Interactive Brokers
The cheapest way to hold foreign currency and trade foreign markets, by a distance — 0.03% conversion where retail apps charge 0.5-1.5%. The interface punishes casual users; the pricing rewards serious ones.
How the score is built
- Regulation & protection (40%)96
- Pricing transparency (25%)90
- Track record (20%)88
- Product breadth (15%)98
Weighted per the methodology. Affiliate status never affects the score.
The details that cost money
- Options
- $0.65 per contract
- Fractional shares
- Yes
- Account minimum
- $0
- Jurisdictions
- US, EEA, UK, HK, AU, IN, JP, SG, CA
- Investor protection
- SIPC $500k (US) / FSCS £85k (UK entity)
- Crypto access
- Yes
- Tokenized assets
- No
- Verified
- 2026-08-14
Source: published fee schedule
Incident history
- · April 2020 negative oil price event: $104m loss absorbed on client crude positions source
Interactive Brokers, answered
+ − Is Interactive Brokers safe?
Interactive Brokers operates under the protection scheme listed as: SIPC $500k (US) / FSCS £85k (UK entity). That covers the failure of the broker, not the performance of your investments. Check which legal entity holds your account — several brokers operate different entities with different coverage per region.
+ − What does Interactive Brokers really charge?
Read three lines together: the commission, the currency conversion charge if you fund in a non-USD currency, and whether the broker sells order flow. For most international investors the conversion charge is the largest of the three.
Informational only, not financial advice. Terms, fees and availability change frequently — always verify on the provider's own site before committing funds. Some outbound links may be partner links; they never affect ranking or scoring.
Informational comparison only — not investment advice or a recommendation to trade.