What trading Interactive Brokers costs
Tiered pricing: at least US$5.48 a round turn on 1 standard lot, 0.1 pips of spread (US$1.00) plus US$4.48 commission
| Account | A month of trading | One round turn, 1 lot |
|---|---|---|
| Tiered pricing0.1 pips, published minimum ("as narrow as 1/10 PIP"), for spot currencies, EUR/USD not named, commission 0.20 bps of trade value, US$2.00 minimum an order (interactivebrokers.com, October 5, 2026) | at least US$109.67 | at least US$5.48 |
A pip on EUR/USD is US$10.00 per standard lot, so the cost of a round turn is the spread in pips times that, plus any commission.
Commission costed on EUR 100,000 at EUR/USD 1.1209, the rate on October 9, 2026
Our verdict on Interactive Brokers
I would point US traders who want spot forex, futures, and options from one firm at Interactive Brokers LLC: those are the products its US site lists, alongside three platforms, IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation (TWS), and IBKR Mobile. The US$0 account minimum on IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite makes it easy to try. What would give me pause is that the US pages read September 23, 2026 state no EUR/USD spread.
The published score is 62.3 out of 100, our global score from the site's global broker test, not a US test. My recommendation still stands on the firm's registrations and its product list, and the absence of a stated spread on the US site cuts against it.
Pros
- Interactive Brokers LLC is registered with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant, effective December 2, 1994 (NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026).
- The US site lists three platforms, IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation (TWS), and IBKR Mobile, plus a free trial (read September 23, 2026).
- Spot forex, futures, and options are all listed on the broker's US site (read September 23, 2026).
- The account minimum is US$0 on both IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite (the site states).
- Commission of 0.08 to 0.20 bps times trade size, "with no hidden spreads or markups" (the site's words).
Cons
- The US pages read September 23, 2026 state no EUR/USD spread, only "as narrow as 1/10 PIP" without a pair.
- No forex margin rate is stated on the US pages read September 23, 2026.
- The US pages read September 23, 2026 list no base currencies an account can be held in.
Interactive Brokers score breakdown
| Area | Rating |
|---|---|
| Trading Costs | 7/10 |
| Trading Experience | 4.75/10 |
| Trust | 9/10 |
| Trading Platform | 4/10 |
| Customer Service | 6.4/10 |
| Range of Markets | 6.9/10 |
| Education | 9/10 |
| Funding | 2.9/10 |
How popular is Interactive Brokers in the United States?
In August 2026, Interactive Brokers was the most searched of the 5 CFTC-regulated brokers in our search-interest ranking, on 182,280 branded Google searches from the United States. The Interactive Brokers figure counts searches for the whole Interactive Brokers brand. Search interest measures attention, not quality; the score above is the review verdict.
- 182,280
- Brand searches, August 2026
- +9.9%
- vs July 2026
- 45,710
- Login searches
- 78.8%
- Share of all searches
Source: Google search volume, the United States, August 2026.
How this is measured
Google Ads reports how many times a month people in the United States searched each broker's brand terms, and the brokers are ranked on that figure alone.
A term counts for a broker only when that broker's own website holds the first organic Google result for it in the United States; bare brand words that any company could own are left out.
A month-on-month change prints only where the previous month reached 1,000 searches, because Google rounds smaller volumes.
The figures refresh on the 15th of each month with the newest month Google has published, and the first-result check repeats every quarter.
Is Interactive Brokers safe? CFTC and NFA registration, Interactive Brokers LLC
Yes, Interactive Brokers LLC is registered with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant and is an NFA member, and the table below prints the registrations, their dates, and the firm’s NFA ID. NFA BASIC lists 32 regulatory actions against this NFA ID: 4 brought by the NFA, 7 by the CFTC, and 21 by exchanges.
| Fact | What the record says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name on NFA BASIC | Interactive Brokers LLC | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
| NFA ID | 0258600 | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
| CFTC registration: Futures Commission Merchant | Effective December 2, 1994 | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
| NFA membership | NFA Member Approved, since December 2, 1994 | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
| Forex Dealer Member designation | Approved April 19, 2012 | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
| Regulatory actions (NFA, CFTC and exchange) listed in NFA BASIC | 32 listed, latest July 21, 2026 (case 2026-02) | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
| CFTC press releases naming the firm as subject | 7 found, latest 8794-23 on September 29, 2023 | CFTC press release 8794-23, searched September 23, 2026 |
| Former names on NFA BASIC | Interactive Brokers Inc | NFA BASIC, read September 23, 2026 |
This page covers Interactive Brokers LLC, the US entity; our global review of Interactive Brokers covers the brand worldwide.
