Detailed comparison of all fees, features, and suitability — updated for 2026.
ING is the better choice for Full-Service Bank Customers, while Interactive Brokers wins for Professionals. Which one suits you depends on your strategy — the detailed comparison below shows every difference.
| Metric | ING | Interactive Brokers | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order fee per trade | 9.90 € | 1.00 € | 8.90 € cheaper at Interactive Brokers |
| 10y savings plan cost @ €100/month | 1.188 € | 120 € | 1.068 € cheaper at Interactive Brokers |
| Interest on €10,000 cash (1 year) | — | 4.33 % = 433 € | +433 € more at Interactive Brokers / year |
| Available exchanges | 5 | 1 | +4 more at ING |
| BMInsider rating | 3.5/5 | 4.5/5 | +1.0 at Interactive Brokers |
All fees, products, and platform features compared side-by-side. The "Winner" column shows which broker leads in each category.
| Feature | ING | Interactive Brokers | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fees & Costs | |||
| Order Fee | 4.90€ + 0.25% (min 9.90€) | $0.005/Aktie (min $1) or Fixed $1 | Interactive Brokers |
| ETF Savings Plan Fee | 1.75% | - | Tie |
| Account Fee | 0€/Year | 0€/Year | Tie |
| Minimum Deposit | 0€ | 0€ | Tie |
| Interest on Cash | 0% | bis 4.33% (USD) | Interactive Brokers |
| Product Range | |||
| Stocks | Tie | ||
| ETFs | Tie | ||
| Crypto | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Options | Interactive Brokers | ||
| CFDs | Tie | ||
| Fractional Shares | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Number of Exchanges | Xetra, Frankfurt, Direkthandel | 150+ Börsen in 33 Ländern | ING |
| Platform & Tools | |||
| Mobile App | Tie | ||
| Desktop Platform | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Demo Account | Interactive Brokers | ||
| Security & Regulation | |||
| Regulated by | BaFin | SEC / FCA / BaFin | Tie |
| Deposit Protection | 100.000€ | $500.000 (SIPC) | Tie |
| Founded | 1991 | 1978 | Tie |
| Overall Rating | |||
| Rating | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | Interactive Brokers |
Depending on your strategy and experience, one broker fits better. Here's how to decide:
Low barriers, simple app, demo account and no hidden costs — perfect to get started.
More about Interactive Brokers →Low per-order fees, many trading venues and derivatives access — important if you trade regularly.
More about Interactive Brokers →Free savings plans, interest on cash and no custody fee — what matters when you buy & hold.
More about Interactive Brokers →ING offers securities trading as part of its full banking service. For customers who want checking and brokerage under one roof.
Particularly suitable for: Full-Service Bank Customers, Casual Investors, Savings Plan.
Interactive Brokers is the professional's choice with access to 150+ exchanges, all product classes, and the lowest fees for active traders.
Particularly suitable for: Professionals, Active Traders, International Investors, Options Trading.
ING (formerly ING-DiBa, 9M+ German bank customers) and Interactive Brokers (US-domiciled, founded 1978) target almost no overlapping users. ING is the mass-market German Direktbank — Girokonto, Extra-Konto, ETF savings plans, depot for buy-and-hold investors. IBKR is the global professional trading infrastructure — 150+ exchanges, multi-asset (options/futures/FX/bonds), institutional-grade pricing.
The honest framing: there are very few users who plausibly choose between these two. Most ING customers are buy-and-hold ETF investors who would get no benefit from IBKR's depth. Most IBKR customers are active traders who would find ING's depot offering too narrow. The interesting question is when a user might want both — and the answer is "almost never, except for sophisticated investors who keep their Girokonto at ING for banking simplicity and their depot at IBKR for trading depth".
You are a German tax resident wanting steuereinfach. ING withholds 26.375 % KESt + Soli at source automatically. IBKR is not steuereinfach — manual Anlage KAP filing required for every trade, dividend, and interest payment.
You want a Girokonto + Tagesgeld + depot bundle. ING offers a complete consumer banking suite. IBKR is depot-only with no consumer banking products at all.
You want German telephone customer service in German. ING's German call centre is staffed by experienced specialists. IBKR's support is English-only and primarily ticket-based.
You hold idle EUR cash for free interest. ING's Extra-Konto pays 1.5–1.75 % standard with periodic promotional rates higher. IBKR pays USD interest at SOFR-based tier rates but only above $10 k thresholds — for typical retail EUR balances, ING is structurally cleaner.
You want EU-100k deposit protection in German banking law. ING deposits are protected by the German EdB at €100 000 per customer with the legal protections of German banking law. IBKR cash is protected by SIPC at $500 000 (higher absolute amount) but under US law — for EU residents, the ING protection is operationally cleaner.
You're a buy-and-hold ETF investor with €25 k–€100 k portfolio. ING's depot is good enough for this profile, and the bundled banking experience adds genuine convenience. IBKR's depth is wasted.
You trade options actively (5+ contracts/month). IBKR offers global options markets at $0.65 per contract (or $0.15–0.55 Tiered). ING does not offer options at all. For any active options trader, IBKR is the only option.
You trade futures, FX, or bonds. IBKR offers Eurex/CME/CBOE futures, 100+ FX pairs with institutional spreads, direct corporate + government bond markets. ING offers none of these.
You trade non-European markets. IBKR routes to 150+ exchanges including Tokyo, Hong Kong, ASX, TSX, Singapore. ING routes primarily to Xetra, Frankfurt, Direkthandel, and US exchanges — limited international depth.
