International Broker Fee Comparison: Interactive Brokers, Just2Trade, Freedom24, EXANTE and Saxo
Contents
- 1. Key takeaways from the fee comparison
- 2. Methodology
- 3. Broker profiles, eligibility and client protection
Fees
- 4. Stocks & ETFs
- 5. Options
- 6. Futures
- 7. Bonds
- 8. FX & CFDs
- 9. Metals, Crypto, Funds, IPO
- 10. Margin & Interest
- 11. Non-trading fees & taxes
Calculator, conclusions, recommendations
This international broker comparison covers the published fee schedules of:
- Interactive Brokers (IBKR LLC and affiliates)
- Just2Trade (J2T Services Ltd, Cyprus)
- Freedom24 (Freedom Finance Europe Ltd, Cyprus)
- EXANTE (EXT Ltd, Cyprus)
- Saxo (Saxo Bank A/S, Denmark)
We strive to keep this information up to date, but we cannot guarantee that it is fully accurate.
The data may contain errors or outdated information. Fees, rates and country availability change — always verify the current documents on the broker's website before opening an account.
1. Key takeaways from the fee comparison
A short summary of what follows from the brokers' official fee schedules. Detailed tables are in sections 4–12.
| Instrument class | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US stocks/ETFs | Pro Fixed $0.005/share (min $1); Pro Tiered $0.0035/share (min $0.35); Lite — $0 (US residents only) | MT5 Global $0.006/share (min $1.5); Sterling $0.0025/share | Smart $0.02/share (min $2); All-Inclusive 0.5% + $0.012/share | US: $0.02/share, min $1 (all-inclusive) | US: Classic 0.08% / Platinum 0.05% / VIP 0.03%, min $1 | IBKR |
| European stocks/ETFs (EUR) | Tiered/Fixed 0.05% (min €1.25 / €3.00, max €29) | 0.14–0.15% of turnover (Germany/France/Spain) | Smart €0.02/share, min €2 | Xetra/Euronext 0.05% min €1; LSE 0.05% min £1; SIX 0.075%; Italy 0.1% — all-inclusive | Classic 0.08% / Platinum 0.05% / VIP 0.03% of value; minimums: US $1, Germany €3, UK £3 | Freedom24 (small lots) / EXANTE & IBKR (large) |
| US stock options | Fixed $0.65/contract; Tiered down to $0.15/contract | MT5 $2.50/contract; Sterling $0.75/contract | Smart $0.65/contract | from $1.50/contract (CBOE from $2.10 incl. exchange fees) | Stock options: $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract, no minimum per ticket | IBKR Tiered |
| US futures (CME) | $0.85/contract Fixed; $0.25–0.85 Tiered + exchange fees | CQG $1.50/contract/side + exchange fees 1:1; MT5 from $0.50/contract + exchange fees | $1.50/contract | from $1.50/contract all-inclusive; EUREX from €1.50 | from $1 per contract + exchange fees separately; 250+ contracts | IBKR |
| US bonds (exchange-traded) | 10 bp on the first $10,000 of face value, then 2.5 bp (min $1) | MT5 0.128% (min $10); OTC 0.128% (min $35) | Smart 0.15% + $5/order; OTC 0.12% + $30 | Electronic 0.09% min $10/€10 + custody 0.3% p.a. | from 0.05%; minimum lot from €/$10,000; custody 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. | IBKR |
| Spot currencies (Forex) | 0.20 bp of volume, min $2 (auto-conversion ±0.03% to the rate) | MT5 $2/lot; MT4 ECN $3/lot, ECN Pro $2/lot | no spot FX in the fee schedule | 0.005% of volume (0.5 bp), spreads from 0.2–0.3 pips | no separate commission — price is built into the spread: from 1 pip (Classic) / 0.9 (Platinum) / 0.7 (VIP) | IBKR |
| CFDs / leveraged FX | not offered as a retail CFD product | Yes (MT5 Global, MT4 ECN) — spreads from 0.0 pips + swap; leverage up to 1:500 (region- and category-dependent; EU retail is capped by ESMA at 1:30) | no | Yes — FX spot and CFDs; overnight charges on FX/CFD and shorts; leverage free of charge | Yes — CFDs incl. on stocks: $0.02 / $0.015 / $0.01 | Just2Trade |
| Cryptocurrencies (spot) | 0.12–0.18% (min $1.75), via Paxos / Zero Hash — availability depends on entity and country of residence | not in the official fee schedules | not in the official fee schedules | no spot crypto (crypto ETP funds available) | no spot crypto — crypto ETFs/ETPs only | IBKR |
| Mutual funds | NTF funds $0; others — min(3%, $14.95) | no | no (swaps and structured notes 0.12% instead) | no separate tariff | $0 — commission, custody and platform fee (Saxo receives a retrocession from the fund provider) | Saxo |
| Spot gold/silver | 1.5 bp (gold), 3.0 bp (silver), min $2; storage 0.10% p.a. | MT5: $2/lot (metals, forwards) + swap | no | from 0.005% (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Cu, Al, Pb, Ni, Zn) — cheapest of all | no separate spot tariff — metals via futures, CFDs and ETPs | EXANTE / IBKR (physical delivery) |
| IPO (allocation at the offer price) | No separate IPO participation fee is published (standard commission applies on sale) | Access via MT5 Global (terms in the client area) | 3–5% of the order amount (by asset size) + 0.5% on sale, 93-day lock-up | not listed in public tariffs | not listed in public tariffs | IBKR |
| Margin lending (USD, 1 year) | IBKR Pro: BM+1.5% = 5.13% p.a.; Lite: 6.13% p.a. | Sterling: Fed Funds + 3% p.a.; MT5 overnight 0.03%/day ≈ 10.95% p.a. | 15.0% p.a. (All-Inclusive) / 18.0% p.a. (Smart) | rate not published (Client Area); no extra leverage fee while utilisation < 100% | rate not published: Saxo Bid/Offer financing rate (SOFR, ESTR, SONIA…; 0% floor) + commercial markup | IBKR |
| Interest on free cash (USD) | 3.13% p.a. on balances above $10,000 (Pro, with NAV ≥ $100,000) | not published in the fee schedules | Separate interest-bearing D account (rate published in the platform) | credited, but the rate is not published | VIP tier only; calculated from Net Free Equity, rate = Saxo bid/ask ± markup | IBKR |
| Dividends and coupons | Free (corporate actions — free) | 3% of the dividend (min $3 per issuer) for UK/EU/Asian shares | Free | free; €150 only for choosing a non-standard option in a voluntary corporate action | no separate dividend fee; taxes and charges on corporate events are debited from the account | IBKR / Freedom24 / EXANTE / Saxo |
| Subscription fee / account minimum / inactivity | $0 / $0 / $0 | MT5 — no subscription; Sterling: $50/quarter with no trades; OTC desk minimum $30,000 | €0 subscription; terminal access may be closed if the balance < $100 | €0 subscription; €50/month inactivity fee (90+ days without trades, no positions, balance < €5,000) | €0 opening / €0 servicing / €0 minimum / €0 inactivity, BUT custody fee 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. (+ Danish VAT 25% for EU-resident individuals) | IBKR |
| Withdrawals | 2 free withdrawals per month; then $10 (SWIFT USD) / €8 / £7; SEPA-ACH $1 | SWIFT USD 0.4% (min $80); EUR €25 (€10 within the same bank); cards 0–2.5% | Bank transfer €7/$7; to card 0.65% (min €2/$2) | €30 per withdrawal (sometimes 0.9%, but not less than €30); deposits free | €0 deposits and withdrawals; currency conversion 0.25%; manual order €50 | IBKR / Saxo |
best offer
with restrictions
not available
Across the sum of trading and non-trading fees, Interactive Brokers is the cheapest broker for almost every exchange-traded instrument (US/European/Asian stocks, options, futures, bonds, FX, metals, crypto, mutual funds), plus zero subscription, zero minimum and interest on idle cash.
Freedom24 (Smart plan) is competitive on small trades in European and US stocks (fixed €2/$2 minimums) and charges nothing on dividends, but loses badly on large volumes (All-Inclusive = 0.5% of turnover) and is very expensive on margin (15–18% p.a.).
Just2Trade wins where you need CFDs/forex with leverage up to 1:500 (subject to your region's rules), leveraged OTC Eurobonds and a "flat" $1.50/contract rate on futures and options via CQG — but it takes 3% of your dividends.
EXANTE is a prime broker with a single all-inclusive pricing model: the commission already contains execution, exchange and clearing fees. That makes it the most predictable on price and the best value for European and UK stocks (0.05%, min €1/£1) and for metals (0.005% — three times cheaper than IBKR), but bonds are expensive (0.09% + 0.3% p.a. custody), withdrawals cost €30, outgoing securities transfers €150 per ISIN, and margin/interest rates are not published.
Saxo is a Danish bank with a paradoxical model: €0 for opening, servicing, minimum deposit, deposits, withdrawals and inactivity — but a 0.15% p.a. custody fee (0.12% Platinum, 0.09% VIP) and ad-valorem stock commissions (0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%), which make it the most expensive of the five on large orders and long holding periods. At the same time Saxo has no equal on mutual funds ($0 commission, custody and platform fee) and is strong as a "banking" proposition: Danish Guarantee Fund protection up to €100,000, an investment-grade S&P rating, 71,000+ instruments.
2. Methodology and comparison rules
Data selection principle
Only official sources of the five brokers were used: the "Pricing / Commissions & Fees" sections of interactivebrokers.com, the tariff pages and official PDF documents of j2t.com (J2T Services Ltd), the official Appendix No. 6 "Fee Schedule" to the General Terms of Business of Freedom24 published on freedom24.com, the official website exante.eu and the official EXANTE Customer Care knowledge base (support.exante.eu), and the Rates and Conditions sections of Saxo's official website — home.saxo (Saxo Bank A/S, Denmark). Third-party reviews, aggregators and affiliate sites were not used for fee data. The full list is in section 16.
Comparison rules
- Currencies are not converted. Rates are shown in the currency in which the broker publishes them. For the worked scenarios we used illustrative assumed rates: 1 EUR = 1.08 USD; 1 GBP = 1.27 USD; 1 HKD = 0.128 USD (for illustration only — these are not quotes).
- "Exchange fees" are separated. IBKR under the Tiered model and Just2Trade under the CQG/Sterling models show the broker's commission separately from exchange, clearing and regulatory fees. Freedom24's Fee Schedule does not break out exchange fees as a separate line — unless stated otherwise, the comparison uses the broker's "gross" rate.
- "One side of the trade" comparison. All commissions are per side (buy OR sell), except where explicitly noted (e.g. J2T MT5 options — $2.50 is charged both on entry and on exit).
- Pricing plans. Each broker has several plans/account types. The tables show all publicly available variants; the calculator and scenarios use the most common "retail" plan.
- Rounding. Calculated amounts are rounded to the cent; floating-rate charges (exchange fees, spreads, swaps) are marked "≈" and excluded from totals.
Important: legal entities and residency. Fees are applied by the group entity that actually services the client —
and your country of residence determines both the entity and the products you can use.
IBKR serves clients through IB LLC (US) / IB UK / IB Ireland / IB India / IBKR Canada / IBKR HK / IBKR SG / IBKR Australia and others;
most EEA retail clients are onboarded by Interactive Brokers Ireland (IBIE) and UK clients by IB UK.
IBKR Lite is available only to US residents — everyone else trades on IBKR Pro.
The Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program (up to $5m of FDIC pass-through coverage) is also a US-only feature.
Just2Trade — J2T Services Ltd (Cyprus, CySEC licence 281/15); access to the US market is provided through Lime Financial USA
(a FINRA member). Freedom24 — Freedom Finance Europe Ltd (Cyprus, CySEC CIF 275/15); official company domains:
freedomfinance.eu, freedom24.com, freedom24.eu, tradernet.com, ffineu.eu.
EXANTE — a brand of a group of three entities: EXT LTD (Cyprus, CySEC 165/12), LHCM LTD (UK, FCA) and XHK Limited
(Hong Kong, SFC); the data here is collected for EXT LTD via exante.eu and the official knowledge base support.exante.eu.
Saxo — data is collected from the international version of home.saxo (Saxo Bank A/S, Denmark, regulated in multiple jurisdictions);
Saxo operates regional sites (en-gb, en-ch, en-sg, en-mena, etc.) with different rates — first of all for the custody fee.
Saxo's rates also depend on the account level (Classic / Platinum / VIP / Elite), determined by deposit size or turnover —
all levels are shown in the comparison.
The actual availability of an account, an entity and a specific tariff depends on your citizenship, tax residency and
country of residence — see Table 3.2.
3. Broker profiles, eligibility and client protection
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers LLC and affiliates, interactivebrokers.com
- Pricing plans: IBKR Pro (Tiered / Fixed) and IBKR Lite ($0 on US listed stocks and ETFs — US residents only)
- Account minimum: $0
- Subscription / inactivity: $0 / $0
- Coverage: 170+ markets; stocks, ETFs, options, futures and futures options, spot currencies, bonds, mutual funds, metals, crypto, prediction markets
- Platforms: TWS, IBKR Desktop, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, GlobalTrader — free; API free
- Standout feature: the widest product line-up and the lowest margin rates in the group; the only one of the five that serves US residents
Just2Trade
J2T Services Ltd, Limassol, Cyprus, CySEC 281/15 (HE 341520), j2t.com
- Account types: MT5 Global (multi-asset), Global Futures / CQG, Forex MT4 (ECN, ECN Pro), Sterling Trader Pro / Lightspeed (US direct market access), LMI Global
- Minimums: bonds in MT5 — from $3,000; OTC desk — $30,000
- Coverage: MT5 Global — 30,000+ stocks (20 markets), 5,000+ futures, 90,000+ options, forex, CFDs, Eurobonds; CQG — 40+ exchanges
- Platforms: MT4/MT5 and CQG Desktop/Mobile — free; CQG QTrader $100/month; CQG Integrated Client from $595/month; Sterling Trader Pro $190/month; Lightspeed $285/month
- Standout feature: the highest advertised leverage in the group (up to 1:500 — actual limits depend on your region and client category; EU retail clients are capped by ESMA product intervention rules at 1:30 on major FX)
- Eligibility note: J2T does not serve residents of the USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Israel, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Mauritius; the just2trade.com brand onboards non-EU clients under conditions that may differ from the CySEC-regulated j2t.com entity described here
Freedom24
Freedom Finance Europe Ltd, Cyprus, CySEC CIF 275/15, freedom24.com
- Pricing plans (Fee Schedule of 19 August 2026): Smart, All-Inclusive, Exclusive (on request), Promo in EUR (promotion for new clients from FR/IT/RO/CZ until 31 August 2026)
- Archived plans: Fix, Super (closed 5 February 2024), Prime (closed 29 May 2025) — existing clients only
- Subscription fee: €0 on all plans
- Coverage: ~1,000,000 instruments; stocks, ETFs, 147,000 bonds, futures, options on the leading US, European and Asian exchanges
- Platforms: TraderNet — free; DAS System — free (except on Smart); CQG — CQG tariffs × 1.2
- Standout feature: no spot Forex, CFDs or crypto; interest-bearing D savings account and zero-commission recurring investments
- Eligibility note: the company provides investment services within the EU/EEA (MiFID II passport); US persons are not accepted, and UK residents cannot open an account — check the current terms for your country
EXANTE
EXT LTD, Cyprus, CySEC 165/12, exante.eu (the group also includes LHCM LTD — FCA UK and XHK Limited — SFC HK)
- Pricing model: single "flat" rates per exchange, no pricing plans; officially advertised "customisable rates" — rates can be agreed individually
- Key feature: commissions include execution, exchange and clearing fees — unlike IBKR Tiered or J2T CQG/Sterling
- Subscription fee: €0; custody of stocks and ETFs — €0 (bonds 0.3% p.a.)
