Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Trade Nation, 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, stands out as a prominent name in the brokerage world. It is publicly traded, which often instills additional trust in investors. The firm holds an impressive nine Tier-1 licenses and two Tier-2 licenses, signaling a high level of regulatory compliance across major financial authorities. With a perfect Trust Score of 99 from ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers is considered a highly trusted option for investors seeking secure and reliable services.
In contrast, Trade Nation, founded in 2014, is a newer entrant in the brokerage industry and is not publicly traded. The firm holds two Tier-1 licenses and one Tier-2 license, showcasing a commendable effort in maintaining regulatory standards. With a Trust Score of 85, it is classified as a trusted broker according to ForexBrokers.com. While it does not reach the same level of regulatory coverage as Interactive Brokers, Trade Nation presents a trustworthy option for those exploring diversified trading platforms.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2014 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
When it comes to trading commissions and fees, Interactive Brokers and Trade Nation each offer distinct advantages for investors. Interactive Brokers stands out with its competitive pricing structure, particularly for forex trading. While the broker does not publicly disclose average spreads, data from Q3 2024 reveals that the EUR/USD pair sees average spreads of 0.19 pips, translating to an effective all-in spread of 0.59 pips after accounting for commissions. Forex trading commissions start at 0.00002 of the trade value, with a minimum charge of $2 per order. For traders dealing with high volumes, there are discounted rates available when specific monthly trade thresholds are met. With a 5-star rating for commissions and fees and a #2 ranking out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers is well-suited for active traders seeking low-cost, commission-based forex trading.
On the other hand, Trade Nation offers competitive fixed-spread pricing, distinguishing itself with predictable costs across its platforms. The broker lists a fixed spread of 0.6 pips for the EUR/USD pair, with brief widening during its daily rollover period. With account types that include both commission-based and commission-free options, Trade Nation provides flexibility for different trading styles. Notably, the Raw Spread account with MetaTrader charges a $3.50 commission per trade side per standard lot but offers competitive spreads upon factoring in all costs. Trade Nation also earns a 5-star rating for its commission and fee structure, securing the #7 spot among 63 brokers as per ForexBrokers.com.
In essence, both Interactive Brokers and Trade Nation offer low trading costs, but the choice may heavily depend on individual trading preferences. Interactive Brokers is ideal for those prioritizing low commissions with potential discounts for high-volume trading. In contrast, Trade Nation appeals to those who favor fixed-spread pricing for its predictability and simplicity. Both brokers have proven their value with high ratings and rankings, reflecting their efficient fee structures in the competitive world of forex trading.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.59 | 0.6 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.6 |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Interactive Brokers vs Trade Nation for range of investments: Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while Trade Nation offers around 1,000 symbols and 46 forex pairs. Both support forex trading, either as CFDs or spot. Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges (think Apple on NASDAQ or Vodafone in London), which Trade Nation does not. For crypto, Interactive Brokers supports both actual coins and crypto derivatives; Trade Nation offers crypto derivatives only. Trade Nation does include copy trading, whereas Interactive Brokers does not.
These differences show up in the rankings: Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com; Trade Nation scores 3.5 stars and ranks #39. In short, Interactive Brokers suits investors who want access to global stocks, crypto, and a large list of markets, while Trade Nation will appeal to CFD-focused traders who want copy trading and a simpler lineup.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 46 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | 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 Trade Nation both provide free paper trading (demo accounts), proprietary platforms, and access via Windows desktop and web browsers. Trade Nation also supports MetaTrader 4, while Interactive Brokers does not; neither broker offers MetaTrader 5. Copy trading is available at Trade Nation but not at Interactive Brokers, and both brokers do not support DupliTrade or ZuluTrade.
For tools, the number of built-in technical indicators isn’t specified for either broker, but Interactive Brokers lists 85 drawing tools versus 39 at Trade Nation. Interactive Brokers also lets you place orders directly from charts, while Trade Nation does not. Watchlists are far more detailed at Interactive Brokers (659 fields) than at Trade Nation (14 fields). According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 for Trading Platforms and Tools, while Trade Nation earns 4 stars and ranks #45—making Interactive Brokers the stronger pick for customization and data depth, and Trade Nation a straightforward choice for MT4 users and those seeking copy trading.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 115 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 85 | 39 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | No |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 659 | 14 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and Trade Nation both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. You’ll get price alerts, real-time quote watchlists that sync with your online account, and charting with multiple time frames and trendline drawing. For technical studies (indicators), Interactive Brokers includes 97 while Trade Nation offers 99—very similar coverage.
The standout difference is chart drawings: Trade Nation auto-saves your annotations, while Interactive Brokers does not. In independent ratings from ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers scores higher—5 stars and #4 out of 63 for Mobile Trading Apps—versus Trade Nation’s 4 stars and #46. Choose Trade Nation if auto-saving drawings and a couple more studies matter most; pick Interactive Brokers if top ratings and overall app standing are your priority.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 99 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Interactive Brokers and Trade Nation both deliver daily market commentary and forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones. Each offers sentiment tools that show long/short positioning and integrates Acuity Trading (Signal Centre), and neither uses Autochartist. Where they differ: Interactive Brokers adds Trading Central analytics, TipRanks research, and a built-in global economic calendar—features Trade Nation does not provide.
These gaps show up in the ratings: Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers for Research on ForexBrokers.com, while Trade Nation holds 3.5 stars and ranks #43. If you want deeper third-party analytics and a clear schedule of market-moving events, Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice; if you mainly need news, commentary, and sentiment, Trade Nation covers the basics.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, Interactive Brokers and Trade Nation both offer valuable materials for learning about forex and CFDs. Both platforms provide over ten educational pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars focusing on these topics. Additionally, both brokers cater to new traders by offering a collection of beginner-friendly videos covering various trading fundamentals. However, Interactive Brokers extends its offerings by hosting monthly online educational webinars and maintains an easily searchable archive of past recordings, features not available with Trade Nation.
Both Interactive Brokers and Trade Nation supply advanced educational videos suited for experienced traders and contain investor dictionaries with comprehensive definitions. Nevertheless, when contrasting their educational quality and reach, Interactive Brokers takes the lead, garnering a five-star rating for education and ranking third out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com. On the other hand, Trade Nation achieves a 3.5-star rating and is positioned at 41st in the same education category ranking, indicating a notable difference in their educational strengths as assessed by industry experts.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | 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 Trade Nation. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Trade Nation finished with an overall rank of #34.
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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Trade Nation
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 85 |
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Interactive Brokers allows investors to buy both actual delivered cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency derivatives, while Trade Nation only offers the ability to trade cryptocurrency derivatives.
Interactive Brokers provides ACH, SEPA, and bank wire options for depositing and withdrawing funds, whereas Trade Nation offers deposit and withdrawal via Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, but lacks support for ACH, SEPA, and PayPal transfers, with neither broker supporting PayPal transactions.
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 | Trade Nation | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Trade Nation Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 85 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2014 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | 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 | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | 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 | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.59 | 0.6 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.6 | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 659 | 14 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 115 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 85 | 39 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | No | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 99 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Trade Nation Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | Trade Nation | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 85 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Trade Nation Review |
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