Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Capital.com, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
Alongside the cost per trade, most UK online brokers also charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual management fee, which varies based on the account type and balance. Based on our thorough review, Capital.com offers better pricing than Interactive Brokers for share dealing.
Assuming a £30,000 portfolio size, here are the total annual costs for share dealing with both brokers, given different monthly activity scenarios.
5 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £15 per year, while Capital.com would cost N/A per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while Capital.com would cost N/A per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while Capital.com would cost N/A per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while Capital.com would cost N/A per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while Capital.com would cost £20 per year.
What type of trader are you?
New to the world of investing? See our picks for the Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners. More experienced traders should read our guide to the Best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders.
When comparing the investment choices offered by Interactive Brokers and Capital.com, Interactive Brokers stands out with a broader range of options. Both platforms offer share trading and CFD trading, providing users with basic trading functionalities. However, Interactive Brokers offers additional investment vehicles like ETFs, funds trading, and corporate and government bonds, which Capital.com does not support. This diversity allows Interactive Brokers to cater to a wider spectrum of investment strategies and preferences.
On the other hand, neither Interactive Brokers nor Capital.com offers crypto trading, spread betting, or advisor services. Based on ratings from UK.StockBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers receives an impressive 5-star rating for investment choices and ranks #2 out of 18 brokers. Conversely, Capital.com holds a 2.5-star rating and is ranked #17, indicating room for improvement in its investment offerings. Overall, Interactive Brokers provides more extensive investment opportunities than Capital.com, aligning with varying investor needs.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Capital.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | No |
| Funds | Yes | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | No |
| Spread Betting | No | Yes |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Investment Choices |
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Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
Low-cost US and UK shares.
When comparing the trading tools of Interactive Brokers and Capital.com, it becomes clear that each platform has its own strengths. Interactive Brokers stands out with its ability to display corporate events like earnings, splits, and dividends on charts, a feature Capital.com lacks. It also offers a wealth of charting tools with 80 drawing tools and 96 technical indicators compared to Capital.com's 18 and 77, respectively. Both platforms allow users to add notes to charts, but only Interactive Brokers offers index and stock overlays, making it a more robust choice for in-depth analysis.
On the other hand, Capital.com has an edge when it comes to real-time market data, which is not available with Interactive Brokers. Both platforms provide user-friendly browser-based trading platforms and the ability to create alerts for stock price updates, ensuring traders stay on top of market movements. In essence, the decision between these platforms will hinge on whether you prioritize detailed charting capabilities or access to real-time data.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Capital.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 77 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 18 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
When comparing online brokers Interactive Brokers and Capital.com, one key difference lies in their available retirement accounts. Interactive Brokers offers both ISA (Individual Savings Accounts) and SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) accounts, allowing investors in the UK to benefit from tax-efficient investing and saving for retirement. On the other hand, Capital.com does not provide ISA or SIPP account options, potentially limiting its appeal for those specifically seeking these retirement account types. This distinction could be a decisive factor for investors prioritizing tax benefits and retirement planning when choosing an online broker.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
When comparing the mobile offerings of Interactive Brokers and Capital.com, both provide robust applications for iPhone and Android users. Interactive Brokers shines with a perfect 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com, securing the #2 position among 18 brokers, reflecting its superior user experience and functionality. Meanwhile, Capital.com also impresses with a commendable 4.5-star rating, placing it at #11. This makes both apps strong contenders for mobile trading, although Interactive Brokers holds a slight edge in overall performance and user satisfaction.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When it comes to educational resources for beginner investors, Interactive Brokers stands out compared to Capital.com. Interactive Brokers offers live educational webinars as well as archived versions for on-demand viewing, providing accessibility and flexibility. Additionally, they offer comprehensive education on share trading, funds, and retirement. Capital.com, on the other hand, does not provide educational webinars or resources on these trading topics. UK.StockBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers higher with a 4.5-star rating for beginner education, compared to Capital.com's 3.5 stars. Furthermore, Interactive Brokers ranks 12th out of 18 brokers, whereas Capital.com is positioned at 17th for beginner education according to UK.StockBrokers.com. For beginner investors seeking robust educational resources, Interactive Brokers offers a considerably more comprehensive package than Capital.com.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Capital.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | No |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
When comparing market research features of online brokers, Interactive Brokers stands out with its comprehensive offerings. It provides research reports for funds, shares, ETFs, CFDs, and bonds, making it a robust choice for investors seeking detailed analysis across various asset types. Additionally, Interactive Brokers offers the functionality to view portfolio allocation by asset class. On the other hand, Capital.com, while allowing users to see portfolio allocation by asset class and offering CFDs research, does not provide research reports for funds, shares, ETFs, or bonds. Therefore, for investors prioritizing extensive market research capabilities, Interactive Brokers emerges as a more suitable option over Capital.com.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
Capital.com
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | No |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | No |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No |
| Research - Funds | Yes | No |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
Which broker is better overall, Interactive Brokers or Capital.com? After collecting more than 900 data points over a 10-week period, we found Interactive Brokers to be a better trading platform overall.
Interactive Brokers is a sophisticated trading platform aimed at confident and institutional-grade investors. For newer investors, Interactive Brokers is more intimidating, though it's worth exploring the platform to see if you could save money or access more investments compared to other brokers.
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Both Interactive Brokers and Capital.com do not offer crypto trading, making them similar in this aspect.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Capital.com Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | No | |
| SIPP | Yes | No | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Funds | Yes | No | |
| ETFs | Yes | No | |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes | No | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | No | |
| Spread Betting | No | Yes | |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | No | |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | £20 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3 | N/A | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 | N/A | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 | N/A | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £15 | N/A | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £36 | N/A | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 | N/A | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £360 | N/A | |
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £0 / £14.85 | N/A | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 | £0 | |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 | £0 | |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) | N/A | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) | N/A | |
| ETFs - Fee | £3 | N/A | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A | N/A | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
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| Platforms & Tools | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 77 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 18 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | No |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | No | |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | No | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | No | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | Capital.com | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Capital.com Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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