Interactive Brokers vs XM

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Interactive Brokers vs XM Comparison Table 2024
Interactive Brokers XM
4.3

Interactive Brokers is #1 in our CFD broker rankings.

4.4
United States Flag Traders from US accepted
United States Flag Traders from US not accepted

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage, providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries, along with a suite of comprehensive investment services. With over 40 years of experience, this Nasdaq-listed firm adheres to stringent regulations by the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, amongst others, and is one of the most trusted brokers for trading around the globe.

XM is a globally recognized forex and CFD broker with 10+ million clients in 190+ countries. Since 2009, this trusted broker has been delivering low trading fees across its growing roster of 1000+ instruments. It’s also highly regulated, including by ASIC and CySEC and offers a comprehensive MetaTrader experience.

Customer Reviews
4
4.6
Bonus Offer
$30 No Deposit Bonus When You Register A Real Account
Promotions

Improve The Speed & Reliability Of Your Trades With The XM VPS

Comment by Reviewer
"Interactive Brokers is one of the best brokers for advanced day traders, providing powerful charting platforms, real-time data, and customizable layouts, notably through the new IBKR Desktop application. Its superb pricing and advanced order options also make it highly attractive for day traders, while its diverse range of equities is still among the best in the industry." "With a low $5 minimum deposit, advanced charting platforms in MT4 and MT5, expanding range of markets, and a Zero account offering spreads from 0.0, XM provides all the essentials for active traders, even earning our ‘Best MT4/MT5 Broker’ award in recent years."
Pros
  • IBKR is one of the most respected and trusted brokerages and is regulated by top-tier authorities, so you can have confidence in the integrity and security of your trading account.
  • The TWS platform has clearly been built for intermediate and advanced traders and comes with over 100 order types and a reliable real-time market data feed that rarely goes offline.
  • The new IBKR Desktop platform takes the best of TWS while adding bespoke tools like Option Lattice and Screeners with MultiSort to create a genuinely impressive trading experience for day traders at every level.
  • There's a vast library of free or paid third-party research subscriptions catering to all types of traders, plus you can enjoy commission reimbursements from IBKR if you subscribe to Toggle AI.
  • IBKR continues to deliver unmatched access to global stocks with tens of thousands of equities available from 100+ market centres in 24 countries, most recently the Saudi Stock Exchange.
  • While primarily geared towards experienced traders, IBKR has made moves to broaden its appeal in recent years, reducing its minimum deposit from $10,000 to $0.
  • With low commissions, tight spreads and a transparent fee structure, IBKR delivers a cost-effective environment for short-term traders.
  • XM’s Zero account is ideal for day trading with spreads from 0.0 pips, 99.35% of orders executed in <1 second, and no requotes or rejections.
  • XM stands out for its commitment to trader education, with a wealth of well-presented resources, including webinars, tutorials, and even real-time trading sessions through XM Live.
  • XM’s customer support has delivered over years of testing, with 24/5 assistance in 25 languages, response times of <2 minutes and now a growing Telegram channel.
  • XM’s growing roster of 1,000+ instruments provides diverse short-term trading opportunities, with unique turbo stocks, fractional shares, and more recently thematic indices.
Cons
  • TWS’s learning curve is steep, and beginners may find it challenging to navigate the platform and understand all the features. Plus500's web platform is much better suited to new traders.
  • IBKR provides a wide range of research tools, but their distribution across trading platforms and the web-based 'Account Management' page lacks consistency, leading to a confusing user experience.
  • Support can be slow and frustrating based on tests, so you might find it challenging to reach customer service representatives promptly or encounter delays in resolving issues.
  • You can only have one active session per account, so you can’t have your desktop program and mobile app running simultaneously, making for a sometimes frustrating trading experience.
  • XM relies solely on the MetaTrader platforms for desktop trading, so there’s no in-house downloadable or web-accessible solution for a more beginner-friendly user experience with unique features.
  • Although trusted and generally well-regulated, the XM global entity is registered with the weak IFSC regulator and UK clients are no longer accepted, reducing its market reach.
  • While the XM app stands out for its usability and exclusive copy trading products, the selection of technical analysis tools needs to be improved to meet the needs of advanced traders.
  • XM is falling behind the curve by not offering cTrader and TradingView which are increasingly being favored over MetaTrader for their smoother user experience and superior charting packages.
Awards
  • Outstanding Customer Service Global 2024 - Capital Finance International Magazine
  • Best FX Service Provider 2024 - City of London Wealth Management Awards
  • Best FX Broker, Europe 2023 - World Finance Forex Awards
  • Best CFD Provider 2023 - City of London Wealth Management Awards
  • The Best Crypto CFDs 2022 - Financial Expo Egypt
  • Best FX Service Provider 2022 - City of London Wealth Management Awards
  • Best MT4/MT5 Broker 2021 - DayTrading.com
  • Best FX Educational Broker in the MENA region 2021 - Dubai Expo Awards
Instruments
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Commodities, Indices, Thematic Indices, Precious Metals, Energies
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0 $5
Trading Platforms
  • Trader Workstation (TWS)
  • IBKR Desktop
  • GlobalTrader
  • Mobile
  • Client Portal
  • AlgoTrader
  • OmniTrader
  • eSignal
  • TradingCentral
  • MT4
  • MT5
  • TradingCentral
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
$100 0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, SEC, FINRA, CFTC, CBI, CIRO, SFC, MAS, MNB, FINMA, AFM ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, IFSC
Margin Trading
Yes Yes
Margin Rate
1.55 - 2.59% 0.2%
STP Account
Yes Yes
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
Yes No
MAM Account
Yes No
PAMM Account
No No
LAMM Account
No No
Demat Account
No No
AI / Machine Learning
Yes No
Robo Advisor
Yes No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes Yes
Market Maker
No Yes
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
Yes Yes
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android iOS, Android & Windows
App Review