- Inactivity: €50/month if 90+ days without trades, no positions and balance < €5,000
- Minimum to start trading: €10,000 for individual accounts and €50,000 for corporate accounts (per EXANTE Customer Care — this floor is not shown on the public pricing pages)
- Coverage: 2,000,000+ instruments, 50+ markets; 70,000+ stocks, 20,000 bonds (up to 300,000 on request), 3,000+ futures, 25,000+ option tickers, 50+ currency pairs
- Platforms: proprietary platform (desktop, web, mobile) with a single multi-currency account; FIX/HTTP API — price on request, no minimum commitments
- Positioning: prime broker for banks, brokers, asset managers, family offices and professional traders
- Eligibility note: EXT Ltd does not onboard residents of the US, Russia, Singapore and certain other jurisdictions; 20,000+ active accounts from 100+ countries
Saxo
Saxo Bank A/S, Denmark — a licensed Danish bank; home.saxo; regulated across multiple jurisdictions, clients in ~40 countries
- Account levels: Classic (default, no minimum funding) · Platinum (deposit from €200,000 or turnover) · VIP (from €1,000,000 or turnover) · Saxo Elite (from €5m of assets or €200m of annual turnover)
- Zero base fees: €0 opening, €0 servicing, €0 minimum deposit, €0 deposits, €0 withdrawals, €0 inactivity; no platform fee
- Model quirk: instead of those fees — a custody (safekeeping) fee of 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. on stocks, ETFs and bonds (depends on country of residence; Danish VAT 25% is added for EU-resident individuals)
- Coverage: 71,000+ instruments; 23,000+ stocks on 50+ exchanges; 7,400+ ETFs from 30+ exchanges; 5,200+ bonds; 250+ futures; 3,100+ options on 20 exchanges
- Mutual funds: commission, custody and platform fee — $0 (Saxo receives a retrocession from the fund provider)
- Platforms: SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO free of charge; Danish Guarantee Fund protection up to €100,000; investment-grade S&P credit rating
- Corporate change: in March 2026 the J. Safra Sarasin Group completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Saxo Bank; since July 2024 Saxo has narrowed the list of countries it serves and onboards (Canada, New Zealand, India, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil and others are no longer onboarded)
- Payments note: deposits and withdrawals must be made from/to a bank account in your country of residence (or another Saxo-approved country); third-party payments are not accepted
- Broker's disclaimer: published rates are "indicative and depend on the country of residence; the full list of exact prices is available in the platform's trading tickets"
| Instrument | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stocks and ETFs — US | ✅ NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, ARCA, CBOE, IEX, MEMX and more | ✅ NYSE/NASDAQ (via Lime Financial USA) | ✅ | ✅ NYSE, NASDAQ, NYSE AMEX, NYSE ARCA, CBOE BZX (BATS), OTCMKTS (voice) | ✅ 23,000+ stocks on 50+ exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, ARCA, etc.) |
| Stocks and ETFs — Europe | ✅ Xetra, Euronext, LSE, SIX, BME, GPW, BUX, OMX and more | ✅ Xetra/Tradegate, Euronext, LSE (+IOB), BME, GPW | ✅ | ✅ Xetra, FWB (voice), Euronext Amsterdam/Brussels/Lisbon/Paris, Borsa Italiana, LSE, LSEIOB, SIX, PSE, WSE, Nasdaq OMX (Copenhagen/Helsinki/Stockholm), BET | ✅ Xetra, Euronext, LSE, SIX, Borsa Italiana and more; officially: "German stocks — commissions from EUR 3" |
| Stocks — Asia | ✅ SEHK, TSE, SGX, ASX, NSE (India), KRX and more | ✅ SEHK, TSE, KRX, SGX, SET | ✅ Hong Kong (0.25% + 10 HKD); Asia broadly | ✅ HKEX, TSE (Tokyo) | ✅ HKEX, TSE, SGX, ASX, etc. (Asia/Pacific region in the rates table) |
| Stocks — Middle East | ✅ (per-venue tariffs) | not specified | ✅ 0.5% + 10 AED/order | ✅ DFM (Dubai) and Tadawul (Saudi Arabia) — terms in a separate knowledge-base article | ✅ UAE/MENA — separate venue and tariffs |
| Stock options | ✅ US + Europe + Asia | ✅ MT5 ($2.50) and Sterling ($0.75) | ✅ US options only | ✅ CBOE, CME, CBOT, COMEX, NYMEX, ICE, EUREX — 25,000+ tickers | ✅ 3,100+ listed options on 20 exchanges (stock options and contract options) |
| Futures and futures options | ✅ CME/CBOT/NYMEX/ICE/Eurex/etc. | ✅ CQG (40+ exchanges), MT5 (CME/ICE/CBOE) | ✅ exchange-traded futures and options | ✅ CME, CBOT, NYMEX, COMEX, ICE, CBOE, EUREX, Euronext Paris, HKEX, SGX, TOCOM, ASX — 3,000+ contracts | ✅ 250+ futures: indices, energy, metals, agriculture, rates |
| Exchange-traded bonds | ✅ US (corp/muni/treasuries), Europe, Canada | ✅ MT5 (0.128%, min $10) | ✅ TraderNet (Smart 0.15% + $5) | ✅ Electronic — from 0.09%, min $10/€10; fractional bonds (50 issues) — from 0.25%, min $0.5 | ✅ 5,200+ government and corporate bonds, exchange-traded and OTC; minimum lot from €/$10,000 (up to 50k/100k/200k for some issues) |
| OTC bonds / Eurobonds | ✅ Europe OTC, BondDesk, IBKR ATS | ✅ separate OTC desk (minimum deposit $30,000) | ✅ OTC 0.12% + $30 clearing | ✅ OTC — from 0.09%, min $50/€50; structured notes (OTC) — from 0.5%, min $50; sukuk | ✅ OTC bonds are part of the general offering; online trading 24/5 |
| Spot currencies (Forex) | ✅ 0.08–0.20 bp | ✅ MT5 $2/lot; MT4 ECN $3/lot, ECN Pro $2/lot | no | ✅ 50+ pairs, from 0.005% of volume, spreads from 0.2–0.3 pips | ✅ FX — a core specialty: spreads from 1 pip (Classic) down to 0.7 (VIP), no separate commission; balance conversion 0.25% |
| CFDs (stocks, indices, commodities) | not listed in the published tariffs | ✅ MT5 Global, MT4 | no | ✅ overnight rates apply to Forex and CFDs | ✅ CFDs on stocks, indices, commodities, FX; stock CFD $0.02 / $0.015 / $0.01 |
| Spot metals (XAU/XAG) | ✅ London Gold/Silver, US Spot Gold + physical delivery | ✅ MT5 "Metals" $2/lot (forwards) | no | ✅ Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Cu, Al, Pb, Ni, Zn — from 0.005%; spot, futures, options and ETFs | via derivatives — metal futures, CFDs and ETPs; no separate spot tariff |
| Cryptocurrencies | ✅ spot via Paxos / Zero Hash (US and Europe — by entity and residence); CME crypto futures | not in tariffs | no | no spot crypto; crypto funds (ETPs) — with enter/exit and safekeeping fees | no spot crypto; crypto ETFs/ETPs trade as regular exchange-traded funds |
| Mutual funds | ✅ 50,000+ funds, NTF program | no | no | no separate tariff; funds and ETFs trade at the rates of the corresponding exchange | ✅ zero commission, zero custody, zero platform fee; forward pricing; minimum subscription from 0 EUR / 1 unit (usually ~1,000 EUR/USD) |
| Structured products / swaps | ✅ warrants and structured products (as stocks) | no separate tariff | ✅ swaps and notes 0.12% | ✅ structured notes (OTC) from 0.5%, min $50/€50 | ETFs/ETCs — as stocks (7,400+ funds from 30+ exchanges, from $1 on US-listed) |
| IPO at the offer price | ✅ (IPO participation; no separate allocation fee published) | ✅ "Invest in IPO" service | ✅ 3–5% + 0.5% on sale, 93-day lock-up | not stated | not stated |
| Fractional shares | ✅ same rate, min $0.01 / 1% of amount | not stated | not stated — whole shares only | ✅ fractional bonds (50 issues, instant execution); not stated for stocks | not stated for stocks; funds — investors receive fractional units |
| Prediction markets | ✅ IBKR Prediction Markets (ForecastEx) — availability limited by entity; US election contracts only for eligible US residents | no | no | no | no |
| Broker | Clients accepted | Known exclusions and restrictions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | The broadest footprint of the five — clients in 200+ countries and territories, including US residents and citizens | Sanctioned jurisdictions; certain products are entity-specific (IBKR Lite, Insured Bank Deposit Sweep and most prediction markets — US; spot crypto — by entity/residence) | Your account is opened with the group entity matching your residence (IB LLC, IB UK, IB Ireland, IB Canada, IBKR HK/SG/AU/India…). The commission schedules are largely uniform, but investor protection, VAT/GST and product access differ by entity |
| Just2Trade | 130+ countries per company data; 155,000+ clients | Not served: residents of the USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Israel, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Mauritius | EU clients contract with J2T Services Ltd (CySEC 281/15) via j2t.com; the just2trade.com brand serves non-EU regions, where leverage, minimums and bonuses can differ ("Leverage… may differ by region" — company disclaimer) |
| Freedom24 | EU/EEA residents — the company provides services within the European Union under a MiFID II passport (29 countries) | US persons are not accepted; UK residents cannot open an account; other non-EEA countries — check the current terms | Parent — Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC); FFE carries an S&P "BB−" rating (stable outlook); audited by Deloitte |
| EXANTE | 20,000+ active accounts from 100+ countries; UK clients — LHCM Ltd (FCA), Hong Kong — XHK Ltd (SFC) | EXT Ltd does not onboard residents of the USA, Russia and Singapore and certain other jurisdictions per internal policy | Minimum to start trading: €10,000 (individuals) / €50,000 (corporates) — the highest entry threshold of the five |
| Saxo | ~40 countries: EU/EEA, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Monaco, Iceland and a few others | USA — not served. Since July 2024 new clients are not onboarded from Canada, New Zealand, India, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Cyprus, Egypt and a number of other markets; the onboarding list is narrower than the servicing list | Deposits/withdrawals only from/to a bank account in your country of residence (or a Saxo-approved country); no third-party payments. The definitive test is the country selector in the account-opening form |
| Broker | Key entities and regulators | Investor compensation | Additional factors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | IB LLC — US SEC/FINRA; IB UK — FCA; IB Ireland — Central Bank of Ireland; IB Canada, IBKR HK (SFC), IBKR SG (MAS), IBKR Australia (ASIC), IB India (SEBI) and others | IB LLC: SIPC up to $500,000 (incl. $250,000 for cash) + excess SIPC policy with Lloyd's of London underwriters — up to $30m (incl. $900,000 for cash). IB UK: FSCS up to £85,000. IB Ireland: Irish ICS — 90% of loss, up to €20,000. IB Canada: CIPF up to CAD 1m | Publicly listed parent (NASDAQ: IBKR); daily (not weekly) client reserve computation; segregated client assets. Your protection depends on which entity holds your account — non-US clients moved to IBUK/IBIE hold EU/UK schemes, not SIPC |
| Just2Trade | J2T Services Ltd (formerly Lime Trading (CY) Ltd) — CySEC 281/15; US market access via Lime Financial USA (FINRA member) | Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) — up to €20,000 per eligible retail client | Operating since 2016; introducing/DMA brokerage model; execution and custody sit with the Cypriot entity — SIPC does not apply to J2T accounts |
| Freedom24 | Freedom Finance Europe Ltd — CySEC 275/15; MiFID II passport across the EEA; registered with BaFin (Germany) among others | Cyprus ICF — up to €20,000 per eligible retail client | Subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC, ~$8.6bn market cap mid-2026); FFE rated S&P "BB−", stable outlook; Deloitte-audited; 500,000+ clients in Europe; licensed since 2015 |
| EXANTE | EXT LTD — CySEC 165/12; LHCM LTD — FCA 589898 (UK); XHK Limited — SFC (Hong Kong); MFSA-registered entity in Malta | Cyprus ICF — up to €20,000 (EXT Ltd clients); FSCS up to £85,000 (LHCM clients) | Founded 2011; prime-brokerage focus; terms differ by contracting entity — check which legal entity your client agreement names |
| Saxo | Saxo Bank A/S — licensed Danish bank under the Danish FSA; subsidiaries regulated by FCA (UK), FINMA (Switzerland), ASIC (Australia), MAS (Singapore), SFC (HK), FSA (Japan) and others | Danish Guarantee Fund — up to €100,000 per client (covers both deposits and the value of securities held); FSCS £85,000 for UK-entity clients | 30+ years of history, 1m+ clients, €150bn+ assets under administration; investment-grade S&P rating; majority-owned by J. Safra Sarasin Group since March 2026 |
4. Stocks, ETFs, warrants and structured products
The largest section: IBKR's rates depend on the venue and model (Tiered / Fixed), J2T's — on the account type, Freedom24's — on the pricing plan.
EU/UK investors and US ETFs (PRIIPs). Under EU Regulation 1286/2014 (PRIIPs), US-domiciled ETFs
(SPY, QQQ, VOO, etc.) have no EU key information document (KID), so retail clients of EU-regulated brokers cannot buy them —
Freedom24 states this explicitly ("US ETFs are available exclusively to professional investors"), and the same restriction applies
at other EU entities, including IBKR Ireland. EU retail investors typically use UCITS ETFs (often Irish-domiciled) instead —
available at all five brokers where EU ETFs are listed. US residents face no such restriction. The UK has kept an equivalent regime.
4.1. US (NYSE / NASDAQ)
| Parameter | IBKR Pro — Tiered | IBKR Pro — Fixed | IBKR Lite | J2T MT5 Global | J2T Sterling / Lightspeed | Freedom24 Smart | Freedom24 All-Inclusive | Freedom24 Exclusive | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate, tier 1 | $0.0035/share (≤300,000 shares/mo) | $0.005/share | $0 (US listed stocks and ETFs) | $0.006/share | $0.0025/share (0–250,000 shares/mo) | $0.02/share | 0.5% of value + $0.012/share | 0.25% of value + $0.012/share | $0.02/share — single rate | Classic: 0.08% of trade value (official example: Amazon — 50 shares for $9,580 → commission $7.60) |
| Tier 2 | $0.0020 (300,001–3,000,000) | — | — | — | $0.0020 (250,001–1,000,000) | — | — | — | — | Platinum: 0.05% — qualified by a deposit from €200,000 or turnover |
| Tier 3 | $0.0015 (3,000,001–20,000,000) | — | — | — | $0.0015 (1,000,001–10,000,000) | — | — | — | — | VIP: 0.03% — qualified by a deposit from €1,000,000 or turnover |
| Tier 4 | $0.0010 (20,000,001–100,000,000) | — | — | — | $0.0010 (10,000,001–20,000,000) | — | — | — | — | Saxo Elite: from €5m of assets or €200m of annual turnover — bespoke terms |
| Tier 5 | $0.0005 (>100,000,000) | — | — | — | >20,000,000 — on request | — | — | — | — | — |
| Minimum per order | $0.35 | $1.00 | $0.003 | $1.50 | not stated (the month's minimum rate applies to all trades) | $2.00 / €2.00 | $1.20 / €1.20 | $1.20 / €1.20 | $1.00 (covers the first 50 shares; then $0.02 × qty) | USD 1 (official example: Tesla — 5 shares for $1,191 → commission $1) |
| Maximum per order | 1% of trade value | 1% of trade value | $0.00 | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated | not stated |
| Exchange and clearing fees | ✅ paid separately (NSCC/DTC $0.0002/share, max 0.5% of trade; SEC $0.0000206 on sells; FINRA TAF $0.000166/share sold, max $9.79; CAT $0.000003/share; NYSE/FINRA pass-through) | regulatory only (SEC, TAF, CAT) | regulatory only | ✅ NSCC $0.000175/share (min $0.01/order); SEC fee 0.00278% of position value (min $0.01, sells only); Blue Sheets $5; Fed Reference Request $10 | ✅ SEC/FINRA/NSCC etc. at regulator rates; exchange fees and rebates are passed through to the client in full; Blue Sheet $15/symbol | not broken out as a separate line in the Fee Schedule | not broken out as a separate line in the Fee Schedule | not broken out as a separate line in the Fee Schedule | included: "commissions include execution, exchange, and clearing fees". Only government duties and taxes are charged separately: UK Stamp Duty 0.5% (buys), PTM Levy £1 above £10,000, Ireland Stamp Duty 1% + ITP Levy €1.25 above €12,500, France 0.4% (buys of certain securities), Spain 0.2% (buys, cap > €1bn), Italy 0.1% (all buys) | exchange and clearing fees are not broken out as a separate line; market taxes and levies apply ("Taxation by market" section). Official disclaimer: "prices are indicative and vary by country of residence; the full list of exact prices is available in the platform's trading tickets" |
| Fractional shares | same rate; minimum $0.01 or 1% of trade value (whichever is greater) | same | same | — | — | — | — | — | not stated | not stated for stocks; mutual funds — investors receive fractional units |
| Pre-/post-market | IBKR Lite: free within 10% of monthly volume, then min($0.005/share; 1% of trade) | standard rate | see left | $0.003/share for orders outside the main US session | standard rate | — | — | — | not broken out separately | not broken out separately |
| Availability | all clients | all clients | US residents only (Individual, Joint, IRA, Trust) | all clients | all clients + terminal subscription | all clients | all clients (default plan) | on client request | all EXT LTD clients (CySEC 165/12) | all clients; Classic is assigned by default, Platinum/VIP — via the Saxo Rewards program |
Sources: IBKR — commissions-stocks.php; J2T — j2t.com/solutions/mt5global/terms and Sterling_ENG.pdf; Freedom24 — Appendix 6 Fee Schedule of 19 August 2026.
Freedom24 note. In the official Fee Schedule the table rows are called
"Minimum per order" and "Amount per share". For the Smart plan this means: $0.02 per share, but not less than $2 per order.
For All-Inclusive: 0.5% of trade value + $0.012 per share, but not less than $1.20 per order. The page
freedom24.com/tariffs presents the same numbers
as "per share" and "per order" — the formulas above follow the legally binding document (the Fee Schedule).
