menuclose
ForexBrokers.com is committed to the highest ethical standards and reviews services independently. Learn How We Make Money

Interactive Brokers vs Spreadex 2025

ForexBrokers.com

Written by ForexBrokers.com

February 05, 2025

In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Spreadex, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.

Interactive Brokers
5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • Trust Score: 99
  • Tradeable Symbols (Total): 8500
Spreadex
4/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0
  • Trust Score: 71
  • Tradeable Symbols (Total): 10000

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, is a highly trusted online broker with a stellar Trust Score of 99 out of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com. This firm stands out for being publicly traded and holds an impressive number of 9 Tier-1 licenses, indicating a significant level of trust in its operations. Though not a bank, its position in the financial world is solidified by these licenses and its public trading status, offering a level of transparency and reliability that instills confidence in its clients.

In contrast, Spreadex, founded in 1999, has a Trust Score of 71, suggesting an average level of risk. Unlike Interactive Brokers, Spreadex is not publicly traded and holds only 1 Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses, which could imply less regulatory oversight compared to its counterpart. Spreadex, like Interactive Brokers, is not a bank, but the difference in their regulatory standings may appeal to different types of investors based on their risk tolerance and trust preferences.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
Year Founded info 1977 1999
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes No
Bank info No No
Tier-1 Licenses info 9 1
Tier-2 Licenses info 2 0
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 0

Fees

If your priority is low commissions and fees, Interactive Brokers tends to come out cheaper than Spreadex for forex. Interactive Brokers: 5/5 stars and ranked #2 of 63 for Commissions and Fees by ForexBrokers.com. Spreadex: 4/5 stars and ranked #25 of 63. The main difference is that Interactive Brokers uses a commission-based model paired with tight raw spreads, while Spreadex prices through the spread.

Interactive Brokers does not publish average spreads, but in Q3 2024 we observed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips, or about 0.59 pips all-in after commissions. Commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 bps) of the USD trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), which equates to roughly $16–$40 per million round turn. On a $100,000 EUR/USD trade, the commission works out to about 0.40 pips on top of the spread. Note that the $2 minimum makes smaller trade sizes proportionally more expensive. High-volume traders can qualify for lower minimums ($1.50 per order above $1B/month; $1 above $5B), and IBKR aggregates prices from 17 interbank dealers with RFQ available for large orders.

Spreadex averaged 0.81 pips on EUR/USD in January 2024, with its 0.6-pip minimum achieved 60% of the time that month. Compared with Interactive Brokers’ observed 0.59-pip effective all-in cost, Spreadex’s typical pricing is higher. Active or high-volume traders are likely to find Interactive Brokers more cost-efficient, while casual traders who prefer a simple, spread-only structure may appreciate Spreadex’s straightforward pricing.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
Minimum Deposit info $0 $0
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info 0.59 info 0.81 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.65 info N/A info
Non-wire bank transfer info Yes No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Featured Offers


Range of investments

Interactive Brokers vs Spreadex: both brokers let you trade forex as a CFD or spot. Spreadex lists more total tradeable symbols (10,000) than Interactive Brokers (8,500), yet Interactive Brokers offers a wider choice of forex pairs (90 vs 52). Neither broker supports copy trading.

For stocks and crypto, Interactive Brokers is the more complete choice. You can buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. markets (like Apple) and on international markets (like Vodafone) at Interactive Brokers, while Spreadex does not offer exchange-traded shares. For digital assets, Interactive Brokers supports both actual cryptocurrency purchases and crypto CFDs; Spreadex limits you to crypto CFDs. Both earn 5 stars for Range of Investments, but Interactive Brokers ranks #1 out of 63 brokers, compared with Spreadex at #13.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 10000
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 52
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info Yes No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info Yes No
Copy Trading info No No
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 vs Spreadex: both brokers offer simulated (paper) trading with a free demo account, and each provides a proprietary, web-based trading platform. A key difference is desktop access—Interactive Brokers offers a Windows download platform, while Spreadex does not. Both let you place trades directly from charts. Neither broker supports copy trading, and neither offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5).

For Trading Platforms and Tools, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 out of 5 stars and ranks it #2 of 63 brokers, while Spreadex earns 4 out of 5 stars and ranks #34. If you want a Windows desktop platform and a higher-rated toolkit, Interactive Brokers stands out; if you’re comfortable trading in a browser, both are suitable options.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
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 58
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Both Interactive Brokers and Spreadex offer iPhone and Android trading apps, and each supports stock and forex price alerts. A key difference is watchlist syncing: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account so edits carry over automatically, while Spreadex does not.

