Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs XM Group, 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 XM Group: Interactive Brokers was founded in 1977 and is publicly traded on a stock exchange, while XM Group launched in 2009 and is privately held. Neither broker is a bank.
Regulation and trust: ForexBrokers.com says a Trust Score of 90–99 is “highly trusted.” Interactive Brokers scores 99 and holds 8 Tier-1 and 2 Tier-2 licenses. XM Group scores 93 and holds 4 Tier-1 and 1 Tier-2 licenses. Both fall in the highly trusted range, with Interactive Brokers showing a longer history and wider top‑tier oversight.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2009 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
Interactive Brokers earns 5 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #2 of 63, while XM Group scores 3.5 out of 5 stars and ranks #34 of 63. IBKR doesn’t publish average forex spreads, but in Q3 2024 we observed an average 0.19-pip spread on EUR/USD, with an effective all-in cost of about 0.59 pips after commission. XM’s Standard account spreads are expensive, and the broker does not publish average spreads for its commission-based XM Zero account, making apples-to-apples comparisons difficult.
Interactive Brokers charges a commission instead of marking up spreads, aggregating quotes from 17 major interbank dealers. Forex commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 bps) of USD trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), roughly $16–$40 per million round turn. As a guide, buying and selling $100,000 of EUR/USD works out to about 0.40 pips in commission on top of the spread. Note that trading smaller than 100,000 units becomes proportionally pricier due to the $2-per-side minimum. High-volume traders get discounts: the minimum falls to $1.50 per order above $1B/month and to $1 at $5B/month. IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro support forex but are not commission-free.
XM Group’s lack of published average spreads for XM Zero and higher spreads on its Standard account suggest higher or less predictable all-in trading costs versus Interactive Brokers, especially for active forex traders who benefit from IBKR’s tiered pricing. In short: for transparent, commission-based pricing with agency-style execution, Interactive Brokers is the stronger value; XM may appeal if you prefer a simpler, spread-only setup, but you may pay more in the spread.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $5 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.226 | 2 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.226 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When comparing Interactive Brokers vs XM Group for range of investments, Interactive Brokers offers far wider market access with 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while XM Group lists 1,394 symbols and 55 pairs. Both support forex trading (CFD or spot) and let you buy exchange-traded stocks on U.S. and international exchanges. For overall breadth, Interactive Brokers earns 5/5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers for Range of Investments, whereas XM Group scores 4.5/5 stars and ranks #19.
Feature-wise, XM Group supports copy trading, which Interactive Brokers does not. In crypto, Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual cryptocurrencies (not CFDs), while XM Group focuses on cryptocurrency CFDs rather than delivered coins. If you want the widest selection of markets and real crypto access, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick; if copy trading and CFD-based crypto matter more, XM Group may suit you better.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1394 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 55 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| 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 XM Group: both brokers offer free demo (paper) accounts, web and Windows desktop platforms, and the ability to place trades directly from charts. The big differences are platform choice and social features. Interactive Brokers provides its own in-house platform and does not support MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5, and it doesn’t offer copy trading. XM Group, by contrast, does not have a proprietary platform, but it supports MT4 and MT5 and includes copy trading for those who want to mirror other traders.
For trading platforms and tools, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers at 5 stars and ranks it #2 out of 63 brokers, while XM Group earns 4 stars and ranks #27. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a top-rated in-house platform with paper trading and chart trading. Pick XM Group if MetaTrader and copy trading are must-haves, along with a web and Windows app and a free demo account.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 30 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and XM Group both offer iPhone and Android trading apps with price alerts and watchlist syncing across mobile and web. Each app lets you draw trendlines on charts, though neither app auto-saves those drawings.
For charting depth, Interactive Brokers includes 155 technical studies in its mobile app compared with 30 for XM Group. In overall quality, Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers for mobile trading apps, while XM Group is rated 4 stars and ranks #26. Interactive Brokers suits traders who want deeper chart tools and a higher-rated mobile experience, while XM Group covers the essentials with alerts and synced watchlists.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing market research offerings between Interactive Brokers and XM Group, both platforms provide daily market commentary and offer news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. Both brokers use tools from Trading Central for technical analysis, enabling their clients to make more informed decisions. Additionally, Interactive Brokers stands out by providing exclusive access to sentiment-based trading tools and market research from TipRanks, setting itself apart from XM Group, which does not offer these features. Moreover, Interactive Brokers includes research tools from Acuity Trading, such as the Signal Centre, which XM Group lacks. Both brokers offer an economic calendar to help traders keep abreast of global financial events.
In terms of research quality, both Interactive Brokers and XM Group have earned a solid reputation, each garnering a 5-star rating. However, when ranked by ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers has a slight edge, securing the 3rd position out of 63 brokers, while XM Group ranks 8th. This indicates that while both brokers excel, Interactive Brokers has a more comprehensive suite of research tools that could give users an upper hand in their trading strategies.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 vs XM Group: For beginners, both brokers make learning to trade straightforward. Each hosts online client webinars at least once a month and offers a sizable library of videos—10+ for beginners and 10+ for advanced topics—so you can build skills step by step. Both earn a 5-star Education rating from ForexBrokers.com, with Interactive Brokers ranked #1 out of 63 brokers and XM Group ranked #5.
If you want the top-ranked education experience, Interactive Brokers edges out XM Group thanks to its overall standing, which can be reassuring if you plan to progress from beginner lessons into more advanced material. XM Group remains an excellent option for newcomers, pairing frequent webinars with plenty of beginner-friendly videos that can help you understand trading concepts, including those relevant to forex and CFDs.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
XM Group
|
|---|---|---|
| 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 XM Group. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while XM Group finished with an overall rank of #16.
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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XM Group
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 |
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Interactive Brokers vs XM Group: Interactive Brokers lets you buy actual delivered cryptocurrencies (not CFDs) and does not offer crypto CFDs, whereas XM Group does not offer delivered coins and instead provides cryptocurrency trading only via CFDs.
Interactive Brokers vs XM Group for deposits and withdrawals: Interactive Brokers supports ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers but not PayPal or Skrill, while XM Group offers bank wires and Skrill but not ACH/SEPA or PayPal; Visa/Mastercard availability for both is not specified.
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 | XM Group | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | XM Group Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2009 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 1394 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 55 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| 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 | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.226 | 2 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.226 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $5 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 30 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | No | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | XM Group Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | XM Group | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 93 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | XM Group Review |
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