Best Options Brokers in Canada Compared

Is Interactive Brokers good for options trading?

Interactive Brokers won “best options broker” in our 2025 and 2023 awards. They offer a huge range of markets to trade options on, low fees and platform features that enable you to easily create options strategies.

IBKR offers one of the most, if not the most, advanced options trading platforms for private clients, both for derivatives markets (indices, commodities, and forex) and stocks and shares. They provide access to a huge number of UK and international stock options, but where they really win business is through their execution capabilities.

Their strategy builder tool automatically creates the legs for spreads based on what you think is going to happen to the market and you can set your profit and loss visually through drag and drop charts.

For this review, I spent an hour or so talking to Steve Sanders, who runs product development for IBKR and it’s epic. There is far too much to go into for a short piffy review and even an a options broker myself I found some of it overwhelming. If you are a professional options trader, I would say there is no better platform out there.

However, if you are just getting started trading option, IBKR has a new options tool called Options Wizard, which identifies options strategies according to market outlook, as well as the ability to add option chains into layouts and customise the data that is shown.

What’s great about this is that it will create strategies around what you think will happen in the market rather than having to work it out longhand yourself. For exmaple, one of the most popular pieces of analysis we write is about whether or not the Lloyds share price will reach £1 in 2025. So to test IBKR’s Options Wizard I asked it on the GlobalTrader app to to come up with an options strategy that would make me the most money if Lloyds reached £1 before the end of the year.  

Users can also now make use of options screeners, which sort and scan for option data within new dedicated sections and sub-tabs.

Options Wizard: Identify options strategies that match a market outlook.

Option Chain in Custom Layouts: Add one or multiple option chains into layouts and customize data columns to show option-specific data, such as the Greeks or Implied Volatility, and use color grouping to connect to other tools in the custom layout area, such as the Rapid Order Entry, to create trades.

Options Screeners: Sort and scan for option data with new dedicated sections and sub-tabs that offer complex combination strategies volume and trades for the day, among other features.

Is Plus500 a good broker?

Yes, Plus500’s trading platform has evolved nicely over the years from a simple interface to an intuitive execution venue for CFDs on the major markets and stocks.

1. Submit some documents to the company (identification, residence verification, etc.)
2. Read through several documents and complete a questionnaire
3. To be able to trade, you will need to fund your account (in the UK, the minimum initial deposit is £100).

Pricing: It’s dynamic so moves with the market for minimum spreads.

Plus500 does not charge any trading commissions when you place a CFD trade. However, there are some fees you need to be aware of including:

• Overnight funding fees – This is either added to or subtracted from your account when holding a position after a certain time
• Currency conversion fee – There is a fee (0.7%) for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account
• Guaranteed stop-loss order fees – If you request a guaranteed stop loss on a trade, there will be a small fee
• Inactivity fees – If you do not log in to your trading account for three months, a fee of up to USD $10 per month will be applied to your account.

Withdrawals are free of charge no matter how many you make per month.

Deposits are also free of charge.

Market Access: Very good, Plus500 are always first to try new asset classes

With Plus500, you can trade CFDs on a range of assets and instruments including:

• Shares (e.g. Lloyds Bank, Tesla, Apple)
• Currencies/forex (e.g. GBP/USD)
• Commodities (e.g. gold, oil)
• Options (exchange-traded options)
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Indices (e.g. FTSE 100, S&P 500, ESG indices)

Overall, there are over 2,800 assets you can trade with CFDs.

The maximum amount of leverage you can use with Plus500 varies depending on the asset class as shown in the table below. If you are trading forex, you can potentially borrow up to 30 times your own money. For shares, you can only borrow up to five times your own capital.

Plus500 margin rates:

• Shares – 1:5
• Forex – 1:30
• Commodities – 1:20
• Indices – 1:20
• Options – 1:5
• ETFs – 1:5

Platform & Apps: Basic execution, but it does the job well

Plus500 trading apps and platform also offers several tools to help traders manage risk including:

• Stop-loss orders – Traders can use these orders to automatically close out a losing position at a specific level
• Guaranteed stop-loss orders – A guaranteed stop-loss puts an absolute limit on your potential loss from a losing trade
• Trailing stop-loss orders – This type of stop loss moves upwards as the price of the security being traded rises
• Take profit orders – Traders can use these orders to automatically close out a winning position at a specific level.