The IBKR Mobile app, available on both iOS and Android devices, makes your phone a powerful gateway to your IBKR accounts, offering you the freedom to keep an eye on portfolios, initiate trades, and dive into real-time quotes and charts, all while managing your account activities on the fly. This app stands out for its intuitive design, making it especially welcoming for those just starting their trading journey, providing a smoother and more accessible experience than the more complex TWS platform.

XM offer a mobile app for both Android and iOS that has been specifically tailored to each platform, maximizing the functionality of both. The app delivers the MT4 and MT5 software on the move, with full access to the broker’s 1,000+ instruments. Where they shine is their dependability with minimal glitches and delays during testing. The built-in news, trading journal and push notifications also ensure you have everything you need to day trade from your hand.

Android App Rating
4.5
3.9
iOS App Rating
4.3
4.7
Auto Trading
Capitalise.ai & TWS API Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Copy Trading
No Yes
Copy Trading Platform
XM offers copy trading through its intuitive app with exclusive crypto pairs. XM global offers a pre-integrated signals service via the MT5 platform. Aspiring investors can view detailed performance metrics and copy the trades of strategy managers. It's easy to set up, only requiring a handful of steps after logging in to your MQL5 community account.
Social Trading
No Yes
Trade Signals
Yes
VPS Hosting
No Yes
Tournaments
No Yes
Demo Competitions
No Yes
Ethical Investing
Yes No
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No No
Inactivity Fee
$0 $5
Islamic Account
No Yes
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • INR
  • JPY
  • SEK
  • NOK
  • DKK
  • CHF
  • AED
  • HUF
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • JPY
Stock Exchanges
Commodities
CFD Trading
Over 8,000 CFDs are offered on a vast array of instruments, encompassing stocks, indices, forex, and commodities. Moreover, the TWS platform lends itself to seasoned day traders, offering a comprehensive selection of over 100 order types and algorithms, alongside premium market data sourced from reputable sources such as Reuters and Dow Jones. XM delivers for CFD traders with flexible leverage and a huge range of markets, including bespoke thematic indices for exposure to popular sectors like artificial intelligence. The MT4/MT5 platforms are also fast and dependable while a free VPS is available to qualifying XM traders running algo trading strategies.
Leverage
1:50 1:1000
FTSE Spread
0.005% (£1 Min) 1.4
GBPUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value 0.8
Oil Spread
0.25-0.85 0.03
Stocks Spread
0.003 0.002
Forex Trading
IBKR presents an extensive range of over 100 major, minor, and exotic forex pairs, surpassing the offerings of nearly all leading alternatives, though not CMC Markets. Forex trading occurs over multiple platforms and boasts institutional-grade spreads starting from 0.1 pips and 20 complex order types, including brackets, scale, and one-cancels-all (OCA) orders. XM offers a strong selection of currency pairs with no re-quotes or hidden charges, while spreads have come down over the years, now starting from 0.8 pips on the EUR/USD in the commission-free account.
Forex App

XM offer a mobile app for both Android and iOS that has been specifically tailored to each platform, maximizing the functionality of both. The app delivers the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 platforms in your hand, with full forex trading and charting capabilities.

GBPUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value 0.8
EURUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value 0.8
EURGBP Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value 1.5
Assets
100+ 55+
Currency Indices
  • USD
Cryptocurrency
IBKR lets you purchase and hold Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin at competitive commission rates and without needing a crypto wallet. Additionally, there is a range of other diverse assets to explore, such as crypto indices like the NYSE Bitcoin Index, as well as futures contracts like the BAKKT Bitcoin Futures. XM offers a handful of cryptocurrencies against the USD via the South African entity only. These are tradable via CFDs with very high leverage up to 1:500, amplifying potential returns but also losses. You can day trade major tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, though the suite of tokens trails the 120+ crypto derivatives at Eightcap.
Spread
0.12%-0.18% Variable
Coins
  • BTC
  • LTC
  • ETH
  • XRP
  • BTC
  • ETH
  • LTC
  • XRP
  • BCH
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No