IQ Option vs. Zerodha: The Ultimate Broker Between the Two

Choosing an online broker has become very difficult lately because there are simply too many choices out there. This post is supposed to compare IQ Option to Zerodha, both great brokers in their own right. For you, the final decision will come down to which company you find has the most attractive features and services.

IQ Option

Company information

IQ Option first came around in 2013 with the goal of providing binary options trading and today the company is proud of having over 40 million accounts from over 150 countries in the world. It is still one of the few online brokers that still offer binary options, and this is a testament to the company’s resilience. Zerodha, on the other hand, was created in 2010 primarily for investors interested in the Indian market to access different assets.

Minimum deposit

Before you start to trade, you will need to make a deposit into your trading account, and the amount required varies depending on the broker. For IQ Option, its minimum deposit is set at $10, after which a client will have access to the broker’s every feature. There is also a VIP account status designated to users who deposit $1,900 or more. These clients have an account manager and several other advantages. To make this deposit, one can use a credit card, wire transfer or one of the many electronic wallets such as Skrill and Neteller.

Zerodha does not have a minimum deposit requirement but deposits can be made by wire transfer. Another problem is that the only account base currency is INR, which means that deposits have an additional conversion fee unless you can deposit using INR.

These setbacks when depositing funds into Zerodha make IQ Option the winner in this category.

Security

Funds security can only be ensured by financial regulators, thus the importance of checking on how these brokers are regulated. IQ Option has a license from CySEC, which allows the company to solicit and sign up clients from all over the world except the US and Japan where regulations are stricter. Meanwhile, Zerodha is licensed and regulated by India’s SEBI, which is a trusted financial regulator. The problem is that Zerodha is thus technically not allowed to operate in Europe, the US or Japan. Nevertheless, clients are free to sign up and make deposits trusting that SEBI will keep their funds safe.

This leaves IQ Option and Zerodha tied as they both have a single regulatory license.

Trading platforms

Since it was founded, IQ Option has been using its own proprietary software to give its clients access to financial markets. This platform has undergone a lot of improvements over time and is now very powerful and easy to use. Zerodha also provides its own software as well called Kite. This too is a powerful and versatile trading platform that is available on desktop and mobile devices.

Considering that the trading platforms are both proprietary, the two are tied and there isn’t a clear winner.

Available assets

IQ Option was initially meant to offer binary options trading, but the company added more assets with time. Some of these assets include spot Forex, cryptocurrencies, stocks, commodities and indices. There are also digital options in addition to the binary options trading features. Keep in mind that all of these are available in the form of CFDs and not real assets.  On the other hand, Zerodha is meant for more mainstream assets such as stocks, Forex, ETFs, bonds, options, futures and funds. All these are real assets and not CFDs as IQ Option offers.

These brokers are once again tied in this category.

Final verdict

In the end, IQ Option emerges as the overall winner although by a very small margin as the companies have been tied in most categories.

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