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Interactive Brokers vs Plus500 for US stocks
Interactive Brokers gives you the actual share; Plus500 gives leveraged exposure to the price without ownership. That is not a preference — it is a different product, with different tax, dividend and risk treatment.
Pick Interactive Brokers if real share ownership from almost any country. Pick Plus500 if simple one-screen CFD trading.
The default answer for a non-US investor who wants to actually own US shares rather than a derivative of them.
Visit Interactive BrokersDeliberately minimal. Fine as a CFD terminal, wrong tool for building a long-term US portfolio.
Visit Plus500Side by side
| Interactive Brokers | Plus500 | |
|---|---|---|
| What you hold | The share | A CFD on the price |
| US stock access | Full US listed market (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX) plus 150+ global markets | Several hundred US share CFDs |
| Minimum deposit | None | $100 |
| Fractional shares | Yes | n/a |
| Published pricing | IBKR Lite offers $0 commission on US listed stocks and ETFs for eligible clients; IBKR Pro is tiered/fixed per-share pricing. | Costs are spread-only with no separate commission; overnight funding and an inactivity fee apply. |
| Platforms | Trader Workstation, IBKR Desktop, IBKR Mobile, Client Portal, API | Plus500 web, Plus500 mobile |
| Extended hours | Pre-market and after-hours routing available | Not offered |
| Regulation | SEC SIPC member, FCA 208159, CBI C423427 | FCA 509909, CySEC 250/14, ASIC 417727 |
| Founded | 1978 | 2008 |
Where each one wins
Interactive Brokers
- Real share ownership from almost any country
- Multi-currency accounts
- Options, futures and international listings in one account
- The desktop platform is dense and unforgiving for first-timers
- Data subscriptions are billed separately
Plus500
- Simple one-screen CFD trading
- No share ownership
- Inactivity fee
- No third-party platforms
Frequently asked questions
Interactive Brokers or Plus500 — which is better for US stocks?
Interactive Brokers gives you the actual share; Plus500 gives leveraged exposure to the price without ownership. That is not a preference — it is a different product, with different tax, dividend and risk treatment. Interactive Brokers: real share ownership from almost any country. Plus500: simple one-screen CFD trading.
Which is cheaper?
Interactive Brokers: IBKR Lite offers $0 commission on US listed stocks and ETFs for eligible clients; IBKR Pro is tiered/fixed per-share pricing. Plus500: Costs are spread-only with no separate commission; overnight funding and an inactivity fee apply. Both figures are restated from each broker's own pricing page; for small non-USD accounts, currency conversion usually costs more than commission does.
Which is better regulated?
Interactive Brokers is authorised by SEC, FCA, CBI; Plus500 by FCA, CySEC, ASIC. What matters is which entity holds your account, since that determines your compensation scheme and leverage limits.
Reviewed August 2026. Figures restated from each broker's published pages.