Regulatory action history
- FEX case 2026-02: Financial position and reporting
Fine $1,250
- FEX case 2025-06: Books and records violation
Fine $500
- CFTC Orders Interactive Brokers to Pay $20 Million for Recordkeeping and Supervision Failures for Widespread Use of Unapproved Communication Methods
Cease and desist order; Other (see narrative); Complaint filed; Joint owed; Fine/civil monetary penalty $20,000,000
- CME case DQA-23-1196: Office recordkeeping
Fine paid $10,000; Fine-summary $10,000
- CME case DQA-22-0919-CTRA: Office recordkeeping
Fine paid $6,000; Fine-summary $6,000
- CFTC Orders Interactive Brokers LLC to Pay Over $1 Million for Supervision Failures
Cease and desist order; Disgorgement $710,828; Complaint filed; Fine/civil monetary penalty $300,000
- NFA case 22BCC00004: General conduct
Fine $250,000
- CME case DQA-21-0752: Office recordkeeping
Fine paid $2,000; Fine-summary $2,000
- CFTC Orders Interactive Brokers LLC to Pay a $1.75 Million Penalty for Supervision Failures
Cease and desist order; Complaint filed; Make restitution to custmers $82,570,000; Fine/civil monetary penalty $1,750,000
- CME case DQA-21-0579-CTRA: Office recordkeeping
Fine paid $5,000; Fine-summary $5,000
- CBOT case 15-0303-BC: Trade practice
Fine paid $75,000
- CEI case 15-0303-BC: Trade practice
Fine paid $100,000
- CME case 15-0303-BC: Trade practice
Fine paid $100,000
- NYME case 15-0303-BC: Trade practice
Fine paid $100,000
- CFTC Orders Interactive Brokers LLC to Pay More Than $12 Million for Anti-Money Laundering and Supervision Violations
Cease and desist order; Disgorgement $706,214; Fine/civil monetary penalty $11,500,000
- CME case DQA-19-9881: Office recordkeeping
Fine paid $10,000; Fine-summary $10,000
- NYME case DQA-19-9881: Office recordkeeping
Fine paid $10,000; Fine-summary $10,000
- CEI case DQA-18-9526: Office recordkeeping
Fine-summary $5,000
- NYME case DQA-18-9526: Office recordkeeping
Fine-summary $5,000
- OCX case 2017-52: Trade practice
Fine $10,000
- CME case 17-CH-1704: Clearing procedures
Fine $50,000
- CBOT case 17-9133: Office recordkeeping
Fine-summary $10,000
- CEI case DQA-17-9133: Office recordkeeping
Fine-summary $2,500
- CME case 17-9133: Office recordkeeping
Fine-summary $10,000
- NYME case DQA-17-9133: Office recordkeeping
Fine-summary $2,500
- ICE case 2012-065A: Floor recordkeeping
Fine paid $3,000
- NFA case 13BCC00008: Financial
Other, see narrative
- NFA case 12BCC00032: General conduct
Fine $300,000; Other, see narrative; Enhanced procedures required
- CFTC Orders Connecticut-based Interactive Brokers LLC, a Registered Futures Commission Merchant, to Pay a $225,000 Civil Monetary Penalty
Fine $225,000; Cease and desist order; Other (see narrative); Commission order
- CFTC Orders Interactive Brokers LLC, a Registered Futures Commission Merchant, to Pay $700,000 for Large Trader Reporting and Supervision Violations
Fine $700,000; Cease and desist order; Other (see narrative); Commission order
- Interactive Brokers LLC Sanctioned for Failing to Supervise Its Compliance Staff
Cease and desist order; Other (see narrative); Disgorgement $175,000; Complaint filed; Commission order
- NFA case 06BCC00010: General conduct; Office recordkeeping
Fine $125,000
Also named by the CFTC, without action against Interactive Brokers LLC:
- Agenda, Panelists for SEC-CFTC Roundtable on Regulatory Harmonization Efforts Announced
- Resolve to Spot Scams in 2025 Says a New CFTC Customer Advisory
- CFTC Releases FY 2023 Enforcement Results
- CFTC Obtains Final Judgment against Italian National Carmine Garofalo Charged with Illegal Trading
- CFTC Charges Carmine Garofalo with Illegal Trading on a U.S. Exchange
Source: NFA BASIC, nfa.futures.org, and the CFTC press release library, cftc.gov, searched September 23, 2026.
Interactive Brokers client money
A US retail forex client contracts with Interactive Brokers LLC. The client money rows below print what the US site states about client money. The firm’s adjusted net capital was US$10,238,479,537 in July 2026 and its retail forex obligation US$26,190,990, fifth of six firms reporting one (the CFTC’s monthly financial data). Across August 2025 to July 2026 that obligation ranged between a low of US$25,744,540 and a high of US$34,190,895.
Client money, as the US site states it: about 11% of client money segregated (as of July 1, 2026) (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Client money, as the US site states it: futures funds not SIPC-protected (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Interactive Brokers at a glance: 2 key facts
Minimum deposit: USD 0, account minimum, IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Demo account: Available (Free Trial) (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Interactive Brokers spreads and commission
The US pages state no EUR/USD spread, so you will not find a figure for the pair on them. The site’s own pricing words are spreads “as narrow as 1/10 PIP”, given without a currency pair. None of this was measured by us, and the commission you would pay sits in the costs section below.
