Best Interactive Brokers Alternatives for 2023!

Saxo Bank was founded in Denmark in 1992 and it has more than 800,000 clients with an estimated $85 billion in AUM. It’s the most established alternative to Interactive Brokers considering its been in business for more than 30 years now. 

Before going any further, Saxo Bank is limited by availability. The U.S., parts of Canada, Japan, and Australia are markets that Saxo Bank does not serve at all.

But, for those that can access Saxo Bank, it has its advantages. Here are some things that make it the closest all-in-one competitor to IBKR:

• Access to more than 120 exchanges;
• A surplus of 60,000 financial instruments;
• Tradingview access;
• 4,500 government and corporate bonds to choose from;
• Award-winning apps for professionals — SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO;

It’s not all sunshine and roses though. For one, Saxo Bank’s initial deposit requirements vary by region, and they can be steep. For example, the U.K. has one of the lowest minimum deposits at £500. For most of Europe, it can rise to €2,000, and then there are outlier countries like Portugal where deposits must be at least €100,000.

Stocks and ETFs start at a $1 commission, while futures and options start from $1.25 per contract which is quite reasonable, however. The real challenge when it comes to fees is actually the hidden fees buried in its FAQ section that you need to be aware of:

• Minimum account fee every month for custody: €5;
• Inactivity fee for not logging in every six months: €100;
• Placing an order over the phone: €50;
• Adding an instrument: €200;
• Currency conversion fees between 0.45% and 0.75%.

Suffice it to say, you need big money if you want to use Saxo Bank, and it definitely isn’t for the average retail investor. That being said, if you are a forex trader for your full-time living — or something similar — the product solutions and trade data are as comprehensive as it gets.

Since it started in 2007, eToro put emphasis on its user design and ease of use so that anyone could enter the investing world. And before you check to see if it’s available in your country, chances are it is. More than 140 countries and territories are served by eToro in total. 

eToro stands out for a couple of reasons:

• The first company to provide the “copy-trading” feature — the ability to duplicate portfolios from already successful investors;
• User-centricity removes the complexity of investing with a simple app that’s easy to navigate;
• Early adopter of cryptocurrencies in 2017.

Low fees are commonplace at eToro too. Stocks and ETFs are commission-free, while crypto transactions have a simple structure; 1% for transactions and 2% for transfers.

The main fees to be aware of are in relation to deposit, withdrawal, and inactivity rules at eToro:

• Minimum withdrawal amount: $30;
• Withdrawal fee: $5;
• Minimum deposit (card payments): $10 to $50 or currency equivalent (in most cases);
• Minimum deposit (bank transfer): $500;
• USD deposits: $0;
• Non-USD deposits: spot rate + 50 pips (for currency conversion);
• Inactivity fee (after one year): $10 per month.

The other fees to watch out for are on eToro’s CFDs and alternative instruments which allow traders to access leverage on short-sell assets. There are overnight fees that will differ for each asset class and you can find the full list of CFD fees that apply here.

Plus500 is an online trading and investing platform founded in 2008. It has more than 23 million customers and is available in more than 50 countries internationally. Plus500 has 2,800 instruments with three business branches; Plus500 Invest, Plus500 CFDs, and Plus500 Futures. 

The U.S. does not support Plus500 Invest and Plus500 CFDs. Plus500 Futures is only available in the U.S. 

With Plus500, you’ll get access to a whole host of benefits:

• Zero fees;
• Real-time quotes;
• Charting solutions;
• Guaranteed stop orders.

That being said, for the “zero fees” statement, it’s important to differentiate between Plus500 Invest and Plus500 CFDs. 

Plus500 Invest does give you a simple way to trade U.S. stocks commission-free. EU exchanges, on the other hand, will charge a bit more. Between €2 and €6 is standard for buy and sell orders on EU stocks.

But the real business of Plus500 is its CFD products. CFDs are available on everything from forex to commodities and crypto. Plus500 makes money from the spread. 

There are no deposit or withdrawal fees, no payment processing fees, and no dealing commissions. The few fees that you do have to worry about with Plus500 are:

• Overnight fees (depending on the instrument);
• Inactivity fee (not logging in for three months): $10 per month;
• Guaranteed stop orders: subject to a wider spread than usual;
• Currency conversion fees: spot rate ±0.3%.

Overall, for CFD products, Plus500 is the best available alternative to Interactive Brokers once it’s available in your country.

Trading 212 was formed in Bulgaria back in 2004. It claims the title of the first-ever commission-free broker in both the U.K. and Europe. As of 2022, it has 1.5 million clients with roughly €3.5 billion in AUM. 

Similar to Plus500, it has standard investing accounts as well as CFD trading (albeit more limited). And just so you know: Trading 212 is not currently available in the U.S. 

Some of you (like us) may have tried to open a Trading 212 account previously without success. Well, good news! Trading 212 announced it began onboarding new customers recently after a long hiatus.

For those of you who can join, you can even claim a free share now when you sign up by following the steps below:

1. Sign up for Trading 212 Invest;
2. Verify your identity and fund the account;
3. Include promo code “IITW”;
4. Claim free shares worth up to €100.

More importantly though, what are the fees like at Trading 212? Well, for ETFs and stocks, there are none. And bank transfers are completely free. You just need to note that the minimum deposit is €1 and minimum withdrawals are €10. 

Besides that, there are just a few other small fees:

• Deposits by credit card or debit card: Free up to €2,000, 0.7% thereafter;
• Currency conversion rate for Invest accounts is 0.15%;
• Currency conversion rate for CFD accounts is 0.5%;
• Overnight fees on CFDs: Your account is credited or debited with an interest-rate SWAP.

Margin requirements vary from 5:1 to 33:1 for different products. For full details, consult Trading 212’s requirements here.

DEGIRO launched in 2013 in the Netherlands. From then to now, it has become one of the 160 largest publicly traded companies in Germany, surpassed 2 million customers, and secured its own banking license, and it is available in 18 European countries. At this time, DEGIRO is not available outside of Europe.

Customers aren’t punished for inactivity or account closures and deposits and withdrawals are completely free. The only downside is that you can only do bank transfers to make deposits. Debit and credit cards can not be used.

Still, that’s a small con in the grand scheme of things. It’s one of the most cost-effective ways to trade Canadian, and U.S. stocks, as well as selected ETFs commission-free. The costs to remember about DEGIRO are that there is always a €1 handling fee, a €2.50 connectivity fee per exchange, and a currency conversion fee of 0.25%. 

Additionally, if you want to trade or invest in stocks outside of U.S. or Canadian exchanges, extra fees apply. Here’s a quick overview of what to expect:

• Irish exchanges: €2.00 commission;
• Other EU, U.K., and Turkish exchanges: €3.90;
• Australian, Hong Kong, Japanese, and Singapore exchanges: €5.00.

Another thing to keep in mind is that leveraged products for U.S. exchange-listed stocks are kind of limited — despite availability. If you want to trade options and futures, Interactive Brokers is still a far more suitable choice for anyone based in Europe.