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Interactive Brokers vs Tickmill 2025

ForexBrokers.com

Written by ForexBrokers.com

February 05, 2025

In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Tickmill, 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
Tickmill
4.5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $100
  • Trust Score: 86
  • Tradeable Symbols (Total): 637

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 and Tickmill are two options to consider for online trading, both offering different levels of trust and credibility. Founded in 1977, Interactive Brokers is publicly traded and boasts the highest ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 99. It holds 9 Tier-1 licenses, reflecting strong regulatory compliance. On the other hand, Tickmill, established in 2014, is not publicly traded and has a Trust Score of 86. While it holds 2 Tier-1 licenses, this suggests a solid level of trust but not as extensive as Interactive Brokers.

Neither company operates as a bank, focusing solely on providing brokerage services. Both firms hold 2 Tier-2 licenses, indicating they meet trusted standards in certain jurisdictions. However, Interactive Brokers' extensive Tier-1 licensing positions it as a more secure choice from a regulatory perspective compared to Tickmill. For investors prioritizing regulatory approval and publicly traded status, Interactive Brokers may offer greater peace of mind.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Year Founded info 1977 2014
Publicly Traded (Listed) info Yes No
Bank info No No
Tier-1 Licenses info 9 2
Tier-2 Licenses info 2 2
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 1

Fees

When comparing commissions and fees between Interactive Brokers and Tickmill, both platforms offer competitive pricing structures that cater to active forex traders. Interactive Brokers stands out with a pricing system where commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the U.S. dollar trade value, with a minimum of $2 per order. This structure can drop to 0.08 basis points for very active traders. For example, buying and then selling $100,000 worth of EUR/USD at Interactive Brokers results in a commission-equivalent of roughly 0.40 pips, making it an appealing choice for seasoned traders. Interactive Brokers, rated 5 stars for its commissions and fees, is ranked #2 out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.

On the other hand, Tickmill provides two main account options: Classic and Raw. The Raw account, which replaced the Pro account, features a $3 per side commission rate, or $6 per standard lot. With this account, typical spreads for the EUR/USD are listed at 0.11 pips, with an all-in cost of 0.71 pips after incorporating the commission. While the Classic account offers commission-free trading, its average spreads are significantly higher at 1.76 pips. Despite the recent price increase, Tickmill remains a top contender for active traders, earning a 5-star rating and securing the #4 rank for commissions and fees according to ForexBrokers.com.

In summary, Interactive Brokers and Tickmill both offer attractive options for forex traders with efficient pricing models. Interactive Brokers is particularly suited for those who prioritize volume discounts and extensive interbank access, while Tickmill appeals with its straightforward account options and competitive spreads through its Raw account. Both brokers shine in delivering cost-effective solutions while receiving top ratings in the industry for their commissions and fees.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Minimum Deposit info $0 $100
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard info 0.59 info 1.70 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.65 info 0.70 info
Active Trader or VIP Discounts info Yes No
ACH or SEPA Transfers info Yes No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) info No Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Featured Offers


Range of investments

Interactive Brokers and Tickmill both let you trade forex as either CFDs or spot, but their overall product lineups differ a lot. Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 currency pairs, while Tickmill offers 637 symbols and 63 pairs. If you want to buy real stocks, Interactive Brokers provides access to exchange‑traded securities on both U.S. and international markets, so you can purchase shares like Apple or Vodafone directly. Tickmill does not offer direct stock investing.

Extra features also diverge. Tickmill supports copy trading, which Interactive Brokers does not. For crypto, Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual coins as well as crypto derivatives; Tickmill offers only crypto derivatives, not delivered coins. Reflecting these differences, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars and ranks it #1 out of 63 brokers for range of investments, while Tickmill earns 3.5 stars and ranks #43.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 637
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 63
U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) info Yes No
Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) info Yes No
Social Trading / Copy Trading info No Yes
Cryptocurrency (Physical) info Yes No
Cryptocurrency (Derivative) 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 Tickmill: both brokers offer free paper (demo) accounts, plus web and Windows desktop platforms. Interactive Brokers adds a proprietary, in-house platform, while Tickmill leans on third-party options and supports MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5)—features Interactive Brokers does not provide. Tickmill also offers copy trading, whereas Interactive Brokers does not. Neither broker supports DupliTrade or ZuluTrade.

