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Interactive Brokers vs Saxo 2024

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

August 06, 2024

Is Interactive Brokers better than Saxo? After scoring the best share dealing accounts across 46 different variables, our analysis finds that Interactive Brokers is better than Saxo. 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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Compare

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Overall Rating Interactive Brokers Saxo
Overall Rating 4.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Charges & Fees 4.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Investment Choices 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Mobile App 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Website 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Ease of Use 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Education 3.5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Review Interactive Brokers Review Saxo Review
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Investments Interactive Brokers Saxo
ISA info Yes Yes
SIPP info Yes Yes
Share Trading info Yes Yes
CFD Trading info Yes Yes
Funds info Yes Yes
ETFs info Yes Yes
Bonds - Corporate info Yes Yes
Bonds - Government (Gilts) info Yes Yes
Investment Trusts info Yes Yes
Spread Betting info No No
Crypto Trading info Yes No
Advisor Services info No No
Trading Fees Interactive Brokers Saxo
Minimum Deposit info £0 £0
Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month info £3 0.08% (£3 min)
Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month info £3 0.08% (£3 min)
Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month info £3 0.08% (£3 min)
5 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £15 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £51
12 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £36 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £72
36 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £108 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £144
120 trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £360 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £396
3 fund trades per year (£30k portfolio) info £0 0.4% + 0% commission: £120
Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 info 0 0.4% p.a. up to £200k; 0.2% p.a. after £200k
Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K info 0 0.2% p.a.
Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m info 0 0.2% p.a.
Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over info 0 0.1% p.a.
Bonds - Corporate - Fee info 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) 0.20%
Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee info 0.1% (for <10,000 EUR) 0.025% (for >10,000 EUR) 0.20%
ETFs - Fee info £3 0.08% (£3 min)
Investment Trusts - Fee info £4.95 £8
Telephone Dealing Fee info USD 50 £50
Broker Screenshots Interactive Brokers Saxo
Website Gallery (click to expand)
Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand)
Education Gallery (click to expand)
Platforms & Tools Interactive Brokers Saxo
Web Platform info Yes Yes
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Stock Alerts info Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 96 64
Charting - Drawing Tools info 80 20
Charting - Notes info Yes Yes
Charting - Display Corporate Events info Yes No
Charting - Stock Overlays info Yes Yes
Charting - Index Overlays info Yes Yes
Research Interactive Brokers Saxo
Research - Shares info Yes Yes
Research - CFDs info Yes Yes
Research - Funds info Yes No
Fund Research - Research Reports info Yes No
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Bonds info Yes Yes
Portfolio Allocation Breakdown info Yes Yes
Education Interactive Brokers Saxo
Education (Share Trading) info No No
Education (Funds) info No No
Education (Retirement) info Yes No
Client Webinars info No Yes
Client Webinars (Archived) info No Yes
Overall Summary Interactive Brokers Saxo
Overall Rating 4.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Charges & Fees 4.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Investment Choices 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Mobile App 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Website 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Ease of Use 3.5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Education 3.5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Review Interactive Brokers Review Saxo Review
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Comparing online share dealing platforms side by side is no small task. For our 2024 review of U.K. brokers, more than 900 data points were collected over a 10-week period and used to score each broker. Let’s compare Interactive Brokers and Saxo.

Interactive Brokers vs Saxo Comparison

For our 2024 Review, we assessed the best trading platforms in the UK for online share dealing. Let's compare Interactive Brokers vs Saxo.

Is Interactive Brokers a good broker?

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.

Is Saxo a good broker?

Saxo Markets’ trading platform is highly sophisticated and offers a huge range of international shares and funds. The biggest downside is the cost, as its charges are higher than its U.K. competitors. It's best suited for experienced investors rather than beginners.

Which broker is less expensive?

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 Saxo 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 Saxo would cost 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £51 per year.

12 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £36 per year, while Saxo would cost 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £72 per year.

36 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £108 per year, while Saxo would cost 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £144 per year.

120 trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £360 per year, while Saxo would cost 0.12% + 0.08% (or £3) per trade: a minimum of £396 per year.

3 fund trades per year - Interactive Brokers would cost £0 per year, while Saxo would cost £0 per year.

query_stats What type of trader are you?

New to the world of investing? See my picks for the best UK trading platforms for beginners. More experienced traders should check out my guide to the best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders. If you're looking to trade shares on the go, read my guide to the best UK stock trading apps.

How do Interactive Brokers and Saxo compare in terms of minimum deposits required?

Interactive Brokers requires a minimum deposit of £0, while Saxo requires a minimum deposit of £0. From our testing we found for accounts between £0 - £250,000 Interactive Brokers charges annual custody fees of 0, while Saxo charges annual custody fees of 0.4% p.a. up to £200k; 0.2% p.a. after £200k.

Which broker offers a wider range of investment options?

Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer ISA, SIPP, Share Trading, CFD Trading, Funds, ETFs, Bonds - Corporate, Bonds - Government (Gilts) and Investment Trusts. Neither have Spread Betting, Crypto Trading and Advisor Services. Investing encompasses a wide variety of asset classes, so finding a broker that offers every investment type you are interested in is important.

Do Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer ISA or SIPP accounts?

Self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and individual savings accounts (ISAs) are tax-advantaged savings accounts that are an important tool for many individual investors. You can read more about how these accounts operate at Gov.UK: Click here for SIPP information and here for ISA information. Our analysis finds that Both Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer SIPP and ISA accounts.

Do Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer cryptocurrency?

In our analysis of top brokers for share dealing in the U.K., we research whether each broker offers the ability to trade cash cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ethereum, which is still a somewhat rare offering amongst major U.K. brokers. Our review finds that neither Interactive Brokers nor Saxo offer crypto investing.

Which broker offers a better website experience?

Our testing concluded that the website of Interactive Brokers is better than the website of Saxo. Interactive Brokers offers more functionality, is cleanly designed, and is, overall, easier to use for beginners and casual investors.

Which stock trading app is better?

To compare the trading platforms of both Interactive Brokers and Saxo, we tested each broker's stock trading app. All features compared, our analysis finds that Saxo offers a better mobile app. Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps UK.

Do Interactive Brokers and Saxo offer educational resources?

Educational offerings are of particular importance to those who are newer to investing, and we examine the availability of several different types of educational materials in our analysis. Our research finds that Interactive Brokers offers traders access to Education (Retirement), while Saxo offers access to Client Webinars and Client Webinars (Archived). Neither have Education (Share Trading) and Education (Funds).

Overall winner: Interactive Brokers

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