Interactive Brokers vs AvaTrade 2026

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 (founded in 1977) and AvaTrade (founded in 2006) are both well-regulated online brokers. Interactive Brokers is publicly traded, while AvaTrade is private; neither is a bank. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers scores 99/99 and AvaTrade 96/99 on its Trust Score—both fall in the “highly trusted” 90–99 range.

On licensing, Interactive Brokers holds 8 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, while AvaTrade holds 4 Tier-1 and 3 Tier-2. Tier-1 regulators are considered highly trusted and Tier-2 trusted, which supports the strong trust ratings for both brokers. If public listing status and the breadth of top-tier regulation are priorities, Interactive Brokers has the edge; AvaTrade remains a highly trusted choice with a slightly smaller set of top-tier licenses.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Year Founded info	1977	2006
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	8	4
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	3
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	1
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

Interactive Brokers earns 5 out of 5 stars for Commissions and Fees and is ranked #2 of 63, while AvaTrade earns 4.5 out of 5 stars and is ranked #14. In plain terms, Interactive Brokers tends to be cheaper for standard-size or larger forex trades because of its low commission model and the tight pricing we observed, whereas AvaTrade offers simple, spread-based pricing that is near the industry average.

Interactive Brokers charges a small commission instead of marking up spreads. Commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 basis points) of the U.S. dollar trade value per side, with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), and equate to about $16–$40 per million round turn. In Q3 2024, we observed average EUR/USD spreads of 0.19 pips, translating to an effective all-in cost of about 0.59 pips after commission for a standard 100,000-unit trade (roughly 0.40 pips in commission plus the prevailing spread). Note that the $2-per-side minimum makes smaller-than-100k trades proportionally more expensive. High-volume traders can qualify for lower minimums (down to $1 per order) and additional discounts.

AvaTrade’s pricing is straightforward: as of June 2024, typical EUR/USD spreads were about 0.9 pips on standard accounts, and 0.6 pips if you qualify as an elected professional trader. Compared with those figures, Interactive Brokers’ observed 0.59-pip all-in on EUR/USD can undercut AvaTrade’s standard pricing and is comparable to AvaTrade’s Professional account. That said, if you trade small ticket sizes, AvaTrade’s spread-only model can be competitive given Interactive Brokers’ per-order minimums, while active or high-volume traders may find Interactive Brokers’ discounts especially appealing.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$100
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	0.93 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	0.61 info
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Range of investments

Interactive Brokers offers a much wider range of investments than AvaTrade, with 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs versus AvaTrade’s 1,260 symbols and 53 pairs. Both brokers support forex trading as CFDs or spot contracts. Crucially, Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges (think Apple or Vodafone), while AvaTrade does not offer real shares or ETFs.

For crypto, Interactive Brokers allows purchases of actual coins, but not crypto CFDs. AvaTrade takes the opposite approach, offering crypto CFDs but not delivered crypto. AvaTrade supports copy trading; Interactive Brokers does not. Reflecting these differences, Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers with ForexBrokers.com, while AvaTrade earns 4 stars and ranks #26. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want the widest market access and real assets; pick AvaTrade if you prefer copy trading and CFD-focused crypto exposure.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	1260
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	53
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	No	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 and AvaTrade both check key boxes for traders: each offers free paper trading (demo accounts), proprietary platforms built by the broker, Windows desktop software, web-based trading, and placing orders directly from charts. The big differences come down to extras. Interactive Brokers does not support copy trading or MetaTrader, while AvaTrade offers copy trading plus full MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) alongside its own platform.

For Trading Platforms and Tools, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while AvaTrade scores 4.5 stars and ranks #13. If you want MetaTrader and copy trading, AvaTrade is an obvious fit; if you prefer a high-rated in-house platform suite, Interactive Brokers stands out. Indicator counts and watch list column details are not specified here.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	80
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and AvaTrade both deliver full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports stock and forex price alerts and watchlist syncing, so updates made on your phone or online account stay aligned. Both apps let you draw trendlines on charts, though neither app auto-saves those drawings.

For charting depth, Interactive Brokers stands out with 155 technical studies compared with AvaTrade’s 73. That extra toolkit helps traders who rely on more indicators. Reflecting this edge, Interactive Brokers earned a 5-star Mobile Trading Apps rating and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while AvaTrade holds a strong 4.5-star rating and ranks #13. If you want the widest range of mobile charting tools, Interactive Brokers is the better pick; if you need solid charting and core features, AvaTrade still fits the bill.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	155	73
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	No

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Comparing Interactive Brokers and AvaTrade for market research, Interactive Brokers stands out by offering daily market commentary, while AvaTrade does not. Both brokers deliver forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg/Reuters/Dow Jones (or similar), provide Trading Central tools, a sentiment-based trading tool, and an economic calendar. Neither broker includes Autochartist.

Interactive Brokers adds more third-party research via TipRanks and Acuity Trading (e.g., Signal Centre), which AvaTrade lacks. That helps explain why Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Research and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, compared to AvaTrade’s 4-star rating and #28 ranking. If you want daily commentary and broader research add-ons, Interactive Brokers has the edge; if you mainly need core tools and quality news, AvaTrade still covers the essentials.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	No
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	No
Trading Central info	Yes	Yes
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

Interactive Brokers and AvaTrade both make it simple for beginners to learn. Each broker hosts online client webinars at least once a month and offers a sizable library of beginner content, including 10+ videos made for newcomers. As you progress, both also provide 10+ advanced videos that help you move beyond the basics and understand strategies and platform features—useful for anyone exploring trading, including forex and CFDs.

For overall education quality, Interactive Brokers has the edge: it earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers for Education at ForexBrokers.com. AvaTrade is close behind with 4 stars and a #2 ranking. If you want the most comprehensive learning path, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick, while AvaTrade remains a solid choice with regular webinars and plenty of beginner-friendly videos.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos 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 AvaTrade. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while AvaTrade finished with an overall rank of #15.

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	AvaTrade
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	96
Range of Investments
Trading Fees
Trading Platforms
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or AvaTrade?

What funding options does each broker offer?

×

×

Sponsored

+ Add Broker

Close Menu ×

navigate_before navigate_next

Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	96
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	AvaTrade Review

Broker Screenshots	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Trust Score info	99	96
Year Founded info	1977	2006
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	8	4
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	3
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	1
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (FSA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info	Yes	No
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info	Yes
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info	Yes	No
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	AvaTrade
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	Yes
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	Yes
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info

Investments	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	1260
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	53
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	No	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	AvaTrade
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	0.93 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	0.61 info
Inactivity Fee info	No	Yes
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	No
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$100
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
cTrader info	No	No

Trading Tools	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	80
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
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	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	155	73
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	No
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Research	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	No
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	No
Trading Central info	Yes	Yes
TipRanks info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	Yes
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Education	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
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	AvaTrade Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	AvaTrade
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	96
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	AvaTrade Review