DEGIRO vs Interactive Brokers
DEGIRO and Interactive Brokers (IBKR) are two large online brokers. For trading in shares, ETFs or options only, DEGIRO is the winner in our test. However, we also see the advantages of Interactive Brokers. In this overview, we compare them based on their range of products, ease of use, fees and investment info.
Contents:
Please note: investing involves risks, and you can lose part or all of your investment on an investment platform.
DEGIRO vs Interactive Brokers: two international brokers
DEGIRO and Interactive Brokers are both popular online stock brokers, popular among investors that like a platform with a good range of products and low prices.
DEGIRO was founded in the Netherlands and later taken over by Flatex, a German broker. It mainly focuses on retail investors and is the market leader in the Netherlands. Together with Flatex, DEGIRO is also one of the market leaders in Europe among private retail investors.
Interactive Brokers is a listed American company on the NASDAQ with the ticker IBKR. It also serves many professional investors, such as funds and hedge funds. It is one of the global market leaders.
Offer: difference for professionals
Both are large online brokers focused on fast and low-cost trading. In Europe, DEGIRO is known for its large and wide range. In shares, ETFs, bonds, options and futures, DEGIRO is more complete than other European brokers such as Trade Republic, Scalable Capital or eToro.
Interactive Brokers however, offers everything DEGIRO does, but also includes forex, CFDs, commodities, complex ETNs and other less popular investment products. These are mainly products for professional investors. These can show large price changes and lead to faster losses, especially when leverage is used.
At Investment Platforms Europe, we focus on new or smaller retail investors. For this audience, the extra products of Interactive Brokers are less suitable, so we see them more as a disadvantage than an advantage. DEGIRO keeps its platform simpler, which helps reduce risks.
Because of its audience, IBKR has less focus on ease of use or on protecting small or new investors.
Open an account directly with a large European broker such as eToro, known for its beginner-friendly platform, or DEGIRO, which is popular for its low trading fees. Investing involves risks. You can lose your investment.
Ease of use
Both platforms are aimed at investors who want to trade quickly and at low cost, and who are looking for a professional platform. Because of this, DEGIRO and IBKR are not really known for their ease of use for beginners. If you mainly want a simple platform, brokers like Scalable or Trade Republic may be a better choice.
Between the two, we find DEGIRO’s platform easier to use. It quickly shows daily news, gives a good overview of your own shares or options, and seems better suited to retail investors. This is especially useful for investors who prefer to hold their investments longer. Interactive Brokers serves a wider audience, including many day traders. Because of this, the platform has more buttons and data, and some steps can be harder to find.
Investment information
The investment info from DEGIRO is quite good for an online broker. If you mostly invest in American or European shares, this broker gives a lot of useful information about price movements and company news. It also includes a newsfeed for local shares. We like the Dutch newsfeed, for example.
If you want to invest worldwide, the investment information from Interactive Brokers is clearly better. It offers a lot of detailed information, including podcasts, webinars, its own academy, and analyst news. This allows you to do your own technical analysis on the platform. Often based on real-time data and combined with advanced order types. However, everything at Interactive Brokers is in English.
Insight into your own performance
A big difference between the two platforms is the statistics that IBKR offers. DEGIRO does show performance for your portfolio or each investment over a certain period. But that is not enough if you want to take action based on that. The performance tab at IBKR gives much more information about the progress of your investments.
Fees
Both platforms offer low fees and small spreads. This applies to small amounts and trades, as well as large purchases and high-volume transactions. DEGIRO is especially cost-effective if you often trade shares, options and ETFs from European markets. IBKR can be cheaper if you trade worldwide and in many different currencies.
Fees may vary per region. Below are the fees as they were for us, as Dutch investors, at the time of writing this review.
| Type | DEGIRO | Interactive Brokers (IBKR) |
|---|---|---|
| Shares & ETFs | Dutch market: 2 euro per trade US market: 1 euro + 1 euro handling fee |
US shares: 0.005 dollar per share, min. 1 dollar European shares: 0.05 percent, min. 3 euro |
| ETF core selection | 1 free trade per month on selected ETFs | No free core selection available |
| Currency conversion | Automatic at 0.25 percent | Automatic or manual at 0.002 percent, min. 2,00 dollar |
| Connection fees | 2,50 euro per exchange per year (NL + BE for free) | No connection fees |
| Inactivity fees | None | None |
| Dividend processing | Free (Basic), fee with custody account | No listed fees |
| Withdrawal costs | Free | First withdrawal per month is free |
Reliability: both offer a secure platform
In terms of safety, we give both platforms the highest rating. Apart from possible losses due to your own investment choices, we have no concerns about the security of the platforms themselves.
Both platforms are registered with the financial authority, with Interactive Brokers operating through its Irish subsidiary. They both meet various compliance requirements. We do not see major differences here that would influence your choice.
Conclusion: we choose DEGIRO
Both DEGIRO and Interactive Brokers are affordable and reliable brokers for investors who want an app or platform with many features and low fees. Both can be a good pick, but we prefer DEGIRO. It is more focused on retail investors, which makes it easier for us to use.
DEGIRO offers a wide range of shares, options and ETFs, along with different trading choices. A downside is that DEGIRO does not offer investment plans, interest on uninvested cash or fractional shares. This makes it less suitable for passive investors. But we also do not think Interactive Brokers is a good fit for that. In that case, we would recommend platforms like Trade Republic or Scalable.
Interactive Brokers is mainly suitable for professional investors who trade worldwide and who also want to invest in more risky products in addition to regular shares, ETFs or options.
