Interactive Brokers vs Eightcap 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 and Eightcap are both regulated online brokers, but their profiles differ. Interactive Brokers, founded in 1977, is publicly traded and not a bank. Eightcap, founded in 2009, is privately held and also not a bank. According to the ForexBrokers.com Trust Score, Interactive Brokers scores 99/99 (highly trusted, 90–99), while Eightcap scores 87/99 (trusted, 80–89).

Regulatory breadth is another key difference. Interactive Brokers holds 8 Tier-1 licenses (considered highly trusted by ForexBrokers.com) and 2 Tier-2 licenses. Eightcap holds 3 Tier-1 licenses and 1 Tier-2 license. In short, both are regulated and trusted, but Interactive Brokers carries the highest Trust Score and a wider set of top-tier licenses.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Year Founded info	1977	2009
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	8	3
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	1
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	2

Fees

When comparing commissions and fees, Interactive Brokers comes out ahead of Eightcap for active forex traders. IBKR uses a commission-based model rather than marking up spreads, and while it does not publish average forex spreads, its Q3 2024 EUR/USD average spread was 0.19 pips, with an estimated all-in cost of about 0.59 pips after commission. Its forex pricing starts at 0.00002% of the U.S. dollar trade value per side, with a minimum charge of $2 per order ($4 round turn), and lower rates are available for very high-volume traders. Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars and ranked #2 out of 36 for commissions and fees.

Eightcap also offers low-cost forex trading, especially on its Raw account, which lists an average spread of 0.06 pips plus a $3.50 commission per side. That works out to an estimated all-in cost of about 0.76 pips, which is still competitive but slightly higher than the lowest-cost brokers. Eightcap is rated 4.5 stars and ranked #20 out of 36 for commissions and fees.

In simple terms, both brokers offer fairly low trading costs, but Interactive Brokers is the cheaper choice for commissions and fees overall, especially for larger or more active forex traders. Eightcap remains a solid option, but its total trading cost is a bit higher than IBKR’s.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$100
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	1.0 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	0.76
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

When it comes to the range of investments, Interactive Brokers offers a much wider selection than Eightcap. Interactive Brokers provides access to about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, plus exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges. It also lets clients buy actual cryptocurrency, while Eightcap does not offer this. By contrast, Eightcap supports around 803 tradeable symbols and 55 forex pairs, and it focuses more narrowly on trading CFDs, including cryptocurrency CFDs.

For investors who want more choice across asset classes, Interactive Brokers is the stronger option overall. Its Range of Investments score is 5 stars and it ranks #1 out of 36 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, compared with Eightcap’s 3.5-star rating and #29 ranking. Both brokers offer forex trading, but Interactive Brokers is better suited to traders looking for stocks, global markets, and real crypto ownership, while Eightcap is more limited in scope.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	803
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	55
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	No
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

When comparing trading platforms and tools, Interactive Brokers and Eightcap both give traders access to free paper trading, so you can test strategies without risking real money. Each broker also offers a Windows desktop platform, a web-based platform, and the ability to place trades directly from a chart. Neither broker supports copy trading, but their platform choices still cover the basics for many everyday traders.

The biggest difference is that Interactive Brokers offers its own in-house platform, while Eightcap does not. Eightcap stands out for traders who want MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, since Interactive Brokers does not offer either platform. That said, Interactive Brokers is rated higher overall for trading platforms and tools, earning 5 out of 5 stars and ranking #2 out of 36 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, compared with Eightcap’s 4 stars and #31 ranking.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	No
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	No
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	100
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and Eightcap both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, along with price alerts and watchlist syncing so changes made in the app or online account stay matched. Each app also lets users draw trendlines on charts, making it easier to track price movement on the go.

Where Interactive Brokers stands out is in charting depth and overall mobile app quality. Its app offers 155 technical studies, compared with Eightcap’s 100, and it earns a 5-star mobile trading apps rating versus Eightcap’s 4 stars. In ForexBrokers.com’s ranking of 36 brokers, Interactive Brokers places #4 for mobile trading apps, while Eightcap ranks #31. One area where Eightcap has an edge is that it auto-saves chart drawings, while Interactive Brokers does not.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
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	100
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

When it comes to market research, Interactive Brokers has a clear edge over Eightcap. Both brokers provide daily market commentary, a sentiment tool, Acuity Trading research, and an economic calendar, but Interactive Brokers adds more depth with forex news from major outlets like Bloomberg and Reuters, Trading Central tools, and TipRanks market research. Eightcap covers the basics well, but it does not offer the same range of third-party research and news sources.

This wider research lineup helps explain why Interactive Brokers earns a 5-star Research rating and ranks #3 out of 36 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Eightcap is rated 3.5 stars and ranks #33. For traders who want more help spotting ideas and staying on top of market events, Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice, although Eightcap still offers a decent set of core research features.

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

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Interactive Brokers is the better pick for beginners who want to learn before they trade. It offers forex and CFD education, regular online client webinars, and plenty of beginner-friendly videos, along with advanced lessons for traders who want to keep building their skills. That wide range of learning material helps explain why Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Education and ranks #1 out of 36 brokers by ForexBrokers.com.

Eightcap also provides beginner trading videos and some forex or CFD learning content, but its education offering is much smaller overall. It does not hold monthly educational webinars, and it falls short on advanced video content for experienced traders. As a result, Eightcap is rated 3.5 stars for Education and ranks #31 out of 36, making it the weaker choice for traders who want more learning support.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Webinars info	Yes	No
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	No

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 Eightcap. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Eightcap finished with an overall rank of #30.

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	Eightcap
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	87
Range of Investments
Trading Fees
Trading Platforms
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or Eightcap?

What funding options does each broker offer?

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	87
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Eightcap Review

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

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Trust Score info	99	87
Year Founded info	1977	2009
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	3
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	1
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	2

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (FSA 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	Eightcap
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	No
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes info
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	803
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	55
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	No
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	Eightcap
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	1.0 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	0.76
Inactivity Fee info	No	Yes
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	Yes
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

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

Trading Tools	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	100
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
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	100
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

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

Education	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Webinars info	Yes	No
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	No

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
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	Eightcap Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Eightcap
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	87
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Eightcap Review