ZacksTrade or Interactive Brokers – which is better for UK traders 2026? Compare ZacksTrade and Interactive Brokers in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
ZacksTrade vs Interactive Brokers Comparison Table 2026
Zacks Trade, a US broker under FINRA regulation, provides trading services for stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, bonds, and more via a bespoke terminal. Targeting active traders, it offers competitive fees across most assets. Additionally, clients benefit from an app and extensive market data access.
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.
Pros
The option to execute trades by phone with a broker, without extra costs beyond the standard penny-per-share fee, is rare among discount brokers. Most rivals do not offer this service or apply a significant surcharge, thus distinguishing Zacks Trade in this respect.
Zacks Trade still imposes commissions dropped by most rivals, but it compensates with lower borrowing costs. With margin rates starting at 8.83%, it's cheaper than major brokers, appealing to those holding overnight leveraged positions. While small balances see slight savings, larger margin accounts benefit significantly over a year.
Many brokers at this level provide just basic charts and a news ticker. Zacks Trade offers much more—standard accounts include over 20 complimentary research subscriptions and the choice of 80 additional paid services from Morningstar, Dow Jones, Seeking Alpha, and Thomson Reuters.
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.
Cons
The account-opening procedure is entirely digital but excessively complex; verification can exceed a week. Numerous document steps and a preliminary experience assessment render this one of the most tedious onboarding processes in retail brokerage, especially as competitors expedite this to hours.
Most brokers have eliminated fees on stock and ETF trades, highlighting Zacks Trade's penny-per-share charge. This fee is trivial for occasional traders. However, a 10,000-share transaction incurs a $100 commission. With widespread zero-commission options, justifying such fees is challenging.
Traders lack access to forex, cryptocurrencies, commodities, or futures—significant gaps for multi-asset traders. Since the infrastructure is via Interactive Brokers, supporting these, it seems more like an imposed restriction than a true platform constraint.
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.
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
5
4.3
Android App Rating
3.7
4.5
Margin Trading
Yes
Yes
Margin Rate
7.83% – 8.83%
0.50% – 1.50% (IBKR Pro markup), 2.50% (IBKR Lite markup)
MetaTrader 4
No
No
MetaTrader 5
No
No
cTrader
No
No
AlgoTrader
No
Yes
OmniTrader
No
Yes
TradingView
No
Yes
Autochartist
No
No
eSignal
No
Yes
Trading Central
No
Yes
STP Account
No
Yes
ECN Account
No
No
DMA Account
Yes
Yes
MAM Account
No
Yes
PAMM Account
No
No
LAMM Account
No
No
Demat Account
No
Yes
AI / Machine Learning
No
Yes
Robo Advisor
No
Yes
Negative Balance Protection
No
Yes
Market Maker
No
No
P2P Trading
No
No
Spot Trading
No
Yes
Auto Trading
Yes (algos)
Capitalise.ai, TWS API
Copy Trading
No
No
Social Trading
No
No
VPS Hosting
Yes
No
Tournaments
No
No
Demo Competitions
No
No
Ethical Investing
Yes
Yes
Custodial Account
No
No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No
No
Inactivity Fee
$15
$0
Islamic Account
No
No
Account Currencies
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
NZD
INR
JPY
ZAR
TRY
SEK
NOK
DKK
CHF
HKD
SGD
PLN
CZK
HUF
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
INR
JPY
SEK
NOK
DKK
CHF
AED
HUF
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
$0.01 per share ($1 minimum)
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
Clients can trade a select few cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Real-time quotes are provided, and the fees are competitive. If trading volumes are significant, commissions further decrease.
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.
