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Data refreshed 25 Aug 2026 · Compiled by David Ispiryan
Trust rank #2 · Editorial rating 10 / 10 · Founded 1977
Interactive Brokers is a well-regarded forex broker providing broad access to currency pairs, advanced trading platforms, and research and risk management tools. It supports multi-asset trading and a wide range of order…
Read the Interactive Brokers review
Trust rank #20 · Founded 2010
ThinkMarkets is a well-regarded forex and CFD broker offering broad market access via MetaTrader and its proprietary ThinkTrader platform. It provides research, education, and risk management tools to support analysis and platform…
Read the ThinkMarkets reviewInteractive Brokers (United States, founded 1977) holds 15 regulatory licences (ASIC, CBI, CFTC, CIRO, CSSF…), 10 of them tier-1, offers Proprietary and sits in our low-fee bracket. ThinkMarkets (Australia, founded 2010) holds 4 regulatory licences (ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSCA), 2 of them tier-1, offers MT4, MT5, Proprietary and sits in our low-fee bracket. The two overlap in 185 countries; Interactive Brokers is available in 33 countries where ThinkMarkets is not, and ThinkMarkets in 14 where Interactive Brokers is not.
Scored on 8 measurable dimensions where both brokers have verified data. Dimensions missing for either side are excluded rather than guessed. This is a data summary, not a recommendation.
| Criteria | Interactive Brokers | ThinkMarkets |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 10 / 10 | Not verified |
| Trust rank | #2 | #20 |
| Founded | 1977 | 2010 |
| Headquarters | United States | Australia |
| Regulators | ASIC, CBI, CFTC, CIRO, CSSF, DFSA, FCA, FINRA, JFSA, MAS, MNB, NFA, SEBI, SEC, SFC | ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSCA |
| Broker type | DMA | ECN, STP |
| Platforms | Proprietary | MT4, MT5, Proprietary |
| Instruments | Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Forex, Indices, Metals | Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Forex, Indices, Metals |
| Countries accepted | 218 countries | 199 countries |
| Fee level | Low | Low |
| Trading types | CFD Trading, Spot Trading | CFD Trading, Spot Trading |
| Best-for use cases | Professional Trading, Retail Trading | Copy Trading, Professional Trading, Retail Trading |
Highlighted cells mark the stronger value where a direction is objectively better (e.g. more licences, lower fees). "Not verified" means the field is not yet in our catalogue for that broker — we never fill gaps with estimates.
Available at both (185): Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bonaire, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Curaçao and 145 more.
Only Interactive Brokers (33): Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland and 8 more.
Only ThinkMarkets (14): Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Iraq, Libya, Nauru, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Availability reflects the countries each broker declares it serves. Local rules change; confirm on the broker's own site before signing up.
Interactive Brokers holds more regulatory licences: Interactive Brokers (ASIC, CBI, CFTC, CIRO, CSSF, DFSA, FCA, FINRA, JFSA, MAS, MNB, NFA, SEBI, SEC, SFC) versus ThinkMarkets (ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSCA). Tier-1 licences: Interactive Brokers 10, ThinkMarkets 2.
Interactive Brokers offers Proprietary; ThinkMarkets offers MT4, MT5, Proprietary.
Both sit in the same fee bracket (low) in our catalogue; compare the spreads and commission rows above for detail.
Interactive Brokers is the older of the two, founded in 1977; ThinkMarkets was founded in 2010.
They overlap in 185 countries. Interactive Brokers is additionally available in 33 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia and 27 more) and ThinkMarkets in 14 countries (Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Iraq, Libya and 8 more).
Risk warning: CFDs and forex are complex, leveraged instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly. A majority of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Nothing on this page is financial advice; verify licence status on the regulator's register before depositing. Full risk disclosure.