For charting and workflow, both let you place trades directly from charts. The number of technical indicators isn’t specified for either, but Interactive Brokers lists 85 drawing tools versus 9 at Tickmill. Power users may appreciate watchlists more at Interactive Brokers (659 columns) compared with Tickmill (7). In our Trading Platforms and Tools ratings, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers, while Tickmill earns 4 stars and ranks #30.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Virtual Trading (Demo) info Yes Yes
Proprietary Platform info Yes No
Desktop Platform (Windows) info Yes Yes
Web Platform info Yes Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading info No Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info No Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info No Yes
DupliTrade info No No
ZuluTrade info No No
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 155 91
Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) info 85 9
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes Yes
Watchlists - Total Fields info 659 7

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and Tickmill both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports price alerts, real-time quote watchlists, drawing trendlines on charts, and switching between multiple timeframes (like intraday, daily, or weekly). In independent testing by ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers’ mobile app earned 5 stars and ranked #4 out of 63 brokers, while Tickmill’s app earned 4 stars and ranked #30.

The key differences are in syncing and chart tools. Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, while Tickmill does not. For charting, Interactive Brokers includes 97 technical studies compared with Tickmill’s 30, which is helpful for deeper analysis. However, Tickmill’s app auto-saves your chart drawings, whereas Interactive Brokers does not. If you want advanced studies and cross-device watchlist syncing, Interactive Brokers stands out; if keeping your chart annotations saved automatically matters most, Tickmill has an edge.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple iOS App info Yes Yes
Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields info Yes Yes
Watchlist Syncing info Yes No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info 97 30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave info No Yes
Mobile Watchlist info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers and Tickmill both deliver solid market research capabilities to traders, featuring daily market commentary and forex news from esteemed sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones. However, their offerings diverge significantly beyond these shared features. Interactive Brokers extends its comprehensive research toolkit with resources like Trading Central's Technical Analytics and TipRanks, whereas Tickmill does not provide these tools. Both brokers support research through Acuity Trading's offerings and provide economic calendars that showcase global news events impacting various economies.

When assessing sentiment-based tools, both Interactive Brokers and Tickmill offer features that display the ratio of long and short positions among currency pairs or other instruments. Nevertheless, the overall research capabilities of Interactive Brokers are rated higher, earning 5 out of 5 stars compared to Tickmill's 4-star rating. Reflecting this distinction, Interactive Brokers is ranked #3 in the Research category by ForexBrokers.com, among 63 brokers surveyed, while Tickmill holds the #21 spot. This distinction highlights the advanced research tools and resources available to Interactive Brokers' clients, making it a preferred choice for traders prioritizing in-depth market insight.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Daily Market Commentary info Yes Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info Yes Yes
Autochartist info No No
Trading Central (Recognia) info Yes No
Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs info Yes Yes
TipRanks info Yes No
Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) info Yes Yes
Economic Calendar info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Interactive Brokers and Tickmill both offer comprehensive educational resources geared towards beginner investors, making them strong contenders for anyone looking to learn more about forex and CFDs. With an array of over ten educational materials spanning articles, videos, archived webinars, and more, both platforms ensure their users are well-informed. They each provide monthly updated online educational webinars along with searchable archives of past sessions, providing continuous learning opportunities. Moreover, both brokerages cater specifically to new traders by supplying more than ten beginner-focused videos. For those looking to advance their knowledge, each offers at least ten advanced educational videos.

