Interactive Brokers vs. Oanda 2022

Looking for the best online brokerage site? You’ve come to the right place.

We’ve reviewed the features of both Interactive Brokers vs. Oanda to create a comparison and help you choose the broker that’s right for you.

At a Glance

Overall, we found Interactive Brokers to be the better choice. While Oanda has some impressive features that can be beneficial to a new investor, Interactive Brokers offer the features serious investors are looking for.

Each of these brokers has various features that’ll benefit both new and seasoned investors. Interactive Brokers offers more options, but Oanda is certainly easier to use and has lower minimums.

Keep reading to find out more about Interactive Brokers and Oanda and figure out which is the best for your needs.

Comparison

We’ve done an intensive comparison of Oanda vs. Interactive Brokers so you can see how the two measure up based on various factors. This comparison should help you see which is best and which option is the best for your needs.

Number of Financial Instruments

You want a company with a high allowance of financial instruments for trading. The higher number of financial instruments allowed, the more you can diversify your portfolio. A diverse portfolio lets you spread out your money and lower your risk when investing.

Both Interactive Brokers and Oanda allow you to have up to 100 financial instruments at any given time. This category is a draw.

Minimum Deposit and Trades

Most brokers will have a minimum deposit requirement. This requirement can be limiting if you don’t have a lot of funds to invest, but you may want a higher minimum if you’re ready to get serious with investing.

Interactive Brokers has a minimum deposit of $10,000, which can be daunting but establishes them as a big-league player. Oanda’s minimum deposit is $1, making it a much more appealing option if you’re just getting started and aren’t ready to sink a lot of money into investing.

Interactive Brokers also requires a $100 minimum trade while Oanda has no minimum. There’s not necessarily a winner here, as the best option will be the one that fits your needs. It all comes down to how much you want to invest.

Fees

All brokers are going to charge fees in some manner, as they have to make money as well. However, some brokers charge more fees than others and can even have hidden fees that will put a dent in any profits you earn.

Interactive Brokers charges inactivity fees if there’s no activity or commissions for a month. The fee is typically 10 USD. Oanda has no inactivity fee. As far as withdrawal fees, Interactive Brokers charges a flat rate of 10 USD. Oanda doesn’t have any withdrawal fees.

Both companies charge commissions. Interactive Brokers’ commissions are based on how much you invest and how much you gain. Oanda charges commissions based on trades as well. Interactive Brokers has a great commission spread, with low commissions for lower trades. While bigger trades have higher commissions, Interactive Brokers offers deep discounts for larger trades.

While Interactive Brokers charges more fees than Oanda, Interactive Brokers wins when it comes to commissions. Interactive Brokers tends to beat all of their competition when it comes to commission rates.

Location

It goes without saying that you’ll want to choose a broker that allows traders from your home country. If you’re from the US, it’s important to note that Oanda doesn’t allow traders from the US. You’ll need to stick with Interactive Brokers.

Safety

When investing money, you want to make sure that the broker is a company you can trust. Both Interactive Brokers and Oanda are both under regulatory bodies. Interactive Brokers is regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). Oanda is regulated by the FCA and the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission).

The main difference between the two companies is that Interactive Brokers is publicly traded while Oanda isn’t. You can access much more information about Interactive Brokers, such as their profit reports.

Interactive Brokers is the safest option since they’re more conspicuous about their company health. You can always check in and decide if they’re doing well enough for you to keep your money with them.

Longevity

When it comes to your money, you want to invest with a business that’s been around for a while, not something that popped up a year or two ago. Both of these businesses have been around for quite a while.

Interactive Brokers started in 1977 and Oanda has been around since 1996. Since both of these companies are over 25 years old, there isn’t much comparison as far as longevity.

Customer Service

While customer service likely isn’t a priority when it comes to choosing your broker, it’s still worth considering. If something goes wrong, you’ll need a robust customer service team to help you resolve your issue.

While both Oanda and Interactive Brokers have sufficient customer service teams, Interactive Brokers have done a lot of work on their teams in the past few years. You’ll be more likely to get the answers you need with them.

Social Responsibility

Many users are now looking to make socially conscious investments. If you only want to support companies that make choices that are good for people and the environment, it can take some time to research all of those companies to find out who fits your criteria.

Interactive Brokers has a social responsibility feature that lets you see which companies are acting consciously. You can easily find these companies and learn more about them before making decisions. Oanda doesn’t have this sort of feature.

Website and Mobile UX

If you’re not technically inclined, a website or mobile app that’s difficult to navigate can hinder your ability to invest as you want. Interactive Brokers has a more complicated desktop site that can be challenging for some users. Investing can be a complex process and Interactive Brokers could structure their website in such a way to make it go more smoothly.

Oanda, on the other hand, has an easier-to-navigate website and mobile app. Oanda may be simpler because it doesn’t offer as many features as Interactive Brokers, but there’s no denying that it’s easier to use.

Oanda’s site and app are easier to use, but if you’re able to handle a little technology, you shouldn’t let it put you off from using Interactive Broker if you’re impressed by its other features.

Interactive Brokers vs. Oanda: The Winner

After careful consideration, we’ve chosen a winner for the best online broker. While both options are great, Interactive Brokers takes the cake as the best overall platform.

Which Is the Best Overall?

Overall, we recommend Interactive Brokers. While Oanda has many great features, Interactive Brokers has many more options when it comes to trading. They also have reasonable commission rates that benefit you when making larger transactions. If you’re serious about investing and want an online broker service that can keep up, then you want to go with Interactive Brokers.

Interactive Brokers offers a better spread and it’s designed for serious investors who want to make serious money through investing. Oanda may have some great features, but you won’t get the flexibility or the ability to make large sums of money the way you will with Interactive Brokers.

When looking at awards, you’ll notice that International Brokers has won quite a few awards that set it apart. It ranked #1 for commissions and fees due to its fair and easy-to-understand fee process. They also won the Best for Advanced Traders award, making it the ideal platform for investors who want to move to the next level.

Which Is Best for New Investors?

If you’re just getting into investing, you may want to start with Oanda and work your way up to a more comprehensive site like Interactive Brokers. Oanda has much smaller minimums, so you can get your feet wet without losing large sums of money. Their platform also has a smaller learning curve.

However, if you’re ready to play in the major leagues and have some money to play with, you may want to jump right into Interactive Brokers. While it’s a little more difficult to use, it may be best to go ahead and get used to the platform. They also offer a free (and limited) plan, called IBKR Lite, which is free and lets you get a feel for the platform.

Sign Up for Interactive Brokers

If you’re ready to get started creating an investment portfolio, create an account with Interactive Brokers today. You can choose between Lite and Pro and then make your first trade in minutes.