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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.
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| VS field |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Decision summary | ||||
| Overall score | 78 | 91 | 91 | 90 |
| Trust score | 76 | 100 | 94 | 99 |
| Cost score | 80 | 92 | 88 | 85 |
| Platform score | 88 | 94 | 93 | 94 |
| Withdrawal score | 71 | 89 | 80 | 86 |
| Best for | Experienced Forex and CFD traders · MetaTrader 4/5 users · Traders wanting many CFDs across currency pairs, indices, commodities, stocks and ETFs | Best suited for U.S.-centric investors and active traders who want a large, bank-affiliated multi-asset brokerage with $0 online listed stock/ETF commissions, strong platform dept… | Active traders · Advanced investors · International-market investors | Experienced forex/CFD traders · Scalpers, day traders and algorithmic traders comfortable with high-risk leveraged products · Users who specifically need MT4/MT5, cTrader or Tradi… |
| Watch out | Many key conditions vary by entity, country, account type, client classification and instrument · Global officialWebsite content reviewed is primarily Admirals SC Ltd/Seychelles ·… | Needs verification | Fee schedule is complex and varies by product, plan, market and entity · Country availability/restrictions need entity-specific review · No single universal max leverage figure fo… | Long-term investors seeking physical stocks/ETFs · Beginners who need strong statutory investor compensation or negative balance protection · Residents of restricted countries or… |
Trust & regulation | ||||
| Regulators | FSA Seychelles, CySEC Cyprus, FCA UK. Source | SEC; FINRA; SIPC; CFTC; NFA; FDIC Source | Regulated by SEC/FINRA/CFTC/NYSE in the US and by FCA, Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, Hong Kong SFC, SEBI, Kanto Local Finance Bureau and MAS for regional affiliates. Source | Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA) Source |
| License numbers | Admirals SC Ltd: SD073; Admirals Europe Ltd: CySEC 201/13; Admiral Markets UK Ltd: FCA 595450. Source | Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. CRD 5393; SEC 801-29938 and 8-16514 Source | US CRD 36418 / SEC 8-47257; UK FCA 208159; AU AFSL 453554; India SEBI INZ000217730 and NSDL IN-DP-602-2021; Singapore MAS CMS100917; Japan Kanto Local Finance Bureau No.187. Source | Securities Dealer license number SD018 Source |
| Regulated entities | Admirals discloses Admirals SC Ltd (Seychelles), Admirals Europe Ltd (Cyprus), and Admiral Markets UK Ltd (UK); the reviewed global site is primarily Admirals SC Ltd. Source | Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC; Charles Schwab Bank, SSB; Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB Source | Major regulated entities include Interactive Brokers LLC plus UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore affiliates. Source | Raw Trading Ltd, registered in Seychelles (registration number 8419879-1), regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles with Securities Dealer license SD018. Source |
| Negative balance protection | Admirals has a negative balance protection policy; exact terms depend on Admirals entity. SC Ltd policy applies to eligible normal trading activity and excludes debts unrelated to trading or illicit trading methods. Source | Not disclosed as retail brokerage negative balance protection; futures/forex are leveraged and losses may exceed initial investment. Source | No universal negative-balance-protection promise found for Interactive Brokers LLC; IBKR describes real-time margin requirements and protective liquidations to return accounts to margin compliance. Source | No negative balance protection found for the reviewed global entity; IC says clients bear negative consequences and are responsible for any negative balance. Source |
| Investor compensation | Admirals SC Ltd client funds protection insurance up to 100,000 USD; not a universal broker-level investor compensation scheme claim. Source | SIPC protection up to $500,000 including a $250,000 cash limit for brokerage account assets; futures accounts are not protected by SIPC. Source | Interactive Brokers LLC securities accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000, including $250,000 cash sublimit, plus excess SIPC coverage up to an additional $30 million per account with $900,000 cash sublimit, subject to $150 million aggregate; futures/options on futures are excluded. Regional schemes vary. Source | Client funds insurance up to US$1,000,000; no statutory investor compensation scheme found in reviewed official sources. Source |
