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.
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, eToro 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 eToro would cost £0 per year.
12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while eToro would cost £0 per year.
36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while eToro would cost £0 per year.
120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while eToro would cost £0 per year.
3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while eToro would cost $50 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.
Interactive Brokers and eToro offer diverse investment options for UK investors, both facilitating share, cryptocurrency, ETF, and CFD trading. While both brokers provide a broad spectrum of trading services, Interactive Brokers extends its offerings by including funds, corporate bonds, government bonds (gilts), and investment trusts, whereas eToro does not support these options. This additional range of investments available at Interactive Brokers provides investors with broader opportunities to diversify their portfolios.
When evaluating overall investment choices, Interactive Brokers stands out with a commendable 5-star rating from UK.StockBrokers.com and ranks second out of 21 brokers. This contrasts with eToro's rating of 4.5 stars, placing it at 15th position. This reflects the comprehensive array of investment options that Interactive Brokers presents to its clients, making it a competitive choice for UK investors seeking extensive market access.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
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|---|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | Yes | |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | |
| Investment Trusts | Yes | |
| Spread Betting | ||
| Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Advisor Services | ||
| Investment Choices |
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Low-cost US and UK shares.
Professional’s Gateway to the World’s Markets.
When comparing Interactive Brokers and eToro for their charting tools, both platforms present solid options for traders in the UK. Interactive Brokers shines with the ability to display corporate events such as earnings, splits, and dividends directly on their charts, a feature that is notably absent from eToro. Both platforms allow users to add notes, as well as stock and index overlays to charts, catering to an insightful analysis experience. In terms of drawing tools, Interactive Brokers provides users with a more extensive selection, offering 80 tools compared to eToro's 56. However, eToro takes the lead with technical indicators, boasting 106 compared to Interactive Brokers' 96.
Both platforms support browser-based trading and offer the capacity to set alerts for stock price updates, enhancing user engagement. However, eToro stands out by providing real-time market data, an advantage for those who need up-to-the-moment information to guide their trading decisions. In all, each platform offers a unique set of strengths, allowing UK traders to choose options that best fit their trading style and priorities.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 96 | 106 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 56 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
When comparing online brokers Interactive Brokers and eToro for retirement account options, both platforms cater to UK investors by offering Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). However, only Interactive Brokers extends its offerings to include Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), a significant advantage for those interested in maximizing their pension savings. Both platforms are popular for their user-friendly trading experiences, yet Interactive Brokers provides a more comprehensive selection of retirement investment options in the UK by including both ISAs and SIPPs.
Dive deeper: Best SIPP Providers, Best Stocks and Shares ISA Providers.
For UK investors assessing the mobile trading options offered by Interactive Brokers and eToro, both platforms deliver highly rated iPhone and Android apps. According to UK.StockBrokers.com, both apps hold a perfect rating of 5 stars. Interactive Brokers distinguishes itself slightly, securing the 4th position out of 21 brokers for mobile app quality, while eToro closely follows at 5th place. Whether you prefer Interactive Brokers or eToro, both provide top-notch mobile apps to suit your trading needs.
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.
When comparing the educational resources for beginner investors between Interactive Brokers and eToro, UK investors will find both platforms offer valuable insights but with some distinctions. Interactive Brokers stands out with educational client webinars that are also archived for on-demand viewing, providing flexibility for learners. In addition to share trading, they cover topics such as funds and retirement planning, making it well-rounded for diverse learning needs. In contrast, eToro also offers resources for share trading, but lacks educational webinars and content on funds or retirement. Both platforms share a commendable UK.StockBrokers.com rating of 4.5 stars for beginner education, but Interactive Brokers ranks slightly higher at 8th place out of 21 brokers, compared to eToro's 11th place. This subtle edge makes Interactive Brokers a more appealing choice for those looking to deepen their investment understanding.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
|
|---|---|---|
| Client Webinars | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | |
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | |
| Education |
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Dive deeper: Best UK Trading Platforms for Beginners.
When comparing the market research features of Interactive Brokers and eToro for UK investors, both platforms stand out in various areas. Interactive Brokers provides a comprehensive suite of research reports, including those for funds, shares, ETFs, CFDs, and bonds, ensuring a well-rounded source of information for making informed decisions. In contrast, eToro offers research for shares, ETFs, and CFDs but lacks reports for funds and bonds. Both brokers provide tools to view portfolio allocation by asset class, aiding in the management of diversified investments. This comparison highlights that while both Interactive Brokers and eToro offer significant research capabilities, Interactive Brokers offers a more extensive range of research resources.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
eToro
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | |
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | |
| 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.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
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eToro
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Both Interactive Brokers and eToro provide cryptocurrency trading options, making them competitive choices for investors seeking diverse trading platforms that cater to the emerging demand in digital currencies.
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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 | ||
| Share Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| CFD Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Funds | Yes | ||
| ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Bonds - Corporate | Yes | ||
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | Yes | ||
| Investment Trusts | Yes | ||
| Spread Betting | |||
| Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Advisor Services |
| 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) | £15 | £0 | |
| 12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £36 | £0 | |
| 36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £108 | £0 | |
| 120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) | £360 | £0 | |
| 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 | £0 | |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | N/A | N/A | |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £25 | N/A |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
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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 | 96 | 106 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 80 | 56 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes | ||
| Charting - Stock Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Shares | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - CFDs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Funds | Yes | ||
| Fund Research - Research Reports | Yes | ||
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Bonds | Yes | ||
| Portfolio Allocation Breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Funds) | Yes | ||
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | ||
| Client Webinars | Yes | ||
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
| Overall Summary | Interactive Brokers | eToro | |
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | eToro Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
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