Interactive Brokers
★3.8Trustpilot (opens in a new tab)Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a global investment broker with some of the lowest currency-exchange costs available to individual investors. Customers can convert and hold currencies in the same multi-currency account they use for stocks, ETFs, bonds and other global investments, while eligible customers can also trade currency pairs directly.
Reader rating
Reviewed by Klaus Thorup · 22 August 2026 · How we review providers
Is Interactive Brokers a good choice?
An excellent choice for active and internationally minded investors: this broker combines exceptionally low currency commissions with live spot-market prices from major currency dealers, making it especially compelling for larger exchanges.
Best for
- Active investors who want very low-cost currency exchange alongside global investing
- Larger exchanges where the $2 minimum becomes a very small share of the amount
- Investors who want to hold or manage money in several currencies
- Experienced customers who want to trade currency pairs and control their order price
Interactive Brokers pricing at a glance
Manual spot-currency trading is one of IBKR's strongest advantages. Its standard first tier costs just 0.002% of trade value, subject to a $2 minimum per order. That means a $100,000 currency trade has a commission of only $2 before any applicable tax. IBKR combines live prices from 17 major currency dealers and says it adds no markup to those prices; the final result still reflects the market's buying-versus-selling price difference and any movement before the order fills.
This USD-to-EURexample uses IBKR's standard manual currency-trading commission. The final price can vary with account eligibility, order type and market execution.
Investment account and currency pricing
IBKR Pro has no monthly account fee. Its exceptionally low manual currency-trading commission is separate from the live market price; automatic conversion uses different pricing.
Standard brokerage account, no monthly fee.
About Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers traces its organisation to a market-making business founded in 1977 and launched its electronic brokerage in 1993. It serves individual investors, active traders, advisers, hedge funds and other institutions.
At the end of the second quarter of 2026, IBKR reported 5.185 million client accounts and $903.3 billion in client equity. Customers can trade on more than 170 markets, while its spot-currency service covers more than 100 pairs across 28 currencies.
How Interactive Brokers pricing works
For a simple exchange, the Convert Currency tool lets customers choose the starting and receiving currencies and submits a market order at the available market price.
Customers approved for Spot Currencies can also trade supported currency pairs directly. They can use order types such as a limit order when they want more control over the price, although availability depends on the account and local IBKR company.
Automatic currency conversion is priced differently from a manual spot trade. IBKR says it generally adjusts the exchange rate by about 0.03% and does not add a separate commission for that automatic conversion.
What else you get
Exceptionally low currency costs
The 0.002% first-tier commission and $2 minimum can produce substantial savings on larger exchanges compared with services that add a percentage to the exchange rate.
Direct currency-pair trading
Eligible customers can trade more than 100 supported pairs using live dealer prices and choose order types that provide greater control.
Investments and currencies in one account
Customers can convert, hold and invest across currencies without opening a separate transfer account for each one.
Professional currency trading tools
IBKR's FXTrader screen shows live currency quotes, order controls, positions and trading information for eligible investors.
FXTrader · Official platform preview · Captured · View full size (opens in a new tab) · Interactive Brokers currency trading (opens in a new tab)
Strengths and trade-offs
Reasons to choose Interactive Brokers
- Exceptionally low 0.002% first-tier commission for manual currency trades
- Prices from major currency dealers without an added exchange-rate markup
- Both simple currency conversion and direct currency-pair trading are available
- Broad global investment access and multi-currency balances in one account
Reasons to compare alternatives
- The $2 minimum has the greatest effect on very small exchanges
- Opening and funding a brokerage account takes more setup than using a transfer app
- The simple Convert Currency tool uses a market order, so the final price can move before execution
- IBKR is not designed for cash pickup or an ordinary payment to another person
Support and account checks
As a regulated investment broker, IBKR asks applicants for identity, address, tax residence, employment, financial circumstances, investment goals and source-of-funds information. Additional documents may be requested when needed.
IBKR offers authenticated chat and secure support tickets for account questions. Phone support runs from Sunday afternoon to Friday evening, US Eastern Time; urgent trading issues are handled by phone.
When to look elsewhere
Choose Wise or CurrencyFair when the goal is a straightforward payment to another person. Choose OFX when you want a currency specialist to guide a large recipient payment, or a cash-transfer provider when the recipient needs cash.
What to know before you use Interactive Brokers
IBKR is strongest when currency exchange supports investing, trading or hedging through the same account. Standard individual accounts have a $0 account minimum and $0 inactivity fee. However, the agreements reviewed here do not set a minimum investment that permits otherwise unrelated currency conversion; they allow IBKR to restrict accounts used mainly or repeatedly for that purpose.
IBKR says every account has basic Currency Conversion permission. Direct spot-currency trading requires additional approval and is not available through every local IBKR company.
Funding and withdrawals are normally simplest between IBKR and a bank account in the customer's own name. A payment to someone else can require additional review, is not guaranteed and is unavailable through some local IBKR companies.
The final exchange result can also be affected by the difference between current buying and selling prices, market movement, applicable tax, withdrawal charges and fees from other banks.
Sources
Reviewed 22 August 2026
- Interactive Brokers — Q2 2026 fact sheet (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Spot currency commissions (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Currency trading (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Trading permissions (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Individual application requirements (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Account minimums (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Convert Currency tool (opens in a new tab)
- IBUK and IBLLC Client Agreement (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited Client Agreement for Carried Products (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Funding and withdrawals (opens in a new tab)
- Interactive Brokers — Customer service (opens in a new tab)
Interactive Brokers vs the competition
These guides compare prices and practical product differences, so you can see which provider may suit you best.