Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Spreadex, 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, established in 1977, is a highly trusted online broker with a stellar Trust Score of 99 out of 99 according to ForexBrokers.com. This firm stands out for being publicly traded and holds an impressive number of 9 Tier-1 licenses, indicating a significant level of trust in its operations. Though not a bank, its position in the financial world is solidified by these licenses and its public trading status, offering a level of transparency and reliability that instills confidence in its clients.
In contrast, Spreadex, founded in 1999, has a Trust Score of 71, suggesting an average level of risk. Unlike Interactive Brokers, Spreadex is not publicly traded and holds only 1 Tier-1 license and no Tier-2 licenses, which could imply less regulatory oversight compared to its counterpart. Spreadex, like Interactive Brokers, is not a bank, but the difference in their regulatory standings may appeal to different types of investors based on their risk tolerance and trust preferences.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1999 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
Interactive Brokers and Spreadex offer differing structures for commissions and fees in forex trading. Interactive Brokers is recognized for its competitive pricing, although it doesn't publicly disclose average spreads for forex. For the EUR/USD in Q3 2024, the average spread was found to be 0.19 pips, leading to an all-in spread of 0.59 pips when factoring in commissions. Trading commissions start at 0.2 basis points with a minimum of $2 per order, which can decrease for highly active traders. Meanwhile, Spreadex had average spreads of 0.81 pips for the same currency pair in January 2024, with the minimum spread reaching 0.6 pips for the majority of that month.
When dealing in forex, Interactive Brokers charges a commission per trade, ranging from $16 to $40 per million round turn. This structure is quite favorable for active traders who meet monthly trading volumes, as costs can drop significantly. For instance, exceeding $1 billion in trading volume reduces the minimum charge per order. In contrast, Spreadex offers a straightforward spread-based pricing model without such commission structures, which may be simpler for traders who prefer a less complex fee setup.
In terms of ratings, Interactive Brokers shines with a 5-star score and is ranked second out of 62 brokers for its commissions and fees, showing its competitive edge in the market. Comparatively, Spreadex holds a respectable 4-star rating and ranks as the 30th broker, indicating a solid yet less competitive positioning. Traders will find that Interactive Brokers caters to those who prioritize cost efficiency and advanced trading needs, while Spreadex suits individuals preferring a more straightforward approach.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.59 | 0.81 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.59 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and Spreadex both offer a diverse range of investment options, accommodating traders interested in forex CFDs or spot contracts. When it comes to tradeable symbols, Spreadex boasts 10,000 offerings, slightly surpassing Interactive Brokers' 8,500. However, Interactive Brokers shines in the forex arena with 90 forex pairs, compared to Spreadex's 52 pairs.
Interactive Brokers holds an edge with access to U.S. and international exchange-traded securities, allowing clients to invest in well-known companies like Apple and Vodafone, a service Spreadex does not provide. Crypto enthusiasts may appreciate Interactive Brokers' ability to trade actual cryptocurrencies alongside derivatives, a flexibility not available at Spreadex. Both brokers, rated five stars for their range of investments, exhibit strong versatility, with Interactive Brokers topping the ForexBrokers.com rankings as the number one choice, while Spreadex holds the 13th spot.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 10000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 52 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | 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 and Spreadex both offer proprietary trading platforms, yet they cater to different needs. Interactive Brokers stands out with its Windows-based desktop platform, which Spreadex lacks, making it ideal for users seeking a comprehensive desktop trading experience. For those interested in web-based trading, both brokers deliver functional browser platforms. However, Interactive Brokers holds the advantage by offering a simulated trading experience through its free demo account, a feature not available with Spreadex. Additionally, Interactive Brokers provides an impressive 85 drawing tools, compared to just 11 from Spreadex, allowing for richer analysis and trade planning.
