Pocket Option vs Interactive Brokers

Pocket Option vs Interactive Brokers Comparison Table 2024
Pocket Option	Interactive Brokers
Review 4.2	Review 4.3

Established in 2017, Pocket Option is a binary options broker offering high/low contracts on forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. With over 100,000 active users and a global reach, the platform continues to prove popular with budding traders.	Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage for experienced traders, providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries, along with a suite of comprehensive investment services. With over 40 years of experience, this Nasdaq-listed firm adheres to stringent regulations by the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, amongst others, and is one of the most trusted brokers for trading around the globe.
Customer Reviews
4.3 Based on 7 Pocket Option customer reviews	4 Based on 2 Interactive Brokers customer reviews
Bonus Offer
50% Deposit Bonus
Comment by Reviewer
"Pocket Option excels for its easy-to-use web platform which provides a best-in-class user experience for short-term binary traders. The $50 minimum deposit is also accessible for beginners while opening an account is really easy. Looking at the negatives, Pocket Option still trails alternatives in its market offering and regulatory credentials."	"Interactive Brokers is one of the best brokers for advanced day traders, providing powerful charting platforms, real-time data, and customizable layouts, notably through the new IBKR Desktop application. Its superb pricing and advanced order options also make it highly attractive for day traders, while its diverse range of equities is still among the best in the industry."
Pros
The web platform shines for its straightforward design and usability that will appeal to beginners looking to speculate on popular financial markets in a few clicks The MetaTrader platforms offer integrated analysis with helpful technical summaries for short-term traders The range of payment methods beats the majority of rivals, providing fast, secure and convenient deposits for traders in most countries Well-funded traders who deposit $1000+ can qualify for a 2%+ payout boost, more tradable assets and exclusive perks Extremely fast and smooth sign-up process that takes less than 2 minutes	IBKR is one of the most respected and trusted brokerages and is regulated by top-tier authorities, so you can have confidence in the integrity and security of your trading account. The TWS platform has clearly been built for intermediate and advanced traders and comes with over 100 order types and a reliable real-time market data feed that rarely goes offline. The new IBKR Desktop platform takes the best of TWS while adding bespoke tools like Option Lattice and Screeners with MultiSort to create a genuinely impressive trading experience for day traders at every level. There's a vast library of free or paid third-party research subscriptions catering to all types of traders, plus you can enjoy commission reimbursements from IBKR if you subscribe to Toggle AI. IBKR continues to deliver unmatched access to global stocks with tens of thousands of equities available from 100+ market centres in 24 countries. While primarily geared towards experienced traders, IBKR has made moves to broaden its appeal in recent years, reducing its minimum deposit from $10,000 to $0. With low commissions, tight spreads and a transparent fee structure, IBKR delivers a cost-effective environment for short-term traders.
Cons
The MISA is a weak regulator with limited investor protection for retail traders The maximum binary contract length of 4 hours is restrictive for longer-term trading strategies. Alternatives like Videforex offer binaries up to 1 month Pocket Option offers a slimmed down iteration of the MT4 and MT5 that doesn't provide the full charting package for advanced traders Despite offering competitive payouts up to 92%, binary brokers like IQCent offer higher returns up to 98% based on tests You need to deposit $1000 to access the extended list of 250+ assets, otherwise just 130+ assets are available	TWS’s learning curve is steep, and beginners may find it challenging to navigate the platform and understand all the features. Plus500's web platform is much better suited to new traders. IBKR provides a wide range of research tools, but their distribution across trading platforms and the web-based 'Account Management' page lacks consistency, leading to a confusing user experience. Support can be slow and frustrating based on tests, so you might find it challenging to reach customer service representatives promptly or encounter delays in resolving issues. You can only have one active session per account, so you can’t have your desktop program and mobile app running simultaneously, making for a sometimes frustrating trading experience.
Awards
Best Binary Broker Runner Up 2023 - DayTrading.com Best Binary Broker 2022 - DayTrading.com
Instruments
Binary Options, Currencies, Commodities, Stocks, Indices, Cryptos	Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$50	$0
Trading Platforms
Web MT4 MT5	Trader Workstation (TWS) IBKR Desktop GlobalTrader Mobile Client Portal AlgoTrader OmniTrader eSignal TradingCentral
Payment Methods
ADVcash Bitcoin Payments Credit Card Debit Card Ethereum Payments FasaPay JetonCash Maestro Mastercard Perfect Money Visa WebMoney Wire Transfer	ACH Transfer Automated Customer Account Transfer Service Cheque Debit Card TransferWise Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
$1	$100
Regulator
MISA	FCA, SEC, FINRA, CFTC, CBI, CIRO, SFC, MAS, MNB
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
	1.55 - 2.59%
STP Account
No	Yes
ECN Account
No	No
DMA Account
No	Yes
MAM Account
No	Yes
PAMM Account
