Are you confused about whether to choose Interactive Investor vs Interactive Brokers as a broker for your investing needs?
In this side-by-side comparison, we analyse Interactive Investor vs Interactive Brokers 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!
Interactive Investor vs Interactive Brokers: In a Nutshell
UK investors with medium-to-large portfolios
Interactive Investor is a UK flat-fee investment service with more than 400,000 users with over £55 billion in assets under management.
It offers a vast selection of investment options, including trading, SIPP, and ISAs. The Stocks and Shares ISA starts at £4.99 per month (“Investor service plan”).
Interactive investor also provides 24h customer support on weekdays as well as a very active discussion forum.
Every investor (best overall)
Interactive Brokers is a global online broker and publicly listed company which surpassed major financial crises, showing resilience and a rigorous risk management process.
It offers an advanced investment platform that includes a wide range of products (stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, bonds, and currencies) from 150 markets.
Beginners and intermediate investors have educational tools to explore, but the learning curve will be steep. Interactive Brokers also launched IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs.
Pros and Cons
Interactive Investor
Pros
- User-friendly trading platforms
- Multi-currency account
- Access over 40,000 global investments
- Exclusive seminars and events
- Good educational resources
Cons
- Limited product offering
- Basic charting (limited customization) and analytic tools
- Expensive for investors with smaller portfolios
Interactive Brokers
Pros
- Low commissions on US stock trading (for EUR based accounts)
- No monthly inactivity fee
- The broadest product and markets range in the brokerage industry
- Demo account
- Excellent reputation (founded in 1978)
- Extensive research and Education tools
- Has a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs, ideal for novice investors, IBKR GlobalTrader.
Cons
- Complicated and lengthy account opening process (but fully online)
- Steeper learning curve for beginners
- Website is difficult to navigate
- Interactive Advisors (Robo-advisor feature) is only available for US customers
Interactive Investor vs Interactive Brokers: Side-by-side Comparison
- General Information
- Founded in
- Demo Account
- Account Minimum
- Interest on unninvested cash (annually)
- Products
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Bonds
- Funds
- Options
- Futures
- CFDs
- Leverage Products
- Forex
- Cryptocurrencies
- Commodities
- Fees
- US stocks
- EU stocks
- ETFs
- Cryptocurrencies
- Custody Fee
- Inactivity Fee
- Withdrawal Fee
- Connectivity Fee
- Currency Conversion Fee
- Security
- Regulators
- Investor Compensation Scheme(per person, per institution)
Franklin is a CFA Level III Candidate with 3 years of experience in Wealth Management as a Fund Research Analyst and the Host of the "Edge Over Hedge" YouTube Channel.
