Interactive Brokers vs IronFX 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 and publicly traded, stands out as a highly trusted online broker with an impressive Trust Score of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com. It holds nine Tier-1 licenses, making it a strong choice for those prioritizing regulatory safety. While not a bank, Interactive Brokers reassures investors through its extensive regulatory coverage and transparency.

IronFX, established in 2010, is not publicly traded and carries a Trust Score of 83, placing it in the 'trusted' category. The broker holds three Tier-1 licenses but lacks Tier-2 licenses. Although IronFX offers a trustworthy option for traders, it does not match the regulatory strength seen with Interactive Brokers.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Year Founded info	1977	2010
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	3
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	0
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

When it comes to commissions and fees, Interactive Brokers and IronFX present distinct offerings for forex traders. Interactive Brokers stands out with its competitive pricing structure, receiving a top rating of 5 out of 5 stars and ranking second out of 63 brokers in the Commissions and Fees category on ForexBrokers.com. While Interactive Brokers does not publish average forex spreads, information from Q3 2024 indicates an average spread of 0.19 pips for EUR/USD, translating to an all-in spread of 0.59 pips after commission. Forex commissions begin at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the trade value, with a $2 minimum per order, dropping further with higher trading volumes.

IronFX, on the other hand, tends to have higher spreads compared to the industry average, which may impact cost-effectiveness for traders. A standard variable spread account at IronFX lists typical spreads at 1.8 pips, although details are not provided for specific date ranges. For traders opting for a zero fixed-spread account, initial spreads start at zero with an $18 per lot commission, with increased spreads of up to 3 pips overnight. This pricing approach results in IronFX receiving a rating of 4 stars and ranking 47th among 63 brokers in this category.

In summary, while Interactive Brokers delivers more competitive pricing for forex enthusiasts, particularly those with high trading volumes, IronFX's structure may appeal to traders with different priorities despite its higher spread costs. With Interactive Brokers' efficient aggregating of prices from leading interbank forex dealers, traders may find it to be a cost-effective choice, while IronFX could suit those seeking distinct account structures.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$50
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	1.2
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	N/A
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Range of investments

Interactive Brokers vs IronFX: for range of investments, Interactive Brokers covers far more markets. It offers about 8,500 tradeable symbols compared with IronFX’s 340, and 90 forex pairs versus 83. Most importantly, Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange‑traded stocks and ETFs on both U.S. and international exchanges (for example, Apple on NASDAQ or Vodafone in London), while IronFX does not provide direct share dealing.

Both brokers support forex trading offered as CFDs or spot. For crypto, Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual cryptocurrency as well as trade crypto CFDs, whereas IronFX only offers crypto CFDs. IronFX does include copy trading, which Interactive Brokers lacks. For range of investments, Interactive Brokers is rated 5/5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while IronFX holds 3.5/5 stars and ranks #52.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	340
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	83
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 IronFX both provide free paper trading (demo) accounts, along with web and Windows desktop platforms. Interactive Brokers also delivers an in-house platform, while IronFX does not. If you want MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and copy trading, IronFX offers both; Interactive Brokers does not support MT4 and does not offer copy trading. Neither broker supports MetaTrader 5 (MT5). For charting convenience, both let you place trades directly from charts.

For trading platforms and tools, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while IronFX earns 3.5 stars and ranks #62. In short, choose Interactive Brokers for a high-rated, in-house platform experience, or pick IronFX if MT4 and copy trading are must-haves.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	No
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	No
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers vs IronFX: both offer iPhone and Android apps with price alerts and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. The key differences show up in charting and syncing. Interactive Brokers packs in 97 technical studies, while IronFX offers 30. Interactive Brokers also syncs watchlists between mobile and the web platform, but IronFX does not. If you care about keeping your lists aligned across devices, that’s a clear win for Interactive Brokers. On the flip side, IronFX auto-saves chart drawings, whereas Interactive Brokers does not.

In overall quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps at ForexBrokers.com, while IronFX holds 3.5 stars and ranks #63. Traders who want deeper charting tools and synced watchlists may prefer Interactive Brokers; those who value auto-saving drawings might lean toward IronFX. Both apps cover the essentials with alerts and core charting features.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
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	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers and IronFX both deliver daily market commentary and real-time forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. Each offers Trading Central tools for technical and fundamental insights, plus a global economic calendar to track key events. Neither broker integrates Autochartist.

Key differences: Interactive Brokers includes a sentiment tool that shows long/short positioning, along with research from TipRanks and tools from Acuity Trading. IronFX does not offer a sentiment tool, and TipRanks/Acuity integrations are not specified in our data. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5/5 stars for Research and ranks #3 of 63 brokers, while IronFX scores 4/5 stars and ranks #29—making Interactive Brokers the stronger pick if you want more comprehensive market research.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
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	No
TipRanks info	Yes
Acuity Trading info	Yes
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Interactive Brokers vs. IronFX for beginners: both brokers offer at least 10 beginner-friendly videos that explain trading basics. Interactive Brokers also runs client webinars at least once a month, giving new traders access to live lessons and Q&A, while IronFX does not offer monthly educational webinars. If you want content you can grow into, Interactive Brokers provides at least 10 advanced videos for when you’re ready to move past the basics; IronFX does not meet that advanced-video threshold.

According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 out of 5 stars for Education and ranks 3rd out of 63 brokers. IronFX earns 4 out of 5 stars and ranks 44th. For beginners focused on forex and CFDs education, Interactive Brokers delivers a stronger overall learning experience with recurring webinars and a deeper video library, while IronFX supplies good starter videos but offers less depth and fewer live learning options.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Webinars info	Yes	No
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	No

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 IronFX. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while IronFX finished with an overall rank of #48.

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	IronFX
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	83
Range of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platforms & Tools
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	83
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review

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

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Trust Score info	99	83
Year Founded info	1977	2010
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	3
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	0
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (SFC 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	IronFX
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	No
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) info	Yes	No
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info

Investments	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	340
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	83
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	IronFX
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	1.2
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	IronFX
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$50
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	No
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	No
cTrader info	No	No

Trading Tools	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
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	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Research	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
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
Client sentiment data info	Yes	No
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Education	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Webinars info	Yes	No
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	No

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
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

Overall	Interactive Brokers	IronFX
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	83
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review