In terms of watch list functionality, Interactive Brokers greatly surpasses Spreadex with an extensive 659 columns for fields, compared to Spreadex's modest 8. Both brokers enable trading directly from a stock chart, adding to their user-friendly interfaces. Though neither platform supports MetaTrader or social trading features like copy trading, Interactive Brokers receives a higher rating, earning 5 stars for its trading platforms and tools, while Spreadex earns 4 stars. Furthermore, Interactive Brokers is ranked 3rd out of 62 brokers in the Trading Platforms and Tools category by ForexBrokers.com, showcasing its strong position over Spreadex, which ranks 46th.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 55 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 85 | 11 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 659 | 8 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
When comparing the mobile trading apps of Interactive Brokers and Spreadex, both platforms offer iPhone and Android applications. They also provide the convenience of stock and forex price alerts, ensuring traders can stay up-to-date with market movements. Interactive Brokers stands out by offering watchlist symbol syncing, allowing users to have their watchlists updated across both mobile and online accounts. Unfortunately, Spreadex does not offer this feature. For chart enthusiasts, Interactive Brokers offers an impressive 97 technical studies within its app, while this information is not available for Spreadex. Both apps allow users to draw trendlines and view different time frames on charts, but neither app saves drawings automatically.
On top of their technical features, both brokers allow the creation of watchlists with real-time quotes. However, when it comes to user ratings and rankings, Interactive Brokers shines with a 5-star rating for its mobile trading app, ranking 4th out of 62 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. In comparison, Spreadex holds a 4-star rating and ranks 49th in the same category. For those seeking a highly rated and feature-rich trading experience on mobile, Interactive Brokers stands out as the more robust choice.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | N/A |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | No |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Interactive Brokers and Spreadex both provide daily market commentary and access to forex news from high-quality sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. However, when it comes to additional research tools, Interactive Brokers has a significant edge. It offers Trading Central tools and research insights from TipRanks and Acuity Trading. Spreadex, on the other hand, does not provide these extra resources. Both brokers do offer sentiment-based trading tools that display the ratio of long and short positions and maintain an economic calendar for tracking global news events.
In terms of market research quality, Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars, ranking it at #3 among 62 brokers reviewed by ForexBrokers.com. Spreadex, while also having decent offerings, receives a 4-star rating and is ranked #31, indicating that Interactive Brokers is generally favored for more comprehensive market research tools and features.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When comparing the educational resources for beginners between Interactive Brokers and Spreadex, both platforms provide a solid foundation with at least 10 educational pieces focused on forex or CFDs, ensuring valuable insights into trading practices. However, Interactive Brokers stands out by offering monthly online educational webinars, which Spreadex does not. This can be beneficial for learners keen on live interactions and timely insights. Furthermore, Interactive Brokers also provides a searchable archive of previously recorded webinars, allowing users to revisit and learn at their own pace, while Spreadex lacks this feature.
Both brokers present over 10 beginner educational videos, but Interactive Brokers extends its offerings with advanced educational videos for more experienced traders, unlike Spreadex. Additionally, the inclusion of a comprehensive investor dictionary by both brokers makes investment terminology accessible to newcomers. Nonetheless, Interactive Brokers earns a higher rating of 5 stars and ranks third in the education category by ForexBrokers.com, highlighting its strong educational commitment. In contrast, Spreadex receives 4 stars and occupies the 45th spot, indicating a potential area for enhancement in trader education. With these offerings, Interactive Brokers clearly positions itself as a more comprehensive choice for educational resources in the online trading community.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Spreadex
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than Spreadex. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Spreadex finished with an overall rank of #39.
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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Spreadex
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|---|---|---|
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| Trust Score | 99 | 71 |
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Interactive Brokers allows for the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies and also offers cryptocurrency derivatives, whereas Spreadex solely provides options for trading cryptocurrency derivatives without the capability to buy the actual cryptocurrencies.
Interactive Brokers supports ACH, SEPA, and bank wire transfers for depositing or withdrawing funds, but not PayPal, Skrill, Visa, or Mastercard, while Spreadex offers bank wire transfers and accepts Visa or Mastercard transactions, but doesn't support ACH, SEPA, PayPal, or Skrill.
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 | Spreadex | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Spreadex Review |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 71 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1999 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 10000 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 52 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | 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 | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.59 | 0.81 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.59 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | No | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 659 | 8 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 55 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 85 | 11 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | N/A | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | No | No | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | Spreadex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Spreadex Review |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Spreadex Review |
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