Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs eToro, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, investment options, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
Your capital is at risk.
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, Interactive Brokers offers better pricing than eToro for share dealing.
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.
Interactive Brokers and eToro both let UK investors trade shares, ETFs, CFDs and investment trusts, and neither offers adviser services. When it comes to broader account choices, Interactive Brokers stands out because it also offers funds, corporate bonds and UK government bonds (gilts), while eToro does not offer these. Based on UK.StockBrokers.com, Interactive Brokers is rated 5 out of 5 stars for investment choices and ranks #1 out of 21 brokers.
eToro still gives UK users access to a useful mix of markets, but its investment range is more limited than Interactive Brokers. For example, eToro does not offer funds, corporate bonds or gilts, although it does match Interactive Brokers on shares, ETFs, CFDs and investment trusts. UK.StockBrokers.com rates eToro 4.5 out of 5 stars for investment choices and places it at #11 out of 21 brokers.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
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|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes |
| Spread Betting | No | No |
| Crypto Trading | ||
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Investment Choices |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
For UK traders comparing Interactive Brokers vs eToro on trading tools, Interactive Brokers offers far deeper charting. It supports 85 drawing tools (vs 9 at eToro) and 155 technical indicators (vs 106), can display corporate events like earnings, splits and dividends on charts, and lets you add notes. eToro does not show corporate events on charts and does not support chart notes.
Both platforms run in your browser, support price alerts, and allow index and individual share overlays on charts. The key difference is data: Interactive Brokers does not include real-time market data by default, while eToro provides real-time quotes. If you need rich chart annotations and event tracking, Interactive Brokers stands out; if live prices within the platform matter more, eToro has the edge.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
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eToro
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|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 106 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 9 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | No |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
When comparing online brokers Interactive Brokers and eToro for UK investors focusing on retirement accounts, it’s noteworthy that both platforms offer Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), enabling tax-efficient savings. However, Interactive Brokers further caters to retirement planning by providing Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) accounts, a crucial option that eToro does not currently support. This distinction could be significant for those prioritizing a comprehensive retirement strategy, making Interactive Brokers a versatile choice for investors looking to maximize their retirement savings options.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors comparing Interactive Brokers with eToro, both provide iPhone and Android apps and each earns a 5 out of 5 star mobile rating from UK.StockBrokers.com. In the site’s Mobile Apps list of 21 brokers, eToro ranks #4 and Interactive Brokers ranks #5, so eToro edges the ranking, but both offer top-rated mobile trading on iPhone and Android.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
For UK beginner investors comparing Interactive Brokers vs eToro on education, Interactive Brokers offers more depth: live client webinars with on-demand archives, plus learning on share trading, funds and retirement. eToro provides no webinars or archives and focuses mainly on share trading, with no dedicated content on funds or retirement. Both earn 5/5 stars for beginner education from UK.StockBrokers.com, but Interactive Brokers ranks higher overall (#4 of 21) than eToro (#7 of 21), making it the better choice if you want webinars and broader topics, while eToro suits those seeking basic share trading guides.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
When considering market research features, Interactive Brokers and eToro both provide valuable resources, but with some differences. Interactive Brokers excels with its extensive range of research reports, offering insights into shares, ETFs, funds, and bonds. eToro matches Interactive Brokers by delivering research on shares and ETFs, but does not extend this service to funds or bonds. Both platforms allow users to see portfolio allocation by asset class, aiding in strategic investment decisions. These distinctions may help investors in the UK choose the platform that best aligns with their research needs.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| 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 eToro? 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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eToro
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Interactive Brokers offers crypto trading through its platform in select regions, while eToro also supports crypto trading and is widely known for its cryptocurrency investing features.
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Barclays Smart Investor is an investment platform offered by Barclays Bank that offers a wide range of investments and accounts. Non-Barclays customers may find it complicated to open an account. Barclays is good value whether you are a beginner investor or have a large portfolio as its fees are, overall, very low.
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Robinhood is great for trading US stocks and for beginners who want to learn the basics without worrying about small trades being swallowed up by hefty fees.
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Elizabeth Anderson December 30, 2025Select Brokers
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | eToro Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | Yes | Yes | |
| SIPP | Yes | No | |
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes | No | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | No | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | Yes | |
| Spread Betting | No | No | |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Advisor Services | No | No |
| Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 | $50 | |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 | £0 | |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 | £0 | |
| 5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| 3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) | |||
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £0 - £250,000 | £0 | N/A | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £250K-£500K | £0 | N/A | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £500,000 - £1m | £0 | N/A | |
| Annual Platform Fee (Funds): £1m and over | £0 | N/A | |
| 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) | £0 | |
| ETFs - Fee | £3 | N/A | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £3 | £0 | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | $30 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
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| Website Gallery (click to expand) |
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| Platforms & Tools | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 106 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 9 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | |||
| Research - Funds | Yes | No | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | No | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | eToro Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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