4.2. Europe, the UK and Switzerland
| Venue / currency | IBKR Tiered | IBKR Fixed SmartRouting | IBKR Fixed Direct Routing | Just2Trade MT5 Global | Freedom24 Smart | Freedom24 All-Inclusive | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany (Xetra, EUR) | 0.05% · min €1.25 · max €29 | 0.05% · min €3.00 | 0.10% · min €4.00 (SWB 0.12% min €6; GETTEX 0.05% min €3) | 0.14% of trade value | €0.02/share, min €2 | 0.5% + €0.012/share, min €1.20 | Xetra 0.05%, min €1 — all-inclusive (FWB — 0.5%, voice only) | from €3 per trade — officially stated on the pricing page (example: Porsche AG — 70 shares for €4,550 → €3.60 at Classic level). Rates by level: 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| France (Euronext, EUR) | 0.05% · min €1.25 · max €29 | 0.05% · min €3.00 | 0.10% · min €4.00 | 0.15% of trade value | €0.02/share, min €2 | 0.5% + €0.012/share, min €1.20 | Euronext Paris 0.05%, min €1 — all-inclusive (+ 0.4% tax on buys of certain securities) | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03% of trade value; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium (EUR) | 0.05% · min €1.25 · max €29 | 0.05% · min €3.00 | 0.10% · min €4.00 | not tariffed separately | €0.02/share, min €2 | 0.5% + €0.012/share, min €1.20 | Euronext Amsterdam / Brussels / Lisbon 0.05%, min €1; Borsa Italiana 0.1%, min €1 (+ 0.1% tax on buys) | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| Spain (BME) | per venue tariff | per venue tariff | per venue tariff | 0.15% of trade value | €0.02/share, min €2 | 0.5% + €0.012/share | BME is not listed among supported exchanges (yet a 0.2% fee on buys of Spanish securities is stated) | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| United Kingdom (LSE, GBP) | 0.05% → 0.015% · min £1.00 · no max | 0.05% · min £3.00 | 0.10% · min £4.00 | 0.14% (LSE and LSE IOB) | £0.02/share, min £2 (per footnote 1 of the Fee Schedule the commission is charged in the trade currency and converted into the plan's base currency) | 0.5% + £0.012/share, min £1.20 | LSE and LSEIOB 0.05%, min £1 — all-inclusive (+ Stamp Duty 0.5% and PTM £1) | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%, minimum around £3 (official example: Unilever — 1 share for £4,853 → £3.90 at Classic) + Stamp Duty 0.5% on buys and PTM Levy £1 above £10,000 |
| Switzerland (SIX, CHF) | 0.05% → 0.015% · min CHF 1.50 · max CHF 49 | 0.05% · min CHF 5.00 | 0.10% · min CHF 6.00 | no | CHF 0.02/share, min CHF 2 | 0.5% + CHF 0.012/share | SIX 0.075% (minimum not stated) | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%; accounts in Switzerland follow the local tariffs of the en-ch site |
| Poland (GPW) | per venue tariff | per venue tariff | per venue tariff | 0.5% of trade value, min $30 | — | — | WSE from 0.00% / 0.09% (since 2025) | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03%; local tariffs — on the pl-pl site |
| Hungary (BUX, HUF) | 0.05% · min HUF 200 | buy 0.55% / sell 0.10% · min HUF 200 | — | no | — | — | BET 0.4% + 0.07% exchange fee; Nasdaq OMX: Copenhagen 0.1% min 25 DKK, Helsinki 0.1% min €1, Stockholm 0.0625% min 60 SEK; Prague 0.4% min 25 CZK | per venue rates (Europe/Middle East/Africa region in the official table) |
| Exchange/clearing/regulatory fees | Tiered — paid separately; Fixed — included | included | included | France 0.15%; UK 0.5% (footnote to the official tariff) | not broken out as a separate line | included in the rate | not broken out; market taxes and the custody fee of 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. are charged separately | |
IBKR Tiered tiers for Europe: ≤ €50m — 0.05%; €50–100m — 0.03%; €100–500m — 0.02%; > €500m — 0.015% of trade value.
4.3. Asia, the Americas (ex-US) and other markets
| Market | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade (MT5 Global) | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong (SEHK) | Tiered 0.05% → 0.015%, min HKD 18 → 4; Fixed 0.08%, min HKD 18 (warrants: min HKD 12 → 4 / Fixed HKD 10) | 0.3% of trade value, min $6 | 0.25% of value + 10 HKD/CNY per order (all plans) | HKEX 0.189%, min 10 HKD — all-inclusive | Asia/Pacific region is present in the official rates table; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| Japan (TSE) | Tiered 0.05% → 0.01%, min ¥80 → ¥20; Fixed 0.08%, min ¥80 | 0.3% of trade value, min $5 | 0.25% of value + equivalent per order (Asia) | TSE (Tokyo) 0.1%, min 150 JPY — all-inclusive | Asia/Pacific region; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| Korea (KRX) | per venue tariff | 0.1% of trade value, min $15 | — | no | not broken out in published rates |
| Singapore (SGX) | per venue tariff | 0.3% of trade value, min $8 | — | stocks not listed (SGX futures available) | Asia/Pacific region; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| Thailand (SET) | per venue tariff | 0.5% of trade value, min $37 | — | no | not broken out in published rates |
| Australia (ASX) | Tiered 0.08% → 0.015%, min AUD 5 → 1; Fixed 0.08%, min AUD 6 | no | — | stocks not listed (ASX futures available) | Asia/Pacific region; exact rate — in the platform ticket |
| India (NSE) | Fixed 1 bp, min INR 6, max INR 20 (+ STT, exchange and regulatory fees) | no | — | no | not broken out in published rates |
| Canada (TSX) | CAD: Tiered $0.008 → $0.003/share, min CAD 1, max 0.5% of trade; Fixed CAD 0.01/share · USD: Tiered $0.006 → $0.002, min $0.80, max 0.4% | CAD 0.06/share | — | no | not broken out in published rates |
| Mexico (BMV) | Fixed 0.1% of value, min MXN 60 | 0.7% of trade value, min $37 | — | no | not broken out in published rates |
| Brazil (B3) | Tiered 0.07% / 0.05% / 0.03% (tiers in BRL) | no | — | no | not broken out in published rates |
| Middle East | per venue tariff | no | 0.5% of value + 10 AED per order | DFM (Dubai) and Tadawul (Saudi Arabia) — terms in a separate knowledge-base article | UAE/MENA — a separate venue with its own tariffs (en-mena site); custody fee 0.15% / 0.15% / 0.05% p.a. |
4.4. Free and preferential programs
| Program | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commission-free stocks/ETFs | IBKR Lite — $0 on US listed stocks and ETFs (US residents); "No Transaction Fee ETFs" program — 150+ ETFs with waived commission | no | — | no | no zero-commission program for stocks/ETFs; mutual funds — $0 commission, custody and platform fee |
| Recurring investments | Recurring Investments: for IBKR Lite accounts, Fixed Pricing rules apply | Robo-Advisor / J2T Copy (PAMM) — separate services | 0 USD/EUR — commissions on Auto Invest / Recurring Investment trades and on Recurring Auto Top-Up are waived (Fee Schedule of 19 August 2026); modifying and cancelling instructions is free | not stated | not stated in published tariffs |
| Promotional plan | — | — | "Promo in EUR": €0 minimum per order, €0 per share (except €0.012/share when the price < €1). Only for new individual residents/citizens of France, Italy, Romania or the Czech Republic who opened an account between 1 March 2026 and 31 August 2026 (the enrolment window has now closed; the plan remains described in the current Fee Schedule); valid 365 days or until 240 executed trades, then automatic switch to All Inclusive in USD | officially advertised "Customisable rates" — individual rates by agreement; no public promo plans | the "Invest for less" promo page declares: no platform fee, no inactivity fee, no minimum funding; lower rates are achieved by moving up to Platinum and VIP levels (Saxo Rewards), not via a promo plan |
5. Options
5.1. US stock options
| Monthly volume (contracts) | Premium | IBKR Pro Tiered | IBKR Pro Fixed / IBKR Lite | J2T MT5 Global | J2T Sterling | F24 Smart | F24 All-Inclusive | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 10,000 | < $0.05 | $0.25 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| ≤ 10,000 | ≥ $0.05 and < $0.10 | $0.50 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| ≤ 10,000 | ≥ $0.10 | $0.65 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| 10,001 – 50,000 | < $0.05 | $0.25 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| 10,001 – 50,000 | ≥ $0.05 | $0.50 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| 50,001 – 100,000 | any | $0.25 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| > 100,000 | any | $0.15 | $0.65 | $2.50 | $0.75 | $0.65 | $3.00 + $10/order | from $1.50 (CBOE — $2.10) — all-inclusive | $2.00 (Classic) / $1.00 (Platinum) / $0.75 (VIP) per contract |
| Minimum per order | — | $1.00 | $1.00 | the commission is charged on both entry and exit | not stated | not stated | $10 per order | not stated | none — "no minimum ticket fees", fixed per-contract rate by account level |
| Exercise / expiration | — | no exercise/assignment fee (only standard commissions and regulatory fees) | same | — | — | expiration of US options — free | expiration of US options — free | no separate fee broken out in public tariffs | carrying cost applies to rolled short options: margin × days × rate / 365 (or 360); rate VIP 0.5% / Platinum 1.5% / Classic 3.5% |
| Third-party fees | — | exchange, clearing, regulatory, transaction fees | surcharge, clearing, regulatory, transaction fees | — | SEC/FINRA/NSCC + exchange fees/rebates (passed through in full) | not broken out | not broken out | included (for CBOE it explicitly says "including exchange fees") | not broken out; for Listed Option MIBO an additional €0.50 per trade up to 7 contracts and €5 per trade above 7 contracts |
NANOS options (Cboe): IBKR — $0.065/contract (Fixed); Freedom24 — $0.01/contract. Just2Trade does not tariff NANOS separately.
5.2. European options (index and single-stock)
| Exchange / product | IBKR Tiered (≤1,000 / ≤8,000 contracts) | IBKR Fixed | Just2Trade CQG | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurex (Germany) — index options | €0.90/contract | €1.50/contract (DJ200/DJ600 — €2.50; DAX — €1.70) | $1.50 per contract per side — a single rate for all futures and options regardless of contract currency; exchange, clearing and regulatory fees are paid separately "one-to-one" at exchange rates; market data — separate | $1.5 / €1.5 per contract — a single rate for all exchange-traded futures and options except US stock options; expiration — also $1.5/€1.5 per contract | EUREX — from €2.00 per contract (options); EUREX futures — from €1.50. Other European option exchanges (Euronext.Liffe, IDEM) are not listed in the public schedule. Commissions include execution, exchange and clearing fees | Contract options in EUR: €0.75 per contract at all levels (Classic = Platinum = VIP). GBP: £3.00 / £2.00 / £1.00. CHF: 3.00 / 2.00 / 1.00. CAD: 6.00 / 4.00 / 2.00. NOK and SEK: 25 / 15 / 10. HKD: 25 / 15 / 10. JPY: 1,000 / 800 / 700. No minimum per ticket. Above 5,000 contracts per month the price is agreed individually; by default the highest price category applies unless otherwise agreed |
| Eurex — stock options | €1.00/contract (then €0.70 / €0.40 / €0.25) | €1.10/contract | ||||
| Eurex Micro DAX — options | €0.25/contract | €0.40/contract | ||||
| Euronext.Liffe (France, Belgium, Netherlands) — index | €0.90/contract | €1.50/contract (Mini-AEX — €0.30) | ||||
| Euronext — stock options | €1.00/contract | €1.50/contract | ||||
| IDEM (Italy) | index €0.90; stocks €1.00 | index €3.00; stocks €2.00 |
IBKR Tiered tiers for European options: index — €0.90 / €0.60 / €0.40 / €0.25 at volumes of ≤1,000 / 1,001–10,000 / 10,001–20,000 / >20,000 contracts per month; stock options — €1.00 / €0.70 / €0.40 / €0.25 at ≤8,000 / 8,001–40,000 / 40,001–80,000 / >80,000. Euronext Paris Mini Options: €0.15 → €0.03 (Fixed €0.20).
6. Futures and futures options
6.1. US (CME, CBOT, NYMEX, ICE, CBOE)
| Product / monthly volume | IBKR Tiered | IBKR Fixed | J2T CQG (Global Futures) | J2T MT5 Global | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-size futures and FOP (USD), ≤1,000 contracts | $0.85 | $0.85 | $1.50/side | from $0.50 + exchange fees | $1.50 | from $1.50 — all-inclusive | from $1 per contract; exchange fees — separate (in the contract specifications) |
| 1,001 – 10,000 | $0.65 | $0.85 | $1.50 | from $0.50 | $1.50 | from $1.50 | from $1 per contract |
| 10,001 – 20,000 | $0.45 | $0.85 | $1.50 | from $0.50 | $1.50 | from $1.50 | from $1 per contract |
| > 20,000 | $0.25 | $0.85 | $1.50 | from $0.50 | $1.50 | from $1.50 | from $1 per contract |
| Same in EUR denomination | €0.65 → €0.20 | €0.65 | $1.50 (regardless of currency) | — | €1.50 | EUREX from €1.50; Euronext Paris from €1.50 + exchange fees | rates by denomination — in the venue's dynamic table |
| E-mini FX futures | $0.50 → $0.15 | $0.50 | $1.50 | — | $1.50 | from $1.50 (CME) | from $1 per contract |
| E-micro FX and 1-oz gold futures | $0.15 → $0.05 | $0.15 | $1.50 | — | $1.50 | from $1.50 (COMEX / CME) | from $1 per contract |
| Crypto futures (SOL, XRP, LNK, XLM, ADA) | $5.00 | $5.00 | $1.50 | — | — | not stated | not stated |
| Micro crypto futures (MSL, MXP, MLN, MXL, MCA.X) | $2.25 | $2.25 | $1.50 | — | — | not stated | not stated |
| Overnight position fee | charged separately under the Tiered model | not charged | at exchange rates | 0.0712% when the initial margin is exceeded | not broken out | not charged: overnight applies only to FX, CFDs and short stock positions | Carrying cost on rolled positions: daily margin requirement × days × rate / 365 (or 360); VIP 0.5% / Platinum 1.5% / Classic 3.5%; debited at the end of each month |
| Exchange/regulatory fees | paid separately (both models) | paid separately | "one-to-one" at exchange rates in the contract currency | included in "from $0.50 + exchange fees" | not broken out as a separate line | declared as included, yet the knowledge base lists actual exchange-fee ranges for futures: CME ≈ $1.7–25.5; NYMEX ≈ $2–10; COMEX ≈ $2–7.5; CBOT ≈ $1.8–7.2; CBOE ≈ $1.705–2.60; EUREX ≈ €1.6–3.2; HKEX ≈ 14–22.54 HKD; SGX ≈ $3.1–3.5; TOCOM ¥215; ASX ≈ AUD 2.4–3.5 | excluded from the broker commission: "commissions apply for each contract and for each trade (buy, sell or at expiry) and exclude exchange fees which are listed under the contract specifications". Above 5,000 contracts/month — price on request |
Official IBKR example: 1 ES contract = IBKR commission $0.85 + exchange fee $1.38 = $2.24. Official J2T CQG example: $1.50 + exchange fees at the exchange rate. A head-to-head comparison of broker rates is only fair if you account for the fact that IBKR discloses the exchange fee separately, while Freedom24 does not disclose it at all.
6.2. Europe and other markets
| Exchange / product | IBKR Tiered | IBKR Fixed | Just2Trade CQG | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurex — futures (EUR) | €0.90 → €0.25 | €2.00 | $1.50/side | €1.50 | from €1.50 per contract — all-inclusive (EUREX exchange fee ≈ €1.6–3.2) | from €1 per contract + exchange fees separately |
| Eurex — futures (USD / GBP) | $1.05 → $0.25 / £0.65 → £0.15 | $2.40 / £1.70 | $1.50 | $1.50 / £— | not stated separately | by denomination — in the venue's dynamic table |
| Mini DAX | €0.50 → €0.28 | €0.80 | $1.50 | €1.50 | from €1.50 | by denomination — in the venue's dynamic table |
| Micro DAX / Micro ESTX50 | €0.25 → €0.07 | €0.40 | $1.50 | €1.50 | from €1.50 | by denomination — in the venue's dynamic table |
| Single Stock Futures (Germany, Netherlands) | — | €2.00 | $1.50 | €1.50 | not stated | not broken out in published rates |
| Euronext.Liffe Matif (France) | €0.20 → €0.05 | €0.40 | $1.50 | €1.50 | Euronext Paris from €1.50 + exchange fees | by denomination — in the venue's dynamic table |
| IDEM (Italy) / Mini MFIB30 | €0.90 → €0.25 / €0.20 → €0.05 | €3.00 / €2.00 | $1.50 | €1.50 | not stated | not broken out in published rates |
| Euronext NL: AEX / futures / ENDEX EUA | €0.90 → €0.25 | €2.80 / €3.00 / €6.00 | $1.50 | €1.50 | not stated | not broken out in published rates |
| Montreal Exchange (Canada) | CAD 1.25 → CAD 0.30 | CAD 2.40 | $1.50 | — | not stated | not broken out in published rates |
| Mexico (MexDer) | — | MXN 20–56/contract depending on the product | — | — | no | no |
| B3 (Brazil) | BRL 3.00 → 1.50 (USD futures) and others | N/A | — | — | no | no |
Futures bottom line.
At small volumes, Just2Trade CQG's flat tariff ($1.50/side) and Freedom24's ($1.50/contract) are practically identical and beat IBKR Fixed ($0.85 + exchange fee ≈ $1.38 = $2.24 per ES).
But IBKR Tiered drops to $0.25 above 20,000 contracts/month, and on European mini- and micro-contracts IBKR is cheaper than everyone already at the first tier (€0.07–0.50 versus €1.50 at Freedom24).
