Interactive Brokers vs Plus500 2026

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 vs Plus500: both are publicly traded online brokers and not banks. Interactive Brokers, founded in 1977, and Plus500, founded in 2008, each holds a 99/99 ForexBrokers.com Trust Score. ForexBrokers.com labels 90–99 as highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, and below 59 not trusted.

Regulation differs in the mix of licenses. Interactive Brokers has 8 Tier-1 (highly trusted) and 2 Tier-2 (trusted) licenses, while Plus500 has 6 Tier-1 and 4 Tier-2. In practice, Interactive Brokers edges ahead on top-tier coverage, and Plus500 balances that with more Tier-2 authorizations—either way, both demonstrate extensive regulation.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Year Founded info	1977	2008
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	Yes
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	8	6
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	4
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	2

Fees

Interactive Brokers earns 5/5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers, while Plus500 scores 4.0/5 stars and ranks #24 out of 63. The difference shows up most clearly in forex trading costs: Interactive Brokers typically delivers lower all-in pricing on major pairs, whereas Plus500’s costs tend to be higher for everyday and active traders.

Interactive Brokers does not publish average forex spreads, but Q3 2024 data shows its EUR/USD spread averaged 0.19 pips, or about 0.59 pips all-in after commission. Its commission starts at 0.00002 of the U.S. dollar trade value per side (minimum $2 per order), which works out to roughly 0.40 pips in commission on a $100,000 EUR/USD round trip, plus the prevailing spread. Smaller trade sizes feel the minimum more, while very high-volume traders can reduce the minimum to $1.50 per order above $1 billion in monthly volume and to $1 at $5 billion. IBKR charges a commission instead of marking up spreads and aggregates quotes from multiple interbank dealers.

Plus500 generally prices above the industry average and does not discount for retail clients. In April 2024, its average EUR/USD spread was 1.5 pips, which is higher than Interactive Brokers’ effective all-in cost on the same pair. Plus500 offers cash rebates only to Professional clients, so most traders won’t see lower fees as their volume grows. In short: Interactive Brokers (5/5 stars, #2/63) is the stronger pick on pure trading costs, while Plus500 (4.0/5 stars, #24/63) is simpler but typically pricier on spreads.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Minimum Deposit info	$0	€50 info
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	1.3 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	1.3 info
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
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 offers a wider range of investments than Plus500, with 8,500 tradeable symbols versus 5,500 at Plus500. Both brokers support forex (available as CFDs or spot contracts depending on your region), but Interactive Brokers lists 90 currency pairs compared with 65 at Plus500. Each broker also lets you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. exchanges (like Apple) and on international markets (like Vodafone), so stock investors can access both domestic and global shares.

Key differences show up in crypto: Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual cryptocurrency, while Plus500 focuses on cryptocurrency CFDs and does not offer delivered crypto. Neither broker offers copy trading. For range of investments, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers at 5 stars and ranks it #1 out of 63 brokers, while Plus500 earns 4.5 stars and ranks #16.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes info
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	5500 info
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	65
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	Yes
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	No
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	No	Yes info
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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account.

Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.

Trading platforms and tools

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 both check key boxes for getting started: each offers a free paper trading (demo) account and a proprietary trading platform you can use in your browser. If you want a downloadable Windows desktop platform, Interactive Brokers has one, while Plus500 does not. Neither broker supports MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and neither offers copy trading. For charting, Interactive Brokers lets you place trades directly from charts; Plus500 does not include trade-from-chart functionality.

When it comes to platform quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers for Trading Platforms and Tools, while Plus500 scores 4.5 stars and ranks #14. If you need a powerful desktop experience and trade-from-chart tools, Interactive Brokers is the better fit. If you prefer a straightforward, web-based platform with a free demo to practice, Plus500 is worth a look.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	No
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	No
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	No
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	115
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	No

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers vs Plus500 for mobile trading: both apps are available on iPhone and Android, support price alerts for stocks and forex, and sync watchlists with your online account. Each app lets you draw trendlines on charts, though neither one auto-saves chart drawings.

For charting depth, Interactive Brokers includes 155 technical studies in its mobile app, while Plus500 offers 115. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earned 5 stars and ranked #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps; Plus500 received 4.5 stars and ranked #14. If you value a wider set of indicators and higher third-party scores, Interactive Brokers has the edge. If you mainly want alerts, synced watchlists, and basic drawing tools, both apps deliver.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	155	115
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 Plus500 both deliver the research essentials: daily market commentary, Trading Central tools for technical insights, sentiment data showing long/short positioning, and an economic calendar. Neither broker offers Autochartist. Where they differ is depth: Interactive Brokers includes premium forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, plus third‑party research from TipRanks and Acuity Trading (Signal Centre). Plus500 does not include those extras, which can matter if you want broader analyst views and curated news feeds alongside your charts.

Ratings reflect this gap. Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Plus500 scores 4.5 stars and ranks #16. In short, choose Interactive Brokers if you value premium news and added third‑party research; pick Plus500 if you mainly need the core tools—Trading Central, sentiment, an economic calendar, and daily commentary—without the extra layers.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	No
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

For beginners choosing between Interactive Brokers and Plus500, both brokers make learning simple. Each runs online educational webinars at least once a month and offers a library with 10+ beginner-focused trading videos, so you can build skills step by step. When you’re ready to go further, both also provide 10+ advanced videos to help you progress beyond the basics.

If you want the most highly rated education overall, Interactive Brokers stands out: ForexBrokers.com gives it 5 stars and ranks it #1 out of 63 brokers for Education. Plus500 still performs well for new traders, earning 4.5 stars, but its Education rank is #26. In short, both are beginner-friendly, while Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick for top-tier educational depth.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Webinars info	Yes	Yes info
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 Plus500. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Plus500 finished with an overall rank of #14.

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	Plus500
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	99
Range of Investments
Trading Fees
Trading Platforms
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	99
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Plus500 Review

Broker Screenshots	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Trust Score info	99	99
Year Founded info	1977	2008
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	Yes
Bank info	No	No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	Yes info
Tier-1 Licenses info	8	6
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	4
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	2

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (FSA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
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	Yes
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	Yes info

Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	Yes
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	Yes
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes info
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes info
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	5500 info
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	65
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	Yes
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	No
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	No	Yes info
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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account.

Cost	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	1.3 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	1.3 info
Inactivity Fee info	No	Yes
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	No
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Minimum Deposit info	$0	€50 info
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	No
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	No
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	No
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	No
cTrader info	No	No

Trading Tools	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	115
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	No
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
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	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	155	115
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	No
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Research	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	No
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	Plus500
Webinars info	Yes	Yes info
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
GBP/USD [DELETED] info
USD/JPY [DELETED] info
EUR/USD info	Yes	Yes info
USD/CHF [DELETED] info
USD/CAD [DELETED] info
NZD/USD [DELETED] info
AUD/USD [DELETED] info
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Plus500 Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Plus500
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	99
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Plus500 Review