No	No
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
No	No
AI / Machine Learning
No	Yes
Robo Advisor
No	Yes
Negative Balance Protection
No	Yes
Market Maker
No	No
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
Yes	Yes
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
App Review
Pocket Option delivers an excellent mobile trading experience directly through mobile and tablet browsers, without needing a native app. You can easily customize charts using the settings at the top while placing trades in one click is a breeze using the ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ buttons at the bottom of the screen. The interface also adapts seamlessly to horizontal viewing, mirroring the desktop layout for a consistent user experience.	The IBKR Mobile app, available on both iOS and Android devices, makes your phone a powerful gateway to your IBKR accounts, offering you the freedom to keep an eye on portfolios, initiate trades, and dive into real-time quotes and charts, all while managing your account activities on the fly. This app stands out for its intuitive design, making it especially welcoming for those just starting their trading journey, providing a smoother and more accessible experience than the more complex TWS platform.
Android App Rating
4.2	4.5
iOS App Rating
4	4.3
Auto Trading
Yes	Capitalise.ai & TWS API
Copy Trading
Yes	No
Copy Trading Platform
Pocket Option hosts a user-friendly social trading service. Available in the platform, you can use the ‘Top Ranked Trades’ leaderboard, among others, to find traders to follow. The social trading solution is also available 24/7 and has active community chats. Tip: check the number of trades made and profit generated over several months rather than comparing providers over a few days.
Social Trading
Yes	No
Trade Signals
Yes
VPS Hosting
No	No
Tournaments
Yes	No
Demo Competitions
No	No
Ethical Investing
No	Yes
Custodial Account
No	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	No
Inactivity Fee
$0	$0
Islamic Account
No	No
Account Currencies
USD	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD INR JPY SEK NOK DKK CHF AED HUF
Stock Exchanges
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) CAC 40 Index France DAX GER 40 Index Dow Jones Euronext FTSE UK Index IBEX 35 Japan Exchange Group Nasdaq New York Stock Exchange S&P 500	Borsa Italiana CAC 40 Index France Chicago Mercantile Exchange Euronext IBEX 35 Japan Exchange Group Korean Stock Exchange London Metal Exchange London Stock Exchange Nasdaq Nasdaq Nordic & Baltics New York Stock Exchange Russell 2000 Shenzhen Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange
Commodities
Gold Natural Gas Oil Palladium Platinum Silver	Aluminium Gold Lead Natural Gas Precious Metals Soybeans Zinc
CFD Trading
CFD trading not offered	Over 8,000 CFDs are offered on a vast array of instruments, encompassing stocks, indices, forex, and commodities. Moreover, the TWS platform lends itself to seasoned day traders, offering a comprehensive selection of over 100 order types and algorithms, alongside premium market data sourced from reputable sources such as Reuters and Dow Jones.
Leverage
	1:50
FTSE Spread
	0.005% (£1 Min)
GBPUSD Spread
	0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
Oil Spread
	0.25-0.85
Stocks Spread
	0.003
Forex Trading
Binary and OTC options can be purchased on 40+ currency pairs, with 55+ currency pairs available if you deposit $1000. Typical payouts are reasonable at 81% and the $1 minimum trade makes the broker accessible to new forex traders. There is also access to the MT4 and MT5 platforms for experienced forex traders.	IBKR presents an extensive range of over 100 major, minor, and exotic forex pairs, surpassing the offerings of nearly all leading alternatives, though not CMC Markets. Forex trading occurs over multiple platforms and boasts institutional-grade spreads starting from 0.1 pips and 20 complex order types, including brackets, scale, and one-cancels-all (OCA) orders.
GBPUSD Spread
N/A	0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
EURUSD Spread
N/A	0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
EURGBP Spread
N/A	0.08-0.20 bps x trade value
Assets
55+	100+
Cryptocurrency
Pocket Option offers a modest crypto offering with 10+ digital currencies including Bitcoin and 65+ tokens if you deposit $1000. The integrated analytics feature in the platform is helpful for finding opportunities, while the daily signals service makes it straightforward to act on short-term crypto opportunities.	IBKR lets you purchase and hold Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin at competitive commission rates and without needing a crypto wallet. Additionally, there is a range of other diverse assets to explore, such as crypto indices like the NYSE Bitcoin Index, as well as futures contracts like the BAKKT Bitcoin Futures.
Spread
N/A	0.12%-0.18%
Coins
BTC ETH BCH LINK AAVE ALGO TLM ALPP ANT AVAX AXS BNB ADA CHZ COMP ATOM DASH MANA DGB DOGE ENJ EOS FIL GLMR ILV ICP KAVA LTC MKR MASK MIOTA XMR ALICE NEAR NEO NULS OMG DOT MATIC QTUM REEF XRP SANTOS SC SOL STX XLM STORJ DATA SUN XTZ SAND THETA TRX UNI VET WAVES YFI YGG ZEC	BTC LTC ETH XRP
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	No
Auto Market Maker
No	No
Binary Options
Pocket Option offers ultra-short-term binaries from 5 seconds on one of the simplest web platforms for beginners. Payouts rival alternatives at 90%+ while the ‘Double Up’ and ‘Rollover’ features provide further opportunities to profit. Considering the negatives, the suite of 130+ assets trails binary brokers like Quotex, which offer 400+.	Binary options trading not offered
Payout
92%
Expiry Times
5 seconds - 4 hours
Ladder Options
No	No
Boundary Options
No	No

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