Digging deeper, Interactive Brokers distinguishes itself with an investor dictionary covering over fifty essential investing terms, matching Tickmill's offering in this area. However, when it comes to recognition, Interactive Brokers edges out with a higher educational rating of five stars compared to Tickmill's four. Furthermore, Interactive Brokers ranks impressively as the third best among 63 brokers for education according to ForexBrokers.com, while Tickmill holds the fifteenth position. Hence, while both platforms are valuable resources for newcomers, Interactive Brokers slightly outshines Tickmill in providing a more highly rated learning experience.

Feature Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Tickmill logoTickmill
Education (Forex or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Client Webinars info Yes Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info Yes Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Investor Dictionary (Glossary) 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 Tickmill. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Tickmill finished with an overall rank of #22.

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
Tickmill logoTickmill
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 86
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 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 4/5 Stars

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or Tickmill?

Interactive Brokers provides investors with the option to purchase both actual cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency derivatives, while Tickmill exclusively offers cryptocurrency derivatives, lacking the option for buying actual cryptocurrency.

What funding options does each broker offer?

When comparing Interactive Brokers and Tickmill as online brokers, Interactive Brokers allows ACH or SEPA transfers and bank wires for handling account funds but does not support PayPal, Skrill, or Visa/Mastercard, whereas Tickmill does not support ACH/SEPA transfers but does offer options for PayPal, Skrill, Visa/Mastercard, and bank wires.




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.

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Compare

0 of 5
Overall Rating Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 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 4/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 86
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Tickmill Review
Broker Screenshots Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info
Regulation Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Trust Score info 99 86
Year Founded info 1977 2014
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 2
Tier-2 Licenses info 2 2
Tier-3 Licenses info 0 0
Tier-4 Licenses info 0 1
Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) Interactive Brokers Tickmill
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 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 Yes info
Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info No No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info No Yes
UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) info Yes Yes
India (SEBI Authorised) info Yes No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info
Investments Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info 8500 637
Forex Pairs (Total) info 90 63
U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) info Yes No
Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) info Yes No
Social Trading / Copy Trading info No Yes
Cryptocurrency (Physical) info Yes No
Cryptocurrency (Derivative) 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 Tickmill
Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard info 0.59 info 1.70 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info 0.65 info 0.70 info
Active Trader or VIP Discounts info Yes No
Inactivity Fee info No No
Execution: Agency Broker info Yes Yes
Execution: Market Maker info No Yes
Funding Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Minimum Deposit info $0 $100
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info No Yes
Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) info No Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info Yes Yes
ACH or SEPA Transfers info Yes No
Trading Platforms Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Proprietary Platform info Yes No
Desktop Platform (Windows) info Yes Yes
Web Platform info Yes Yes
Social Trading / Copy Trading info No Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info No Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info No Yes
cTrader info No No
DupliTrade info No No
ZuluTrade info No No
Trading Tools Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Virtual Trading (Demo) info Yes Yes
Alerts - Basic Fields info Yes Yes
Watchlists - Total Fields info 659 7
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info 155 91
Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) info 85 9
Charting - Trade From Chart info Yes Yes
Charts can be saved info Yes Yes
Mobile Trading Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple iOS App info Yes Yes
Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields info Yes Yes
Mobile Watchlist info Yes Yes
Watchlist Syncing info Yes No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info 97 30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave info No Yes
Mobile Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Research Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Daily Market Commentary info Yes Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info Yes Yes
Autochartist info No No
Trading Central (Recognia) info Yes No
TipRanks info Yes No
Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs info Yes Yes
Economic Calendar info Yes Yes
Education Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Education (Forex or CFDs) info Yes Yes
Client Webinars info Yes Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info Yes Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info Yes Yes
Investor Dictionary (Glossary) info Yes Yes
Major Forex Pairs Interactive Brokers Tickmill
GBP/USD info Yes Yes
USD/JPY info Yes Yes
EUR/USD info Yes Yes
USD/CHF info Yes Yes
USD/CAD info Yes Yes
NZD/USD info Yes Yes
AUD/USD info Yes Yes
Review Interactive Brokers Review Tickmill Review
Overall Interactive Brokers Tickmill
Overall Rating info 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Commissions & Fees 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 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 4/5 Stars
Trust Score info 99 86
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Tickmill Review
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