VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View Interactive BrokersView Markets.comBack to Home

Head-to-head

Interactive Brokers vs Markets.com comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Interactive Brokers adds Paper Trading, Smart/Direct Routing, Order Book / Level II, APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, Portfolio, Watchlist, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Scenario & Stress Tests, Performance Attribution, and Options & Derivatives coverage that Markets.com skips.

Markets.com includes Copy/Social Trading, Alerts, and Education categories that Interactive Brokers omits.

Interactive Brokers highlights: Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies., More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing., and Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS)..

Markets.com is known for: Multi-asset CFD coverage including forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, bonds, and crypto (where permitted)., Choice of platforms: proprietary web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4/5 desktop, and full TradingView integration., and Built-in social and copy trading via Pelican, allowing users to follow signal providers or become one themselves, with performance-based fees..

Markets.com keeps a free entry point that Interactive Brokers lacks.

Interactive Brokers logo

Interactive Brokers

interactivebrokers.co.uk

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

A global, multi-asset direct-access broker with coverage across 160 markets in 36 countries and 28 currencies. Crypto trading and some services vary by region (IBKR Crypto is powered by Paxos or Zero Hash where supported). Client APIs include the Client Portal Web API and TWS API; retail users authenticate via the local Client Portal Gateway, while OAuth2 applies to approved web integrations.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
Desktop
API

Pricing

Other

Quick highlights

  • Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies.
  • More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing.
  • Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS).
  • Advanced options analytics with Greeks, implied volatility curves, and a 3D volatility surface viewer.
  • Risk Navigator for real-time portfolio risk, Value-at-Risk, and what-if scenario analysis.

Community votes (overall)

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Markets.com logo

Markets.com

markets.com

A global CFD broker offering trading across web, mobile, MT4/MT5, and TradingView. Accounts come with 0% commissions and no deposit, withdrawal, or order fees — though spreads, overnight swaps, and currency conversion charges apply. Social and copy trading is enabled via Pelican Exchange Europe and through MT4/MT5 integrations. Retail leverage is capped at 1:30 depending on jurisdiction, with some regions requiring protections such as guaranteed stop-losses. Crypto CFDs are not available to UK residents.

Platforms

Web
Mobile
Desktop

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Multi-asset CFD coverage including forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, bonds, and crypto (where permitted).
  • Choice of platforms: proprietary web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4/5 desktop, and full TradingView integration.
  • Built-in social and copy trading via Pelican, allowing users to follow signal providers or become one themselves, with performance-based fees.
  • Risk management tools include stop-loss and take-profit orders, floating spreads, and push/SMS/email alerts for key events.
  • Simple pricing structure: no commissions, account, deposit, or withdrawal fees; trading costs primarily come from spreads, swaps, and conversions.

Community votes (overall)

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Brokerage, and Advanced Order Types.

Where they differ

Interactive Brokers

Distinct strengths include:

Paper Trading
Smart/Direct Routing
Order Book / Level II
APIs & SDKs
Data APIs
Portfolio
Watchlist
Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown)
  • Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies.
  • More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing.
  • Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS).
  • Advanced options analytics with Greeks, implied volatility curves, and a 3D volatility surface viewer.

Markets.com

Distinct strengths include:

Copy/Social Trading
Alerts
Education
  • Multi-asset CFD coverage including forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, bonds, and crypto (where permitted).
  • Choice of platforms: proprietary web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4/5 desktop, and full TradingView integration.
  • Built-in social and copy trading via Pelican, allowing users to follow signal providers or become one themselves, with performance-based fees.
  • Risk management tools include stop-loss and take-profit orders, floating spreads, and push/SMS/email alerts for key events.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeInteractive BrokersMarkets.com
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Brokerage, Advanced Order Types

Unique: Paper Trading, Smart/Direct Routing, Order Book / Level II, APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, Portfolio, Watchlist, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Scenario & Stress Tests, Performance Attribution, Options & Derivatives

Shared: Brokerage, Advanced Order Types

Unique: Copy/Social Trading, Alerts, Education

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, ETFs, Options, Futures, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Currencies, Commodities, Cryptos

Currencies, Stocks, Commodities, ETFs, Bonds, Cryptos

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web, Mobile, Desktop, API

Web, Mobile, Desktop

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Other

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies.
  • More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing.
  • Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS).
  • Advanced options analytics with Greeks, implied volatility curves, and a 3D volatility surface viewer.
  • Risk Navigator for real-time portfolio risk, Value-at-Risk, and what-if scenario analysis.
  • Portfolio Rebalancer tool to realign or target allocation weights across accounts.

Unique

  • Multi-asset CFD coverage including forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, bonds, and crypto (where permitted).
  • Choice of platforms: proprietary web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4/5 desktop, and full TradingView integration.
  • Built-in social and copy trading via Pelican, allowing users to follow signal providers or become one themselves, with performance-based fees.
  • Risk management tools include stop-loss and take-profit orders, floating spreads, and push/SMS/email alerts for key events.
  • Simple pricing structure: no commissions, account, deposit, or withdrawal fees; trading costs primarily come from spreads, swaps, and conversions.
  • Leverage up to 1:30 for retail clients, varying by entity and regulatory jurisdiction.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Yes

Not yet

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Highlighted

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Interactive Brokers and Markets.com both support?

Both platforms cover Brokerage, and Advanced Order Types workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Which tool offers a free plan?

Markets.com offers a free entry point, while Interactive Brokers requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

How can you access Interactive Brokers and Markets.com?

Both Interactive Brokers and Markets.com support web and mobile access, making it easy to keep tabs on research away from the desk.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Interactive Brokers differentiates itself with Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies., More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing., and Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS)., whereas Markets.com stands out for Multi-asset CFD coverage including forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, bonds, and crypto (where permitted)., Choice of platforms: proprietary web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4/5 desktop, and full TradingView integration., and Built-in social and copy trading via Pelican, allowing users to follow signal providers or become one themselves, with performance-based fees..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

Browse the categories and profiles that overlap most with this comparison to round out your shortlist.

Recommended tools

These profiles share overlapping coverage with both sides of this matchup.

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.