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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.

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VS field	Admirals admiralmarkets.com Forex BrokerCFD BrokerStock CFD	Interactive Brokers interactivebrokers.com Stock BrokerETF BrokerOption
Decision summary
Overall score

Trust score	76	94

Cost score	80	88

Platform score	88	93

Withdrawal score	71	80

Best for	Experienced Forex and CFD traders · MetaTrader 4/5 users · Traders wanting many CFDs across currency pairs, indices, commodities, stocks and ETFs	Active traders · Advanced investors · International-market investors

Watch out	Many key conditions vary by entity, country, account type, client classification and instrument · Global officialWebsite content reviewed is primarily Admirals SC Ltd/Seychelles ·…	Fee schedule is complex and varies by product, plan, market and entity · Country availability/restrictions need entity-specific review · No single universal max leverage figure fo…

Trust & regulation
Regulators	FSA Seychelles, CySEC Cyprus, FCA UK. Source	Regulated by SEC/FINRA/CFTC/NYSE in the US and by FCA, Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, Hong Kong SFC, SEBI, Kanto Local Finance Bureau and MAS for regional affiliates. Source
License numbers	Admirals SC Ltd: SD073; Admirals Europe Ltd: CySEC 201/13; Admiral Markets UK Ltd: FCA 595450. Source	US CRD 36418 / SEC 8-47257; UK FCA 208159; AU AFSL 453554; India SEBI INZ000217730 and NSDL IN-DP-602-2021; Singapore MAS CMS100917; Japan Kanto Local Finance Bureau No.187. Source
Regulated entities	Admirals discloses Admirals SC Ltd (Seychelles), Admirals Europe Ltd (Cyprus), and Admiral Markets UK Ltd (UK); the reviewed global site is primarily Admirals SC Ltd. Source	Major regulated entities include Interactive Brokers LLC plus UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore affiliates. Source
Negative balance protection	Admirals has a negative balance protection policy; exact terms depend on Admirals entity. SC Ltd policy applies to eligible normal trading activity and excludes debts unrelated to trading or illicit trading methods. Source	No universal negative-balance-protection promise found for Interactive Brokers LLC; IBKR describes real-time margin requirements and protective liquidations to return accounts to margin compliance. Source
Investor compensation	Admirals SC Ltd client funds protection insurance up to 100,000 USD; not a universal broker-level investor compensation scheme claim. Source	Interactive Brokers LLC securities accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000, including $250,000 cash sublimit, plus excess SIPC coverage up to an additional $30 million per account with $900,000 cash sublimit, subject to $150 million aggregate; futures/options on futures are excluded. Regional schemes vary. Source
Restricted countries	Country availability/restrictions are jurisdiction-specific and not available as a reliable public list in reviewed sources. Source	Official available-countries page lists countries/territories where applications are available rather than a concise restricted-country list. Treat unsupported/sanctioned-country restrictions as country/entity-dependent and requiring manual review. Source

Trust & regulation

Regulators

FSA Seychelles, CySEC Cyprus, FCA UK.

Source

Regulated by SEC/FINRA/CFTC/NYSE in the US and by FCA, Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, Hong Kong SFC, SEBI, Kanto Local Finance Bureau and MAS for regional affiliates.

Source

License numbers

Admirals SC Ltd: SD073; Admirals Europe Ltd: CySEC 201/13; Admiral Markets UK Ltd: FCA 595450.

Source

US CRD 36418 / SEC 8-47257; UK FCA 208159; AU AFSL 453554; India SEBI INZ000217730 and NSDL IN-DP-602-2021; Singapore MAS CMS100917; Japan Kanto Local Finance Bureau No.187.

Source

Regulated entities

Admirals discloses Admirals SC Ltd (Seychelles), Admirals Europe Ltd (Cyprus), and Admiral Markets UK Ltd (UK); the reviewed global site is primarily Admirals SC Ltd.

Source

Major regulated entities include Interactive Brokers LLC plus UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore affiliates.

Source

Negative balance protection

Admirals has a negative balance protection policy; exact terms depend on Admirals entity. SC Ltd policy applies to eligible normal trading activity and excludes debts unrelated to trading or illicit trading methods.

