Menu

Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD brokers: leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers: real shares and ETFs you own outright.

Best overall Best overall

Interactive Brokers

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Available in your country Interactive Brokers accepts clients from the country this site is for.
85CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. 81StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Available in your country Plus500 accepts clients from the country this site is for.
76CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above. not offeredStocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in Nigeria.
1 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Plus500 for day traders, long-term investors and scalpers. Plus500, on the other hand, is better for crypto traders. Professional traders, high-volume traders and swing traders can choose either Interactive Brokers or Plus500.

Best for
Overall score Interactive Brokers 85 Best 81 Plus500 76 -9 not offered
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise Interactive Brokers and the ones that supervise Plus500.
2 / 12

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are both regulated by top-tier authorities, Interactive Brokers by CBI Ireland, ASIC (Australia) and the SEC (United States) and Plus500 by CySEC, ASIC (Australia) and the FCA (United Kingdom).

Regulation
Section score Interactive Brokers 100 100 Plus500 100 not offered
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i CBI (Ireland)
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that Interactive Brokers and Plus500 have in place to protect your money in Nigeria.
3 / 12

Both Interactive Brokers and Plus500 offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication. Interactive Brokers also offers an investor compensation scheme and additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score Interactive Brokers 95 Best 95 Plus500 72 -23 not offered
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1978 2008
Parent company i IBG LLC Plus500 Ltd.
CEO i Milan Galik David Zruia
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 3,337,000 30,000,000
Annual revenue i USD 6,205,000,000 USD 768,300,000
Monthly website search traffic i

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with Interactive Brokers and with Plus500 in Nigeria, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Plus500 for CFD costs, as Interactive Brokers is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 3.33 USD per lot (against Plus500's 8 USD), charges lower Bitcoin CFD fees, at 0.0012 USD (against Plus500's 118.34 USD), and does not charge inactivity fees, unlike Plus500. Neither Interactive Brokers nor Plus500 charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Plus500 does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Plus500 cannot be compared for real stock costs.

Costs
Section score Interactive Brokers 85 Best 43 Plus500 69 -16 not offered
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i USD 4.65 Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.1 pips
0.8 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 3.325 USD 8
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.7 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.75 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 0.0012 USD 118.34
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.005 Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Spread
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i USD 0.85
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i USD 0.65
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with Interactive Brokers and with Plus500 in Nigeria, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Plus500 for CFD markets, as Interactive Brokers gives access to 15,000 tradable symbols (against Plus500's 2,800), lets you own bonds, crypto, ETFs, funds, forex and stocks outright, which Plus500 does not, and offers futures on bonds, commodities, crypto, forex and indices, which Plus500 does not. Both Interactive Brokers and Plus500 offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks.

Only Interactive Brokers can be assessed for real stock markets, since Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Available markets
Section score Interactive Brokers 100 Best 100 Plus500 75 -25 not offered
Total tradable symbols i 15,000 2,800
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices
Options i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Assets you can own i Bonds, Crypto, ETF, Funds, Forex, Stocks

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that Interactive Brokers and Plus500 make available to their clients in Nigeria.
6 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Plus500 for platforms, given that Interactive Brokers offers TradingView, which Plus500 does not. Both Interactive Brokers and Plus500 offer a proprietary platform and one-click trading.

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 cannot be set side by side for platforms, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Platform
Section score Interactive Brokers 80 Best 80 Plus500 72 -8 not offered
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of Interactive Brokers and Plus500 in Nigeria, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are equally good for mobile trading, as both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 cannot be set side by side for mobile trading, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Mobile
Section score Interactive Brokers 80 80 Plus500 80 not offered
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that Interactive Brokers and Plus500 allow on their platforms in Nigeria.
8 / 12

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are equally good for CFD trading features, as Interactive Brokers offers tier-1 liquidity providers, and allows for scalping. On the other hand, Plus500 offers negative balance protection and guaranteed stop losses. Interactive Brokers and Plus500 both offer trailing stops and API access.

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 cannot be set side by side for real stock trading features, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Trading features
Section score Interactive Brokers 71 -1 73 Plus500 72 not offered
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD Agency
Average execution time i
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1 300:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1 300:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1 150:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 150:1
Gold leverage i 20:1 250:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1 150:1
Equities leverage i 3:1 20:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i 2:1 5:1
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 1 USD 0
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at Interactive Brokers and at Plus500 in Nigeria, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Plus500 for CFD account types, given that Interactive Brokers offers a micro account and a raw spread account, which Plus500 does not. Both Interactive Brokers and Plus500 offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

There is no like-for-like comparison for real stock account types, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Account types
Section score Interactive Brokers 54 Best 53 Plus500 51 -3 not offered
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with Interactive Brokers and with Plus500 in Nigeria.
10 / 12

Plus500 is better than Interactive Brokers for account opening, because Plus500 supports e-wallets, which Interactive Brokers does not, and offers debit cards, which Interactive Brokers does not. That said, Interactive Brokers asks for no minimum deposit at all (against Plus500's 100 USD).

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 cannot be set side by side for account opening, as Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Account opening
Section score Interactive Brokers 65 -7 65 Plus500 72 Best not offered
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 100
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, RUB, SEK, SGD, USD AUD, EUR, USD
Deposit waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of Interactive Brokers and Plus500 in Nigeria, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

Interactive Brokers and Plus500 are equally good for customer care, since Interactive Brokers offers phone support. On the other hand, Plus500 offers customer support in 29 languages (against Interactive Brokers' 8), and has a website in 29 languages (against Interactive Brokers' 8). Both Interactive Brokers and Plus500 offer live chat and email support.

Only Interactive Brokers can be assessed for customer care, since Plus500 is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Customer care
Section score Interactive Brokers 58 58 Plus500 58 not offered
Number of languages supported i 8 29
Website languages i German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that Interactive Brokers and Plus500 provide to their clients in Nigeria.
12 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Plus500 for learning, given that Interactive Brokers offers professional reports and an economic calendar, which Plus500 does not. Interactive Brokers and Plus500 both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Plus500 does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Plus500 cannot be compared for learning.

Learning
Section score Interactive Brokers 92 Best 92 Plus500 75 -17 not offered
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
Interactive Brokers
Open Account 57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500
Open Account CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money
Our verdict

Interactive Brokers vs Plus500: which one should you choose?

Interactive Brokers

CFD Choose Interactive Brokers, regulated by the SEC and the FCA, if you want an online CFD broker with low trading costs, no minimum deposit and a wide choice of markets.

Stocks Choose Interactive Brokers, regulated by the CBI (Ireland) and the MAS, if you want a broker for securities investing with a wide choice of markets and dependable order execution.

Open Account 57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500

CFD Choose Plus500, regulated by CySEC and ASIC, if you want a CFD and forex broker with a guaranteed stop loss.

Open Account CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

Other popular comparisons

Below are other head-to-head comparisons that include Interactive Brokers or Plus500, each scored with the same data and method as this page.

Select your language

English (Nigeria) country flag English (Nigeria)