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Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets

Interactive Brokers or CMC Markets – which is better for UK traders 2026? Compare Interactive Brokers and CMC Markets in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.

Interactive Brokers vs CMC Markets Comparison Table 2026
Interactive Brokers	CMC Markets

4.3	4.7
Interactive Brokers is ranked #4 among CFD brokers.	CMC Markets is ranked #17 among CFD brokers.
Review	Review
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) stands as a leading brokerage, offering access to 170+ markets in 40 nations alongside extensive investment services. With 40+ years in finance, this Nasdaq-listed entity complies with regulations from the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, ensuring global trustworthiness in trading.	Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a reputable broker publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange. It holds authorisation from top-tier regulators such as the FCA, ASIC, and CIRO. The brokerage, which has received multiple awards, boasts a global membership exceeding one million traders.
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pros
IBKR is a highly respected brokerage, regulated by top-tier authorities, ensuring the integrity and security of your trading account. Interactive Brokers has introduced ForecastTrader, a distinctive zero-commission offering. Users trade yes/no Forecast Contracts on political, economic, and climate events with fixed $1 payouts per contract. Benefit from 24/6 market access and earn up to 3.14% APY on held positions. The TWS platform is tailored for intermediate and advanced traders, featuring over 100 order types and a dependable real-time market data feed with exceptional uptime. DayTrading.com awarded Interactive Brokers 'Best US Broker' for 2025, highlighting its dedication to US traders, extremely low margin rates, and affordable global market access. The new IBKR Desktop platform combines the top features of TWS with customised tools such as Option Lattice and MultiSort Screeners, providing an impressive trading experience for traders of all skill levels. A wide range of third-party research subscriptions, both free and paid, are available for traders. Additionally, by subscribing to Toggle AI, traders can receive commission rebates from IBKR. IBKR consistently offers unparalleled access to global equities, with thousands of shares available across over 100 market centres in 24 countries, including the recently added Saudi Stock Exchange. While initially targeting seasoned traders, IBKR has recently widened its appeal by eliminating its $10,000 minimum deposit requirement. IBKR offers an economical environment for traders, featuring low commissions, narrow spreads, and a clear fee structure.	The CMC web platform offers an exceptional user experience with sophisticated charting tools for trading and customisable options, suitable for both novice and seasoned traders. It supports MT4 but not MT5, and TradingView will be available from 2025. CMC Markets has introduced an AI News feature. This leverages AI to highlight and summarise market stories instead of executing trades, suggesting the future direction of broker research tools. We've upgraded the 'Assets & Markets' rating due to frequent product enhancements in early 2025. These include extended trading hours for US stocks and the introduction of new share CFDs. CMC provides competitive pricing with narrow spreads and low trading fees, except for stock CFDs. The Alpha and Price+ programmes offer additional benefits for active traders, including discounts on spreads of up to 40%. The brokerage excels with an extensive array of valuable resources, such as pattern recognition scanners, webinars, tutorials, news feeds, and research from reputable sources like Morningstar.
Cons
The learning curve for TWS is quite steep, making it tough for novice traders to navigate and grasp all its features. In contrast, Plus500's web platform is far more accessible for those new to trading. IBKR offers a variety of research tools, but their inconsistent placement across trading platforms and the 'Account Management' webpage creates a confusing experience for users. Support can be sluggish and frustrating. Tests reveal that you may face challenges reaching customer service quickly, which could result in delays in issue resolution. You are limited to a single active session per account, meaning you cannot use both your desktop programme and mobile app at the same time. This restriction can occasionally lead to a frustrating experience for traders. In 2025, IBKR was fined $11.8m by the US OFAC for operating in sanctioned areas. That same year, FINRA imposed a $125k fine for lapses in municipal bond disclosure.	Although there have been improvements, the online platform still needs further refinement to match the user-friendly trading experience offered by competitors such as IG. A monthly inactivity charge of $10 is imposed after a year's inactivity, potentially discouraging occasional traders. The CMC Markets app provides a comprehensive trading package; however, its design and user experience lag behind market leaders such as eToro.
Awards
Best US Broker 2025 - DayTrading.com	Best Trading App 2023 - DayTrading.com No.1 Platform Technology 2022 No.1 New Tool 2022 No.1 Most Currency Pairs 2022 Best Trade Execution 2021 Best Forex Broker For Beginners 2021 Most Transparent Forex Broker Europe 2020 Best Trading Platform 2020 Best Trading App 2019 Best Customer Service 2018