Charting is stronger on Interactive Brokers, with 97 technical studies and the ability to draw trendlines; Spreadex also lets you draw trendlines, but it doesn’t publish how many built-in studies are available. Neither app auto-saves chart drawings. For overall quality, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars and ranks it #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps, while Spreadex holds 4 stars and ranks #33.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
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 N/A
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 Spreadex both deliver daily market commentary and stream forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones. Each broker includes an economic calendar and a sentiment tool that shows the ratio of long and short positions, helping traders gauge market mood at a glance.

The key differences are in third‑party research. Interactive Brokers integrates Trading Central, TipRanks, and Acuity Trading tools, while Spreadex offers Autochartist for pattern recognition but lacks those other providers. Based on ForexBrokers.com’s assessments, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers, whereas Spreadex earns 4 stars and ranks #27. If you want a wider mix of external research providers, Interactive Brokers stands out; if you value Autochartist’s technical scans, Spreadex may fit the bill.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
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 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

Choosing a broker for learning as a beginner? Both Interactive Brokers and Spreadex offer at least 10 beginner-focused trading videos to help you get started. Interactive Brokers also hosts online educational webinars at least once a month, giving you a chance to learn live and ask questions, while Spreadex does not run monthly webinars.

If you plan to advance your skills, Interactive Brokers provides at least 10 advanced trading videos, whereas Spreadex does not meet that advanced threshold. Reflecting these differences, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars for education and ranks it #1 out of 63 brokers; Spreadex earns 4 stars and ranks #33. Beginners who want frequent live lessons and room to grow may prefer Interactive Brokers, while those who just need starter videos may find Spreadex suitable.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
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 Spreadex. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Spreadex finished with an overall rank of #32.

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 logoInteractive Brokers
Spreadex logoSpreadex
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 71
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Trading Fees 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Trading Platforms 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or Spreadex?

Compared to Spreadex, Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual delivered cryptocurrency as well as trade crypto CFDs, while Spreadex only supports cryptocurrency trading via CFDs and does not offer delivery of the underlying coins.

What funding options does each broker offer?

For funding and withdrawals, Interactive Brokers supports ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers while Spreadex offers bank wires only; neither broker supports PayPal or Skrill, and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified.




announcementPlease 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.

Select Brokers

×
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxActivTrades
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxAvaTrade
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxBlackBull Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCapital.com
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCharles Schwab
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCity Index
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxCMC Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxEightcap
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxeToro
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxExness
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFOREX.com
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFP Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFXCM
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxFxPro
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHFM
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxHYCM (Henyep Capital Markets)
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIC Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIFC Markets
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIG
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxInteractive Brokers
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxIUX
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxOANDA
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxOcta
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxPepperstone
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxPlus500
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxQuestrade
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxSaxo
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxSpreadex
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxSwissquote
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTickmill
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxTrading 212
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxVantage
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxXM Group
  • check_box_outline_blankcheck_boxXTB

Compare

0 of 5
Overall Rating Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Trading Fees 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Trading Platforms 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 71
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Spreadex Review
Broker Screenshots Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info
Regulation Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Trust Score info 99 71
Year Founded info 1977 1999
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes No
Bank info No No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info Yes info No info
Tier-1 Licenses info 9 1
Tier-2 Licenses info 2 0
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info Yes No
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info Yes No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info Yes No
Japan (FSA 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 No info
Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) Interactive Brokers Spreadex
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 Spreadex
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 10000
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 52
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info Yes No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info Yes No
Copy Trading info No No
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 Spreadex
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info 0.59 info 0.81 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.65 info N/A info
Inactivity Fee info No No
Order execution: Agency info Yes No
Order execution: Market Maker info No Yes
Funding Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Minimum Deposit info $0 $0
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info Yes No
Trading Platforms Interactive Brokers Spreadex
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 Spreadex
Virtual Trading (Demo) info Yes Yes
Price Alerts info Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 155 58
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes Yes
Charts can be saved info Yes Yes
Mobile Trading Interactive Brokers Spreadex
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 N/A
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info No No
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Research Interactive Brokers Spreadex
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 Yes
Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Education Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Webinars info Yes No
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info Yes No
Major Forex Pairs Interactive Brokers Spreadex
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 Spreadex Review
Overall Interactive Brokers Spreadex
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Trading Fees 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Trading Platforms 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 71
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Spreadex Review
arrow_upward

close