Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs FOREX.com, 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 vs. FOREX.com: Interactive Brokers was founded in 1977, while FOREX.com began in 1999. Both are publicly traded and neither is a bank, making them accessible, transparent choices for online trading.
Regulation and trust: ForexBrokers.com gives both brokers a top Trust Score of 99/99 (90–99 = highly trusted). Interactive Brokers holds 8 Tier-1 and 2 Tier-2 licenses, while FOREX.com holds 7 Tier-1 and 1 Tier-2. Both are considered highly trusted, with Interactive Brokers carrying a slightly wider set of top-tier licenses.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1999 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 7 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
Interactive Brokers vs. FOREX.com on costs: Interactive Brokers earns 5/5 stars and ranks #2 of 63 for Commissions and Fees, while FOREX.com scores 4.5/5 stars and ranks #15 of 63. In our tests, Interactive Brokers showed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips in Q3 2024, translating to an effective all‑in cost of about 0.59 pips after commission. By contrast, FOREX.com’s U.S. Standard account averaged about 1.4 pips on EUR/USD (July 2023). Outside the U.S., FOREX.com’s time‑weighted average was lower at about 0.74 pips (July 2023).
Interactive Brokers charges a commission instead of marking up spreads, aggregating quotes from 17 major dealers. Commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 bps) of the U.S. dollar trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), roughly $16–$40 per million round turn. That minimum makes trades under 100,000 units proportionally pricier, but active traders get sizable breaks: the minimum drops to $1.50 per order above $1 billion in monthly volume and to $1 at $5 billion. IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro support forex but are not commission‑free.
FOREX.com offers a Standard account with wider, all‑in spreads and a commission‑based RAW account. The RAW account’s typical EUR/USD spread was about 0.13 pips (February 2024), plus a base commission of $7 per standard lot ($3.50 per side) — roughly 0.7 pips — for an all‑in near 0.83 pips before any volume rebates. Rebates range from $2 to $9 per million traded across six tiers, and very high‑volume traders (over $2 billion per month) can drive costs down further. For most U.S. traders doing under $50 million per month, FOREX.com’s commission plan ends up close to the Standard account’s all‑in costs, while Interactive Brokers tends to be cheaper on a per‑trade basis for standard‑lot sizes.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.226 | 1.00 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.226 | 1.13 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| 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 FOREX.com: both support forex trading as CFD or spot and offer wide investment menus. Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while FOREX.com offers roughly 5,500 symbols and 80 pairs. Each broker lets you buy exchange-traded stocks on U.S. markets (think Apple) and on international exchanges (such as Vodafone), though neither supports copy trading.
Crypto is a key difference: Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual, delivered cryptocurrency but does not offer crypto CFDs; FOREX.com offers crypto CFDs but not delivered crypto. Both earned 5 stars for Range of Investments from ForexBrokers.com, with Interactive Brokers ranked #1 out of 63 brokers and FOREX.com ranked #6. If you want the largest overall selection or delivered crypto, Interactive Brokers has the edge; if you prefer trading crypto via CFDs, FOREX.com fits the bill.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 5500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 80 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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.
Interactive Brokers vs FOREX.com: both brokers offer free paper (demo) trading, proprietary platforms, and both desktop (Windows) and web platforms. Each lets you place trades directly from charts, and neither supports copy trading. The standout difference is MetaTrader: Interactive Brokers does not offer MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while FOREX.com supports both MT4 and MT5 alongside its own platform. If you want the MetaTrader ecosystem with its add-ons and automated strategies, FOREX.com is the natural fit; if you prefer using a broker’s native tools without MetaTrader, Interactive Brokers aligns well.
For Trading Platforms and Tools, both earned 5 out of 5 stars from ForexBrokers.com. In the category rankings out of 63 brokers, Interactive Brokers placed #2 and FOREX.com placed #5. In short, choose Interactive Brokers if you want top in-house tools without MT4/MT5, and pick FOREX.com if you need full MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 access plus a capable proprietary platform—both with free demo accounts to practice.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 90 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and FOREX.com both deliver full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports stock and forex price alerts and offers watchlist syncing, so symbols and changes carry over between the mobile app and your online account. If you’re switching between devices or trading on the go, both platforms make it easy to stay connected to your portfolio and market updates.
For charting tools, Interactive Brokers offers 155 technical studies versus 90 on FOREX.com. Both apps let you draw trendlines, but only FOREX.com automatically saves chart drawings. Despite both earning a 5-star Mobile Trading Apps rating, ForexBrokers.com ranks FOREX.com #2 out of 63 brokers and Interactive Brokers #4. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a larger set of indicators, or pick FOREX.com if auto-saved drawings and a higher category ranking matter more.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 90 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Interactive Brokers and FOREX.com both deliver comprehensive market research for everyday traders. Each provides daily market commentary, forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, Trading Central analytics, sentiment data that shows long/short positioning, and a clear economic calendar. ForexBrokers.com rates both brokers 5 stars for research.
The key differences come down to third-party extras. Interactive Brokers adds TipRanks and Acuity Trading (Signal Centre), while FOREX.com does not. Neither broker includes Autochartist. In ForexBrokers.com’s rankings out of 63 brokers, Interactive Brokers places #3 for research versus FOREX.com at #7. If you want broader external insights and a higher-ranked research suite, Interactive Brokers has the edge; if you only need the core tools, both are solid choices.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| 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 FOREX.com both make it easy for beginners to learn. Each offers frequent client webinars (at least once a month) and a sizable library of beginner-friendly videos—well over 10 lessons—to help you understand trading basics. As you progress, both brokers also provide 10+ advanced videos so you can keep building skills. Their education spans formats like articles, videos, and archived webinars, with plenty of material that touches on forex and CFDs topics.
According to ForexBrokers.com, both brokers earn 5 out of 5 stars for Education, with Interactive Brokers ranked #1 out of 63 brokers and FOREX.com ranked #4. If you want the top-ranked education experience, Interactive Brokers has the edge; if you prefer an equally strong option with a slightly different style, FOREX.com is a great pick. Either way, beginners get clear, structured learning and regular live sessions to stay on track.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FOREX.com
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 FOREX.com. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while FOREX.com finished with an overall rank of #4.
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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FOREX.com
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|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 |
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Interactive Brokers enables buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrency but does not offer crypto CFDs, while FOREX.com provides cryptocurrency CFDs but does not allow purchases of real, delivered crypto.
Interactive Brokers vs FOREX.com: both brokers support ACH/SEPA and bank wire deposits and withdrawals, but only FOREX.com offers PayPal and Skrill, while Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either.
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 | FOREX.com | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FOREX.com Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1999 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 7 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 1 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | Yes | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 5500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 80 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | 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 | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.226 | 1.00 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.226 | 1.13 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 90 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 90 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | FOREX.com Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | FOREX.com | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 99 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FOREX.com Review |
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