Interactive Brokers vs Revolut
Interactive Brokers vs Revolut: which is the better broker for global investors?
Same portfolio at both providers: USD 50,000 to start, USD 500 a month, 5% a year, held for 30 years. Interactive Brokers costs USD 614 in total fees. Revolut Invest costs USD 9,800, which is USD 9,186 more, roughly 16 times as much.
Referral link: ibkr.com/referral/marco1592. The bonus is paid by Interactive Brokers. Using it costs you nothing extra.
Cost comparison, side by side
| What you pay for | Interactive Brokers | Revolut |
|---|---|---|
| Total fees over 30 years | USD 614 | USD 9,800 |
| Custody / platform fee | None on a standard account | 0.12% a year custody fee on top of the plan subscription |
| Cost per trade | From USD 0.35 on US listings, from EUR 1.25 on European listings | A small number of free trades per month, then a per-order fee |
| Currency conversion | Around 0.002% of the amount, minimum USD 2, at the interbank rate | Free within the monthly plan allowance, around 0.5% to 1% beyond it |
| Other charges | No inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee for the first withdrawal each month | Paid plan required to make the free-trade allowance useful |
Figures are indicative, based on published tariffs for the portfolio described above and converted to US dollars. Pricing differs by country of residence and changes often, so check both providers before you decide.
Where Revolut is genuinely good
- Investing sits inside an app you probably already use
- Fractional shares and instant funding from your balance
- Perfectly reasonable for a few hundred a month
Where it costs you
- Custody fee plus subscription is a fixed drag every single year
- Very limited ETF universe compared with a full broker
- Costs scale badly as the portfolio grows
My take
Great for a first hundred dollars, poor for a serious portfolio. The subscription and custody fee never stop, whatever the market does.
Both accounts are legitimate and both are regulated. The question is what you are paying for. If you want a hand-held experience in your own language and time zone, Revolut does that. If you want to keep as much of your return as possible, Interactive Brokers is the cheaper account and the extra paperwork takes about half an hour a year.