Our verdict on Interactive Brokers for US traders
Interactive Brokers LLC is a CFTC-registered FCM and NFA Forex Dealer Member offering spot forex with advertised spreads from 0.1 pips. Commissions are tiered per trade value, and US regulatory rules apply, including NFA first-in, first-out order handling and a leverage cap.
Pros
- Advertised spreads from 0.1 pips raw interbank pricing
- Commission tiers down to 0.08 basis point for high volume
- No minimum deposit requirement
Cons
- No MetaTrader 4 or 5 available
- Minimum $2 commission per side for entry tier trades
- Forex accounts not protected by SIPC
Interactive Brokers score breakdown
3/5 · Good
Rated as part of Interactive Brokers under our eight-category methodology; the US entity's conditions are set out below.
The overall rating is based on review by our experts
How is our rating calculated?Interactive Brokers in the United States
Interactive Brokers LLC, the US-registered Futures Commission Merchant under NFA ID 0258600, offers forex trading with advertised spreads from 0.1 pips. US residents get a tiered commission model and access to 100+ currency pairs on a broker that passes through interbank prices.
| US legal entity | Interactive Brokers LLC |
|---|---|
| NFA ID | 0258600 |
| CFTC registration | Futures Commission Merchant, CFTC. No Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer registration. |
| NFA status | Forex Dealer Member, NFA Member Approved |
| Maximum leverage, major pairs | 50:1 |
| Maximum leverage, all other pairs | 20:1 |
| Offsetting positions | Offsetting positions may not be carried and are closed first in, first out, under NFA Compliance Rule 2-43(b) |
| CFDs | No CFDs are available to US residents |
| Currency pairs | 100+ currency pairs on 28 currencies |
| Funding methods | not published on the pages fetched |
| Minimum deposit | US$0 |
| Commission basis | Tier I is 0.20 basis point of trade value with a USD 2.00 minimum per order, so a USD 100,000 lot costs USD 2.00 a side and USD 4.00 the round turn. The rate falls to 0.08 basis point above USD 5bn of monthly trade value. |
| Evidence | Advertised by the broker. We publish no measurement of our own for this entity. |
Who Interactive Brokers suits in the US
The tiered commission and deep liquidity from 17 global FX dealers suit high-volume traders who can push monthly trade value into the lower commission tiers. Active algorithmic traders benefit from API access and interbank pricing. Small lot traders, by contrast, face a minimum commission of $2 per side on the first tier, which raises the cost per pip relative to account size. Beginners looking for zero-commission accounts will find this model less accommodating.
Interactive Brokers spreads and commissions
What trading Interactive Brokers costs
One standard lot of EUR/USD on Interactive Brokers's raw account costs US$5.00 for the round turn: 0.10 pips of spread (US$1.00) plus US$4.00 commission, on the advertised spread rather than a figure we measured.
| Account | A month of trading | One round turn, 1 lot |
|---|---|---|
| Raw spread plus commission0.10 pips, advertised, US$4.00 commission | US$100.00 | US$5.00 |
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.
Interactive Brokers advertises spreads from 0.1 pips, which it passes through from its liquidity providers without markup. The broker then adds a tiered commission that starts at 0.20 basis point (bp) times the trade value for up to USD 1 billion in monthly volume, and drops to 0.08 bp above USD 5 billion. Each tier carries its own minimum per order: $2, $1.50, $1.25, and $1.00 respectively. These are the broker’s advertised figures. A standard lot of EUR/USD on the entry tier costs $2 per side.
| Monthly spot currency trade value | Commission | Minimum per order |
|---|---|---|
| Up to US$1,000,000,000 | 0.20 basis point of trade value | US$2.00 |
| US$1,000,000,000.01 to US$2,000,000,000 | 0.15 basis point | US$1.50 |
| US$2,000,000,000.01 to US$5,000,000,000 | 0.10 basis point | US$1.25 |
| Above US$5,000,000,000 | 0.08 basis point | US$1.00 |
Interactive Brokers trading platforms
US clients access the Trader Workstation (IBKR Desktop) for professional charting and order entry, the Client Portal for browser-based account management and trading, and a mobile app. IBKR GlobalAnalyst provides fundamental research, while a full API supports algorithmic strategies and third-party integration. The suite is designed for traders who need granular control and advanced forex tools.
| Trading Platform | Available With Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|
| MetaTrader 4 | No |
| MetaTrader 5 | No |
| cTrader | No |
| TradingView | No |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
Interactive Brokers regulation and NFA status
Interactive Brokers LLC is registered with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant and is an NFA Forex Dealer Member. It is also regulated by the SEC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC for its securities business. You trade with a broker that sits inside that federal regulatory framework.
| Interactive Brokers Safety | Regulator |
|---|---|
| United States | CFTC registered futures commission merchant; National Futures Association Forex Dealer Member, NFA ID 0258600; SEC registered broker-dealer, member NYSE, FINRA and SIPC |
What US traders cannot do at Interactive Brokers
CFDs are not available to US residents; Interactive Brokers LLC offers only spot forex and futures. The CFTC caps retail forex leverage at 50:1 on major pairs and 20:1 on all others, which limits position sizing. NFA Compliance Rule 2-43(b) further requires offsetting positions in the same pair to be closed on a first-in, first-out basis, and prevents the broker from carrying both a long and a short simultaneously in your account.