7. Bonds
7.1. Exchange-traded bonds
| Segment | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade (MT5 Global) | Freedom24 (TraderNet) | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US — corporate and CDs | first $10,000 of face value: 0.1% (10 bp), min $1.00; above: 0.025% (2.5 bp); maximum — the lesser of $250 or 1% of trade value | 0.128% of trade value, min $10 | Smart: 0.15% of value + $5/order; All-Inclusive and Exclusive: 0.5% + $5/order | Electronic: 0.09% of trade value, min $10/€10 — all-inclusive | from 0.05% of trade value (official headline "Bonds — commissions from 0.05%"); the rate by bond type and region is published in the dynamic table and in the platform ticket, differentiated by Classic / Platinum / VIP levels |
| US — municipal | first $10,000: 0.05%, min $1.00; above: 0.0125%; max — the lesser of $125 or 1% | 0.128%, min $10 | as above | 0.09%, min $10 | from 0.05%; Classic / Platinum / VIP levels |
| US — Treasuries (Bills/Notes/Bonds) | first $1,000,000 of face value: 0.002% (0.2 bp), min $5.00; above: 0.0001% (0.01 bp), min $5.00 | 0.128%, min $10 | as above | 0.09%, min $10 | from 0.05%; Classic / Platinum / VIP levels |
| Euronext (Europe) | ≤ €50,000: 0.1%, min €2; €50,000–5m: 0.035%; > €5m: 0.015% | 0.128%, min $10 | Smart 0.15% + €5; All-Inclusive 0.5% + €5 | 0.09%, min €10 | from 0.05%; Classic / Platinum / VIP levels |
| SIX Swiss Exchange | first CHF 10,000: 0.1%; above: 0.025% | no | as Europe | 0.09%, min equivalent of $10/€10 | from 0.05%; Classic / Platinum / VIP levels |
| Canada | ≤ CAD 13,000: 0.1%; above: 0.025% | no | — | not stated | not broken out in published rates |
| Regulatory fees | FINRA TAF $0.00124 per bond sold, max $1.05/trade; external venue fees (BondDesk, NYSE Bonds, MuniCenter, VALUBOND, IBKR ATS) — at cost | not fully included in the "0.128%" — external partner fees possible | the $5/€5 clearing fee is already part of the formula | included in the rate; government taxes pass separately (Italy 0.1% on buys, etc.) | not broken out; additionally, a bond custody fee of 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. applies (see below) |
| Desk-assisted (manual) trades | +$50 per order in USD and +CAD 50 in CAD | Voice trading: $5 / €5 per order | Personal assistant — free (All-Inclusive, Promo), N/A (Smart) | minimum $50 per manually executed trade; manual order execution — €90; Trade Desk — €90 one-off | Manual order fee — €50 per order (phone, chat or e-mail); products that cannot be traded on the platform may be excluded |
7.2. Over-the-counter (OTC) bonds and Eurobonds
| Metric | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade (OTC, document version of 10 September 2026) | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broker commission | Europe OTC (all bonds): first €10,000 of face value — 0.1%, above — 0.025%; equivalents in CHF/GBP/NOK/SGD/ZAR (first 8,000–10,000 in the respective currency) | 0.128% of trade value, min $35 (equivalent in the trade currency) | 0.12% of trade value | OTC: 0.09%, min $50/€50; structured notes (OTC): 0.5%, min $50/€50; fractional: 0.25%, min $0.5; sukuk — by trade type | OTC bonds are part of the general offering (5,200+ issues, "across exchanges and OTC markets"); from 0.05% |
| Clearing / settlement | external fees at cost | — | $30 / €30 per trade | included in the rate | not broken out |
| REPO | — | $5 per OTC REPO trade with Eurobonds (first leg only) | — | not stated | not stated |
| Depository custody | not charged (except pass-through in certain countries) | 0.11% p.a., accrued monthly | free (except securities held on the E-Account) | 0.3% p.a. (Custody Fee on bonds), accrued on the same schedule as overnight | 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. on bonds (Classic / Platinum / VIP); calculated daily at the day's closing prices, debited monthly; the service is subject to VAT — Danish VAT 25% for EU-resident individuals, no VAT for non-EU residents |
| Free-of-payment (FOP) / DVP orders | — | $20 per FOP order; $30 per DVP order | — | not stated | not stated |
| Corporate event participation | free (except certain jurisdictions) | mandatory — $35; voluntary — $85 | free (basic); €100 — tender/exchange offer, exercising rights/warrants; 1% (min €500) — complex voluntary events | €150 for choosing a non-standard option in a voluntary corporate action | taxes and charges on corporate events (other than cash dividends) are debited from the client's account; proxy voting services are tariffed separately |
| Minimum deposit | $0 | $30,000 (OTC desk); for bond trading in MT5 Global — from $3,000 | not set | not published on the pricing pages; €10,000 to start trading per Customer Care (individuals) | €0 — no minimum funding. Minimum bond lot size: from €10,000 or $10,000 for all online bonds; up to 50,000 / 100,000 / 200,000 in the respective currency for certain issues |
| Leverage | per standard margin requirements | up to 1:2 on speculative issues, up to 1:3 on high-grade issues | per the broker's margin requirements | leverage is provided free of charge; at Margin Utilisation > 100% — 100% p.a. on the excess | bonds are accepted as margin collateral (professional clients only): rating AAA — 95%, AA — 90%, A — 80% of the position's market value (Saxo's internal rating) |
Bonds bottom line.
In the exchange-traded segment IBKR has no competition: 10 bp on the first $10,000 of face value versus 12.8–15 bp at J2T and 15–50 bp at Freedom24. On large face values the gap widens thanks to IBKR's tiered model (2.5 bp above $10,000). On US Treasuries IBKR charges 0.2 bp — two orders of magnitude cheaper than the competition.
J2T's OTC Eurobond desk requires a $30,000 deposit and adds 0.11% p.a. of custody.
8. Currencies, Forex and CFDs
Leverage caps and CFD availability — by country. Under ESMA product intervention rules, retail clients of EU-regulated brokers
(Just2Trade's CySEC entity, EXANTE's EXT Ltd, Saxo's EU entities) are capped at: 1:30 on major FX pairs, 1:20 on minor FX/major indices/gold,
1:10 on other commodities and minor indices, 1:5 on single stocks and 1:2 on crypto CFDs — with mandatory negative balance protection.
The UK FCA applies equivalent caps. Headline leverage "up to 1:500" (or higher) at J2T applies by region and client category —
professional clients and non-EU regions — not to EU retail. US retail clients cannot trade CFDs at all (and IBKR does not offer a retail CFD product),
so for US persons this segment comes down to spot FX at IBKR. Saxo's own disclosure: 64% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
| Parameter | Interactive Brokers (Spot Currencies) | Just2Trade MT5 Global | Just2Trade MT4 ECN / ECN Pro | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commission, tier 1 | 0.20 bp (0.00002) of trade value at turnover ≤ $1bn/month | $2 per lot (1 lot = 100,000 units of the base currency) | ECN — $3 per lot; ECN Pro — $2 per lot (charged on opening, for the round turn) | spot Forex is not tariffed: the instrument is not offered | 0.005% of trade value (0.5 bp) on all 50+ pairs — single rate | no separate commission — the price is built into the spread: major pairs from 1 pip (Classic) |
| Tiers 2 / 3 / 4 | $1–2bn — 0.15 bp; $2–5bn — 0.10 bp; >$5bn — 0.08 bp | — | — | — | no tiers | Platinum — from 0.9 pips; VIP — from 0.7 pips |
| Minimum per order | Tier I — $2.00; Tier II — $1.50; Tier III — $1.25; Tier IV — $1.00 | — | — | — | not stated | not set |
| Spread | no markup on quotes; spreads from 1/10 pip (aggregated from 17 of the largest FX dealers) | from 0.0 pips (STP/ECN) | from 0.0 pips | — | live spreads from 0.2 pips (the product page says "from 0.3 spread") | from 1 / 0.9 / 0.7 pips by account level (official level card: "Major forex pairs") |
| Rolling a position (swap) | interest-rate model (tom-next), rates published in the platform | Swap per instrument | Swap for rolling to the next forex day; rates change | — | FX overnight rates are published in Client Area → Terms → Overnights; triple size is charged Wednesday-to-Thursday (for the weekend) | financing at the Saxo Bid/Offer financing rate + commercial markup/discount by product; calculated daily, debited monthly within 7 business days after month-end; rates have a 0% floor (never negative); benchmarks: USD — SOFR, EUR — ESTR, GBP — SONIA, CHF — SARON, etc. (26 currencies with day count conventions) |
| Currency conversion for settlements | manual conversion = a spot trade: 0.20 bp, min $2. Auto-conversion: IBKR adds/subtracts 0.03% to the rate, no separate commission | at the payment system's / broker's rate (not broken out in the tariffs) | — | no separate fee specified in the Fee Schedule | cash balance conversion: 0.25% on major pairs (EUR/USD — 0%), 0.4% on other currencies; free when converting via the Account Summary module in the platform or via automatic conversion | 0.25%: conversion at the FX spot mid-price when the position closes ± 0.25%, no more than ±0.25%. Does not apply to margin collateral — only to actual settlements (buying/selling stocks, paying/receiving option premium) |
| Leverage | per margin requirements (regulatory limits for FX) | up to 1:500 (negative balance protection); actual limits depend on region and client category — EU retail: ESMA caps | up to 1:500 (same caveat) | — | leverage is free by default; above 100% Margin Utilisation — 100% p.a. on the excess (daily) + €90 for manual closing | within margin requirements; position financing at the Saxo Bid/Offer financing rate + markup |
| Metric | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFDs on stocks, indices, commodities | not listed as a separate product in the published tariff sections | ✅ yes (MT5 Global): commission depends on the CFD type; overnight — swap | no | ✅ yes — overnight rates apply to Forex and CFDs; exact values are published in the Client Area | ✅ CFDs on stocks, indices, commodities and FX. Stock CFD: $0.02 (Classic) / $0.015 (Platinum) / $0.01 (VIP). Overnight — financing at the Saxo Bid/Offer rate + markup. Official warning: 64% of retail accounts lose money on CFDs |
| FX and metal forwards | spot model | MT5 Global: "Metals" $2 per lot; trading regulations for MT4/MT5/REAL2/ECN forwards published as separate PDFs | no | FX spot and metals (spot) — from 0.005%; no separate forward line is stated | FX spot and CFDs; no separate forward product line is stated |
| Cost of borrowing for short positions | Short Sale Cost — borrow-rate calculator; Pre-Borrow ticket fee $20 | Sterling: the clearing firm's fee for rolling a short, changes daily | not broken out in the Fee Schedule | 12% p.a. — the default rate for easy-to-borrow stocks; hard-to-borrow — on request via support@exante.eu | as a financing rate (Saxo Bid/Offer financing rate minus a commercial discount); exact values are not published, 0% floor |
| Securities lending yield program | Stock Yield Enhancement Program — the client receives a share of the income from lending fully paid-for shares | no | no | not stated | not stated; however, opting into securities lending zeroes the custody fee in certain jurisdictions (Czechia, Singapore — for residents of other CEE countries) |
9. Metals, Cryptocurrencies, Funds, Structured Products, IPO
| Instrument | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spot gold (London Gold / US Spot Gold) | 0–$500,000: 1.5 bp; $500,000–1m: 1.0 bp; >$1m: 0.7 bp. Tier 1 minimum — $2.00. All exchange and regulatory fees included | MT5 "Metals": $2 per lot + swap (forward contract) | no | from 0.005% of trade value — all-inclusive (trading without physical ownership) | no separate spot tariff — gold is available via futures (COMEX), CFDs and ETPs |
| Spot silver (London Silver) | 0–$250,000: 3.0 bp; $250,000–500,000: 2.0 bp; >$500,000: 1.5 bp; min $2.00 | $2 per lot | no | from 0.005% | no separate spot tariff — silver via futures, CFDs and ETPs |
| Metal storage | London Gold/Silver: 0.10% p.a.; US Gold: $0.15 per ounce per month | not tariffed separately (forward model) | — | not tariffed | not applicable (no allocated metal storage); the general securities custody fee 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. applies |
| Metal borrow fee | 0–$1m: BM+1% (4.63%); $1–10m: BM+0.5% (4.13%); >$10m: BM+0.3% (3.93%) | — | — | not stated | not stated |
| Physical delivery (US Spot Gold) | IBKR processing $500 + delivery $20 + $2.50 per ounce | not provided | — | not provided — gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium are traded "without physical ownership" (spot, futures, options, ETFs) | not stated |
| Cryptocurrencies (spot) | ≤$100,000/month: 0.18%; $100,000–1m: 0.15%; >$1m: 0.12%. Minimum $1.75 per order (but not more than 1% of trade value). Execution and custody — Paxos Trust Company or Zero Hash LLC depending on account type and country of residence (US; Europe — via Zero Hash). Pass-through $0.15/month for the Paxos account. No spreads, markups or custody fees | not present in the official tariffs | not offered | no spot crypto; crypto funds — enter/exit and safekeeping fees (rates in the Client Area) | no spot crypto; crypto ETFs/ETPs trade as regular exchange-traded funds at the corresponding exchange's rates |
| Mutual funds | No Transaction Fee Funds — $0; others: the lesser of 3% of trade value or $14.95 per transaction (US residents). 50,000+ funds worldwide, no custody fees | no | no | no separate tariff | $0 — commission, custody and platform fee ("Saxo Bank will charge you zero commission & zero custody fees when investing in Funds"; Saxo receives a modest retrocession from the fund provider). The provider's management fee remains. Forward pricing: the order executes at the next valuation point (usually a European day), the order is binding and cannot be cancelled; subscription from 0 EUR / 1 unit, more often around 1,000 EUR/USD; subscription in the instrument's currency; Subscription, Redemption and Switch funds available in one order |
| Swaps | — | — | 0.12% per trade; custody free; early redemption 0.12% of the amount | P/L on swaps is included in Account Value; no separate commission in the public tariffs | not broken out as a separate tariff |
| Structured notes | tariffed as stocks/warrants of the corresponding venue | — | 0.12% per trade; custody free; change of ownership between FFEU clients — 0.1%, min €100 | Structured notes (OTC): from 0.5%, min $50/€50 | not broken out in published tariffs |
| IPO participation at the offer price | IPO participation is available; no separate allocation fee is set in the published tariffs (the standard stock commission applies on sale) | "Invest in IPO" service via MT5 Global; the application is submitted in the client area (terms — in the client area) | assets < $20,000 — 5% of the amount; $20,000–49,999 — 4%; ≥ $50,000 — 3%. Sale of the received instruments — 0.5%. 93-day lock-up. FOP delivery of IPO securities: €150 + 0.5% of the amount | not broken out in public tariffs | not broken out in published tariffs |
| Prediction markets | IBKR Prediction Markets — separate event markets (availability limited by entity and residence; US election contracts — eligible US residents only) | no | no | no | no |
10. Margin lending and interest on balances
10.1. Cost of borrowed funds
| Currency / tier | IBKR Pro | IBKR Lite | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD, up to 100,000 | BM + 1.5% = 5.130% | BM + 2.5% = 6.130% | Sterling/Lightspeed: Fed Funds Rate + 3% p.a. MT5 Global: overnight fee 0.03% per day on stocks (≈10.95% p.a.) | All-Inclusive, Promo and Exclusive: 0.041095%/day = 15.00% p.a.; Smart: 0.049315%/day = 18.00% p.a. (in the Fee Schedule the rate cell for Exclusive is merged with All-Inclusive) | The rate is not published. Officially: "Negative balances incur interest, with rates varying based on the currency", the full grid — in Client Area → Terms → Interests. No additional margin-trading commission is charged while Margin Utilisation < 100%; leverage is free by default. Above 100% — 100% p.a. on the excess (daily) + €90 for manual position closing | the rate is not published. Financing of margin positions = Saxo Bid/Offer financing rate (based on Alternative Reference Rates: USD — SOFR, EUR — ESTR, GBP — SONIA, CHF — SARON, JPY — TONAR, etc., 26 currencies in total with day count conventions) + a commercial markup by product. Rate floor — 0% (never negative). Accrued daily, debited monthly — within 7 business days after the end of the calendar month. Exact values are visible in the platform; the rates are proprietary and may change, including to pass through the cost of external factors |
| USD, 100,000 – 1,000,000 | BM + 1% = 4.630% | 6.130% | tiers are not published | no tiers — a single daily rate | ||
| USD, 1 – 50m | BM + 0.75% = 4.380% | 6.130% | ||||
| USD, 50 – 250m | BM + 0.5% = 4.130% (minimum floor 0.75%) | 6.130% | ||||
| USD, > 250m | 4.130% + a possible 1% surcharge for unarranged financing | 6.130% | ||||
| EUR, up to 90,000 | BM + 1.5% = 3.697% | 4.697% | at account rates | 15.00% / 18.00% p.a. | same (EUR rate — in the Client Area) | same; EUR benchmark — Euro Short-Term Rate (ESTR), ACT/360 |
| EUR, above 900,000 | BM + 0.75% = 2.947% → BM + 0.5% = 2.697% | 4.697% | — | — | — | — |
| GBP, up to 80,000 | BM + 1.5% = 5.227% | 6.227% | — | — | same (GBP) | same; GBP benchmark — SONIA, ACT/365 |
| CHF, up to 90,000 | BM + 1.5% = 1.500% | 2.500% | — | — | same (CHF) | same; CHF benchmark — SARON, ACT/360 |
| JPY, up to 11m | BM + 1.5% = 2.466% | 3.466% | — | — | same (JPY) | same; JPY benchmark — TONAR, ACT/360 |
| E-Account (separate custody account) | — | — | — | 0.041095%/day = 15.00% p.a. | — | — |
| Accrual model | blended rate across tiers; accrued daily, debited on the third business day of the following month | same | daily accrual of the overnight fee; margin requirements are raised 25 minutes before the close of trading | daily rate, accrued daily | daily accrual; overnight and interest rates are published only in the Client Area. The triple weekend overnight is charged on Wednesday-to-Thursday night | daily accrual, monthly debit. Additionally, a carrying cost on rolled futures and short option positions: daily margin requirement × days × rate / 365 (or 360); rate VIP 0.5% / Platinum 1.5% / Classic 3.5%; for futures it is debited at the end of each month |
The key gap. Freedom24's cost of margin (15–18% p.a. in USD) is 3–3.5 times higher
than IBKR Pro's (4.13–5.13%). For leveraged strategies held for months this is the dominant cost factor:
on $50,000 borrowed for a year the difference is roughly $4,900 (IBKR Pro $2,565 versus Freedom24 Smart $9,000). EXANTE works differently: the margin rate itself is not published and is visible only in the Client Area, but there is no separate margin-trading commission — only exceeding Margin Utilisation of 100% is penalised (100% p.a. on the excess + €90 for manual closing). Only the short borrow rate is publicly disclosed — 12% p.a. on easy-to-borrow securities.