You hold $50 k+ in USD cash and want institutional rates. IBKR pays SOFR-based USD interest at tier rates (4.33 %+). ING pays no competitive USD interest. For users with US-dollar exposure, IBKR is structurally cheaper.
You manage capital across multiple accounts. IBKR supports sub-accounts, joint accounts, custodial accounts, and the IBKR Pro / Lite tiers. ING is single-user only.
You're a professional or semi-professional trader. IBKR's order routing, risk management tools, API, and reporting are designed for high-volume traders. ING's depot is consumer-grade.
Germany — ING is steuereinfach, IBKR is not. ING withholds 25 % KESt + 5.5 % Soli + optional Kirchensteuer at source. IBKR Germany (operated through IBIE — IBKR Ireland) does not auto-withhold. You receive an annual Steuerreport listing transactions, dividends, fees, Vorabpauschale base — but you must manually file Anlage KAP, claim Sparerpauschbetrag, calculate FX gains/losses on USD positions, and handle US W-8BEN credits. This typically requires a Steuerberater familiar with international broker statements (~€200–€500/year).
Austria — neither offers austriakonform status. Both ING and IBKR require self-reporting via Anlage E1kv on FinanzOnline for Austrian residents. Both issue annual statements; neither hand off automatic withholding to the Austrian tax authority.
Vorabpauschale 2026: ING calculates and debits Vorabpauschale automatically on January 2. IBKR reports the Vorabpauschale base in the year-end statement; manual Anlage KAP-INV filing required.
Quellensteuer on US dividends: ING credits the standard 15 % US withholding against German KESt automatically. IBKR withholds 15 % (W-8BEN filed) but does not auto-credit — you claim it yourself in Anlage KAP.
Currency-gain tracking: EUR-tax-resident clients holding USD-denominated IBKR positions trigger taxable currency gains/losses on every position close. ING EUR-only operations abstract this away.
Profile: €100 000 portfolio, 8 manual orders/month at €2 000 average, monthly €500 ETF savings plan, €15 000 average idle EUR cash buffer.
| Item | ING | Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|---|
| 120× savings-plan execution (1.75 %) | €1 050 | ~€100 (per-share min) |
| 960× manual orders €2 000 | €9 504 (€9.90 each) | ~€960 ($1 each) |
| Venue fees (40× ~€2) | €80 | included above |
| Cash interest (€15k × 10y) | +€2 625 (1.75 % Extra-Konto) | +€4 500 (3.0 % EUR avg) |
| Tax-handling cost (Steuerberater) | €0 | ~€2 500 (10y × €250) |
| Net 10-year cost | €8 009 | −€940 |
The €8 949 difference is meaningful and almost entirely explained by ING's per-order commission gap at high trading frequency. For an 8-orders-per-month profile, IBKR is the structurally cheaper option even after Steuerberater fees.
Reduce trading to 1 manual order per month and the comparison flips: ING costs ~€520 over 10 years (12 × 10 × €4.34 incremental) plus €2 625 cash interest, IBKR costs ~€2 380 (same orders + Steuerberater fee minus cash interest). At low trading frequency, ING wins decisively because the Steuerberater fee overwhelms the small commission savings.
Pick: ING (or better, Trade Republic). IBKR is wasted at this scale. Steuereinfach + bundled banking + €1 savings plans (Trade Republic) all serve the beginner better.
Pick: ING. The bundled banking is a real benefit; the depot is good enough; IBKR's depth is unused.
Pick: Interactive Brokers. ING does not offer options or futures. For users with these requirements, IBKR is the only option.
Pick: Interactive Brokers (with ING for German Girokonto). The hybrid setup — IBKR for trading depth, ING for German consumer banking — is what many sophisticated investors actually run.
Pick: Interactive Brokers. The USD-denominated IBKR account with institutional FX spreads is structurally cheaper than ING's EUR-only conversion costs.
Answers to the most common questions about ING vs Interactive Brokers.
For order fees, Interactive Brokers leads at $0.005/Aktie (min $1) oder Fixed $1, while ING charges 4.90€ + 0.25% (min 9.90€). Note: with CFD brokers, spreads add hidden cost — the lower nominal price isn't always cheaper overall.
ING is regulated by BaFin, Interactive Brokers by SEC / FCA / BaFin. Both fall under EU oversight. Deposit protection: ING 100.000€, Interactive Brokers $500.000 (SIPC).
For German/Austrian customers, language, BaFin regulation and tax-simple status often matter most. Check the 'Regulated by' and 'Languages' rows — DACH-focused brokers usually have the edge.
Neither ING nor Interactive Brokers offers free ETF savings plans. If recurring investing matters, check a savings-plan-focused broker.
Both are covered under their home regulator's deposit protection. ING: 100.000€, Interactive Brokers: $500.000 (SIPC). Securities are held in segregated accounts and protected in case of broker insolvency.
Interactive Brokers leads on cash interest at 4.33%. Watch the conditions — some brokers require a paid plan or cap the amount.
Both offer native mobile apps with good app-store ratings. Which is better depends on your needs — try both with a demo account if available.
A second broker makes sense when one offers features the other lacks (e.g. options, crypto, more exchanges). A full switch is only worth it if the cost difference or missing features are significant.
Sign up with the broker that fits your strategy. Both are regulated and offer a demo account to test risk-free.