| Restricted countries | Country availability/restrictions are jurisdiction-specific and not available as a reliable public list in reviewed sources. Source | Not all products, services, or investments are available in all countries; Schwab is not registered outside the United States and products/services may not be registered in a user's jurisdiction. Source | Official available-countries page lists countries/territories where applications are available rather than a concise restricted-country list. Treat unsupported/sanctioned-country restrictions as country/entity-dependent and requiring manual review. Source | Raw Trading Ltd does not provide services to residents of the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Iran, North Korea (DPRK), or countries where distribution/use would be contrary to local law or regulation. Source |
Costs & account conditions | ||||
| Minimum deposit | Not consistently disclosed at broker-level; likely account/entity specific. Official index CFD page mentions 'Start with just 25 USD'. Source | $0 minimum for standard U.S. brokerage and IRA accounts; Schwab One International accounts require a minimum deposit but amount is not disclosed in checked official pages. Source | USD 0 account minimum for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite; broker accounts can require a USD 10,000 up-front deposit applied against commissions. Source | No minimum deposit requirement disclosed for opening a trading account. Source |
| Spread from | Zero accounts: spreads from 0; Trade accounts: from 0.5 pips in FAQ / 0.6 pips on start-trading comparison; floating and vary by instrument/account/market conditions. Source | Not applicable to this stock/ETF investment broker profile; no CFD/FX spread schedule identified as a core product in reviewed sources. Source | Spot currency spreads advertised as narrow as 1/10 pip on Interactive Brokers Australia pricing overview; spreads vary by product/entity/market. Source | Spreads from 0.0 pips on MetaTrader/cTrader Raw Spread platforms; Standard account spread starts from 0.8 pip. Source |
| Commission | Trade accounts mostly spread-based; Zero accounts spread plus commission; stock/ETF CFD and investing commissions vary by exchange/region. Source | stock_commission: $0 online commission for listed stocks and ETFs; OTC equities $6.95; broker-assisted service charge $25; etf_commission: $0 online commission for listed U.S.-exchange ETFs; options_commission: $0 online base commission plus $0.65 per options contract; futures_commission: $2.25 per contract, per side, for futures and futures options; exchange, regulatory, overnight, NFA, and market-data fees may apply; mutual_fund_commission: $0 on thousands of Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource funds; all other mutual funds up to $74.95 per purchase; bond_commission: New-issue bonds/CDs: $0 online/selling concession included; Treasuries online $0; most other secondary bonds $1 per bond with $10 minimum and $250 maximum; forex_commission: $0 commission; forex trade costs are reflected in the bid/ask spread Source | IBKR Lite offers $0 commissions on US stocks and ETFs; IBKR Pro uses fixed/tiered commissions and third-party/exchange/regulatory fees may apply by market/product. Source | Standard: no commission, 0.8 pip markup. Raw Spread MetaTrader: USD $3.50 per lot per side / $7 round turn. cTrader/TradingView: USD $3 per $100,000 traded per side. Source |
| Maximum leverage | Up to 1:500 depending on instrument (official index CFDs page); broker-level maximum is entity/account/instrument dependent. Source | Not disclosed as a single broker-level maximum; leverage/margin depends on product, account approval, and regulatory/product requirements. Source | Not expressed as a single max leverage figure; margin requirements are product-, account-, entity- and regulation-dependent and IBKR applies real-time risk margin. Source | IC offers flexible leverage from 1:1 to 1:5000; leverage is dynamic and may change at any time. Source |
| Deposit fee | No Admirals deposit fee; third-party charges and conversion may apply. Source | $0 for funds entering a standard brokerage account; banking deposit services generally no monthly/account minimum fees, but certain services can have fees Source | Most standard bank/security deposit methods show no IBKR deposit fee in the extracted official fee table, but physical currency deposits incur a special handling fee of 1% of deposit amount, minimum $50; third-party/bank fees may apply. Source | IC does not charge additional deposit fees; bank/intermediary fees may apply. Source |
| Withdrawal fee | One free withdrawal per calendar month per payment method, additional withdrawals fee varies. Source | No fee for routine withdrawals from standard brokerage per FAQ; full outbound ACAT $50 and outgoing wire $25; Schwab Bank Investor Checking has unlimited ATM fee rebates for cash withdrawals worldwide, subject to conditions. Source | Two free withdrawal requests per calendar month; after the second withdrawal IBKR charges listed fees by currency/method (example USD: wire 10.00, check 4.00, ACH/EFT/SEPA 1.00). Source | IC does not charge additional withdrawal fees, but third-party/intermediary/bank fees can apply; one Help Centre example mentions 20 AUD bank fee for some bankwire paths. Source |
