Interactive Brokers vs Octa 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, established in 1977, stands as a highly trusted online broker with a perfect Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com. It is publicly traded and holds an impressive nine Tier-1 licenses, reflecting its credibility and compliance with top regulators. Additionally, Interactive Brokers has two Tier-2 licenses, further bolstering its reputation as a premier broker in the industry. Though not a bank, its long-standing history and excellent regulatory record make it a go-to choice for many investors seeking a reliable trading platform.

In contrast, Octa, founded in 2011, offers a different trading environment with a Trust Score of 72, placing it in the average risk category. Unlike Interactive Brokers, Octa is not publicly traded. It holds one Tier-1 license and one Tier-2 license, which indicates a moderate level of regulatory oversight. While it is not a bank, Octa may appeal to traders who prioritize other factors, but individuals should consider its regulatory rating and relative youth in the financial markets before making a decision.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Year Founded info	1977	2011
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	1
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	1
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

Interactive Brokers vs. Octa on commissions and fees: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) uses raw spreads plus a commission. In Q3 2024, IBKR’s average EUR/USD spread was 0.19 pips, with an effective all-in cost of about 0.59 pips per round trip after commission on a standard 100,000-unit trade. Octa lists average EUR/USD spreads at 0.5 pips for EU accounts and 0.9 pips for its foreign entities; total costs vary by account type and regulator. Because Octa doesn’t timestamp its spread data, direct comparisons are imperfect, but IBKR generally competes closely with low-cost brokers while Octa’s EU pricing can look sharper on paper.

IBKR’s forex commission starts at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the U.S. dollar trade value per side, with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round trip), which equates to about $16–$40 per million round turn; rates can fall to 0.08 bps for very active traders. The $2-per-side minimum makes sub-100k trades proportionally more expensive. IBKR aggregates quotes from 17 major banks and uses agency execution; high-volume traders can qualify for lower minimums ($1.50 to $1 per order) and can place large orders via RFQ. IBKR Lite and Pro support forex, but trading is not commission-free.

At Octa, pricing depends on the entity and platform: EU clients get an MT5 account, while international clients can choose MT4, MT5, or OctaTrader. Octa highlights no slippage on 97.5% of orders and no overnight carry costs, though rules can limit high-frequency strategies. Ratings and rankings for commissions and fees: Interactive Brokers — 5/5 stars, ranked #2 of 63; Octa — 4/5 stars, ranked #30 of 63.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$25
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	0.9 info
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 vs Octa: which broker offers a wider range of investments? Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while Octa offers around 300 symbols and 35 forex pairs. Both support forex trading via CFDs or spot contracts. If you want exchange-traded securities, Interactive Brokers lets you buy U.S. stocks like Apple and international shares such as Vodafone. Octa does not offer U.S. exchange-traded shares, but it does provide access to some international exchange-traded securities.

For crypto, Interactive Brokers supports both actual (delivered) cryptocurrency and crypto CFDs, whereas Octa offers crypto only as CFDs. Copy trading is available at Octa but not at Interactive Brokers. Reflecting this breadth, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com; Octa scores 3.5 stars and ranks #53. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want the widest market access, including U.S. stocks and real crypto. Pick Octa if you prefer copy trading and a more streamlined selection.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	300
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	35
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
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 Octa both deliver key platform basics: each offers a free paper trading or demo account, an in-house proprietary platform, Windows desktop and web-based trading, plus the ability to place trades straight from charts. That makes it easy to test strategies and manage positions from either a browser or a downloadable app.

The big differences come down to platform choice and social features. Interactive Brokers does not support copy trading or MetaTrader, while Octa supports copy trading as well as MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). For platform quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 for Trading Platforms and Tools at ForexBrokers.com, while Octa earns 4 stars and ranks #38. In short: pick Octa if you want MT4/MT5 and copy trading; pick Interactive Brokers if you want a top-rated, in-house platform suite for web and desktop.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and Octa both offer iPhone and Android trading apps with price alerts, watchlists, and charting that lets you draw trendlines. The key differences show up in depth and convenience: Interactive Brokers includes 97 technical studies (indicators) compared with Octa’s 30, giving active traders far more tools to test. Interactive Brokers also syncs your watchlist between mobile and the web, so symbols you add in one place appear everywhere. Octa doesn’t sync watchlists, but it does automatically save chart drawings, while Interactive Brokers does not.

In independent testing by ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earned 5 stars and ranked #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps, while Octa received 4 stars and ranked #37. If you want more indicators and seamless watchlist syncing, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick; if auto-saved drawings matter more and you prefer a simpler setup, Octa will suit you well.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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 Octa both provide daily market commentary and deliver forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. However, there are distinct differences in their offerings. Interactive Brokers includes a sentiment-based trading tool and market research from companies like TipRanks and Acuity Trading, enhancing its market research capabilities. In contrast, Octa offers technical analysis tools from Autochartist, which Interactive Brokers does not, but misses out on the sentiment tool and market research resources from TipRanks and Acuity Trading.

Both brokers provide an economic calendar with updates on global news events. However, Interactive Brokers stands out with higher ratings and rankings. It has been awarded 5 stars for research and holds the third position among 63 brokers according to ForexBrokers.com. Meanwhile, Octa holds a solid 4-star rating and ranks 27th in the same category. Overall, while both brokers offer substantial research tools, Interactive Brokers provides a more comprehensive and higher-rated market research experience.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	Yes
Trading Central info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	No
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 vs Octa: for beginner education, both brokers make it easy to start learning. Each offers at least 10 beginner-friendly videos plus at least 10 advanced videos for when you’re ready to go deeper, and both run client webinars at least once a month. These formats cover trading basics and strategy in a practical way. Note: the data here doesn’t confirm whether either broker maintains a library of 10+ forex- or CFD-specific articles or similar resources, so dedicated forex/CFD article counts are not specified.

Quality ratings tilt toward Interactive Brokers. It earned 5 stars for Education and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Octa holds 4 stars and ranks #42. If you want one of the highest-rated learning experiences, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick. If you mainly need frequent webinars and a solid catalog of beginner and advanced videos, both Interactive Brokers and Octa can meet that need.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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 Octa. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Octa finished with an overall rank of #47.

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	Octa
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	72
Range of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platforms & Tools
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	72
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Octa Review

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

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Trust Score info	99	72
Year Founded info	1977	2011
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	1
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	1
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

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

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	300
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	35
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
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	Octa
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	0.9 info
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	Octa
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$25
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	Octa
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	Octa
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	Octa
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	Octa
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	Yes
Trading Central info	Yes	No
TipRanks info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	No
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Education	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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	Octa Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Overall Rating info
Commissions & Fees
Range of Investments
Platforms & Tools
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	72
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Octa Review