Plus500 vs Interactive Brokers Review
Our ForexBrokers.com team spent seven months and hundreds of hours assessing 43 different forex broker accounts for trading FX. In total, over 6,000 data points were collected. For this review, we will compare Interactive Brokers vs Plus500.
To start this comparison, first, we will take a look at the fees charged for trading forex. It's important to note this is no easy task. Not every broker shares their average spreads, spreads can be fixed or variable (floating), execution policies differ, and brokers can act as market makers (dealers) or act as agents for execution. To simplify things, we analyzed everything for you and provide a single star rating for cost. Interactive Brokers is a better option with a 4.00 star rating over Plus500's 3.00 star rating.
Cost aside, we can now turn our focus to regulation alongside currency availability. For regulation, it's very important to select a broker you can trust with your money. Interactive Brokers alongside Plus500 are regulated in a major hub. Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are publicly traded companies. How many currency pairs are available to trade? Plus500 trails Interactive Brokers by 55 total currency pairs (for example, EUR/USD), with Interactive Brokers offering 115 and Plus500 offering 60.
To round out our comparison, let's look at the popular tools and features forex traders prefer. For platforms, some FX traders prefer MetaTrader. Neither offers Meta Trader. Within the trading platform, charting should be robust, so we counted the number of drawing tools and total technical indicators made available. Interactive Brokers boasts an offering of 9 charting tools compared to Plus500's 0 available charting tools. Plus500 trails Interactive Brokers by 18 total different indicators (for example, moving averages), with Interactive Brokers offering 121 and Plus500 offering 103.
Overall, Interactive Brokers comes out on top with 4.50 stars over Plus500's 3.00 stars. And, when it comes to individual category awards, unfortunately, neither Interactive Brokers nor Plus500 received awards Best in Class - Platforms & Tools, Best in Class - Research, Best in Class - Customer Service, Best in Class - Active Trading, Best in Class - Mobile Trading and Best in Class - Investor Education.
To start this comparison, first, we will take a look at the fees charged for trading forex. It's important to note this is no easy task. Not every broker shares their average spreads, spreads can be fixed or variable (floating), execution policies differ, and brokers can act as market makers (dealers) or act as agents for execution. To simplify things, we analyzed everything for you and provide a single star rating for cost. Interactive Brokers is a better option with a 4.00 star rating over Plus500's 3.00 star rating.
Cost aside, we can now turn our focus to regulation alongside currency availability. For regulation, it's very important to select a broker you can trust with your money. Interactive Brokers alongside Plus500 are regulated in a major hub. Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are publicly traded companies. How many currency pairs are available to trade? Plus500 trails Interactive Brokers by 55 total currency pairs (for example, EUR/USD), with Interactive Brokers offering 115 and Plus500 offering 60.
To round out our comparison, let's look at the popular tools and features forex traders prefer. For platforms, some FX traders prefer MetaTrader. Neither offers Meta Trader. Within the trading platform, charting should be robust, so we counted the number of drawing tools and total technical indicators made available. Interactive Brokers boasts an offering of 9 charting tools compared to Plus500's 0 available charting tools. Plus500 trails Interactive Brokers by 18 total different indicators (for example, moving averages), with Interactive Brokers offering 121 and Plus500 offering 103.
Overall, Interactive Brokers comes out on top with 4.50 stars over Plus500's 3.00 stars. And, when it comes to individual category awards, unfortunately, neither Interactive Brokers nor Plus500 received awards Best in Class - Platforms & Tools, Best in Class - Research, Best in Class - Customer Service, Best in Class - Active Trading, Best in Class - Mobile Trading and Best in Class - Investor Education.
% of retail CFD accounts that lose money
Overall
Offering of Investments
Commissions & Fees
Platform & Tools
Customer Service
Research
Mobile Trading
Education
Trust Score
Year Founded
Publicly-Traded Company (Listed)
Regulated in Major Hub
Regulated in Emerging Hub
CFTC Registered (USA)
FCA Regulated (UK)
FINMA Authorised (Switzerland)
ASIC Authorised (Australia)
MAS Authorised (Singapore)
IIROC Authorised (Canada)
SFC Authorised (Hong Kong)
FSA Authorised (Japan)
CySEC Authorised (Cyprus)
FMA Authorised (New Zealand)
Forex: Spot Trading
Currency Pairs (Total Forex pairs)
CFDs - Total Offered
Cryptocurrency traded as actual
Cryptocurrency traded as CFD
Advantage
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard
Active Trader or Premium/VIP
Advantage
Proprietary
Desktop Platform (Windows)
Web Platform
Social Trading / Copy-Trading
MetaTrader4 (MT4)
MetaTrader5 (MT5)
cTrader
Currenex
ZuluTrade
MirrorTrader
Advantage
Virtual Trading (Demo)
Watchlists - Total Fields
Alerts - Basic Fields
Charting - Trade From Chart
Charts can be saved
Charting - Drawing Tools (Total)
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total)
Charting - Drawings Autosave
Order Type - Trailing Stop
Advantage
Android App
Apple iOS App
Forex News
Alerts - Basic Fields
Alerts Delivery - Push Notifications
Watch List
Watch List Syncing
Charting - Technical Studies/Indicators
Charting - Draw Trend Lines
Advantage
Daily Market Commentary
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources)
AutoChartist
Trading Central (Recognia)
Delkos Research
Acuity Trading
Social Trading / Copy-Trading
Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs
Client Webinars
Client Webinars (Archived)
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos
Economic Calendar
Calendar Includes Forecasts
Economic News Sentiment
Trade Ideas - Backtesting
Advantage
GBPUSD (or USDGBP)
USDJPY (or JPYUSD)
EURUSD (or USDEUR)
USDCHF (or CHFUSD)
USDCAD (or CADUSD)
NZDUSD (or USDNZD)
AUDUSD (or USDAUD)
USDCNH (or CNHUSD)
USDSGD (or SGDUSD)
USDMXN (or MXNUSD)
USDNOK (or NOKUSD)
USDSEK (or SEKUSD)
USDTRY (or TRYUSD)
USDZAR (or ZARUSD)
USDDKK (or DKKUSD)
USDBRL (or BRLUSD)
Minimum Initial Deposit
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw)
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit)
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw)
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw)
UnionPay (Deposit/Withdraw)
Overall
Advantage
Comparing 2 brokers
Advertiser Disclosure
Advertiser Disclosure
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CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Plus500
80.6% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
83
2008
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
60
2045
No
Yes
N/A
0.6
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
10
Yes
No
No
0
103
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
18
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
€100
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Interactive Brokers
63.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
91
1977
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
115
4217
No
Yes
check_circle
N/A
N/A
Yes
check_circle
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
check_circle
Yes
300
Yes
Yes
No
9
121
Yes
Yes
check_circle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
68
No
check_circle
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
check_circle
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
$0
Yes
No
No
No
No
check_circle
Trading CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies involves a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading CFDs with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how CFDs, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. All data was obtained from a published web site as of 4/03/2018 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. The ForexBrokers.com staff is constantly working with its online broker representatives to obtain the latest data. If you believe any data listed above is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page.
Plus500UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 509909).