Source

No universal negative-balance-protection promise found for Interactive Brokers LLC; IBKR describes real-time margin requirements and protective liquidations to return accounts to margin compliance.

Source

Investor compensation

Admirals SC Ltd client funds protection insurance up to 100,000 USD; not a universal broker-level investor compensation scheme claim.

Source

Interactive Brokers LLC securities accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000, including $250,000 cash sublimit, plus excess SIPC coverage up to an additional $30 million per account with $900,000 cash sublimit, subject to $150 million aggregate; futures/options on futures are excluded. Regional schemes vary.

Source

Restricted countries

Country availability/restrictions are jurisdiction-specific and not available as a reliable public list in reviewed sources.

Source

Official available-countries page lists countries/territories where applications are available rather than a concise restricted-country list. Treat unsupported/sanctioned-country restrictions as country/entity-dependent and requiring manual review.

Source

Costs & account conditions
Minimum deposit	Not consistently disclosed at broker-level; likely account/entity specific. Official index CFD page mentions 'Start with just 25 USD'. Source	USD 0 account minimum for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite; broker accounts can require a USD 10,000 up-front deposit applied against commissions. Source
Spread from	Zero accounts: spreads from 0; Trade accounts: from 0.5 pips in FAQ / 0.6 pips on start-trading comparison; floating and vary by instrument/account/market conditions. Source	Spot currency spreads advertised as narrow as 1/10 pip on Interactive Brokers Australia pricing overview; spreads vary by product/entity/market. Source
Commission	Trade accounts mostly spread-based; Zero accounts spread plus commission; stock/ETF CFD and investing commissions vary by exchange/region. Source	IBKR Lite offers $0 commissions on US stocks and ETFs; IBKR Pro uses fixed/tiered commissions and third-party/exchange/regulatory fees may apply by market/product. Source
Maximum leverage	Up to 1:500 depending on instrument (official index CFDs page); broker-level maximum is entity/account/instrument dependent. Source	Not expressed as a single max leverage figure; margin requirements are product-, account-, entity- and regulation-dependent and IBKR applies real-time risk margin. Source
Deposit fee	No Admirals deposit fee; third-party charges and conversion may apply. Source	Most standard bank/security deposit methods show no IBKR deposit fee in the extracted official fee table, but physical currency deposits incur a special handling fee of 1% of deposit amount, minimum $50; third-party/bank fees may apply. Source
Withdrawal fee	One free withdrawal per calendar month per payment method, additional withdrawals fee varies. Source	Two free withdrawal requests per calendar month; after the second withdrawal IBKR charges listed fees by currency/method (example USD: wire 10.00, check 4.00, ACH/EFT/SEPA 1.00). Source
Inactivity fee	10 EUR/month after 24 months inactivity on positive-balance account; wallet can avoid fee; refund may be available for up to three months. Source	USD 0 inactivity fee for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite account minimums page. Source

Costs & account conditions

Minimum deposit

Not consistently disclosed at broker-level; likely account/entity specific. Official index CFD page mentions 'Start with just 25 USD'.

Source

USD 0 account minimum for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite; broker accounts can require a USD 10,000 up-front deposit applied against commissions.

Source

Spread from

Zero accounts: spreads from 0; Trade accounts: from 0.5 pips in FAQ / 0.6 pips on start-trading comparison; floating and vary by instrument/account/market conditions.

Source

Spot currency spreads advertised as narrow as 1/10 pip on Interactive Brokers Australia pricing overview; spreads vary by product/entity/market.

Source

Commission

Trade accounts mostly spread-based; Zero accounts spread plus commission; stock/ETF CFD and investing commissions vary by exchange/region.

Source

IBKR Lite offers $0 commissions on US stocks and ETFs; IBKR Pro uses fixed/tiered commissions and third-party/exchange/regulatory fees may apply by market/product.

Source

Maximum leverage

Up to 1:500 depending on instrument (official index CFDs page); broker-level maximum is entity/account/instrument dependent.

Source

Not expressed as a single max leverage figure; margin requirements are product-, account-, entity- and regulation-dependent and IBKR applies real-time risk margin.

Source

Deposit fee

No Admirals deposit fee; third-party charges and conversion may apply.

