Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs IUX, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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Interactive Brokers (founded 1977) vs IUX (founded 2016): Interactive Brokers is publicly traded, while IUX is not. Neither broker is a bank. According to ForexBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers holds a Trust Score of 99 out of 99 (highly trusted), while IUX scores 76 (average risk).
Regulation and licenses: Interactive Brokers holds 9 Tier-1 licenses (highly trusted) and 2 Tier-2 licenses (trusted). IUX holds 1 Tier-1 license and 1 Tier-2 license. On ForexBrokers.com’s scale, 90–99 is highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, and below 59 not trusted—context that highlights the clear regulatory gap between Interactive Brokers and IUX.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2016 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
Interactive Brokers and IUX both aim for low-cost forex trading, but they take different paths. Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #2 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while IUX holds 4.5 stars and ranks #19. In short, Interactive Brokers tends to favor high-volume traders who want tight pricing with a separate commission, whereas IUX offers simple account choices that balance spreads, commissions, and low minimum deposits.
Interactive Brokers does not publish average spreads, but during Q3 2024 we observed the EUR/USD at 0.19 pips, or about 0.59 pips all-in after commission. Forex commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 bps) of the U.S. dollar trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round trip); that’s roughly 0.40 pips in commission on a $100,000 EUR/USD trade, on top of the spread. Pricing is typically $16–$40 per $1 million traded round trip. Because of the $2 per-side minimum, trading much less than one standard lot can feel pricier. Active traders can unlock lower minimums ($1.50 or even $1 per order with very high monthly volumes). Interactive Brokers aggregates prices from 17 major banks and charges a commission instead of marking up spreads.
IUX’s pricing depends on the account. Standard and Standard+ need only a $10 minimum deposit; Standard+ supports bonuses but has wider spreads, while Standard offers lower spreads without promotions. For active traders, Pro and Raw accounts require $500. Pro is spread-only, while Raw charges a $6 commission per 100,000 units and targets the tightest spreads. Listed average EUR/USD spreads are about 0.9 pips (Standard), 0.7 pips (Pro), and near 0.6 pips all-in for Raw when you include the commission’s pip equivalent. Bottom line: IUX is competitive and straightforward—especially the Pro account—while Interactive Brokers can deliver lower effective costs for larger tickets and high monthly volumes.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | 10 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 0.86 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.6 |
| 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.
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Interactive Brokers vs IUX: When it comes to range of investments, Interactive Brokers offers far more choice, with 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, compared with IUX’s 152 symbols and 34 forex pairs. That breadth helps explain why ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars and ranks it #1 out of 63 brokers for Range of Investments, while IUX earns 3.5 stars and ranks #35.
Both brokers support forex trading as CFD or spot. Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded U.S. stocks (think Apple on NASDAQ) and also lists shares on many international exchanges; IUX does not offer U.S.-listed shares, though it does provide access to select international exchanges. For crypto, Interactive Brokers offers both real (delivered) cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency CFDs, whereas IUX offers crypto only via CFDs. Neither broker provides copy trading.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
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IUX
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|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 152 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 34 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
Interactive Brokers and IUX both check key boxes for platform access and learning tools: each broker provides a free paper trading account, its own in-house platform, a Windows desktop app, a web-based platform, and the ability to place trades directly from charts. Neither supports copy trading or MetaTrader 4. If you rely on MetaTrader 5, note that IUX offers MT5 while Interactive Brokers does not. The number of built-in technical indicators and watchlist fields for either broker wasn’t specified.
For platform quality overall, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers at 5 stars and ranks it #2 out of 63 brokers, while IUX earns 3.5 stars and ranks #35. Traders focused on MT5 may lean toward IUX, while those prioritizing platform depth, research integrations, and overall toolset may find Interactive Brokers the stronger pick.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 106 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers vs IUX: both brokers offer iPhone and Android mobile trading apps. The key differences show up in everyday use. Interactive Brokers includes stock and forex price alerts and watchlist syncing with your online account, so changes carry over between devices. IUX does not offer price alerts or synced watchlists. In ratings, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps on ForexBrokers.com, while IUX holds 3.5 stars and ranks #35.
Charting tools tilt both ways. Interactive Brokers supplies 97 technical studies and lets you draw trendlines, but it does not auto-save drawings. IUX offers 106 technical studies and does auto-save drawings, yet it lacks trendline drawing. If you want alerts and seamless watchlist syncing, Interactive Brokers is the safer pick. If you value more built-in indicators and automatic saving of chart annotations, IUX has an edge there—though overall ratings still favor Interactive Brokers.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 106 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Interactive Brokers outpaces IUX for market research. It offers daily market commentary; forex news from top-tier sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones; Trading Central analytics; a sentiment tool showing long/short positioning; TipRanks insights; Acuity Trading signals; and an economic calendar. IUX includes an economic calendar but does not provide daily commentary, top-tier forex news, Trading Central tools, sentiment data, TipRanks, or Acuity Trading. Neither broker offers Autochartist.
These gaps show up in independent ratings: ForexBrokers.com gives Interactive Brokers 5 out of 5 stars for Research and ranks it #3 of 63 brokers, while IUX earns 3 out of 5 stars and ranks #35. If you value daily commentary, leading news, and multiple third-party research tools, Interactive Brokers is the better fit; if you only need a calendar, IUX covers the basics.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central | Yes | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Comparing education for beginners at Interactive Brokers and IUX, both brokers provide at least 10 beginner videos that cover core trading topics, including forex and CFDs. Interactive Brokers goes further with monthly client webinars and a deep library of advanced videos to help you move beyond the basics, while IUX does not host monthly webinars and does not meet the 10-video mark for advanced lessons.
These differences show up in independent ratings: Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars for Education and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while IUX earns 3 stars and ranks #35. If you want frequent live learning and a pathway from beginner to advanced, Interactive Brokers is the stronger choice; if you mainly need beginner videos, IUX can cover the essentials.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
IUX
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
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 IUX. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while IUX finished with an overall rank of #35.
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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IUX
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 |
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Comparing Interactive Brokers vs IUX: Interactive Brokers supports buying real, delivered cryptocurrency and crypto CFDs, whereas IUX does not offer actual crypto purchases and limits cryptocurrency trading to CFDs.
Interactive Brokers vs IUX: for deposit and withdrawal methods, Interactive Brokers supports ACH/SEPA and bank wires but not PayPal or Skrill, while IUX supports Skrill and bank wires but not ACH/SEPA or PayPal; Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either broker.
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 | IUX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | IUX Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 2016 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | No | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 9 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 1 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | |
| 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 | No |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 152 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 34 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | 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). |
| Cost | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.59 | 0.86 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.65 | 0.6 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | 10 | |
| 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 | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 106 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 97 | 106 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | No | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | IUX Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | IUX | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 76 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | IUX Review |
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