereas CMC Markets offers crypto CFDs but not delivered crypto. Copy trading is available at CMC Markets, while Interactive Brokers does not support copy trading.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 12029 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 141 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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.
Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets both tick key boxes for platform choice and practice trading. Each offers a free paper trading (demo) account, a proprietary platform, a downloadable Windows desktop platform, and a web-based platform. You can also place orders directly from charts with either broker. In ForexBrokers.com’s Trading Platforms and Tools category, both earned 5 out of 5 stars; Interactive Brokers ranks #3 of 63 brokers, while CMC Markets ranks #4.
Differences show up in third-party and social features. CMC Markets supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which may appeal if you prefer those terminals or want access to their add-ons. Interactive Brokers does not support copy trading or MT4/MT5, steering you to its own platform suite instead. If you value MT4/MT5 or copy trading, CMC Markets has the edge; if you prefer a broker’s native tools with top-tier ratings and high placement in industry rankings, Interactive Brokers is a strong pick.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 73 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets both deliver mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each supports price alerts and watchlists that sync with your online account, and both let you draw trendlines on charts. In independent ratings, both apps earned 5 stars; among 63 brokers reviewed by ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers ranks #4 while CMC Markets ranks #5.
For charting depth, Interactive Brokers stands out with 97 technical studies compared with 29 on CMC Markets. However, CMC Markets auto-saves chart drawings, while Interactive Brokers does not. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a larger set of indicators, or pick CMC Markets if saving your annotations automatically is more important.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 29 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
For traders seeking detailed market insights, both Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets offer comprehensive research features. They provide daily market commentary and forex news from renowned sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring traders stay informed with credible information. Furthermore, both brokers feature a sentiment-based tool, allowing users to gauge the market's mood using long or short position data. Additionally, Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets include an economic calendar to keep traders updated on major news events globally. However, when contrasting their technical analysis offerings, Interactive Brokers includes Trading Central tools, while CMC Markets integrates Autochartist resources to assist users in trading strategies.
Interactive Brokers distinguishes itself with exclusive research benefits from providers like TipRanks and Acuity Trading's Signal Centre, which are not available on CMC Markets. This unique access to advanced research tools might be a key factor in Interactive Brokers achieving a higher ranking, placing third among 63 brokers for research according to ForexBrokers.com, compared to CMC Markets' sixth position. Despite these differences, both brokers earn a five-star rating for research, highlighting their commitment to providing valuable resources for their clients.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | Yes | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
If you’re comparing Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets for beginner education, both earn 5 stars from ForexBrokers.com. Interactive Brokers ranks #3 out of 63 for Education, while CMC Markets ranks #10. Each broker offers at least 10 beginner trading videos, plus 10+ advanced videos for when you’re ready to go deeper.
Interactive Brokers has the edge for live learning because it hosts client webinars at least once a month; CMC Markets does not. That makes Interactive Brokers better if you want interactive sessions and a steady learning schedule, while CMC Markets still fits self-paced learners who rely on on-demand videos. Note: the data provided does not confirm whether either broker meets the specific threshold of 10 or more lessons focused on forex or CFDs.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than CMC Markets. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while CMC Markets finished with an overall rank of #4.
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
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CMC Markets
|
|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 |
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Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets: Interactive Brokers supports buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrency and trading cryptocurrency CFDs, whereas CMC Markets offers only cryptocurrency CFDs and does not provide delivered crypto.
In a payment-method comparison for depositing or withdrawing funds, both Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets support ACH/SEPA and bank wires, only CMC Markets offers PayPal, neither supports Skrill, and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” 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.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | CMC Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1989 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 6 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 12029 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 141 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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 | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 1.3 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.65 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 73 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 29 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | CMC Markets Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | CMC Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | CMC Markets Review |
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