Source

Most standard bank/security deposit methods show no IBKR deposit fee in the extracted official fee table, but physical currency deposits incur a special handling fee of 1% of deposit amount, minimum $50; third-party/bank fees may apply.

Source

Withdrawal fee

One free withdrawal per calendar month per payment method, additional withdrawals fee varies.

Source

Two free withdrawal requests per calendar month; after the second withdrawal IBKR charges listed fees by currency/method (example USD: wire 10.00, check 4.00, ACH/EFT/SEPA 1.00).

Source

Inactivity fee

10 EUR/month after 24 months inactivity on positive-balance account; wallet can avoid fee; refund may be available for up to three months.

Source

USD 0 inactivity fee for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite account minimums page.

Source

Markets, platforms & payments
Tradable assets	2,300+ CFDs across currency pairs, indices, shares, commodities and ETFs; FAQ says Invest.MT5 offers thousands of stocks and ETFs. Homepage says 6,900+ instruments across global markets, creating count uncertainty by region/product scope. Source	Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, spot currencies, bonds, mutual funds and cash-balance services, with availability varying by entity/country/account permission. Source
Trading platforms	MT4, MT5, MetaTrader WebTrader, Admirals Platform, Admirals Mobile App (iOS/Android). Source	IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation, IB Gateway, IBKR Mobile and web/client portal tools. Source
Account types	Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5 are highlighted on the global start-trading page; FAQ also describes Trade.MT4, Trade.MT5, Zero.MT4, Zero.MT5 and Invest.MT5; demo accounts are free. Source	Supports individual and institutional accounts; official minimums page also distinguishes advisor, family office, hedge fund and broker account structures. Source
Deposit methods	Available payment methods are not safely globalized; official FAQ says methods depend on region/entity and to check the Deposits & Withdrawals page/Dashboard. Source	Wire transfer, check, direct bank transfer/ACH, SEPA/regional bank transfers where available, and securities transfer methods such as ACATS; physical cash deposits are against policy. Source
Withdrawal methods	Not safely disclosed as a universal list; same-source withdrawal rule applies. Source	Bank wire/transfer, checks and regional transfer rails such as BACS/GIRO/ACH/EFT/SEPA where available; securities transfer methods such as ACATS may also apply. Source
Withdrawal processing time	Same-business-day processing before 17:00 for Admirals SC Ltd; otherwise next business day. Source	Not captured as a single verified processing-time SLA; varies by withdrawal method, currency, region and receiving bank. Source

Markets, platforms & payments

Tradable assets

2,300+ CFDs across currency pairs, indices, shares, commodities and ETFs; FAQ says Invest.MT5 offers thousands of stocks and ETFs. Homepage says 6,900+ instruments across global markets, creating count uncertainty by region/product scope.

Source

Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, spot currencies, bonds, mutual funds and cash-balance services, with availability varying by entity/country/account permission.

Source

Trading platforms

MT4, MT5, MetaTrader WebTrader, Admirals Platform, Admirals Mobile App (iOS/Android).

Source

IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation, IB Gateway, IBKR Mobile and web/client portal tools.

Source

Account types

Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5 are highlighted on the global start-trading page; FAQ also describes Trade.MT4, Trade.MT5, Zero.MT4, Zero.MT5 and Invest.MT5; demo accounts are free.

Source

Supports individual and institutional accounts; official minimums page also distinguishes advisor, family office, hedge fund and broker account structures.

Source

Deposit methods

Available payment methods are not safely globalized; official FAQ says methods depend on region/entity and to check the Deposits & Withdrawals page/Dashboard.

Source

Wire transfer, check, direct bank transfer/ACH, SEPA/regional bank transfers where available, and securities transfer methods such as ACATS; physical cash deposits are against policy.

Source

Withdrawal methods

Not safely disclosed as a universal list; same-source withdrawal rule applies.

Source

Bank wire/transfer, checks and regional transfer rails such as BACS/GIRO/ACH/EFT/SEPA where available; securities transfer methods such as ACATS may also apply.

Source

Withdrawal processing time

Same-business-day processing before 17:00 for Admirals SC Ltd; otherwise next business day.

Source

Not captured as a single verified processing-time SLA; varies by withdrawal method, currency, region and receiving bank.

Source

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