Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Swissquote, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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.
Interactive Brokers, established in 1977, and Swissquote, founded in 1996, are both prominent names in the online brokerage space, each publicly traded and equipped with a high level of trust according to forex ratings. Interactive Brokers boasts a perfect Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, showcasing its reliability with 9 highly trusted Tier-1 licenses and 2 trusted Tier-2 licenses. Swissquote, also with a Trust Score of 99, combines its brokerage services with banking capabilities, holding 5 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, emphasizing its trustworthy standing in the financial sector.
For investors evaluating these platforms, it's important to note that Interactive Brokers is not a bank but offers an extensive range of financial services, while Swissquote operates as both a bank and a broker. This dual function might appeal to clients seeking a more comprehensive financial service under one roof. Both brokers are reliable choices, yet the choice hinges on whether the integrated banking service of Swissquote or the sheer number of high-trust licenses held by Interactive Brokers aligns better with your needs.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | Yes |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 5 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) runs a true commission-based forex model with no spread markups, aggregating prices from 17 major banks. While IBKR doesn’t publish average spreads, in Q3 2024 we observed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips, translating to about 0.59 pips all-in after commission. Commissions start at 0.00002 of the U.S. dollar trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), which works out to roughly 0.40 pips on a $100,000 EUR/USD round trip. The fee range is $16–$40 per million round turn ($8–$20 per side), with volume discounts that can cut the minimum to $1.50 per order above $1 billion in monthly volume and to $1 at $5 billion. Note: the $2-per-side minimum makes trades under 100,000 units proportionally pricier. IBKR’s commissions and fees rating: 5/5 stars; category rank: #2 of 63.
Swissquote’s pricing varies by region and account tier, and generally carries a premium. In the U.K., the Elite account (for deposits of at least $10,000) pairs reduced spreads with a $5 round-turn commission and is the most cost-effective option for active traders. The Standard account’s EUR/USD spread starts at 1.3 pips, while Prime starts from 0.6 pips—but that figure is a minimum, not an average. Luxembourg accounts show similar patterns: Standard ($1,000 min), Premium ($5,000), and Prime ($50,000) with minimum spreads from 0.8 to 1.5 pips. In Switzerland, forex spreads start at 1.7 pips (Standard, $1,000 min), 1.4 pips (Premium, $10,000), and 1.1 pips (Prime, $50,000), with custom pricing negotiated for high-volume clients. Swissquote’s commissions and fees rating: 3.5/5 stars; category rank: #35 of 63.
Bottom line on fees: Interactive Brokers typically delivers lower all-in trading costs—especially for standard-lot or larger forex trades and for high-volume clients who qualify for reduced minimums—while Swissquote tends to be pricier unless you use its Elite setup and trade actively. If minimizing spreads and per-million commissions is the priority, IBKR holds the edge; if banking with Swissquote’s network matters more and you accept higher spreads (often quoted as minimums), Swissquote can still fit the bill.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1000 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Interactive Brokers vs Swissquote: both brokers offer a wide range of investments, including forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts, plus access to U.S. and international stocks (so you can buy names like Apple or Vodafone directly, not just via CFDs). Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while Swissquote offers around 472 symbols and 80 forex pairs. If sheer market coverage matters most, Interactive Brokers has the bigger catalog.
For crypto, both let you buy actual cryptocurrencies as well as trade crypto CFDs. One key difference is copy trading: Swissquote supports it, while Interactive Brokers does not. Both earn 5 out of 5 stars for Range of Investments; however, Interactive Brokers is ranked #1 of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com in this category, and Swissquote is #2. In short, Interactive Brokers wins on breadth, while Swissquote appeals if you want copy trading alongside strong market access.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 472 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 80 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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.
Interactive Brokers and Swissquote both check the key boxes for trading platforms and tools: each offers a free paper (simulated) trading account, an in-house proprietary platform, a Windows desktop download, a web-based platform, and the ability to place trades directly from charts. These shared features make it easy to practice, then trade from either a browser or a full desktop setup.
The biggest differences: Swissquote supports copy trading and also offers MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, while Interactive Brokers does not. For overall platform and tool quality, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers at 5 stars (ranked #2 of 63) and Swissquote at 4.5 stars (ranked #12 of 63). In short, choose Interactive Brokers if you want a top-rated, in-house platform experience, or go with Swissquote if you prefer copy trading and the MetaTrader suite.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 86 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers vs Swissquote for mobile trading: both brokers offer iPhone and Android apps with stock and forex price alerts. The big difference is watchlists—Interactive Brokers syncs symbols between the mobile app and your online account, while Swissquote does not. If you like charting, Interactive Brokers packs in 97 technical studies compared to Swissquote’s 30. Both apps let you draw trendlines.
For chart drawings, Interactive Brokers does not auto-save, whereas Swissquote does, which can be handy if you frequently annotate charts. Overall ratings favor Interactive Brokers at 5 stars and a #4 ranking out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps on ForexBrokers.com, while Swissquote earns 4.5 stars and a #12 ranking. In short, Interactive Brokers suits traders who want deeper indicators and synced watchlists, and Swissquote appeals if auto-saving chart notes is a priority.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Interactive Brokers and Swissquote both cover the essentials for market research, offering daily market commentary, top-tier forex news from sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, and a full economic calendar. The key differences show up in their add-on tools: Swissquote includes Autochartist for pattern-based technical analysis, while Interactive Brokers counters with Trading Central analytics, a sentiment tool showing long/short positioning, plus research from TipRanks and Acuity Trading (Signal Centre).
If you want a wider variety of third-party research and sentiment data, Interactive Brokers has the edge. If Autochartist is your priority, Swissquote is the better fit. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers, while Swissquote earns 4 stars and ranks #15.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | Yes | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Interactive Brokers and Swissquote both deliver beginner-friendly education. Each runs ongoing client webinars (at least monthly) and offers at least 10 beginner videos, plus 10+ advanced videos for when you’re ready to level up. For overall education quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Swissquote holds 4 stars and ranks #19. Note: this summary does not specify whether either broker provides 10 or more dedicated forex and CFD lessons, so you may want to check each broker’s learning hub for that specific topic coverage.
If you want the top-rated education experience, Interactive Brokers is the standout. If you prefer Swissquote, you still get a steady schedule of webinars and a sizable video library to build confidence from basic concepts to more advanced strategies. Beginners at both brokers can start with the introductory videos, then progress to advanced lessons as their skills grow, and explore each platform’s resources to see which style of forex and CFD content suits them best.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Swissquote
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than Swissquote. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Swissquote finished with an overall rank of #11.
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
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Swissquote
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 |
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In the Interactive Brokers vs Swissquote comparison for cryptocurrency trading, both brokers let you buy actual, delivered crypto and also trade cryptocurrency CFDs, providing flexible options for accessing digital assets.
Interactive Brokers and Swissquote both support ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers for deposits and withdrawals, while Swissquote additionally accepts PayPal and Skrill and Interactive Brokers does not; card (Visa/Mastercard) availability is not specified for either.
Please 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.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Swissquote Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | Yes | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 5 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 472 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 80 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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 | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $1000 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 86 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Swissquote Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | Swissquote | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Swissquote Review |
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