Plain-English forex education. No hype, no signals.فارسی
BrokerCutForex Academy

Head to head

Interactive Brokers vs Swissquote

Interactive Brokers is licensed by CFTC / NFA in the United States; CIRO in Canada; FCA in the United Kingdom; Central Bank of Ireland in the European Union; ASIC in Australia; MAS in Singapore and DFSA in Dubai (DIFC), UAE. Swissquote is licensed by FINMA in Switzerland; FCA in the United Kingdom; CySEC in the European Union; SFC in Hong Kong and DFSA in Dubai (DIFC), UAE. The licence that applies to you depends on where you live, so check which company you would contract with before comparing anything else.

Minimum deposits start at $0 at Interactive Brokers and $1,000 at Swissquote (the Prime account needs $50,000). Neither offers negative balance protection. Only Interactive Brokers offers segregated client money.

Facts last checked: Interactive Brokers on 20 October 2026, Swissquote on 20 October 2026.

Interactive Brokers profileSwissquote profile
Broker 1
Broker 2
Broker 3

Monthly cost uses the account chosen in each slot: cost per lot × your lots. Swap and other fees are extra. The lowest monthly cost is highlighted only as a fact about cost, not as a recommendation.

Broker
Interactive BrokersStrictly regulatedRead the profile
SwissquoteStrictly regulatedRead the profile
Comparing
Interactive BrokersUnited States
SwissquotePrime account · Switzerland

Overview

Founded
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Headquarters
Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Switzerland
Official websites
  • interactivebrokers.com
  • interactivebrokers.co.uk
  • interactivebrokers.ie
  • interactivebrokers.com.au
  • interactivebrokers.ca
  • interactivebrokers.com.sg
  • ibkr.com
  • swissquote.com
  • swissquote.ch
  • swissquote.co.uk
  • swissquote.eu
  • swissquote.cy
Facts last checked
20 October 2026
20 October 2026

Regulation and protection

Company you would contract with
Interactive Brokers LLC
Swissquote Bank Ltd (Swissquote Bank SA)
Regulator
CFTC / NFA
United States
FINMA
Switzerland
Regulation level
Strictly regulated
Strictly regulated
Licence number
NFA ID 0258600 (futures commission merchant)
Check the register
Bank licence
Check the register
Clients this company serves
US residents; also clears and carries many accounts opened through the UK company
Swiss residents and international clients not served by a local Swissquote company
All licences held
  • CFTC / NFA (United States)
  • CIRO (Canada)
  • FCA (United Kingdom)
  • Central Bank of Ireland (European Union)
  • ASIC (Australia)
  • MAS (Singapore)
  • DFSA (Dubai (DIFC), UAE)
  • FINMA (Switzerland)
  • FCA (United Kingdom)
  • CySEC (European Union)
  • SFC (Hong Kong)
  • DFSA (Dubai (DIFC), UAE)
Segregated client money
Yes
No
Negative balance protection
No
No
Compensation scheme
SIPC (US, securities only); FSCS in limited circumstances (UK); Irish Investor Compensation Scheme (Ireland); CIPF (Canada)
Swiss depositor protection up to CHF 100,000 (Swissquote Bank); FSCS up to £85,000 (UK); ICF up to €20,000 (Cyprus)

Costs

Your monthly cost
No accounts listed
$120$12 per lot × 10 lots
Cost per lot (EUR/USD)
No accounts listed
$12
Spread from
No accounts listed
1.1 pips
Typical EUR/USD spread
No accounts listed
1.2 pips
Commission per lot (round turn)
No accounts listed
None
Typical GBP/USD spread
Not yet checked
1.6 pips
Typical USD/JPY spread
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Typical XAU/USD spread
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Swap-free account
Not yet checked
Not yet checked

Leverage and margin

Maximum retail leverage
1:30 on major pairs for CFDs (UK, EU, Australia)
1:30 on major pairs (UK, EU); 1:100 standard at Swissquote Bank
Retail leverage by asset class
  • Major currency pair CFDs: 1:30
  • Non-major currency pair: 1:20
  • Share CFDs: 1:5
  • Major currency pairs (UK: 1:30
  • EUR/USD and other major pairs (Swissquote Bank): 1:100 (1% margin)
  • Gold (Swissquote Bank): 1:50 (2% margin)
Margin call level
Not yet checked
100% (maintenance margin)
Stop-out level
Not yet checked
30%