10.2. Income on free cash
| Currency | IBKR Pro | IBKR Lite | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | above $10,000: BM − 0.5% = 3.130%; the first $10,000 — 0%. At NAV < $100,000 the rate is proportionally lower (blended) | BM − 1.5% = 2.130% | not specified in the published tariffs | a separate product — the interest-bearing D savings account and long-term savings plans; rates are published on the platform, not tariffed in the Fee Schedule | credited, but the rate is not published — "Positive Balance (% p.a., charged daily): interest credited daily on surplus cash balances", value in Client Area → Terms → Interests | only VIP-level clients receive interest on cash balances: "VIP clients can receive interest on their cash balance". Rate = Saxo bid/ask rate + markup or discount; exact values are not published and are visible in the platform. Open positions in margin products affect the calculation |
| EUR | above €10,000: BM − 0.5% = 1.697% | 0.697% | — | D account | same | |
| GBP | above £8,000: BM − 0.5% = 3.227% | 2.227% | — | — | same | |
| CHF | above CHF 100,000: BM − 0.25% = −0.440% (negative rate) | −1.440% | — | — | same | |
| NAV threshold | full rate at NAV ≥ $100,000; below — proportionally less | same | — | the D-account minimum is set by the product terms | not published | calculated on the main account's Net Free Equity (NFE) (cash balance ± NFE adjustments); for sub-accounts in different currencies — on each sub-account's adjusted value. Classic and Platinum receive no interest on balances |
| Additionally | Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program — up to $5m of FDIC pass-through coverage for an individual account (on top of $250k SIPC); US clients only | same | — | — | the account's base currency defines how all balances, reports and fees are displayed; the settlement currency may differ, creating currency risk | Danish Guarantee Fund protection up to €100,000; Saxo is a licensed Danish bank with an investment-grade S&P credit rating; 30+ years of track record, 1m+ clients, €150bn+ assets under administration |
Official IBKR example (blended USD rate at 3.13% on amounts above $10,000): with a $100,000 balance and NAV of $50,000 → 1.409%; NAV $90,000 → 2.535%; NAV > $100,000 → 2.817%. With a $1,000,000 balance and NAV > $100,000 → 3.099%. Rates move with the benchmarks — check current values before opening an account.
11. Non-trading fees, servicing, taxes
| Metric | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum to open an account | USD 0.00 (Individual, Joint, Trust, Org) | MT5 Global: bonds from $3,000; OTC desk — $30,000 | not set; terminal access may be terminated at an aggregated balance < $100 | not published on the pricing pages; per Customer Care, €10,000 (individuals) / €50,000 (corporates) to start trading; "No minimum commitment required for API access" | €0 — "no minimum funding requirement when opening an account". Moving up to Platinum requires a €200,000+ deposit or a certain turnover; to VIP — €1,000,000+ or turnover (Saxo Rewards program) |
| Account subscription fee | $0 | MT5 Global — $0; Sterling/Lightspeed — $20/month per trading account (with access to daily Propreports) | €0 on all plans | €0 — "You can use your EXANTE account for free — regardless of funds added and instruments used" | €0 — "Account maintenance: EUR 0"; no platform fee |
| Inactivity fee | $0 | Sterling/Lightspeed: $50 (or the entire free balance if it is less than $50) per calendar quarter without trades. Not specified for MT5 Global in the published tariffs | not set | €50 per month if all of the following apply: the last trade was more than 90 days ago, no open positions or active orders, positive balance < €5,000. Charged per user, not per sub-account; does not apply to authorised traders/agents | €0 — "Inactivity fee: EUR 0"; the promo page explicitly declares "no platform fee, inactivity fees, and minimum account funding" |
| Deposit: bank transfer | free (except Mexico: first transfer of the month free, then MXN 100) | EUR — your bank's fee (if any); USD — 0.3% of the amount + bank fee | bank transfer free of commission | free from EXANTE's side (fees of the sending, intermediary and beneficiary banks possible) | €0 — "Deposits EUR 0". Payment intermediaries may charge for certain funding methods; Saxo itself charges no deposit fee. The bank account must be in your country of residence (or another Saxo-approved country); third-party payments are not accepted |
| Deposit: card | — | 0% | processing fee at the platform's current tariff (published at the moment of payment) | not stated | no separate tariff (see the payment-intermediary caveat) |
| Deposit: e-wallets | — | Skrill 0% | — | not stated | not stated |
| Withdrawal: bank transfer | 2 free withdrawals per month, then: USD SWIFT $10; EUR €8; GBP £7; CHF 10; ACH/BACS/GIRO/EFT/SEPA — $1 (EUR/GBP — €1/£1); HKD 95; JPY 1,600; AUD/NZD/SGD 15 | SEPA/SWIFT: USD — 0.4% (min $80, above $250,000 — individually); EUR — €25 (€10 for transfers within the same bank) | bank transfer: €7 (EUR account) or $7 (USD account); correspondent bank fees not included; for certain partner banks the fee may be waived | €30 (or the equivalent in the withdrawal currency) per transaction. The non-standard (maximum) fee — the greater of 0.9% of the amount and €30; applies if the account was funded by a securities transfer (not cash) and trading was absent or nominal | €0 — "Withdrawals: EUR 0" (to a bank account in your country of residence or a Saxo-approved country) |
| Withdrawal: to card | — | 0–2.5%, minimum €1/$1 (only to the card used for the deposit) | 0.65% of the amount, but not less than $2/€2 | not stated | not stated |
| Withdrawal: e-money | — | Neteller 2%; Skrill 2% (min $1/€1); PayPal 2%; AstroPay 2.8%; China UnionPay 0% | — | not stated | not stated |
| Returned check / payment rejection | Returned check: $25 (US), HKD 50 (Hong Kong) | with low trading activity the broker may retain the payment-system fee it compensated at deposit | — | not stated | not stated |
| Cash deposits | prohibited by policy; if a payment goes through — 1% of the amount, min $50 | — | — | not stated | not stated |
| Account closure | not tariffed | after closure, on the Safekeeping account (S): 0.5% per month of the value of remaining assets, min €50 / $60 | free*; *if the remaining balance is ≤ €/$100, it may be withheld in full as a servicing and closure fee | not tariffed | €15 per month (or the equivalent in the account currency) — Terminated account administration fee: if assets or money remain on the account after Saxo's stated termination date; charged monthly until fully withdrawn |
| Changing trading currency / depositary | $10 per request for a multi-listed security | — | — | balance conversion: 0.25% on major pairs (EUR/USD — 0%), 0.4% on others; free via the Account Summary module or auto-conversion | currency conversion 0.25% (FX spot mid ± 0.25%, no more than ±0.25%); does not apply to margin collateral |
| Metric | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custody of exchange-traded securities | not charged. Pass-through fees of certain venues: Brazil B3 $5 (retail) / $100 (institutions); Czechia 0.05%; XETRA-GOLD 0.30%; Athens 0.38% | not charged on exchange-traded securities; OTC — 0.11% p.a. (monthly) | free (except securities held on the E-Account) | €0 on stocks and ETFs ("Zero custody fees on stocks and ETFs"); 0.3% p.a. on bonds | 0.15% (Classic) / 0.12% (Platinum) / 0.09% (VIP) p.a. on stocks and ETFs/ETCs. Calculated daily at the day's closing prices, debited monthly; the service is subject to VAT — Danish VAT 25% applies to EU-resident individuals, no VAT for non-EU residents. Zero-rate countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland — 0%. UK: 0.12% / 0.12% / 0.08% (funds 0.05% at all levels). UAE/MENA: 0.15% / 0.15% / 0.05%. Denmark: 0% for residents of Denmark and Greenland; 0.12% for residents of the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland (no minimum monthly fee). Czechia and Singapore: 0% with securities lending enabled, otherwise 0.15%/0.12%/0.09% (Czechia; 0% for residents of Poland and other CEE countries) and 0.12%/0.12%/0.06% (Singapore); SGX securities for Singapore residents and entities — 0%. Mutual funds — $0 custody |
| Custody on a separate depositary account | — | 0.11% p.a. (OTC) | E-Account and ER-Account: 0.000822% per day ≈ 0.30% p.a. | 0.3% p.a. on bonds (Custody Fee, accrued like overnight); crypto funds — enter/exit and safekeeping fees | the same custody fee; for entities with a place of business in Denmark — Danish VAT 25%; in the EU outside Denmark — no VAT with a verifiable EU VAT ID (reverse charge invoice issued), 25% VAT without a valid VAT ID; outside the EU — Saxo charges no VAT, but local rules may apply |
| Incoming securities transfer | ACATS — $0; DRS — from $25 per settlement transaction; Singapore CDS — SGD 10.90 | determined individually + reimbursement of company costs; transfers from/to third parties are prohibited | external FOP transfer (incoming) — $0/€0; E-Account — €100; ER-Account — €200 | securities: €500 per ISIN at a position size < €1m; free at a position ≥ €1m; other securities — free. Cash — free | incoming portfolio transfer: Client Area → Deposits and transfers → Portfolio transfer (web/desktop) or in the mobile app; no incoming transfer fee is set in the published tariffs |
| Outgoing securities transfer | ACATS — $0; DWAC — $100 per settlement transaction; DRS — $5; Asia: $50 per request or HKD 400 / JPY 4,000 / SGD 50 / AUD 50 (min.); North/Southbound US–Canada $10 per ISIN | individually + reimbursement of costs | external FOP (outgoing) — €100/$100; if the securities were received via incoming transfer 6+ months ago — 5% of value, but not less than €100; cross-market transfers and redomiciliations — €200 per order; DWAC/DRS, delistings, restricted securities — 0.25%, min €500 | securities: €150 per ISIN; cash: €30 (or 0.9% if greater) | Danish shares: €25 per ISIN (max €100); other shares: €50 per ISIN (max €160) |
| Internal transfer between the client's own accounts | — | within one platform (SMMA / LMI Global / MT5 Global) — $20 per position; between platforms — $100 per position; to/from the OTC platform — individually | E-Account → trading account: free; trading account → E-Account: €50; from the ER-Account: €300; internal cash transfers: free (E-Account) / €50 (ER-Account) | free — both cash and securities between the client's own EXANTE sub-accounts (transfers between a partner account and EXANTE are prohibited) | not stated; transfers between the client's own Saxo accounts — in the Deposits and transfers section |
| Dividends and coupons | free; withholding tax at the rates of the respective country | 3% of the dividend amount (min $3 per issuer) on UK, EU and Asian shares. If the fee exceeds the dividend — the payment is not made | free (receipt and distribution of dividends, coupons, redemptions) | free | no separate dividend fee; Saxo withholds applicable taxes at source |
| Corporate events | mandatory and voluntary — free. Exceptions: dissenters/appraisal rights $500 + external expenses; AU proxy AUD 200 (+AUD 100 for resubmission), physical attendance AU $500; KR proxy $15 / attendance $50; UAE proxy $10; HK tender 0.1% stamp duty | processing of corporate events (split, consolidation, merger, spin-off, ticker change, etc.) — $30 per event per account (Sterling); OTC: mandatory event $35, voluntary $85 | basic — free; attending a shareholders' meeting €250; depositary receipt conversion 3% (min €200); DEMAT/re-materialisation 5% (min €500); tender/exchange offer, exercising rights, warrants — €100; complex voluntary events — 1% (min €500); US withholding tax adjustment — €1,500 | basic — free; €150 for choosing a non-standard option in a voluntary corporate action (stock rights, tender offers, dividend reinvestment, etc.) — details are given in the event information | taxes and charges on corporate events other than cash dividends (e.g. a stock-dividend charge or merger tax) are debited from the client's account; proxy voting services are tariffed separately ("Proxy voting service fees" section) |
| ADR/GDR/CDI | pass-through $0.05 per security; voluntary conversion $500 (within a termination program — $0 during 30 days after delisting) | — | DR conversion into local securities: 3% of the local share price, min €200/$200 | not broken out | not broken out |
| Tax certificates and reports | archived statements: $25 for the first + $5 for each subsequent (7 years in the archive); German stock tax voucher €30 per line, French €125, Spanish €50 (reclaim); "Einzelsteuerbescheinigung" €30 | — | non-standard account statement — €250; special custody holdings report — free; processing a US withholding tax adjustment request — €1,500 | non-standard report or document (beyond what is available in the Client Area) — €90 one-off | Reporting fee: USD 100 (or the equivalent in the account currency) for Classic-level clients requesting online reports delivered by e-mail, including third-party (auditor) requests. source discrepancy: the "Account fees at a glance" block on the same page shows USD 50 — both figures appear on Saxo's official site |
| LEI | application $60, annual renewal $40 (including the $11 GLEIF fee) | — | — | not stated | not stated |
| Other | Trade bust: $50 for the first request of the month, $100 for subsequent; Pre-Borrow ticket $20; phone orders (closing only): $30 / €30 / £25 etc.; exchange fines for erroneous trades: CME $1,000, NASDAQ $250, EUREX €500, HKFE HKD 3,000 | Voice trading: $5 / €5 per order; Blue Sheets $5, Fed Reference Request $10 (MT5), $15 per symbol (Sterling) | asset withdrawal under clause 21.21 of the General Terms — 5% of the withdrawal amount; FOP delivery of IPO securities €150 + 0.5%; Trade Orders €10; card purchase via the "stock store" — 0.12% of the amount | Compliance fee €25/day if KYC documents are not provided within 14 days of the request; manual order execution €90; Trade Desk €90 one-off per instrument; exchange fines and fees — at venue rates | Form 1042-S request fee — a separate tariff ("1042-S form request fee" section); Instrument addition charge USD 200 per instrument when requesting the addition of a new instrument (Classic and Platinum levels, only if the instrument is successfully added; free for VIP); Manual order fee €50 per phone/chat/e-mail order; Saxo Elite — a dedicated relationship manager at assets from €5m or turnover from €200m |
11.3. Market data, platforms and API
| Item | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free "out of the box" | real-time streaming on US stocks and ETFs (Cboe One + IEX, non-consolidated); free delayed data on other products; 100 snapshot quotes per month | MT5 Global: "Basic" package — free; MT4/MT5 platforms — free; CQG Desktop and CQG Mobile — free | TraderNet — free; DAS System — free (not available on the Smart plan) | delayed quotes; real-time on a number of exchanges — paid subscription at the exchange provider's rates (Client Area → Settings → Market Data Subscriptions). Officially advertised "flat data feed charges" | SaxoTraderGO (web + mobile) and SaxoTraderPRO (desktop) — no subscription fee ("no platform fee"); curated investment themes, daily news and market reviews, charts, key metrics and independent analytics ratings, customisable performance reports included; demo access to the platform without opening an account |
| Basic paid subscription | US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle — $10/month, waived at $30+/month of commissions; OPRA Top of Book (L1) — $1.50/month, waived at $20/month; Shanghai SE 5-sec snapshot — $1.00 (waived at $5); Shenzhen SE 3-sec — $1.00 (waived at $5) | MT5 Global: "Advanced" package — $1/month or free with ≥1 trade per month (using the data for at least 1 day of the month is billed as a full month) | real-time data subscription — "variable, see current prices in the Secure Client Portal"; the previously published rate of €1.25/month for individuals and €30/month for entities has been replaced in the current edition by a reference to the portal | exchange provider rates, published in the Client Area; "rates are subject to change at the discretion of the exchange" | live market data subscriptions from exchanges and news services — at provider tariffs ("Market data subscriptions" section); level 1 and level 2 data terms are described separately |
| Snapshot quotes | US stocks and ETFs $0.01 per request; other instruments $0.03; monthly waiver $1.00 | — | — | not stated | not stated |
| Minimum equity for subscriptions | $500 (Individual, FA clients, institutions); $200 (Non-Professional Advisor, IB clients); $100 (residents of India, IB India) | — | — | not published | not published |
| Professional terminals | TWS, IBKR Desktop, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, GlobalTrader, IMPACT, PortfolioAnalyst — $0 | Sterling Trader Pro $190/month; Lightspeed Trader $285/month; Sterling Trader Manager $300/month; Options Module $35/month; CQG QTrader $100/month; CQG Integrated Client from $595/month. Quotes are paid separately at provider rates | CQG terminals: CQG tariffs × 1.2 per month; CQG market data: CQG tariffs × 1.2 per month | EXANTE's proprietary platform — desktop, web and mobile, synchronised, single multi-currency account; no separate subscription fee | both platforms are included in the service, no separate fee; 24-hour support, relationship manager and sales traders for active traders |
| API / FIX | IBKR API (TWS API, Client Portal API, FIX) — free; the Tiered model is unavailable for directed API orders | Sterling Active X API $200/month (orders only); separate API connection tariffs — in the "API connection fees" document | TraderNet FIX: $100 one-off + $100/month; DAS FIX API CMD $120/month, Limited $300/month, Standard $600/month, Enterprise $1,800/month; Enterprise CQG API: $600 one-off + $600/month; each Trader Enterprise CQG API connection $12; each contract via Enterprise CQG API $0.12 | Live FIX and HTTP API — price discussed with the account manager; "No minimum commitment required for API access"; bespoke white label and custom integrations available | no public API tariff in the pricing section; Saxo declares the platform integration-ready (API Ready) |
| Order cancel/modify | US: API/CTCI Directed $0.01 per order (with a $0.25 execution credit); TWS Directed/Smart and API Smart — free. EMEA: Direct Routing on Tradegate €0.50 (credit €2.50); API/CTCI on DTB/SOFFEX €0.25 (credit €2.50) | not tariffed | not tariffed | not tariffed: "Fees are charged only for trades that have been successfully executed. If your order was rejected, the commission won't be charged" | not broken out in the published tariffs; manual order (phone/chat/e-mail) — €50 |
For J2T, the cost of professional access must be added to the trading commission: for example, Sterling Trader Pro ($190/month) pays off relative to MT5 Global at a volume of around 54,000 US shares per month ($190 ÷ ($0.006 − $0.0025) ≈ 54,285 shares by the rate difference; slightly earlier when the $1.50 MT5 minimum per order is taken into account).