Customer Service: Plus500 doesn’t have a phone option, but its live chat is sufficient

Plus500’s customer service options are limited to online chat, email and WhatsApp. So, you can’t contact the company by telephone. However, don’t let that put you off. We contacted the company via online chat and were very impressed with the service and support offered. 

It’s worth noting that support is available 24/7. This is a big plus – some other CFD providers only provide support during the week.

If you are a larger or professional trader you can get access to Plus500’s Premium Service Package which includes:

• A dedicated premium service client manager.
• Periodic emails containing expert analysis of upcoming trading events.
• External trading webinars.
• A premium service customer support team.

The premium service is invitation only. To become a premium customer, you must have a real-money trading account.

However, if you want better margin rates but are not interested in the premium package you can upgrade to a professional account. The Plus500 professional account is an account designed for professional traders. With this account, you have access to higher levels of leverage (e.g. 1:20 for shares).

To be eligible for a professional account, you must meet two of the following three criteria:

• You’ve performed an average of at least 10 transactions per quarter, of significant size, over the previous four quarters on the relevant market (with Plus500 and/or other providers)
• You have a portfolio worth more than €500,000 (including cash savings and financial instruments)
• You have worked in the financial sector for at least a year in a professional position that requires knowledge of the related transactions or services.

Research & Analysis: Some sentiment, but limited education and analysis. Plus500 offers a range of additional features designed to help traders make money, including:

• Charting tools – Plus500’s platform offers charts with a wide range of indicators and drawing tools to help traders identify and capitalise on patterns and trends (there 13 charting tools and over 100 indicators)
• Market news – On its website, there is a section dedicated to news and market insights
• Alerts – With Plus500, you can set up real-time email, SMS, and push notifications for trade alerts (e.g. price alerts or % change alerts)
• An economic calendar – The economic calendar is designed to help traders prepare for important economic data (e.g. inflation data, retail sales data, job reports, PMI data)
• +Insights – This is a feature that allows Plus500 users learn more about market trends based on the company’s internal data (e.g. most bought stocks, most sold stocks)
• Watchlists – Users can manage multiple watchlists.
• Trading Academy – Plus500’s Trading Academy offers a range of educational products including eBooks, videos, and FAQs
• Webinars – Plus500 offers regular webinars to its professional clients
• A free unlimited demo account – With the demo account, novice traders can learn to trade CFDs without risking real money.

Is Moomoo any good?

Moomoo is available in Canada, Australian Singapore and the US and has a robust platform that caters to both retail and more sophisticated traders. Compared to platforms like Robinhood and Webull it’s got better data, DMA and global market access. However, for active traders it’s not as institutional grade as Interactive Brokers or more established platforms like TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim.

There are a few key features to Moomoo like real-time market data and advanced charting where you can trade DMA, with good technical indicators for advanced traders. There is also a good demo trading account so you can practice before you deposit real funds. You can also make a automatic buy sell order on Moomoo with OCO stop and limit orders for effective risk management of positions.

We consider Moomoo a safe trading platform as they are regulated by the SEC in the US, the MAS in Singapore and ASIC in Australia.

Is Wealthsimple a good way to invest?

Yes, we rate Wealthsimple as a good way to invest for beginner investors looking for a simple, low-cost way to buy and hold stocks or ETFs, rather than active traders who require sophisticated tools. Wealthsimple’s DIY brokerage designed for investors who want to buy and sell their own stocks and ETFs.

How much does Wealthsimple cost?

There is also no minimum deposit or annual account fee, which lowers the barrier for first-time investors.

Canadian stocks, options and ETFs can be traded commission free, making it one of the lowest-cost ways for Canadians to build a portfolio.

However, “free trading” comes with a caveat. When trading US stocks, Wealthsimple charges around 1.5% currency conversion each time funds are exchanged between CAD and USD, which can add up if you frequently trade American stocks. This is quite high compared to IBKR’s 0.02%.

What can you trade on Wealthsimple?

Wealthsimple lets you trade over 14,000 stocks, ETFs, options as well as fractional shares, allowing investors to buy portions of expensive companies rather than whole shares. This makes it particularly appealing to investors who contribute small amounts regularly.

Is it easy to use?

Wealthsimple is primarily mobile-first, with a clean interface designed for simplicity rather than professional-grade analysis. While this makes the app easy to use, more advanced traders may find the research tools and order types limited compared with full-service brokerages.

Is Wealthsimple safe?

For safety, in Canada Wealthsimple is a member of CIRO and customer accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) within specified limits.