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Interactive Brokers vs Kraken

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

Interactive Brokers vs Kraken Comparison Table 2026
Interactive Brokers	Kraken

4.3	3.9
Interactive Brokers is ranked #4 among CFD brokers.	Kraken is ranked #29 among crypto 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.	Kraken excels as a top cryptocurrency exchange, offering a unique trading platform and access to over 600 crypto tokens. It provides leverage of up to 5 times for spot trading with consistent fees and up to 50 times on futures.
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 a single platform linking prediction markets on Kalshi, CME Group, and ForecastEx. Users can trade yes/no contracts on political, economic, and climate events, with fixed $1 payouts. Enjoy 24/6 market access and earn interest on eligible 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.	Kraken, through Payward, obtained VARA approval in the UAE, allowing it to provide Dirham funding and trading pairs to local clients. HYPE Staking introduces crypto staking with up to 2.2% APY. Users can earn returns without any lock-up obligations. Kraken Pro offers competitive trading fees. 3D secure is necessary.
Cons
TWS’s learning curve is steep, and beginners may find it challenging to navigate the platform and understand all the features. 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.	Insider data breach and extortion event impacting customer information in April 2026. Delayed verification for Pro accounts. Limited support for newer altcoins. Minimal leverage in spot trading. Does not accept deposits in traditional currency. Slow processing times
Awards
Best US Broker 2025 - DayTrading.com
FCA Regulated
Yes	No List of FCA Regulated Brokers
Instruments
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptocurrencies, CFDs	Cryptos, xStocks, Pre-IPO Perpetual Futures
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0	$10
Payment Methods
ACH Transfer Cheque Wire Transfer	Etana Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
$100	Variable
Regulator
SEC, FINRA, CFTC, NFA, CIRO, FCA, CBI, ASIC, SFC, SEBI, JFSA, MAS	FINTRAC, AUSTRAC
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	Yes
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.
iOS App Rating
4.3	4.7
Android App Rating
4.5	4.2
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
0.50% – 1.50% (IBKR Pro markup), 2.50% (IBKR Lite markup)
MetaTrader 4
No	No
MetaTrader 5
No	No
cTrader
No	No
AlgoTrader
Yes	Yes
OmniTrader
Yes	No
TradingView
Yes	No
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	No
Market Maker
No	No
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
Yes	Yes
Auto Trading
Capitalise.ai, TWS API	Kraken Futures is integrated in other platforms which have bots: Bookmap, Caspian, FMZ Quant, Gunbot, HaasOnline, Hyndor, Margin
Copy Trading
No	No
Social Trading
No	No
VPS Hosting
No	No
Tournaments
No	No
Demo Competitions
No	No
Ethical Investing
Yes	No
Custodial Account
No	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	No
Inactivity Fee
$0
Islamic Account
No	No
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP CAD AUD INR JPY SEK NOK DKK CHF AED HUF	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD JPY CHF
Commodities
Gold Zinc Aluminium Natural Gas Soybeans Lead Precious Metals Lean Hogs
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.
Leverage
1:30
FTSE Spread
0.005% (£1 Min)
GBPUSD Spread<
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
Oil Spread
0.25-0.85
Stocks Spread
0.003
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.
Assets
100+
GBPUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
EURUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
EURGBP Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
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.	Kraken is a dedicated cryptocurrency exchange offering over 600 digital currencies, encompassing major coins like Bitcoin and various altcoins. Traders can access spot markets with 1:5 leverage or futures at 1:50. The platform is intuitive, with competitive fees.
Spread
0.12%-0.18%	0-0.26% average
Coins
BTC LTC ETH XRP	AAVE ALGO ANT REP REPV2 BAT BAL XBT BCH ADA LINK COMP ATOM CRV DAI DASH MANA XDG EWT EOS ETH ETC FIL FLOW GNO ICX KAVA KEEP KSM KNC LSK LTC MLN XMR NANO OCEAN OMG OXT PAXG DOT QTUM XRP SC XLM STORJ SNX TBTC USDT XTZ GRT TRX UNI USDC WAVES YFI ZEC BNB
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	Yes
Auto Market Maker
No	No

Interactive Brokers	Kraken
Review	Review
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