Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Vantage, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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Interactive Brokers and Vantage are two well-regarded online brokers, but they differ significantly in their regulatory standings and trust ratings. Interactive Brokers, established in 1977, is publicly traded and holds an impressive nine Tier-1 licenses, which are highly trusted according to ForexBrokers.com. In contrast, Vantage, founded in 2009, is not publicly traded and holds two Tier-1 licenses. Furthermore, Interactive Brokers is backed by a near-perfect Trust Score of 99 out of 99, reflecting its high reliability, while Vantage has a Trust Score of 90, placing it in the "highly trusted" category.
While neither Interactive Brokers nor Vantage operates as a bank, their varying licenses and trust ratings reflect different levels of regulatory assurance. Interactive Brokers not only has a significant number of Tier-1 licenses but also holds two Tier-2 licenses, adding another layer of trust. Vantage, on the other hand, holds one Tier-2 license. For potential investors and traders, these differences in regulation and trust ratings can be key factors when choosing between the two platforms.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vantage
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2009 |
| 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 | 3 |
Interactive Brokers vs Vantage on commissions and fees: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is the lower-cost choice for many forex traders, while Vantage offers multiple account types with straightforward pricing. IBKR is rated 5/5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #2 of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com. Vantage is rated 4.5/5 stars and ranks #12 of 63.
Interactive Brokers aggregates quotes from 17 major banks and charges a commission instead of marking up spreads. In Q3 2024, the average EUR/USD spread we obtained was 0.19 pips; after commission, the estimated all-in cost was about 0.59 pips. Commissions start at 0.00002 of trade value (0.2 bps) with a $2 minimum per side ($4 round turn), or roughly $16–$40 per million round turn. That minimum makes sub‑100k trades relatively pricier; for a $100,000 EUR/USD trade, the commission equals about 0.40 pips on top of spread. High-volume traders can qualify for lower minimums (down to $1 per order), and both IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro support forex (not commission-free).
Vantage pricing depends on account and entity. The Standard STP account is spread-only with typical EUR/USD spreads around 1.30 pips (March 2023). The RAW ECN account averaged 0.15 pips plus $3 per side ($6 round turn), for about 0.75 pips all-in. The PRO ECN account cuts commission to $2 per side ($4 round turn) but has eligibility/funding hurdles (e.g., wholesale status in Australia or a $10,000 minimum with the Cayman entity). Vantage also offers rebates of $2–$8 per lot for active traders, but only on the higher-spread Standard account. Bottom line: IBKR’s estimated 0.59‑pip all‑in cost on EUR/USD undercuts Vantage’s Standard and RAW tiers, while Vantage’s PRO ECN can be competitive if you qualify.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vantage
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 1.32 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.72 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| 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. Vantage: Both brokers let you trade forex as CFDs or spot. Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, and gives access to exchange-traded securities on U.S. markets (like Apple) and many international exchanges (like Vodafone). It also supports both actual, delivered cryptocurrency and crypto CFDs. Vantage offers around 1,000 symbols and 61 forex pairs. It does not provide exchange-traded U.S. or international shares, but it does offer crypto CFDs; buying actual crypto is not available. One plus for Vantage is copy trading, which Interactive Brokers does not offer.
According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers for Range of Investments, while Vantage scores 3.5 stars and ranks #32. If you want the widest market access, Interactive Brokers stands out; if you value copy trading alongside core CFD and forex markets, Vantage may fit better.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
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Vantage
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|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 61 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No |
| 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 vs Vantage: both brokers deliver key platform features, including free paper (demo) trading, their own in-house platforms, Windows desktop software, web-based platforms, and the ability to place trades straight from charts. The main differences are in third-party and social tools. Vantage supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Interactive Brokers does not support copy trading and does not offer MT4/MT5. If you rely on MetaTrader or want to mirror other traders, Vantage fits the bill; if you want a powerful native platform and wide market access, Interactive Brokers stands out.
For Trading Platforms and Tools, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers at 5 out of 5 stars (ranked #2 of 63) and Vantage at 4 out of 5 stars (ranked #20 of 63). In short, pick Interactive Brokers if platform depth and research are your priorities, or choose Vantage for MetaTrader compatibility and built-in copy trading—while still getting capable desktop and web experiences from both brokers.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vantage
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|---|---|---|
| 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 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and Vantage both offer iPhone and Android trading apps with price alerts, so you can track markets on the go. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers’ mobile app earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers, while Vantage’s app earns 4 stars and ranks #24. A key difference is watchlists: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between mobile and your online account, but Vantage does not.
For charting, Interactive Brokers supplies 97 technical studies compared with 30 at Vantage. Both apps let you draw trendlines, but only Vantage auto-saves your drawings; Interactive Brokers does not. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want deeper technical indicators and synced watchlists, or Vantage if you prefer simpler charts with drawings that save automatically.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vantage
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 Vantage both deliver daily market commentary, an economic calendar for global events, and forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones. Each broker includes Trading Central analytics and a sentiment tool that shows how traders are positioned. Key differences: Vantage adds Autochartist for trade ideas, while Interactive Brokers stands out with TipRanks insights and tools from Acuity Trading (Signal Centre), which Vantage does not offer.
For overall research quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Vantage scores 4 stars and ranks #20. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want broader third‑party research coverage alongside premium news and analytics; pick Vantage if Autochartist signals paired with daily commentary and top-tier news fit your style.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vantage
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Interactive Brokers and Vantage both cater well to beginners, with education that covers forex and CFDs in plain language. Each broker hosts online client webinars at least once a month and provides at least 10 beginner-focused videos that walk through core trading topics step by step.
As you progress, both brokers also offer 10+ advanced videos. That said, Interactive Brokers leads in quality: it earns 5 stars for Education and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Vantage holds 4 stars and ranks #23. If you want the highest-rated learning path, Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice; if you’re after clear lessons with regular webinars, Vantage remains a solid option.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Vantage
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 Vantage. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Vantage finished with an overall rank of #24.
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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Vantage
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| Trust Score | 99 | 90 |
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Compared to Vantage, Interactive Brokers supports buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies and trading crypto CFDs, while Vantage offers only cryptocurrency CFDs and does not allow purchasing real crypto.
Compared to Vantage, Interactive Brokers supports ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers but not PayPal or Skrill, whereas Vantage offers PayPal, Skrill, and bank wires but not ACH/SEPA; Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either broker.
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 | Vantage | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 90 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Vantage Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 90 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2009 | |
| 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 | 3 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (FSA 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 | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 61 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 1.32 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.72 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Vantage Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | Vantage | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 90 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Vantage Review |
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