Interactive Brokers vs Octa 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 vs Octa: for regulation and safety, the differences are clear. Interactive Brokers, founded in 1977, is publicly traded and not a bank. It holds 8 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses. ForexBrokers.com rates it 99/99, which lands in the highly trusted range (90–99).

Octa, founded in 2011, is not publicly traded and is not a bank. It holds 1 Tier-1 license and 1 Tier-2 license. Its ForexBrokers.com Trust Score is 73/99, placing it in the average risk band (70–79). Both brokers are regulated, but Interactive Brokers has more top-tier licenses and a higher trust rating.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Year Founded info	1977	2011
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	8	1
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	1
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Fees

Interactive Brokers vs. Octa on commissions and fees: Interactive Brokers earns 5/5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 for this category, while Octa scores 4/5 stars and ranks #26 out of 63. Based on Q3 2024 data, Interactive Brokers showed an average EUR/USD spread of 0.19 pips, with an effective all-in cost of 0.59 pips once commission is included. Octa lists average EUR/USD spreads of 0.5 pips (EU entity) and 0.9 pips (foreign entities), but it does not provide a date range for those figures. Octa also highlights no slippage on 97.5% of orders and no overnight carry costs, though it has rules that can limit high-frequency strategies.

Interactive Brokers uses agency-style execution and charges a commission instead of adding a markup to spreads, aggregating prices from 17 major interbank dealers. Forex commissions start at 0.00002 of the USD trade value per side (minimum $2 per order, or $4 round turn) and can drop to 0.000008 for very active traders; expressed another way, that’s about $16–$40 per million round turn. Example: buying and then selling $100,000 of EUR/USD would add roughly 0.40 pips in commission to the prevailing spread, which produced a 0.59-pip all-in cost in Q3 2024. Keep in mind the $2-per-side minimum makes smaller trade sizes proportionally pricier. IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro support forex but are not commission-free, and large orders can be handled via RFQ.

Octa’s pricing depends on your account type and which entity regulates your account. In the EU, there’s a single MT5 account; outside the EU, MT4, MT5, and OctaTrader accounts are offered. Octa’s posted EUR/USD averages are 0.5 pips (EU) and 0.9 pips (foreign entities), but the lack of a date range makes apples-to-apples comparisons harder. Even so, Octa’s spreads have improved and track closely with low-cost MetaTrader brokers, plus it advertises no slippage on most orders and no overnight carry charges. Traders who value documented, low all-in costs and volume-based discounts may find Interactive Brokers more appealing, while those seeking simple spread-based pricing and no overnight costs may prefer Octa.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$25
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	0.9 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	N/A
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	No
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 vs Octa: For range of investments, Interactive Brokers offers 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while Octa lists about 300 symbols and 35 pairs. Both support forex trading (CFD or spot). Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. markets (like Apple) and on international exchanges, whereas Octa does not offer U.S. stocks but does provide access to some exchange-traded shares overseas.

On crypto, Interactive Brokers supports buying actual cryptocurrency (not CFDs), while Octa offers crypto only as CFDs. For social features, Octa has copy trading; Interactive Brokers does not. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers for range of investments; Octa scores 3.5 stars and ranks #33. Choose Interactive Brokers for the widest lineup and direct stock access, or Octa if you want copy trading and a CFD-focused selection.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	300
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	35
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
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 Octa both cover the basics well for trading platforms and tools. Each offers a free paper trading (demo) account, an in-house platform, a Windows desktop download, and a web-based platform. You can also place trades directly from charts with either broker. Key differences: Octa supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Interactive Brokers does not provide copy trading and does not support MT4 or MT5.

For overall platform quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Octa holds 4 stars and ranks #30. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want top-rated, in-house platforms across desktop and web. Pick Octa if access to MT4/MT5 and copy trading matters most to you.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

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

Forex trading apps

Interactive Brokers and Octa both offer iPhone and Android trading apps with price alerts, making it easy to stay on top of market moves. In independent testing by ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers earned 5 stars and ranked #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps, while Octa received 4 stars and ranked #29. That difference reflects a gap in depth and polish, but both apps cover the basics well for on-the-go trading.

For charting and tools, Interactive Brokers stands out with 155 technical studies and trendline drawing. However, its app does not auto-save chart drawings. Octa supports 30 technical studies and trendline drawing, and it does auto-save drawings, which is handy for quick markups. Another key difference is watchlist syncing: Interactive Brokers syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, while Octa does not. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want extensive indicators and synced watchlists; pick Octa if simpler tools with automatic drawing saves fit your workflow.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	155	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

In the Interactive Brokers vs Octa market research comparison, both brokers provide daily market commentary, forex news from top-tier sources, and an economic calendar. Interactive Brokers goes further with Trading Central analytics, a sentiment tool showing long/short positioning, TipRanks research, and Acuity Trading signals. Octa stands out for offering Autochartist for pattern recognition, but it does not include Trading Central, TipRanks, Acuity Trading, or a sentiment tool.

Results speak clearly: Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers for Research at ForexBrokers.com, while Octa earns 4 stars and ranks #24. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want broader third-party research and built-in sentiment data; pick Octa if you mainly value Autochartist’s technical setups alongside news and an economic calendar.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	Yes
Trading Central info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	No
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 Octa both provide forex and CFDs education with more than 10 learning pieces, including articles, videos, and archived webinars. Each broker hosts client webinars at least monthly and offers at least 10 beginner videos to help new traders learn the basics, plus at least 10 advanced videos for when you’re ready to go further.

For overall quality, Interactive Brokers stands out: it earns 5 stars for Education and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com. Octa also supports beginners well, earning 4 stars and ranking #32. If you want the top-rated education library and a clear path from beginner to advanced topics, Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice. If you’re looking for steady webinars and plenty of videos to get started, Octa remains a practical option.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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 Octa. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Octa 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	Octa
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	73
Range of Investments
Trading Fees
Trading Platforms
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	73
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Octa Review

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

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Trust Score info	99	73
Year Founded info	1977	2011
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	1
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	1
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	1

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	No
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	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	Octa
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	Yes
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) info	Yes	No
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	300
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	35
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	Yes
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	Octa
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.226 info	0.9 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.226 info	N/A
Inactivity Fee info	No	No
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	Yes
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$25
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	No
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	No

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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	Octa
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	30
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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	No
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	155	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

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

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

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Octa
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	Octa Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Octa
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	73
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Octa Review