Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs FP 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 and FP Markets are two well-known online brokers, each with its own strengths in the finance world. Founded in 1977, Interactive Brokers stands out with a high Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, signifying a highly trusted status. It's a publicly traded company, backed by 9 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, marking its strong regulatory standing. Although it is not a bank, its extensive regulation and public trading status contribute to its reliability in the eyes of investors.
FP Markets, on the other hand, was established in 2005 and holds a Trust Score of 89, which places it in the trusted category. While it is not publicly traded and holds fewer licenses—2 Tier-1 and 1 Tier-2—compared to Interactive Brokers, it remains a trusted choice due to its solid regulatory framework. Both brokers share the similarity of not being banks, yet they maintain trust within their realms through different paths, providing investors with dependable online trading platforms.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2005 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
Interactive Brokers and FP Markets both offer commendable features for traders, especially when it comes to commissions and fees. Interactive Brokers excels with its highly competitive pricing model, designed with active traders in mind. It does not publish average spreads for forex, but during Q3 2024, the EUR/USD spread averaged 0.19 pips, with an all-in spread of 0.59 pips including commissions. Their commission rates start at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the U.S. dollar trade value, with a minimum charge of $2 per order. This pricing becomes even more appealing for traders with high monthly volumes, providing significant discounts. Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranked #2 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.
FP Markets, on the other hand, has been recognized for its cost-competitive pricing, especially through its MetaTrader and cTrader platforms for ECN accounts. Its Raw ECN account boasts an average spread of 0.1 pips, translating to an all-in cost of 0.8 pips after accounting for commissions. The Iress platform, while offering Direct Market Access, requires higher balance accounts for the most affordable trading experience. Nevertheless, FP Markets' transparency and versatility in account offerings make it a strong contender, earning it 5 stars and a #6 ranking in commissions and fees by ForexBrokers.com.
In conclusion, both Interactive Brokers and FP Markets provide attractive options for forex traders with varying needs. Interactive Brokers targets active traders with high volume discounts and commission-based forex pricing, while FP Markets offers a balance of affordability and advanced platform features, especially for those opting for its Raw ECN account. Both brokers are highly rated, making them excellent choices depending on your trading strategy and volume.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 AUD |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 1.2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.7 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Interactive Brokers vs FP Markets: both support forex trading (CFD or spot). FP Markets lists about 10,000 tradeable symbols, edging out Interactive Brokers at 8,500. That said, Interactive Brokers offers more currency choice with 90 forex pairs versus FP Markets’ 71. A key difference is stock access: only Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities directly on U.S. and international exchanges (think Apple on Nasdaq or Vodafone in London), while FP Markets focuses on CFDs and does not offer direct share dealing on those exchanges.
When it comes to crypto, Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual cryptocurrency as well as trade crypto CFDs; FP Markets offers crypto CFDs only. FP Markets includes copy trading, while Interactive Brokers does not. Overall, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars and ranks it #1 out of 63 for Range of Investments, while FP Markets earns 4.5 stars and ranks #19.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 10000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 71 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| 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 FP Markets both check key boxes for platform access and ease of use: each offers a free paper trading (demo) account, a proprietary platform, a Windows desktop download, a web-based platform, and the ability to trade directly from charts. The big differences come down to extras. FP Markets supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Interactive Brokers does not provide copy trading and doesn’t support MT4 or MT5.
For trading platforms and tools, Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, whereas FP Markets earns 4 stars and ranks #23. If you need MT4/MT5 or copy trading, FP Markets is the fit; if you want top-rated in-house platforms with paper trading, Interactive Brokers stands out.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP 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 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and FP Markets both offer full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, with support for stock and forex price alerts. A key difference is watchlists: the Interactive Brokers mobile app syncs your watchlists with your online account, while FP Markets does not. For charting, Interactive Brokers includes 97 technical studies in its app, whereas FP Markets relies on MetaTrader’s default set of indicators.
Both apps let you draw trendlines, but only FP Markets auto-saves chart drawings; Interactive Brokers does not. In our ratings, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps, while FP Markets earns 4 stars and ranks #18. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want deep indicator coverage and watchlist syncing across devices; pick FP Markets if auto-saving chart annotations is more important to your workflow.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | MetaTrader (Default) |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Both Interactive Brokers and FP Markets provide traders with daily market commentary and forex news from high-quality sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. They also feature tools from Trading Central and offer sentiment-based trading tools for evaluating long and short positions across currency pairs. However, their offerings diverge when it comes to the variety of research tools available. Interactive Brokers does not utilize Autochartist for technical analysis, although FP Markets does. Meanwhile, Interactive Brokers gives its clients access to research from both TipRanks and Acuity Trading, options not available through FP Markets.
Despite these differences, both brokers present a comprehensive economic calendar with global news events, enhancing traders’ market research capabilities. When weighing customer ratings, Interactive Brokers holds a full 5-star rating and ranks 3rd out of 63 in the ForexBrokers.com research category, a testament to its extensive research tools. FP Markets, on the other hand, achieves a respectable 4-star rating, ranking it 25th in the same category. This shows that while FP Markets offers quality research options, Interactive Brokers provides a more extensive suite of tools, making it a preferred choice for traders focused on in-depth market analysis.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Interactive Brokers and FP Markets both give beginners plenty of ways to learn. Each hosts client webinars at least once a month and offers a sizeable on-demand library with 10+ beginner videos plus 10+ advanced videos. Their materials include articles, videos, and archived webinars that explain trading basics, platform usage, risk management, and strategies, and they also cover forex and CFD topics to help new traders get up to speed.
For overall education quality, Interactive Brokers stands out: it earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while FP Markets earns 4 stars and ranks #23. If you want the broadest, most polished learning experience, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick. If you’re focused on forex and CFDs and want plenty of practical videos and regular live sessions, FP Markets remains a solid choice for beginners.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FP Markets
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| 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 FP Markets. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while FP Markets finished with an overall rank of #19.
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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FP Markets
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| Trust Score | 99 | 89 |
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In the Interactive Brokers vs FP Markets comparison, Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency and trade cryptocurrency CFDs, while FP Markets supports only cryptocurrency CFDs and does not offer the purchase of actual delivered crypto.
For deposits and withdrawals, Interactive Brokers supports ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers but not PayPal or Skrill, while FP Markets lacks ACH/SEPA yet accepts PayPal and Skrill and also supports bank wires; Visa/Mastercard availability for both 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 | FP Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 89 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FP Markets Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 89 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2005 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 10000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 71 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 1.2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.7 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 AUD | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | FP 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 | Yes |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | MetaTrader (Default) | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | FP 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 | FP Markets Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | FP Markets | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 89 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FP Markets Review |
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