Interactive Brokers vs Exness 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 and Exness are both well-known names in the online brokerage space, but their levels of regulatory oversight and public trust differ significantly. Founded in 1977, Interactive Brokers is a publicly traded company, adding an extra layer of transparency and accountability. While it is not a bank, the firm holds an impressive nine Tier-1 licenses, which are considered highly trusted, and two Tier-2 licenses. With a top-notch Trust Score rating of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers is among the most reliable and secure options available.

Exness, on the other hand, was established in 2008 and is not publicly listed. Like Interactive Brokers, Exness is not a bank. It holds two Tier-1 licenses and three Tier-2 licenses, indicating a solid but more modest level of regulatory commitment compared to Interactive Brokers. The firm has a ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 81, placing it in the "trusted" category but behind Interactive Brokers when it comes to overall security and trust. While both brokers serve their clients well, their differences in trust ratings and regulation make Interactive Brokers the more reliable choice for those prioritizing these aspects.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Year Founded info	1977	2008
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	2
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	3
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	3

Fees

Interactive Brokers (5 stars, ranked #2 of 63 for Commissions and Fees) and Exness (4 stars, ranked #36 of 63) both offer competitive pricing, but they go about it differently. IBKR doesn’t publish average forex spreads, yet during Q3 2024 we observed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips, translating to an effective all-in cost of about 0.59 pips after commission—low by industry standards. Exness pricing varies by account: its commission-based accounts generally deliver tighter spreads than its commission-free options.

Interactive Brokers aggregates quotes from 17 major interbank dealers and doesn’t mark up spreads; instead, it charges a 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), roughly $16–$40 per million round turn ($8–$20 per side). For a standard 100,000 EUR/USD trade, the commission works out to about 0.40 pips, which—paired with the Q3 2024 average spread—produced an all-in of ~0.59 pips. Note the $2-per-side minimum makes smaller-than-100k trades proportionally pricier. Very active traders can qualify for discounts (minimum charge dropping to $1.50 per order above $1B/month and $1 above $5B), and IBKR supports RFQ for large orders. IBKR Lite and Pro support forex but are not commission-free.

Exness offers five main account types. Standard Cent and Standard are spread-only with higher spreads; Pro tightens spreads and lets you choose instant (dealer) or market (agency) execution. Its commission-based choices aim for the tightest pricing: the Zero Spread account uses market execution and charges a $0.05 per-trade commission, while the Raw account charges up to $7 per round turn per lot ($3.50 per side) with low spreads; both have a 30% margin-call trigger and no leverage or stop-out restrictions. Bottom line: frequent traders executing standard-lot (or larger) orders may find IBKR’s commission model delivers very low all-in costs, while Exness appeals to those wanting simple spread-only accounts or near-zero spreads with a fixed commission.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$10 info
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	N/A
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	N/A
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	No
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 delivers one of the widest ranges of markets, with 8,500 tradable symbols and 90 forex pairs. It supports forex as both CFDs (contracts for difference) and spot, and crucially lets clients buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges (for example, Apple on NASDAQ and Vodafone in London). Exness also supports forex as CFDs and spot, and lists 209 symbols with 96 forex pairs, but it does not offer direct access to U.S. or global stocks; its lineup centers on CFDs.

For crypto, Interactive Brokers supports both actual cryptocurrency purchases and crypto CFDs, while Exness offers crypto only as CFDs. Exness does include copy trading, which IB does not. These differences show up in independent ratings: for range of investments, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Exness earns 3.5 stars and ranks #56. Choose IB if you want multi-asset investing across global stocks, forex, and crypto; pick Exness if you mainly trade forex and want copy trading tools.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	209
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	96
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 vs Exness: both brokers provide simulated (paper) trading with a free demo account, along with proprietary platforms, Windows desktop software, and web-based platforms. Each also lets you place trades directly from charts. Key differences: Exness supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Interactive Brokers does not offer copy trading and does not support MT4/MT5. Specific counts for technical indicators and watchlist columns aren’t provided here.

For trading platforms and tools, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while Exness earns 4 stars and ranks #26. In short, choose Interactive Brokers if you want a highly rated in-house platform experience; pick Exness if you prefer MetaTrader and want built-in copy trading alongside desktop and web access.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
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	107
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and Exness both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, complete with price alerts and charting. That said, Interactive Brokers scores higher for mobile trading, earning 5 stars and a #4 ranking out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Exness holds 4 stars and ranks #26. If you want deeper chart tools and tighter account integration, Interactive Brokers has the edge.

On charts, Interactive Brokers provides 97 technical studies (indicators) versus 35 on Exness. Both apps let you draw trendlines, and neither auto-saves drawings. A key difference is watchlists: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the app and your online account so changes carry over, while Exness does not. For traders who lean on synced watchlists and a wider set of indicators, Interactive Brokers stands out; if you need a simple app with alerts and core tools, Exness still gets the job done.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
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	35
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	No

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers and Exness both deliver solid market research essentials. Each provides daily market commentary, an economic calendar, and forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones. Both brokers also include Trading Central tools and sentiment data that show the ratio of long and short positions, helping traders spot trends. Neither broker offers Autochartist.

The key differences come from extra third‑party research. Interactive Brokers adds TipRanks and Acuity Trading (Signal Centre), while Exness does not. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers, whereas Exness is rated 3.5 stars and ranks #42. If you want broader, integrated research such as TipRanks insights plus Acuity Trading signals, Interactive Brokers has the edge; if you only need core news, calendar, and Trading Central analysis, both will meet that need.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
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 Exness both give beginners plenty of ways to learn. Each hosts client webinars at least once a month and provides a sizable lineup of beginner-friendly videos (10 or more). When you’re ready to go deeper, both also offer 10+ advanced videos, so you can keep building skills beyond the basics. This mix of on-demand lessons and live sessions helps new traders learn at their own pace and get questions answered in real time.

The quality gap shows up in independent ratings. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Education and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers, while Exness scores 3.5 stars and ranks #47. In plain terms, beginners will likely find Interactive Brokers’ education more comprehensive and better organized. Exness still covers the essentials with regular webinars and plenty of videos, but Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice if you want a more complete learning path.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Exness
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 Exness. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Exness finished with an overall rank of #43.

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	Exness
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	81
Range of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platforms & Tools
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	81
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Exness Review

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

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Trust Score info	99	81
Year Founded info	1977	2008
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	2
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	3
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	3

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (FSA Authorised) info	Yes	No
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info	Yes	No
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info	Yes
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
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	Exness
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info		Yes
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	Yes
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes info
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info		Yes

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	209
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	96
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	Exness
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	N/A
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	N/A
Inactivity Fee info	No	No
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	Yes
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$10 info
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	Exness
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	Exness
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	107
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	Exness
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	35
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	No
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Research	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
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	Exness
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Exness
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	Exness Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Exness
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	81
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Exness Review