Interactive Brokers (IBKR) vs Revolut Trading: 2026 Comparison

Are you confused about whether to choose Interactive Brokers (IBKR) vs Revolut Trading as a broker for your investing needs?

In this side-by-side comparison, we analyse Interactive Brokers (IBKR) vs Revolut Trading to help you understand how these apps compare on some of the most common features and make a better-informed decision about the best broker for you.

Below, you’ll find the pros and cons of each broker, as well as a comparison table that features the different fees charged, the financial instruments supported, the regulation, and more. Keep reading.

IBKR vs Revolut Trading

1. Interactive Brokers is our recommended choice overall
2. Revolut is best for beginners who want investing inside an app they already use

These two are aimed at different people. Interactive Brokers is a specialist broker with the widest market access available to a European retail investor and the lowest currency conversion cost in the industry, at the price of a steeper learning curve. Revolut puts a simpler investing product inside a banking app millions of people already have open on their phone, with a monthly allowance of free trades and a narrower product range.

Side-by-side comparison

What this costs in practice

Rates in a table rarely tell you what you will actually pay, so here are two common cases.

If you invest €500 a month in a EUR-denominated UCITS ETF. On Revolut this falls inside the free trade allowance on every plan, so the commission is zero. On Interactive Brokers the 0.05% tiered rate is below the €1.25 minimum at this size, so you pay €1.25 per purchase, or €15 a year. Revolut wins clearly at this size and frequency.

If you invest €10,000 as a lump sum in a US-listed ETF from a EUR account. Here the commission is the smaller cost and the currency conversion is the larger one. Interactive Brokers charges 0.05% of trade value, capped, plus 0.002% to convert, which is a fraction of a euro on that amount. Revolut’s commission may still be zero within your allowance, but the conversion cost is materially higher once you exceed your plan’s monthly FX allowance.

The pattern is consistent: Revolut is cheaper for small, regular purchases in your own currency, and Interactive Brokers pulls ahead as amounts grow and as currency conversion enters the picture. If you buy EUR-denominated UCITS ETFs exclusively, no conversion arises at either broker and the comparison comes down to the per-trade minimum.

About Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers is a global online broker and publicly listed company which surpassed major financial crises, showing resilience and a rigorous risk management process. Founded in 1978, it held 5.19 million customer accounts and $930 billion in customer equity as of June 2026, up 34% and 40% respectively over the year.

It offers an advanced investment platform that includes a wide range of products (stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds, and currencies) across more than 170 exchanges and market centres in 40 countries and 29 currencies. Since March 2026 it has also offered real crypto-assets to eligible EEA clients through Interactive Brokers Ireland.

Beginners and intermediate investors have educational tools to explore, but the learning curve will be steep. Interactive Brokers also offers IBKR GlobalTrader, a simpler mobile app for stocks, ETFs and options, redesigned in December 2025 (and you can get a sizeable referral bonus).

All in all, Interactive Brokers is a comprehensive tool, but it is not for everyone. If you would like to know more about it, and whether Interactive Brokers is safe to use, you can read our review on IBKR.

Interactive Brokers pros and cons

About Revolut Trading

Revolut was created to disrupt the banking industry by reducing and removing fees associated with the traditional banking system, and investing sits alongside its current account, cards and currency exchange rather than as a standalone product.

The investment offering has broadened considerably. Alongside US-listed shares, European clients can now access EU-listed stocks, more than 500 ETFs, bonds, crypto and precious metals. Each plan includes a monthly allowance of commission-free trades, and Revolut removed the 0.12% annual custody fee it used to charge.

The quick access to investment products, combined with the convenience of holding everything in one app, remains the most engaging differential that enables Revolut to stand out from its competitors. The trade-off is depth: there are no options, futures or forex, the market selection is narrower, and there is no demo account to practise with.

Revolut pros and cons

Safety and investor protection

This is the difference that gets least attention and matters most if something goes wrong.

Interactive Brokers. As a European resident you are onboarded under Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland, with investor compensation covering 90% of any shortfall up to €20,000. The group is listed on the Nasdaq, so it publishes quarterly and annual accounts anyone can read. Its most recent filing shows total equity of $22.3 billion and total assets of $247.3 billion, of which 99.0% were considered liquid, with no long-term debt.

Revolut. Investment services in the EEA are provided by Revolut Securities Europe UAB, an investment firm authorised and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. Revolut is privately held and does not publish the same level of financial detail. Worth noting: clients migrated to the Lithuanian entity are covered by different arrangements from those that applied under Revolut’s earlier setup, so check the current terms and the protection ceiling that applies to your account before committing significant sums.

Neither point is a reason to avoid either broker. Both are properly authorised. But the ceilings differ, the disclosure differs, and both are worth reading before you decide where a large portfolio lives.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Interactive Brokers if you want access to markets beyond the US and the largest European exchanges, you invest in currencies other than your own, you are building a portfolio large enough that fractions of a percent on conversion start to matter, or you want bonds, options or futures. Also choose it if reading a broker’s audited accounts before trusting it with your money is something you value.

Choose Revolut if you are starting out, you invest modest amounts regularly, you already use Revolut for banking and want one app rather than two, and your ambitions run to mainstream stocks and ETFs rather than the full multi-asset range.

There is also a reasonable case for both: Revolut for small regular contributions and day-to-day convenience, Interactive Brokers for the long-term core of a portfolio. Neither charges a custody or account fee, so holding both costs nothing beyond the trades you actually place.

Revolut vs IBKR: our verdict

Choosing between these two online brokers isn’t always an obvious decision. The differences between Interactive Brokers (IBKR), whose main stats we cover separately, and Revolut Trading come down to market access, product range, fees and investor protection.

Ultimately, the best online broker for you will depend on your profile, personal preferences, and objectives. Explore the websites above and decide for yourself.

Want to know more about Interactive Brokers (IBKR) vs Revolut Trading? Explore our in-depth broker reviews, comparison table, and BrokerMatch tool.

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