Account

Minimum deposit (this account)
No accounts listed
$50,000
Base currencies
No accounts listed
Not yet checked
Execution
No accounts listed
Spread only, minimum trade 1 lot

Platforms and features

Platforms
  • Trader Workstation (TWS)
  • IBKR Desktop
  • Client Portal
  • IBKR Mobile
  • IBKR APIs
  • MetaTrader 4
  • MetaTrader 5
  • CFXD
  • TradingView
  • FIX API
Markets
Spot forex, plus forex, index, metal and share CFDs (CFDs not offered to US or Canadian residents)
About 130 currency pairs, metals and CFDs on indices, commodities and bonds
Demo account
Yes
Yes
Copy trading
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Expert advisors (automated trading)
Not yet checked
Yes
News trading allowed
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Guaranteed stops
Not yet checked
Not yet checked

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposit methods
  • Bank transfer
  • Bank transfer
Withdrawal fee
Not yet checked
Not yet checked
Inactivity fee
None
10 units of the account currency a month after 6 months without activity

Support

Customer support
Phone, chat and secure message support, by region
Not yet checked

Our notes

Strengths
  • Licensed in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and Singapore, all strict regulators
  • Spot forex priced at the quoted interbank spread plus a published commission (0.20 basis points of trade value at the first tier)
  • No account minimum and no inactivity fee
  • Forex accounts held with a Swiss bank supervised by FINMA, with Swiss depositor protection up to CHF 100,000
  • Subsidiaries licensed by the FCA, CySEC and Hong Kong's SFC
  • Spread-only pricing with no commission on forex, and live spreads shown per account on its website
Watch out for
  • Spot forex commission has a minimum of USD 2.00 per order, so very small trades cost more in percentage terms.
  • UK accounts are cleared and carried by Interactive Brokers LLC in the US for most products; IBKR says products are only covered by the UK FSCS in limited circumstances.
  • Margin accounts can go negative; IBKR's own disclosures say losses may exceed your original investment
  • IBKR also names companies in Hong Kong, Japan and India; we did not confirm those licences on 2026-10-20 and this profile does not cover them.
  • High entry level: $1,000 for Standard, $10,000 for Premium and $50,000 for Prime.
  • At Swissquote Bank, Swissquote warns that losses are in theory unlimited and you may have to pay in more if your balance falls below margin
  • Inactivity fee of 10 a month in the account currency after only 6 months
  • Says Swissquote South Africa (Pty) Ltd holds FSCA licence 43908 (advice and intermediary services); we could not confirm it on the FSCA register on 2026-10-20.

Risk warnings

The buttons to a broker’s website above the table are partner links: we may earn a commission if you open an account through them. That never changes the facts shown here. Trading leveraged products such as forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money rapidly, and most retail accounts lose money. Each broker’s own warning:

  • Interactive Brokers: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 58.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IBKR. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
  • Swissquote: Trading leveraged products on the Forex platform, such as foreign exchange, spot precious metals and Contracts for Difference (CFDs), involves significant risk of loss due to the leverage and may not be suitable for all investors. Prior to opening an account with Swissquote, consider your level of experience, investment objectives, assets, income and risk appetite. Losses are in theory unlimited and you may be required to make additional payments if your account balance falls below the required margin level and therefore you should not speculate, invest or hedge with capital you cannot afford to lose, that is borrowed or urgently needed or necessary for personal or family subsistence. Over the past 12 months, 68.22% of retail investors have either lost money when trading CFDs, experienced a total loss of their margin at the closing of their position or ended up with a negative balance after closing their position.

Open this comparison in the full tool to share a link with your own accounts and companies chosen.

Other head-to-head pages

Cost per lot is the typical EUR/USD spread in busy hours × $10, plus any round-turn commission, for one standard lot. “Not yet checked” means we have not confirmed that fact yet. This page compares facts; it does not rank the brokers or recommend either. Confirm costs and licences on each broker’s site and the regulator’s public register before opening an account: see how we review brokers and check a broker yourself.

Nothing on this page is financial advice. Read the full disclaimer.

BrokerCut on Telegram

Get the latest forex news and market analysis.

Join the channel