| Inactivity fee | 10 EUR/month after 24 months inactivity on positive-balance account; wallet can avoid fee; refund may be available for up to three months. Source | $0 annual maintenance/inactivity fee for standard brokerage accounts Source | USD 0 inactivity fee for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite account minimums page. Source | No account inactivity fees. Source |
Markets, platforms & payments | ||||
| Tradable assets | 2,300+ CFDs across currency pairs, indices, shares, commodities and ETFs; FAQ says Invest.MT5 offers thousands of stocks and ETFs. Homepage says 6,900+ instruments across global markets, creating count uncertainty by region/product scope. Source | Stocks; fractional shares; ETFs; mutual funds; bonds/CDs/fixed income; money market funds; options; futures; futures options; forex; international stocks/ADRs/foreign ordinaries; cash products; annuities; alternatives; crypto ETPs/securities/futures. Source | Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, spot currencies, bonds, mutual funds and cash-balance services, with availability varying by entity/country/account permission. Source | Forex CFDs, Indices CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Stocks CFDs, Bonds CFDs, Cryptocurrency CFDs, Futures CFDs. Source |
| Trading platforms | MT4, MT5, MetaTrader WebTrader, Admirals Platform, Admirals Mobile App (iOS/Android). Source | Schwab.com; Schwab Mobile; thinkorswim desktop; thinkorswim web; thinkorswim mobile; paperMoney Source | IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation, IB Gateway, IBKR Mobile and web/client portal tools. Source | MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4, cTrader, TradingView, MetaTrader WebTrader/cTrader Web and social/copy tools IC Social, Signal Start, ZuluTrade. Source |
| Account types | Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5 are highlighted on the global start-trading page; FAQ also describes Trade.MT4, Trade.MT5, Zero.MT4, Zero.MT5 and Invest.MT5; demo accounts are free. Source | Individual Brokerage; Joint Brokerage; Schwab One Brokerage; Investor Checking-linked brokerage; Futures Account; Global Account; IRAs; custodial, education, trust, estate, organization, and business retirement accounts; Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Source | Supports individual and institutional accounts; official minimums page also distinguishes advisor, family office, hedge fund and broker account structures. Source | Official pages list Standard, Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread and Swap Free; account overview also shows Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ entries. Source |
| Deposit methods | Available payment methods are not safely globalized; official FAQ says methods depend on region/entity and to check the Deposits & Withdrawals page/Dashboard. Source | ACH/electronic transfer/MoneyLink; wire transfer; check/mail check; Schwab Mobile Deposit for checking; direct deposit for checking; account transfer/ACAT; branch/in-person deposit where available. Source | Wire transfer, check, direct bank transfer/ACH, SEPA/regional bank transfers where available, and securities transfer methods such as ACATS; physical cash deposits are against policy. Source | Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay, wire transfer, Bpay, broker-to-broker, POLI, Thai Internet Banking, Rapidpay, Klarna, Vietnamese Internet Banking, cryptocurrency. Source |
| Withdrawal methods | Not safely disclosed as a universal list; same-source withdrawal rule applies. Source | Transfer to linked bank/checking; wire transfer; check; ATM/debit card for Schwab Bank Investor Checking; ACAT outbound account transfer. Source | Bank wire/transfer, checks and regional transfer rails such as BACS/GIRO/ACH/EFT/SEPA where available; securities transfer methods such as ACATS may also apply. Source | Withdrawal methods depend on original deposit method; examples include Visa/Mastercard/card routes, bank wire, Neteller, Skrill and PayPal. Source |
| Withdrawal processing time | Same-business-day processing before 17:00 for Admirals SC Ltd; otherwise next business day. Source | Cash moved from brokerage to linked Investor Checking is generally available in seconds, but weekend/after-hours transfers may not be available until the next business day; other withdrawal methods vary/not fully disclosed on checked pages. Source | Not captured as a single verified processing-time SLA; varies by withdrawal method, currency, region and receiving bank. Source | Same-business-day processing cutoff before 12:00 AEST/AEDT; after processing allow at least 3 business days depending on method. Source |
BrokerVS provides broker comparison research only. Scores and evidence can vary by country, account type, and legal entity; users should verify source links before opening an account.