11.4. Taxes, reporting and cross-border nuances
Fee schedules say nothing about taxes, yet for an international investor taxes and reporting often outweigh the commission difference. What to keep in mind:
- US dividend withholding and W-8BEN. US dividends are subject to a 30% withholding tax for non-US persons by default, reduced by treaty (commonly to 15%) if a valid W-8BEN is on file. All five brokers collect treaty information during onboarding (IBKR files the W-8BEN electronically for non-US clients). The broker's dividend-processing fee — free at IBKR, Freedom24, EXANTE and Saxo, but 3% of every dividend (min $3 per issuer) at Just2Trade — sits on top of withholding.
- US tax forms. Non-US clients receive Form 1042-S for US-source income. Saxo charges a separate "1042-S form request fee"; Freedom24 charges €1,500 for processing a US withholding tax adjustment; IBKR charges for archived statements ($25 first, $5 each subsequent). US persons at IBKR receive standard 1099 reporting.
- CRS and FATCA. All five institutions report account information under the Common Reporting Standard to the tax authority of your country of residence; US persons' accounts are reported under FATCA. There is no "non-reporting" option among regulated brokers.
- US persons have effectively one choice. Of the five, only Interactive Brokers serves US residents/citizens (Table 3.2). US taxpayers investing through non-US brokers/funds should also consider the punitive PFIC regime for non-US-domiciled funds and foreign-account reporting (FBAR/Form 8938).
- EU/UK retail investors and US ETFs (PRIIPs). US-domiciled ETFs cannot be bought by retail clients of EU brokers without a KID — see the callout in section 4. UCITS ETFs (frequently Irish-domiciled) are the standard alternative and are also more tax-efficient for non-US investors on US dividend withholding (15% at fund level) and avoid US estate-tax exposure.
- US estate tax. Non-US individuals holding US-situs assets (e.g. US-listed stocks held directly at any of these brokers) above $60,000 at death can face US estate tax up to 40%. This is independent of the broker; wrapper choice (e.g. Irish UCITS ETFs, non-US situs) is the usual mitigation. Not tax advice — consult a cross-border tax professional.
- VAT/GST on fees. Saxo adds Danish VAT of 25% to the custody fee for EU-resident individuals (no VAT for non-EU residents; EU businesses with a valid VAT ID get a reverse-charge invoice). IBKR notes that VAT/GST may be added to applicable services. Cyprus-regulated brokers (J2T, Freedom24, EXANTE) generally do not charge VAT on investment-service commissions to EU clients, but this does not extend to every ancillary service.
- Local tax reporting is on you. None of the five files your local capital-gains/income tax return; activity statements, trade confirmations and (for some countries) tax vouchers are the raw material. Freedom24 notes that automatic tax reporting is not available in all countries.
12. Interactive commission calculator
Calculated strictly by the formulas of the official tariffs. Exchange, clearing and regulatory fees, spreads and swaps are not included in the "net" broker commission and are shown as a separate line where the broker discloses them.
13. Head-to-head worked scenarios
All amounts — per side of the trade, in the tariff currency. The minimum result is highlighted in green.
| Broker / plan | Formula per the official tariff | Broker commission | Mandatory third-party fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBKR Lite US only | $0 on US listed stocks and ETFs | $0.00 | regulatory (CAT $0.0003) | $0.00 |
| IBKR Pro Tiered | $0.0035 × 100 (min $0.35) | $0.35 | NSCC $0.0002 × 100 = $0.02 + exchange fees | ≈ $0.37 + exchange fees |
| IBKR Pro Fixed | $0.005 × 100 = $0.50 → minimum $1.00 | $1.00 | regulatory | $1.00 |
| J2T MT5 Global | $0.006 × 100 = $0.60 → minimum $1.50 | $1.50 | NSCC $0.000175 × 100 = $0.0175 | ≈ $1.52 |
| J2T Sterling/Lightspeed | $0.0025 × 100 | $0.25 | SEC/FINRA/NSCC + exchange fees (rebates returned) | $0.25 + fees + $190/month for the terminal |
| EXANTE | $0.02 × 100 = $2.00; minimum $1.00 | $2.00 | included in the commission | $2.00 |
| Saxo Classic / Platinum / VIP | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03% × $5,000; minimum $1 | $4.00 / $2.50 / $1.50 | market taxes; custody fee 0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a. | $4.00 (Classic) |
| Freedom24 Smart | $0.02 × 100 = $2.00; minimum $2.00 | $2.00 | not broken out | $2.00 |
| Freedom24 Exclusive | 0.25% × $5,000 + $0.012 × 100 = $12.50 + $1.20 | $13.70 | not broken out | $13.70 |
| Freedom24 All-Inclusive | 0.5% × $5,000 + $0.012 × 100 = $25.00 + $1.20 | $26.20 | not broken out | $26.20 |
| Broker / plan | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| IBKR Lite | $0 | $0.00 (US residents only) |
| J2T Sterling | $0.0025 × 1,000 | $2.50 + fees + terminal |
| IBKR Pro Tiered | $0.0035 × 1,000 = $3.50 + NSCC $0.20 | ≈ $3.70 + exchange fees |
| IBKR Pro Fixed | $0.005 × 1,000 | $5.00 |
| J2T MT5 Global | $0.006 × 1,000 = $6.00 + NSCC $0.175 | ≈ $6.18 |
| EXANTE | $0.02 × 1,000 = $20.00 (all-inclusive) | $20.00 |
| Saxo Classic / Platinum / VIP | 0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03% × $200,000 | $160.00 / $100.00 / $60.00 |
| Freedom24 Smart | $0.02 × 1,000 = $20.00 (> $2 minimum) | $20.00 |
| Freedom24 Exclusive | 0.25% × $200,000 + $0.012 × 1,000 = $500 + $12 | $512.00 |
| Freedom24 All-Inclusive | 0.5% × $200,000 + $12 = $1,000 + $12 | $1,012.00 |
A 200× gap. On a $200,000 trade the All-Inclusive plan costs $1,012 versus $2.50 at J2T Sterling
and $0 at IBKR Lite. Freedom24's percentage model (0.5% of turnover) makes All-Inclusive unsuitable for large orders —
it is the price of a personal manager and no subscription fee.
| Broker / plan | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Freedom24 Smart | €0.02 × 100 = €2.00; minimum €2.00 | €2.00 |
| IBKR Tiered | 0.05% × €8,000 = €4.00 (min €1.25, max €29) | €4.00 + exchange/clearing fees |
| EXANTE (Xetra) | 0.05% × €8,000 = €4.00 (min €1.00) | €4.00 (all-inclusive) |
| Saxo Classic / Platinum / VIP | 0.08% × €8,000 = €6.40; 0.05% = €4.00; 0.03% = €2.40 → minimum €3 (Germany) | €6.40 / €4.00 / €3.00 + custody |
| IBKR Fixed SmartRouting | 0.05% × €8,000 = €4.00 (min €3.00) | €4.00 (all-inclusive) |
| IBKR Fixed Direct Routing | 0.10% × €8,000 = €8.00 (min €4.00) | €8.00 |
| J2T MT5 (Germany) | 0.14% × €8,000 | €11.20 |
| Freedom24 Exclusive | 0.25% × €8,000 + €1.20 | €21.20 |
| Freedom24 All-Inclusive | 0.5% × €8,000 + €1.20 | €41.20 |
The break-even point is the share price, not the trade size. Freedom24 Smart charges a fixed €0.02 per share, IBKR — 0.05% of value, i.e. €0.0005 × share price. The rates level out at a price of €40 per share (0.02 ÷ 0.0005). Above €40 — Freedom24 Smart is cheaper (in the example above: €2.00 versus €4.00); below €40 — IBKR is cheaper (e.g. at €20 and 1,000 shares: IBKR Fixed €10.00 versus €20.00 at Smart), but on very small orders the minimum decides again: €2.00 at Freedom24 versus €3.00 at IBKR Fixed and €1.25 at IBKR Tiered (plus exchange fees in Tiered).
| Instrument | Broker / plan | Calculation | Total per side |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock options (premium ≥ $0.10) | IBKR Pro Fixed / Lite | $0.65 × 10 (min $1) | $6.50 + exchange/clearing/regulatory |
| Freedom24 Smart | $0.65 × 10 | $6.50 | |
| EXANTE | $1.50 × 10 — all-inclusive (CBOE from $2.10/contract) | $15.00 | |
| Saxo Classic / Platinum / VIP | $2.00 / $1.00 / $0.75 × 10 — no minimum per ticket | $20.00 / $10.00 / $7.50 | |
| IBKR Pro Tiered (premium < $0.05) | $0.25 × 10 | $2.50 + fees | |
| J2T Sterling | $0.75 × 10 | $7.50 + fees + terminal | |
| J2T MT5 Global | $2.50 × 10 (charged on both entry and exit) | $25.00 ($50 round turn) | |
| Freedom24 All-Inclusive / Exclusive | $3.00 × 10 + $10 per order | $40.00 | |
| E-mini S&P 500 future (ES), exchange fee ≈ $1.38 | J2T MT5 Global | $0.50 × 10 + exchange fees | ≈ $18.80 |
| IBKR Tiered/Fixed | $0.85 × 10 = $8.50 + $1.38 × 10 = $13.80 | ≈ $22.30 | |
| J2T CQG (Global Futures) | $1.50 × 10 = $15.00 + exchange fees 1:1 ≈ $13.80 | ≈ $28.80 | |
| Freedom24 (all plans) | $1.50 × 10 (exchange fees not disclosed as a separate line) | $15.00 | |
| EXANTE | from $1.50 × 10 — all-inclusive | from $15.00 | |
| Saxo | from $1.00 × 10 + exchange fees ≈ $1.38 × 10 | ≈ $23.80 | |
| IBKR Tiered at > 20,000 contracts/month | $0.25 × 10 + exchange fees | ≈ $16.30 | |
| Micro DAX future (Eurex) | IBKR Tiered | €0.25 × 10 + exchange fees ≈ €0.12 × 10 | ≈ €3.70 |
| IBKR Fixed | €0.40 × 10 | €4.00 | |
| Freedom24 | €1.50 × 10 | €15.00 | |
| EXANTE (EUREX) | from €1.50 × 10 — all-inclusive | from €15.00 | |
| Saxo | from €1.00 × 10 + exchange fees | from €10.00 + fees + carrying cost 0.5–3.5% of margin | |
| J2T CQG | $1.50 × 10 + exchange fees | ≈ $16.20 |
| Broker / segment | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| IBKR, corporate | 0.1% × $10,000 = $10.00 + 0.025% × $90,000 = $22.50 | $32.50 |
| IBKR, Treasuries ($100,000 face) | 0.002% × $100,000 = $2.00 → minimum $5.00 | $5.00 |
| IBKR, municipal | 0.05% × $10,000 = $5.00 + 0.0125% × $90,000 = $11.25 | $16.25 |
| EXANTE — Electronic (exchange) | 0.09% × $100,000 = $90 (min $10) | $90.00 + custody 0.3% p.a. ($300/year) |
| EXANTE — OTC | 0.09% × $100,000 = $90 (min $50) | $90.00 + custody 0.3% p.a. ($300/year) |
| Saxo (from 0.05%) | 0.05% × $100,000 | $50.00 + custody 0.15% p.a. ($150/year) + minimum lot $10,000 |
| J2T MT5 Global (exchange-traded) | 0.128% × $100,000 = $128 (min $10) | $128.00 |
| Freedom24 Smart (exchange-traded) | 0.15% × $100,000 = $150 + $5 clearing | $155.00 |
| Freedom24 OTC | 0.12% × $100,000 = $120 + $30 clearing | $150.00 |
| J2T OTC (Eurobonds) | 0.128% × $100,000 = $128 (min $35) + $20–30 depositary per order | $148–158 + custody 0.11% p.a. ($110/year) + minimum deposit $30,000 |
| Freedom24 All-Inclusive (exchange-traded) | 0.5% × $100,000 = $500 + $5 | $505.00 |
| Operation | Interactive Brokers | Just2Trade | Freedom24 | EXANTE | Saxo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Converting $100,000 → EUR | manual: 0.20 bp × $100,000 = $0.20 → minimum $2.00. Auto-conversion: ±0.03% to the rate ≈ $30 of implicit cost | 1 standard lot = $2.00 + spread | no separate fee set in the Fee Schedule | balance conversion: 0.25% × $100,000 = $250 (EUR/USD — 0%); free via the Account Summary module or auto-conversion. Spot FX trade: 0.005% = $5 | $250 — 0.25% of the amount (FX spot mid ± 0.25%); spot FX trading has no separate commission (price in the spread) |
| Buying $10,000 of crypto | 0.18% × $10,000 = $18.00 (min $1.75) + $0.15/month Paxos | not available | not available | not available (crypto ETP funds only) | not available (crypto ETFs/ETPs only) |
| Margin $50,000 in USD, 30 days | Pro 5.13% p.a. → $210.82; Lite 6.13% → $251.92 | Sterling (Fed Funds + 3% ≈ 6.63%) → $272.47; MT5 overnight 0.03%/day → $450.00 | All-Inclusive 15.0% p.a. → $616.44; Smart 18.0% p.a. → $739.73 | rate not published — visible in the Client Area; no separate leverage fee at Margin Utilisation < 100%. Easy-to-borrow short — 12% p.a. | rate not published — Saxo Bid/Offer financing rate (SOFR + markup), 0% floor; values visible in the platform |
| Dividend of $1,000 (US / European shares) | $0 (no corporate-event processing fee) | US/UK/EU/Asia: 3% = $30.00 (min $3) | $0 (dividends and coupons — free of charge) | $0 | $0 — no separate dividend fee |
| Withdrawing $10,000 to a bank account | first 2 withdrawals of the month — $0; then $10 (SWIFT USD) | 0.4% = $40 → minimum $80.00 | $7.00 (+ correspondent bank fees) | €30 (≈$32) per transaction; if the account was funded with securities without real trading — 0.9% = €90 | €0 — "Withdrawals: EUR 0" |
| A year without trades, $10,000 on the account | $0 (no minimum, no inactivity fee) | MT5 Global: $0; Sterling: $50 × 4 quarters = $200 | $0 (but at a balance < $100 the broker may close terminal access) | €0 — the €50/month inactivity fee applies only at a balance < €5,000 (not charged with $10,000 on the account) | €0 — no inactivity fee; but custody of 0.15% p.a. keeps accruing on securities (not on cash) |
| Portfolio transfer from another broker (incoming) | ACATS — $0; DRS — from $25 | individually + reimbursement of company costs | incoming external FOP transfer — $0/€0 | securities: €500 per ISIN at a position < €1m; free at a position ≥ €1m; cash — free | no incoming transfer fee is set in the published tariffs (request via Portfolio transfer in the Client Area) |
| Portfolio transfer to another broker (outgoing) | ACATS — $0; DWAC $100; Asia $50 per request | individually + reimbursement of costs | outgoing external FOP — €100; cross-market — €200; DWAC/DRS/delisting — 0.25%, min €500 | securities: €150 per ISIN; cash: €30 | €50 per ISIN (max €160); Danish shares €25 per ISIN (max €100) |
| US real-time data (per month) | basic streaming Cboe One + IEX — $0; US Securities Snapshot & Futures Value Bundle $10 (waived at $30+ of commissions) | MT5 "Basic" — $0; "Advanced" — $1/month or $0 with ≥1 trade | TraderNet — $0; paid real-time subscriptions — at provider tariffs in the Secure Client Portal | delayed quotes free; real-time — paid subscriptions at exchange rates (arranged in the Client Area) | SaxoTraderGO and SaxoTraderPRO — free; live market data from exchanges — at provider tariffs |
14. Which broker is better for whom
| Profile | Best choice | Fee-based rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Client who specifically wants a bank, not a broker | Saxo | A licensed Danish bank, investment-grade S&P rating, Danish Guarantee Fund protection up to €100,000, 30+ years of history, €150bn+ assets under administration, regulated across multiple jurisdictions. Plus €0 for opening, servicing, deposits, withdrawals and inactivity. Check that Saxo serves your country (Table 3.2) — the list has been narrowing since 2024 |
| Large capital (from €200,000 or €1,000,000) and US options trading | Saxo VIP or IBKR Pro Tiered | Saxo VIP: $0.75 per contract — the same as IBKR Pro Fixed, with no minimum per ticket; but from 50,000 contracts/month IBKR Tiered drops to $0.25–0.15, i.e. at high volumes IBKR is 3–5× cheaper |
| Long-term holder of stocks and ETFs ("buy and hold") | Interactive Brokers or Freedom24 | Saxo charges a custody fee of 0.15% p.a. (Classic) on stocks, ETFs and bonds — on a $200,000 portfolio that is $300 a year, plus Danish VAT 25% for EU-resident individuals. IBKR, Freedom24 and EXANTE do not charge custody on stocks and ETFs. Exception — residents of Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Switzerland: Saxo sets 0% for them |
| Large orders in US stocks | Interactive Brokers or Just2Trade Sterling | Saxo's percentage model (0.08% / 0.05% / 0.03% of value) loses to per-share rates on expensive names: on a $200,000 trade that is $160 / $100 / $60 versus $5 at IBKR Pro Fixed and $2.50 at J2T Sterling. Saxo only wins on very small orders thanks to the $1 minimum |
| Long-term investor, US stock/ETF portfolio, rare trades | Interactive Brokers | $0 minimum and $0 inactivity; Pro Fixed $0.005/share (min $1); Lite $0 for US residents; 3.13% on balances above $10,000; commission-free dividend processing; 2 free withdrawals per month |
| EU investor with modest capital buying European stocks in small lots | Freedom24 (Smart) or EXANTE | €0.02/share with a €2 minimum — cheaper than IBKR's 0.05% when the share price is above ~€40 (see Table 13.3); free dividends; €0 subscription; free incoming securities transfers; zero commissions on recurring investments. Note: EXANTE requires €10,000 to start trading; Freedom24 serves EU/EEA residents |