What it costs to trade with Interactive Brokers
What a trade costs here is stated in the commission row below, and the pricing words in the spreads section above are the site’s own. I measured none of it on a US account.
Commission: 0.08 to 0.20 bps times trade size (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Other fees a US trader should check
Beyond that commission, the other costs of the account are for you to check on the broker’s US site before you trade, and I would ask about any of them before you deposit.
Interactive Brokers funding methods
Funding route: Check, by Mobile Check Deposit (US only) (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Interactive Brokers account types and minimum deposit
The account types and the tax reporting statement print in the rows below. Commissions are “charged to the base currency of the account”, the site states, but the US pages list no base currencies. The glance section above also covers the account minimum and the free trial.
Account types on the US site: Individual, Joint, IRA, Trust (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Tax reporting, as the US site states it: Consolidated Form 1099 for US persons; a Forex Income Worksheet is also listed (Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026)
Interactive Brokers trading platforms
The platforms row in the markets table below lists IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation (TWS), and IBKR Mobile. I have not run any of them on a US account, so your choice among them rests on the site’s own words, not on any test of ours.
Interactive Brokers app
Interactive Brokers's app IBKR Mobile - Invest Worldwide is rated 4.5 out of 5 from 11,494 ratings on the United States App Store, checked Oct 1, 2026.
IBKR Mobile is rated 4.5 out of 5 on Google Play (United States store) from 76K reviews shown worldwide, checked Oct 1, 2026.
Interactive Brokers execution speed and slippage
I can’t quote a fill time or an execution rank for this brand, because our global panel holds none for it.
Interactive Brokers markets
The products and platforms in the table below are the US site’s own list. What the table does not carry is CFDs: the US pages do not state them.
| Fact | What the record says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Product: Spot forex | Offered | Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026 |
| Product: Futures | Offered | Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026 |
| Product: Options | Offered | Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026 |
| Platforms on the US site | IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation (TWS), IBKR Mobile | Broker's US site, read September 23, 2026 |
Interactive Brokers leverage and margin for US clients
The US pages read September 23, 2026 state no forex margin rate, so you cannot check the margin you would be charged there. The federal minimum is in 17 CFR 5.9(a)(1): a security deposit of 2% of notional value on major currency pairs (50:1, our arithmetic) and 5% on all others (20:1, our arithmetic).
NFA Compliance Rule 2-43(b) says a Forex Dealer Member “may not carry offsetting positions in a customer account but must offset them on a first-in, first-out basis”, with an exception, at the customer’s request, to offset same-size transactions against the oldest of that size. The US pages state no FIFO statement and no hedging statement for your opposite positions.
How Interactive Brokers compares with FOREX.com and Trading.com
FOREX.com, ranked third of six, scores 67.6 out of 100 on the same global basis as Interactive Brokers. Its site states spread-only EUR/USD pricing of 1.2 pips, minimum (“as low as”), and RAW pricing of 0.1 pips, typical, which its page defines as the median spread available, with “as low as” 0 also stated; commissions are none on spread-only and US$7 per US$100k traded on RAW.
On score, Trading.com sits fifth of six with a global score of 53.5 out of 100. Against both, Interactive Brokers publishes no EUR/USD spread on its US pages, so you compare its commission, stated in the costs section above, against FOREX.com’s stated spreads.
What other review sites say about Interactive Brokers
These are ratings of Interactive Brokers from other platforms, read on the date shown and expressed on each platform's scale, so you can weigh them against our own score.
| Platform | Rating | Volume | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 3.1 / 5 | 5,507 | Oct 1, 2026 |
| TradingView | 4.2 / 5 | 39,478 | Oct 2, 2026 |
Interactive Brokers holds a Trustpilot rating of 3.1 out of 5 from 5,507 reviews, checked Oct 1, 2026.
On TradingView, Interactive Brokers is rated 4.2 out of 5 from 39,478 ratings, checked Oct 2, 2026. The TradingView profile for Interactive Brokers shows 396.1K traders, the count of those who have connected an account through TradingView. TradingView shows the Best 2025 badge on the profile.
Our score is based on published criteria and is not influenced by these third-party ratings.
Should you open an account with Interactive Brokers?
Yes, if you want spot forex, futures, and options from one firm, Interactive Brokers LLC, registered with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant, fits that need. I would not send you here for stated pricing, because its US pages state no EUR/USD spread.
Before you deposit, read the firm’s BASIC profile on NFA BASIC, including the regulatory actions listed there, and check the fee and margin terms on the broker’s US site.
Interactive Brokers FAQs
What is the minimum deposit at Interactive Brokers?
Testing log
| Record | Detail |
|---|---|
| NFA BASIC read | September 23, 2026, NFA ID 0258600 |
| CFTC financial data | July 2026: retail forex obligation US$26,190,990, rank 5 of 6 |
