Interactive Investor or XTB – which is better for UK traders 2024? Compare Interactive Investor and XTB in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
Interactive Investor vs XTB Comparison Table 2024
Interactive Investor
XTB
4.6
4.8
Interactive Investor is ranked #14 among UK brokers.
Interactive Investor are a hugely respected, FCA-regulated investing firm. The trading platform is easy-to-use while the sign-up and deposit process is straightforward for new investors. ii also has a long track record and a string of industry awards under its belt.
Founded in 2002 in Poland, XTB now serves more than 1 million clients. The forex and CFD broker combines a heavily regulated trading environment with an extensive selection of 6400+ assets and a commitment to trader satisfaction, featuring an intuitive in-house platform with superb tools to support aspiring traders.
76% of retail accounts lose money.
Pros
FCA-regulated
No minimum deposit
40,000+ stocks and shares
Excellent market research
User-friendly investment app
Low fixed fees for large portfolios
Multiple payment methods including bank cards
Highly rated and trusted by 400,000 investors
Less than 1 minute average wait time for customer support
Managed ISA introduced in 2024 streamlining investment decisions
With over 6,400 instruments across CFDs on shares, Indices, ETFs, Raw Materials, Forex
currencies, cryptocurrencies, Real shares, Real ETFs, share dealing and more recently
Investment Plans, XTB caters to both short-term traders and longer-term investors.
The xStation platform continues to impress with its user-friendly interface and intuitive features, including customizable news feeds, sentiment heatmaps, and trader calculator, reducing the learning curve for newer traders.
With an excellent range of educational materials, including training videos and articles integrated into the platform, XTB supports traders at all levels.
XTB has boosted its interest rate on all uninvested balances (up to 5.2%) while competitors like eToro only offer up to 5% on balances of $50K+.
Opening an XTB account is a hassle-free, entirely online process that takes just a few minutes, making the entry into trading smooth for new traders.
First-class 24/5 customer support is available, including a friendly live chat with response times of under two minutes during testing.
XTB offers fast withdrawals with same-day payments if requested before 1 pm, ensuring traders have quick access to their funds.
Cons
No free demo account
No copy trading tools
XTB does not offer a raw spread account, which is becoming increasingly common among competitors like Pepperstone, and may disappoint traders looking for the tightest spreads.
The demo account expires after just four weeks, a serious limitation for traders who wish to thoroughly test the xStation platform and practice short-term strategies before committing real funds.
XTB discontinued support for MT4, limiting traders to its proprietary platform, xStation, potentially deterring advanced traders familiar with the MetaTrader suite.
Trading fees are competitive with average spreads of around 1 pip on the EUR/USD but still trail the cheapest brokers like IC Markets, plus there's an inactivity fee after 12 months.
The research tools at XTB are good but could be great if they went beyond in-house features with access to leading third-party tools such as Autochartist, Trading Central and TipRanks.
Not being able to adjust the default leverage level of XTB products is frustrating, as manual adjustment can significantly mitigate trade risk, especially in forex and CFD trading.
Awards
Investment Platform of the Year 2022
Best Low-cost SIPP 2022
Shareholder Rights Champion 2022
Best Low Cost Stockbroker 2022
Retail Investor Champion of the Year 2021
Best Low Cost Stockbroker 2021
Best Stocks and Shares ISA provider 2021
Best Stocks & Shares ISA Provider 2020
Best Stockbroker for International Dealing 2020
Best Forex Broker for Beginners 2022
Best Customer Service 2021
Best Forex Broker for Low Costs 2021
Best Mobile App for Investing 2020
#1 EMEA Bloomberg spot for FX accuracy in Q2 of 2020 and Q3 of 2018
Best Polish Forex Broker 2019
Best Execution Broker 2019
FCA Regulated
Yes
Yes
Instruments
Stocks, Funds, Trusts, ETFs, Bonds, Gilts, VCTs
CFDs on shares, Indices, ETFs, Raw Materials, Forex currencies, cryptocurrencies, Real shares, Real ETFs
Year after year XTB’s app stands out for its slick design and uncluttered interface that we love. It’s quick, responsive and packed with useful features, notably integrated sentiment data, market news, economic calendars and education. The user-friendly order panel underneath the trading chart also makes placing trades, including adding take profit and stop loss levels, really straightforward.
iOS App Rating
4.4
4.7
Android App Rating
2.5
4.1
Margin Trading
No
Yes
Margin Rate
4.5%
MetaTrader 4
No
No
MetaTrader 5
No
No
cTrader
No
No
AlgoTrader
No
No
OmniTrader
No
No
TradingView
No
No
Autochartist
No
No
eSignal
No
No
Trading Central
No
No
STP Account
No
Yes
ECN Account
No
No
DMA Account
No
Yes
MAM Account
No
No
PAMM Account
No
No
LAMM Account
No
No
Demat Account
No
No
AI / Machine Learning
No
No
Robo Advisor
No
No
Negative Balance Protection
No
Yes
Market Maker
No
No
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
No
Yes
Auto Trading
Ready-Made Portfolios
Open API
Copy Trading
No
No
Social Trading
No
No
Trade Signals
Yes
VPS Hosting
No
No
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
Yes
Yes
Custodial Account
Yes
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
Yes
Inactivity Fee
$0
$0
Islamic Account
No
Yes
Account Currencies
GBP
USD
EUR
PLN
Commodities
Gold
Oil
Silver
Copper
Cotton
Sugar
Precious Metals
Gasoline
Cocoa
Coffee
Natural Gas
Nickel
Soybeans
Aluminium
Livestock
Corn
Palladium
Platinum
Wheat
Zinc
Lean Hogs
Cattle
CFD
XTB offers a huge selection of more than 2,100 CFDs spanning forex, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptos (location-dependant). Leverage up to 1:30 is available in the EU and UK, while global clients and pro traders can access up to 1:500. XTB stands out for its CFD trading resources and tutorials to assist traders in developing short-term trading strategies.
Leverage
1:30
FTSE Spread
1.8
GBPUSD Spread<
1.4
Oil Spread
0.03
Stocks Spread
0.2%
Forex
XTB provides access to 70+ currency pairs with low spreads averaging around 1 pip on majors. The xStation platform offers an intuitive environment for forex traders with an excellent charting package encompassing 30+ indicators, plus a range of order types, catering to various strategies and risk management techniques.
Assets
70+
GBPUSD Spread
1.4
EURUSD Spread
1.0
EURGBP Spread
1.4
Cryptocurrency
XTB offers an excellent selection of cryptos with more than 50 digital currencies. Spreads are tight starting from 0.22% on BTC and leverage reaches 1:5. The xStation platform also provides intra-crypto pairs like ETH/BTC and DSH/BTC. With the capability to trade cryptos 24/7, XTB ensures a secure environment with transparent accounts for cryptocurrency trading.