| Active US-stock trader (day trading, direct market access) | J2T Sterling or IBKR Pro Tiered | Sterling: $0.0025/share and full pass-through of exchange rebates, but $190/month for the terminal and $50/quarter inactivity. IBKR Tiered: $0.0035 → $0.0005/share with no subscription and free platforms. Note: J2T does not serve US, UK, Canadian, Japanese and Israeli residents — for them IBKR is the default choice |
| US options trader | IBKR Pro Tiered | $0.15–0.65/contract depending on premium and volume; Freedom24 Smart matches the $0.65 rate; J2T MT5 is four times more expensive ($2.50) |
| Futures trader, small and medium volumes | J2T MT5 / IBKR | J2T MT5 "from $0.50/contract + exchange fees" — the lowest broker rate; IBKR $0.85 + exchange fees; the "flat" $1.50 at J2T CQG and Freedom24 is easier to forecast but dearer on liquid contracts |
| European derivatives trader (Eurex, Euronext, IDEM) | Interactive Brokers | Tiered €0.07–0.90 per contract versus €1.50 at Freedom24 and $1.50 at J2T CQG; on micro contracts the difference reaches 20× |
| Bond and Eurobond investor | Interactive Brokers | 10 bp on the first $10,000 of face value and 2.5 bp above; on US Treasuries — 0.2 bp. Competitors charge 12–50 bp plus clearing and (at J2T) 0.11% p.a. of custody |
| Forex / CFD trading with high leverage | Just2Trade or EXANTE | J2T and EXANTE offer CFDs and forex (J2T — leverage up to 1:500 with negative balance protection and $2–3 per lot; remember ESMA caps EU/UK retail at 1:30 and J2T does not serve US/UK/Canadian/Japanese/Israeli residents). IBKR offers spot FX at 0.20 bp — the cheapest at large volumes but with no retail CFD line; EXANTE — FX spot 0.005% and CFDs; Freedom24 does not operate in this segment |
| Regular auto top-ups and auto-investing | Freedom24 | Since 19 August 2026, Auto Invest / Recurring Investment trades and Recurring Auto Top-Ups cost 0 USD/EUR; modifying and cancelling instructions is free. At IBKR, recurring instructions on Lite accounts are tariffed as Fixed |
| Investor using leverage for months | Interactive Brokers | BM+0.5–1.5% (4.13–5.13% in USD) versus 15–18% at Freedom24 and Fed Funds+3% / 10.95% at J2T. Over a year the difference dwarfs the difference in trading commissions |
| Dividend portfolio | IBKR, Freedom24 or EXANTE | IBKR, Freedom24 and EXANTE process dividends and coupons free of charge (EXANTE charges €150 only for choosing a non-standard option in a voluntary corporate action). J2T withholds 3% (min $3 per issuer) on UK/EU/Asian shares — at a 4% dividend yield that is equivalent to losing ~0.12 p.p. of yield every year. Also compare US withholding tax handling (W-8BEN) — see section 11.4 |
| IPO participation at the offer price | Interactive Brokers / Just2Trade | Freedom24 charges 3–5% of the order amount plus 0.5% on sale and imposes a 93-day lock-up. IBKR sets no separate allocation fee in its published tariffs |
| Institutional client / prime brokerage | Interactive Brokers | A separate prime-brokerage tariff (US stocks from $0.0015/share, options $0.25, futures from $0.45), Portfolio Margin from $6m of equity, IBKR ATS, Global Outsourced Trading Desk |
| Investor in European and UK stocks who values predictable all-inclusive pricing | EXANTE | 0.05% with a €1/£1 minimum, and this rate already includes execution, exchange and clearing fees. IBKR Fixed SmartRouting has the same 0.05% rate but a €3/£3 minimum; IBKR Tiered adds exchange and clearing fees on top of 0.05%. Only government taxes pass separately (UK Stamp Duty 0.5%, Italy 0.1%, France 0.4%, Spain 0.2%) |
| Mutual fund investor | Saxo | Commission, custody and platform fee — $0 ("Saxo Bank will charge you zero commission & zero custody fees when investing in Funds"; Saxo's income is a retrocession from the fund provider). IBKR has thousands of NTF funds free of charge, but the rest cost min(3%; $14.95) per transaction. Saxo's constraints: forward pricing, the order is binding and cannot be cancelled, subscription in the instrument's currency |
| Metals trading (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper) | EXANTE | 0.005% of trade value (0.5 bp) versus 1.5 bp at IBKR for gold and 3.0 bp for silver — three times cheaper. But IBKR has allocated storage (0.10% p.a.) and physical delivery, which EXANTE lacks |
| Professional / institutional client, white label, FIX | EXANTE or IBKR Prime | EXANTE positions itself as a prime broker for banks, brokers, asset managers and family offices: bespoke white label, FIX/HTTP API with no minimum commitments, Trade Desk, "customisable rates". IBKR offers prime brokerage with portfolio margining from $6m and separate rates ($0.0015/share) |
| Long-term bond portfolio holder | Interactive Brokers | EXANTE charges 0.09% per trade (min $10 exchange-traded / $50 OTC) plus 0.3% p.a. of bond custody; IBKR — 10 bp on the first $10,000 of face value, 2.5 bp above, and no custody fee. On a $200,000 portfolio, EXANTE's custody costs $600 a year |
| Client with a small account who may not trade for months | Interactive Brokers or Freedom24 | Neither charges an inactivity fee. EXANTE charges €50/month at a balance < €5,000 and 90+ days without trades; J2T (Sterling) $50/quarter. At a balance ≥ €5,000 EXANTE charges nothing |
| Need a personal manager without a subscription fee | Freedom24 All-Inclusive | Personal Assistant Support free, DAS System free, SMS free — but in exchange 0.5% of turnover on stocks and $3 + $10 on US options |
The final choice formula.
0) First check eligibility: if you are a US person, Interactive Brokers is the only one of the five that will onboard you. If you are in the UK — IBKR, Saxo and EXANTE (LHCM/FCA). If you are in the EU/EEA — all five, subject to Saxo's country list and Freedom24's EEA focus (see Table 3.2).
1) If you want the lowest overall costs, the widest instrument set and cheap leverage — Interactive Brokers (Pro Tiered for active traders, Pro Fixed for moderate ones, Lite — US residents).
2) If you are an EU-based investor with modest amounts, buying stocks and ETFs in small lots, topping up regularly and wanting free dividend processing — Freedom24 on the Smart plan (never All-Inclusive for trades above ~$5,000).
3) If you need CFDs, forex with leverage up to 1:500 (where local rules allow), leveraged OTC Eurobonds or US direct market access with rebates — Just2Trade (MT5 Global as the all-round account, Sterling for day trading, CQG for derivatives) — provided you are not a resident of the US, UK, Canada, Japan or Israel.
4) If you invest in mutual funds, want to bank with an actual bank (Danish licence, protection up to €100,000) and refuse on principle to pay for deposits, withdrawals, servicing and inactivity — Saxo. But count the full cost: the custody fee of 0.09–0.15% p.a. and the percentage commission model make Saxo the most expensive of the five on large US stock orders and long holding horizons.
5) If you value simple, predictable all-inclusive pricing (no separate exchange and clearing fees), focus on European and UK stocks, metals and prime-brokerage service with FIX/white label — EXANTE. Constraints: expensive bonds (plus 0.3% p.a. custody), €30 per withdrawal, €150 per ISIN for outgoing securities transfers, €50/month inactivity on small accounts, a €10,000 entry threshold and unpublished margin/interest rates.
0) First check eligibility: if you are a US person, Interactive Brokers is the only one of the five that will onboard you. If you are in the UK — IBKR, Saxo and EXANTE (LHCM/FCA). If you are in the EU/EEA — all five, subject to Saxo's country list and Freedom24's EEA focus (see Table 3.2).
1) If you want the lowest overall costs, the widest instrument set and cheap leverage — Interactive Brokers (Pro Tiered for active traders, Pro Fixed for moderate ones, Lite — US residents).
2) If you are an EU-based investor with modest amounts, buying stocks and ETFs in small lots, topping up regularly and wanting free dividend processing — Freedom24 on the Smart plan (never All-Inclusive for trades above ~$5,000).
3) If you need CFDs, forex with leverage up to 1:500 (where local rules allow), leveraged OTC Eurobonds or US direct market access with rebates — Just2Trade (MT5 Global as the all-round account, Sterling for day trading, CQG for derivatives) — provided you are not a resident of the US, UK, Canada, Japan or Israel.
4) If you invest in mutual funds, want to bank with an actual bank (Danish licence, protection up to €100,000) and refuse on principle to pay for deposits, withdrawals, servicing and inactivity — Saxo. But count the full cost: the custody fee of 0.09–0.15% p.a. and the percentage commission model make Saxo the most expensive of the five on large US stock orders and long holding horizons.
5) If you value simple, predictable all-inclusive pricing (no separate exchange and clearing fees), focus on European and UK stocks, metals and prime-brokerage service with FIX/white label — EXANTE. Constraints: expensive bonds (plus 0.3% p.a. custody), €30 per withdrawal, €150 per ISIN for outgoing securities transfers, €50/month inactivity on small accounts, a €10,000 entry threshold and unpublished margin/interest rates.
| Where you live | Of the five, available to you | Fee-wise recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| United States | IBKR only | IBKR Lite for passive US stock/ETF investing; Pro Tiered for active trading. The other four do not onboard US residents (and CFDs are not available to US retail at all) |
| United Kingdom | IBKR (IB UK), Saxo (UK entity), EXANTE (LHCM Ltd, FCA) | IBKR for the broadest markets and cheap FX; EXANTE for all-inclusive LSE pricing (0.05%, min £1 + Stamp Duty); Saxo for mutual funds and banking protection (FSCS £85,000 via the UK entity). J2T and Freedom24 do not accept UK residents |
| EU / EEA | All five (Saxo — except Cyprus and a few other markets; check the account-opening form) | Freedom24 Smart for small lots of EU/US stocks; IBKR for everything else, especially bonds, options and margin; EXANTE for all-inclusive EU/UK stocks (from €10,000); Saxo if you want a bank and hold mostly funds — watch the custody fee and Danish VAT |
| Switzerland | IBKR, Saxo (en-ch local tariffs), EXANTE and J2T — check current terms; Freedom24 focuses on the EU/EEA | Saxo charges 0% custody for Swiss residents; compare CHF commissions at IBKR (min CHF 1.50 Tiered) |
| Canada | IBKR (IBKR Canada, CIPF protection) — Saxo stopped onboarding Canadians in 2024; J2T does not serve Canadian residents | IBKR: CAD 0.008/share Tiered on TSX, cheap US access, CIPF coverage up to CAD 1m |
| Australia / New Zealand | IBKR (both); Saxo — Australia only (NZ exited 2024) | IBKR for cost; Saxo AU for the local bank-style service — compare the custody fee against your holding period |
| Japan / Singapore / Hong Kong | IBKR (local entities); Saxo (Japan, Singapore, HK); EXANTE — HK via XHK Ltd (SFC), but Singapore residents are not onboarded by EXT Ltd; J2T — not for Japanese residents | IBKR generally cheapest for trading; Saxo charges 0% custody for Japanese residents and 0% on SGX securities for Singapore residents/entities (with securities-lending conditions in SG) |
| India | IBKR (IB India, SEBI) — Saxo exited India in 2024 | IBKR India: NSE Fixed 1 bp (min INR 6, max INR 20) + local fees; $100 minimum equity for market-data subscriptions |
| Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar) | Saxo (MENA venues), IBKR; EXANTE and J2T — check current onboarding for your country | For local markets: EXANTE (DFM, Tadawul) and Saxo (UAE/MENA tariffs, custody 0.15%/0.15%/0.05%); for global portfolios: IBKR |
| Latin America, Africa, Turkey, other Asia | Mostly IBKR — Saxo exited Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia and others in 2024; J2T serves many of these countries (not US/UK/CA/JP/IL residents) | IBKR is the default: 200+ countries, $0 minimum, local entity or IB LLC. J2T as an alternative for CFD/FX-style trading where accepted |
15. Limitations of the comparison and what stayed out of scope
- Spreads and execution quality are not tariffed. The real cost of a trade = commission + spread + slippage. IBKR publishes best-execution statistics, J2T declares STP/ECN execution and spreads from 0.0 pips, Freedom24 — execution via TraderNet/DAS. None of this can be compared quantitatively from official tariffs.
- Swaps and overnight rates at J2T are published per instrument in the platform specifications, not in the tariff documents, so the tables only show general rates (0.03% on stocks, 0.0712% on futures).
- Exchange, clearing and regulatory fees are disclosed differently: IBKR publishes separate pages per venue (dozens of documents), J2T — in footnotes and pass-through, Freedom24's Fee Schedule does not break them out. In the calculations they were included only where the broker states a concrete rate.
- Legal entity and residency. At IBKR, rates and product availability depend on which group entity services the client (IB LLC, IB UK, IB Ireland, IB India, IBKR HK and others); the data shown is from interactivebrokers.com (IB LLC). Regional sites (interactivebrokers.co.uk, .ie, .com.hk, etc.) may contain differences, including VAT/GST.
- Investor protection depends on the contracting entity. SIPC ($500k + $30m Lloyd's excess) applies to IB LLC accounts; EU clients of IB Ireland get the Irish ICS (90% up to €20,000), UK clients of IB UK — FSCS £85,000. Cyprus-regulated J2T, Freedom24 and EXANTE (EXT Ltd) carry the ICF's €20,000; EXANTE's UK clients (LHCM) — FSCS £85,000. Saxo — the Danish Guarantee Fund up to €100,000, or the local scheme of the regional entity. See Table 3.3.
- Country availability is a moving target. Saxo stopped onboarding in dozens of markets from July 2024 and changed ownership in 2026 (J. Safra Sarasin); J2T, EXANTE and Freedom24 maintain exclusion lists (Tables 3.2). The definitive test is always the broker's account-opening form for your country of residence.
- Product access depends on entity and residence. IBKR Lite, the Insured Bank Deposit Sweep and most prediction markets — US only; spot crypto — via Paxos/Zero Hash depending on residence; EU retail clients cannot buy US-domiciled ETFs (PRIIPs); retail CFD leverage in the EU/UK is capped by ESMA/FCA rules.
- VAT and taxes. IBKR explicitly notes that VAT/GST may be added to applicable services. For Cyprus brokers, EU clients' investment-service commissions are generally not subject to VAT, but this does not extend to every separate service. Tax consequences (withholding tax on dividends, estate tax, local reporting) are not reflected in tariffs — see section 11.4.
- Unpublished EXANTE rates. A number of key EXANTE parameters are officially disclosed only in the client area (Client Area → Terms): overnight rates on FX, CFDs and short positions; Negative Balance Interest and Positive Balance rates; real-time data subscription costs; Live FIX and HTTP API pricing; hard-to-borrow rates and crypto-fund fees. These items are marked "not published" — they cannot be compared numerically with competitors.
- Different EXANTE entities. The data is for EXT LTD (Cyprus, CySEC 165/12, exante.eu). Clients of LHCM LTD (FCA, UK) and XHK Limited (SFC, HK) may be served on different terms.
- Saxo: rates are indicative and not fully published. The official disclaimer on all pricing pages: "prices are indicative and vary by country of residence; the full list of exact prices is available in the platform's trading tickets". Detailed per-exchange tables (stocks, ETFs, futures, bonds) load dynamically on the site and are absent from the static markup — only officially published rates by account level, minimums and Saxo's worked examples are included. Margin financing and interest-on-balance rates are not published at all.