FCA Regulated
Yes	Yes
Instruments
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptocurrencies, CFDs	CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Treasuries, Custom Indices, Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0	$0
Payment Methods
ACH Transfer Cheque Wire Transfer	Credit Card Debit Card Mastercard PayPal Visa Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
$100	0.01 Lots
Regulator
SEC, FINRA, CFTC, NFA, CIRO, FCA, CBI, ASIC, SFC, SEBI, JFSA, MAS	FCA, ASIC, MAS, CIRO, BaFin, FMA, DFSA,
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
Trading App
The IBKR Mobile app, for iOS and Android, transforms your phone into a robust portal to access your IBKR accounts. It allows users to monitor portfolios, execute trades, view real-time quotes and charts, and manage account activities seamlessly. With its intuitive design, the app is particularly user-friendly for novices, offering a simpler experience compared to the advanced TWS platform.	CMC Markets' award-winning app has revolutionised mobile trading. Its modern, customisable interface provides a unique user experience that sets it apart. Enhanced with 25 technical indicators, 15 drawing tools, and a swift, stable trading platform, it is an outstanding option for traders.
iOS App Rating
4.3	4.1
Android App Rating
4.5	3.7
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
0.50% – 1.50% (IBKR Pro markup), 2.50% (IBKR Lite markup)	3.0%
MetaTrader 4
No	Yes
MetaTrader 5
No	No
cTrader
No	No
AlgoTrader
Yes	No
OmniTrader
Yes	No
TradingView
Yes	Yes
Autochartist
No	No
eSignal
Yes	No
Trading Central
Yes	No
STP Account
Yes	No
ECN Account
No	No
DMA Account
Yes	No
MAM Account
Yes	No
PAMM Account
No	No
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
Yes	No
AI / Machine Learning
Yes	No
Robo Advisor
Yes	No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes	Yes
Market Maker
No	Yes
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
Yes	Yes
Auto Trading
Capitalise.ai, TWS API	Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Copy Trading
No	No
Social Trading
No	Yes
Trade Signals
	Yes
VPS Hosting
No	Yes
Tournaments
No	No
Demo Competitions
No	Yes
Ethical Investing
Yes	No
Custodial Account
No	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	Yes
Inactivity Fee
$0	$10
Islamic Account
No	Yes
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP CAD AUD INR JPY SEK NOK DKK CHF AED HUF	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD NZD SEK NOK SGD PLN
Commodities
Gold Zinc Aluminium Natural Gas Soybeans Lead Precious Metals Lean Hogs	Gold Oil Silver Copper Coffee Wheat Precious Metals Natural Gas Soybeans Orange Juice Nickel Palladium Steel Cannabis Platinum Livestock Sugar Gasoline
CFD
The platform provides access to over 8,000 CFDs across stocks, indices, forex, and commodities. Suited for experienced traders, the TWS platform includes more than 100 order types and algorithms. It also delivers top-tier market data from trusted sources like Reuters and Dow Jones.	CMC enables trading of CFDs on over 12,000 assets, including currencies, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs, and treasuries. In 2025, new equities will feature sectors like quantum computing, AI learning, and digital car sales. Enjoy competitive spreads without hidden fees, and leverage the renowned MetaTrader 4 platform. Consistently, CMC stands out as a leading CFD broker.
Leverage
1:30	1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
0.005% (£1 Min)	1 pt
GBPUSD Spread<
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.9
Oil Spread
0.25-0.85	3.5
Stocks Spread
0.003	0.02
Forex
IBKR offers a wide selection of more than 100 forex pairs, including major, minor, and exotic options, exceeding most competitors except CMC Markets. Trading takes place across various platforms with institutional-quality spreads from 0.1 pips. It supports over 100 advanced order types like brackets, scale, and OCA orders.	CMC offers a broad selection of over 300 forex pairs, featuring tight spreads and quick execution. This exceeds many competitors in currency variety. Their forex indices provide a distinctive and comprehensive method to speculate on major currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP.
Assets
100+	300+
GBPUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.9
EURUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.7
EURGBP Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	1.1
Currency Indices
	USD EUR GBP JPY CAD AUD NZD CHF
Cryptocurrency
IBKR offers access to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin at attractive commission rates without the need for a crypto wallet. Furthermore, traders can explore a variety of assets, including crypto indices like the NYSE Bitcoin Index, and futures contracts such as BAKKT Bitcoin Futures.	CMC Markets provides trading opportunities with popular digital currencies such as Bitcoin. However, it excels in offering crypto indices, granting broader market exposure. With minimal slippage and an impressive 99.9% fill rate, CMC is an excellent choice for active traders in the cryptocurrency sector.
Spread
0.12%-0.18%	From 1.3
Coins
BTC LTC ETH XRP	BTC BCH ETH LTC EOS TRON NEO ADA XLM
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	No
Auto Market Maker
No	No

Interactive Brokers	CMC Markets
Review	Review
	Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Interactive Brokers vs	CMC Markets vs