- Saxo: regional differences. Data is collected from the international home.saxo (Saxo Bank A/S, Denmark). Regional sites (en-gb, en-ch, en-sg, en-mena, en-hk, pl-pl, cs-cz, da-dk, nl-nl, nb-no, fr-fr, ja-jp, bgsaxo.it) contain different rates — in particular for custody: 0% in Belgium, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Switzerland; 0.12% / 0.12% / 0.08% in the UK; 0.15% / 0.15% / 0.05% in UAE/MENA; conditional regimes in Denmark, Czechia and Singapore.
- Saxo: a discrepancy within one official document. On the "General charges and fees" page, the "at a glance" block lists the Reporting fee as USD 50, while the detailed section says USD 100 for the Classic level. Both figures are shown in the comparison, flagged.
- Document versions. Freedom24: Fee Schedule effective 19 August 2026 (document 1203); the Fix, Super and Prime plans are closed to new clients. Just2Trade: documents in the editions of 10 September 2026 (OTC fees, transfers) and 31 August 2026 (MT4 ECN fees). IBKR: pages as of 14 September 2026; margin and interest rates are revised along with benchmark rates. EXANTE: market pages without publication dates, knowledge-base articles updated 16 July 2026 and 20 August 2026; Saxo: pricing pages without publication dates, the promo page's worked examples are based on closing prices of 20 September 2024 for the Classic level; the broker explicitly notes that rates are "subject to change", and percentage commissions are rounded up to hundredths. A separate EXANTE caveat: "Commissions on the page include execution, exchange, and clearing fees", yet the knowledge base lists actual exchange-fee ranges for futures — this was accounted for in the comparison. Availability, regulation and protection facts were verified on 21 September 2026.
- Non-tariff but significant things: insurance/compensation schemes (now partly covered in Table 3.3), withdrawal speed, support quality, mobile apps, analytics. Mostly out of scope, as they are not tariffs.
- FX assumptions (1 EUR = 1.08 USD; 1 GBP = 1.27 USD; 1 HKD = 0.128 USD) were used only for orders of magnitude in the commentary; currencies were not converted in the tables.
- Rates may be changed by the broker unilaterally. IBKR states directly: "IBKR may change these rates at any time in its sole discretion". Before opening an account, check the current editions of the documents.
16. Sources (official broker websites)
Fee data — accessed September 14, 2026. Eligibility, regulation and client-protection data — accessed September 21, 2026.
Interactive Brokers — interactivebrokers.com
- Commissions & Fees (overview) — IBKR Commissions
- Commissions — Stocks, ETFs, Warrants and Structured Products (US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan) — IBKR Stocks
- Commissions — Options (US, NANOS, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands) — IBKR Options
- Commissions — Futures and Futures Options (US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, crypto futures) — IBKR Futures
- Commissions — Bonds / Fixed Income (US corporate, municipal, treasuries; Canada; Euronext; SIX; Europe OTC) — IBKR Bonds
- Commissions — Spot Currencies (including the 0.03% auto-conversion terms) — IBKR Spot Currencies
- Commissions — Mutual Funds (NTF and 3% / $14.95) — IBKR Mutual Funds
- Commissions — Metals (London Gold/Silver, US Spot Gold, storage, borrow fees, physical delivery) — IBKR Metals
- Commissions — Cryptocurrencies (Paxos / Zero Hash) — IBKR Cryptocurrencies
- Margin Rates and Financing (rate tables for 23 currencies, IBKR Pro / IBKR Lite) — IBKR Margin Rates
- Interest Rates (interest on balances, blended rates, examples, Insured Bank Deposit Sweep) — IBKR Interest Rates
- Other Fees (corporate events, exercise/assignment, cancel/modify, trade bust, phone orders, withdrawals and deposits, securities transfers ACATS/DWAC/DRS, ADR/GDR, LEI, archived statements, pass-through custody) — IBKR Other Fees
- Other Fees — overview (IBKR Lite, minimums, advisor/broker billing) — IBKR Other Fees Overview
- Required Minimums ($0 account minimum, $0 inactivity fee) — IBKR Required Minimums
- Market Data Pricing (free data, US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle $10 / waiver $30, OPRA L1 $1.50 / waiver $20, snapshot quotes, equity minimums) — IBKR Market Data
Just2Trade — j2t.com (J2T Services Ltd, CySEC 281/15, HE 341520)
- Fees & Commissions — register of official tariff documents — J2T Fees
- MT5 Global — Pricing (full commission table across 15 markets, options, futures, bonds, forex, metals, CFDs, overnight rates, exchange and clearing fees, voice trading, market data, dividend commissions) — J2T MT5 Pricing
- MT5 Global — account overview (coverage: 30,000+ stocks / 20 markets, 5,000+ futures, 90,000+ options, leverage up to 1:500) — J2T MT5 Global
- MT5 Global — Deposit (funding fees) — J2T MT5 Deposit
- MT5 Global — Withdrawal (withdrawal fees for all methods) — J2T MT5 Withdrawal
- Tariffs for trading in US markets (Sterling Trader® Pro / Lightspeed) — PDF: tiers $0.0025–0.001 per share, options $0.75, margin Fed Funds + 3%, terminal costs, $20/month servicing, inactivity $50/quarter, corporate events $30 — J2T US Tariffs
- Fees for OTC transactions (version of 10 September 2026) — 0.128% min $35, REPO $5, depositary $20/$30 and 0.11% p.a., corporate events $35/$85, minimum deposit $30,000, safekeeping account 0.5%/month — J2T OTC Fees
- Commissions related to transfers of financial instruments (version of 10 September 2026) — $20/$100 per position, external transfers individually — J2T Transfer Fees
- Just2Trade MetaTrader 4 ECN Fees (edition of 31 August 2026) — ECN $3/lot, ECN Pro $2/lot, platform free — J2T MT4 ECN Fees
- Global Futures (CQG) — flat $1.50 per contract per side — J2T Global Futures
- Trading platform CQG — terminal costs (Desktop and Mobile free, QTrader $100/month, Integrated Client from $595/month) and exchange-fee pass-through terms — J2T CQG
- Bonds — bond trading conditions (0.128%, min $10; deposit from $3,000; leverage up to 1:2 / 1:3) — J2T Bonds
- Invest in IPO — IPO participation service — J2T IPO
Freedom Finance Europe Ltd — freedom24.com (CySEC CIF 275/15)
- Appendix 6 to the General Terms of Business — FEE SCHEDULE, effective from August 19, 2026 (the core document: Promo in EUR / Smart / All-inclusive / Exclusive plans; stocks and ETFs, Asia, Middle East; US options; futures and options; NANOS; margin rates; SMS; TraderNet/DAS; withdrawals; OTC; exchange-traded bonds; recurring investments; IPO; corporate actions; non-trading orders; E-Accounts and ER-Accounts; structured products; CQG; other; archived plans) — Freedom24 Fee Schedule
- Pricing plan selection (summary page of Smart / All inclusive in EUR tariffs, other commissions) — Freedom24 Tariffs
- Appendix 6 — FEE SCHEDULE, effective from February 23, 2026 (previous edition, used for cross-checking) — Freedom24 Fee Schedule 2026
- Appendix 6 — FEE SCHEDULE, effective from May 29, 2025 (archived edition with the Prime plan) — Freedom24 Fee Schedule 2025
- General Terms of Business (of 1 July 2026) — the list of official company domains: freedomfinance.eu, freedom24.com, freedom24.eu, tradernet.com, ffineu.eu — Freedom24 General Terms
- Platform main page (coverage: ~1,000,000 instruments, 147,000 bonds; account opening conditions) — Freedom24 Platform
EXANTE — exante.eu and support.exante.eu (EXT LTD, CySEC 165/12)
- Pricing Overview — summary pricing page: Stocks & ETFs from $0.02, Currencies spread from 0.3, Futures from $1.5, Options from $1.5, Metals from 0.005%, Bonds from 9 bp; "Zero custody fees", "No hidden fees. Flat trading and data feed charges" — EXANTE Pricing
- Rates and Commissions — overnight rates, inactivity fee €50/month, short 12%, voluntary corporate actions €150, margin trading and the Excess Margin fee 100% p.a., Trade Desk and custom reports €90 — EXANTE Rates
- Markets — Stocks & ETFs: full rate table for 24 exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, ARCA, BATS, OTCMKTS, Xetra, FWB, Euronext Amsterdam/Brussels/Lisbon/Paris, MIL, LSE, LSEIOB, SIX, HKEX, TSE, OMXC/OMXH/SOMX, PSE, WSE, BET) — EXANTE Stocks
- Markets — Bonds: Electronic from 0.09% min $10/€10; OTC from 0.09% min $50/€50; Fractional from 0.25% min $0.5; Structured notes (OTC) from 0.5% min $50; Sukuk — EXANTE Bonds
- Markets — Futures: CBOT, CBOE, CME, COMEX, NYMEX from $1.5; ICE from $2.5; EUREX from €1.5; Euronext Paris from €1.50 + exchange fees; HKEX from 12 HKD — EXANTE Futures
- Markets — Options: CBOT/CME/COMEX/ICE/NYMEX from $1.5; CBOE from $2.1 (including exchange fees); EUREX from €2 — EXANTE Options
- Markets — Currencies: 50+ pairs, from 0.005% — EXANTE Currencies
- Markets — Metals: Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Cu, Al, Pb, Ni, Zn — from 0.005% — EXANTE Metals
- Customer Care — Fees overview: service fees (updated 16 July 2026): inactivity €50/month, withdrawal €30 (non-standard 0.9%), deposit 0, Excess Margin fee, short ~12%, manual execution €90, custody 0.3% p.a. on bonds, compliance fee €25/day, outgoing securities transfer €150/ISIN, voluntary corporate actions €150, free internal transfers and free leverage — EXANTE Service Fees
- Customer Care — Fees overview: exchange-imposed fees (updated 20 August 2026): minimum and standard stock commission ($1 / $0.02 per share), exchange-fee ranges for futures, UK/Ireland/France/Spain/Italy taxes, bond commission 0.09% and the $50 manual-execution minimum, custody 0.3% p.a., currency conversion 0.25%/0.4% (EUR/USD — 0%), rounding rules — EXANTE Exchange Fees
- Customer Care — Transfer Fees Overview (16 July 2026): cash deposits free, incoming securities €500/ISIN at a position < €1m and free at ≥ €1m, cash withdrawals €30, outgoing securities €150, internal transfers free — EXANTE Transfer Fees
- Customer Care — Withdrawal fee (16 July 2026): standard €30/GBP, non-standard — the greater of 0.9% and €30/GBP, application conditions, examples — EXANTE Withdrawal Fee
- Customer Care — EXANTE Platform: Key Definitions (16 July 2026): definitions of Commission (volume-based / quantity-based / minimum per trade), Custody Fee, Negative Balance Interest, Positive Balance (interest on free cash), Overnight Rate, Margin Call, Concentration Rate — EXANTE Key Definitions
- Home page — group entities (LHCM LTD / FCA, XHK Limited / SFC, EXT LTD / CySEC 165/12), coverage of 2,000,000+ instruments and 50+ markets, exchange list by city, FIX/HTTP API with no minimum commitments — EXANTE Home
Saxo — home.saxo (Saxo Bank A/S, Denmark)
- Pricing Overview — summary pricing page across all asset classes: stocks from $1 (US), ETFs from $1 (US-listed), futures from $1 per contract, bonds from 0.05%, listed options from $0.75 per contract, mutual funds — commission, custody and platform fee $0; Saxo Elite; coverage and regulation — Saxo Pricing
- General charges, fees & pricing across markets — €0 for opening, servicing, minimum, deposits, withdrawals and inactivity; currency conversion 0.25%; manual order €50; Reporting fee (USD 50 and USD 100 — source discrepancy); €15/month for a terminated account; instrument addition $200; the custody-fee table by country and level; VAT; financing of margin products and benchmarks for 26 currencies; interest calculation and debit rules; interest on balances (VIP only, from Net Free Equity) — Saxo General Charges
- Stocks pricing — three pricing levels, table by exchange (America / Europe-Middle East-Africa / Asia-Pacific), smart order routing, stock and ETF custody fee (0.15% / 0.12% / 0.09% p.a.) with VAT rules, outgoing securities transfer fee (DK €25/ISIN max €100; other €50/ISIN max €160), corporate-action taxes and charges — Saxo Stocks
- Bonds pricing — 5,200+ bonds (exchange-traded and OTC), from 0.05%; bonds as collateral (AAA 95%, AA 90%, A 80%); minimum lot size from €/$10,000 up to 50k/100k/200k; online trading 24/5 — Saxo Bonds
- Futures pricing — 250+ contracts; commission per contract and per trade (buy, sell or expiry) excluding exchange fees; above 5,000 contracts per month — price on request; carrying cost on rolled positions (VIP 0.5% / Platinum 1.5% / Classic 3.5% of daily margin) — Saxo Futures
- Listed option pricing — 3,100+ options on 20 exchanges; full rate table by contract currency and level (stock options and contract options: EUR 0.75/0.75/0.75; USD 2.00/1.00/0.75; GBP 3.00/2.00/1.00; CHF 3.00/2.00/1.00; CAD 6.00/4.00/2.00; NOK, SEK, HKD 25/15/10; JPY 1,000/800/700); no minimum per ticket; Listed Option MIBO surcharge (€0.50 up to 7 contracts, €5 above); carrying cost on short positions; default highest-price-category rule — Saxo Listed Options
- Mutual funds trading conditions — zero commission and zero custody; retrocession from the fund provider; forward pricing and valuation point; minimum subscription size; binding, non-cancellable orders; order types (Subscription, Redemption, Switch funds) — Saxo Mutual Funds
- Saxo Individual Account — account levels and their transaction rates: Classic (default, no minimum funding) — US stocks and ETFs 0.08%, major FX pairs 1 pip, stock CFD $0.02, stock options $2.00; Platinum (deposit €200,000+) — 0.05% / 0.9 pips / $0.015 / $1.00; VIP (deposit €1,000,000+) — 0.03% / 0.7 pips / $0.01 / $0.75; Saxo Elite (from €5m of assets or €200m of turnover); no minimum funding — Saxo Individual Account
- Promo page "Invest at a lower cost" — no platform fee, inactivity fee or minimum funding; Danish Guarantee Fund protection up to €100,000; 71,000+ instruments; EUR 15bn+ daily turnover; EUR 150bn+ assets; official worked examples for the Classic level (Tesla: 5 shares for $1,191 → $1; Porsche AG: 70 shares for €4,550 → €3.6; Amazon: 50 shares for $9,580 → $7.6; Unilever: 1 share for £4,853 → £3.9); currency conversion fee 0.25% — Saxo Invest
Eligibility, regulation and client protection — additional official sources (accessed 21 September 2026)
- Interactive Brokers — Client Protection: SIPC up to $500,000 (incl. $250,000 cash) + excess SIPC policy with Lloyd's of London underwriters — up to $30m (incl. $900,000 cash); daily client-reserve computation — IBKR Client Protection
- Interactive Brokers Ireland — Client Protection: Irish Investor Compensation Scheme — 90% of the loss, up to €20,000 per investor — IBIE Client Protection
- IBKR crypto eligibility: "Cryptocurrency trade execution and custody are provided by Paxos Trust Company or Zero Hash LLC depending on your account type and country of legal residence" — IBKR Cryptocurrencies
- IBKR Prediction Markets (ForecastEx): forecast contracts are available only to eligible clients of certain IBKR entities; contracts on US election results — only to eligible US residents — IBKR ForecastTrader Learning Center
- Just2Trade — Account types: "Due to regional restrictions we do not provide services to residents of USA, UK, Israel, Canada, Japan, SVG and Mauritius"; leverage and conditions "may differ by region"; the EU "Global" account is offered by Lime Trading (CY) Ltd (now J2T Services Ltd) — Just2Trade Account Types
- Just2Trade — company data: J2T Services Ltd (ex Lime Trading (CY) Ltd), CySEC 281/15; 130+ countries, 155,000+ clients — About J2T, CySEC register
- Freedom24 — services within the EU: "Freedom Finance Europe Ltd provides financial services in the European Union"; account-opening FAQ — Freedom24 Account FAQ
- Freedom24 — US ETFs and PRIIPs: "US-listed ETFs are only accessible to professional investors within Europe" (Regulation 1286/2014, no KIDs from US issuers) — Freedom24 US ETFs FAQ
- EXANTE — About / onboarding restrictions: "EXT LTD is not onboarding clients who are residents of Russia, Singapore, the US, and certain other jurisdictions as determined by our internal policies"; 20,000+ active accounts from 100+ countries — EXANTE Company
- EXANTE — Minimum deposit to start trading: individual accounts €10,000, corporate accounts €50,000 (or equivalent) — EXANTE Customer Care
- Saxo — Which countries are serviced: official list of serviced countries (no USA; onboarding list may be narrower than the servicing list) — Saxo Help Center
- Saxo — withdrawal bank accounts: "Saxo Bank does not accept third-party payments. The bank account must be in your country of residence or in another country approved by Saxo" — Saxo Help Center
- Saxo — strategic review and country exits (July 2024): press release on the review of strategic opportunities, after which onboarding stopped in Canada, New Zealand, India, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil and other markets — Saxo Press Release
- Saxo — change of ownership: "J. Safra Sarasin Group completes the acquisition of majority stake in Saxo Bank" (March 2026); Kim Fournais moved to Chairman, Daniel Belfer became CEO — Saxo Press Release
- ESMA — product intervention on CFDs: leverage limits for retail clients (30:1 major FX … 2:1 crypto), negative balance protection, restrictions on marketing — the basis for the leverage caps in section 8 — ESMA