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eToro vs Interactive Brokers API

The same fields from the eToro record and the Interactive Brokers record, side by side. No winner is picked: which one suits you depends on what you are building.

Independent and unofficialNewest check

Risk warning: CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You can lose money on these products, and each provider publishes its own loss figure under FCA rules. You should consider whether you understand how they work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Automated and API trading can amplify losses through bugs, connectivity failures and runaway orders.

What the two records show

Differences you can see in the records themselves. These are counts of what this site holds, not a verdict on either API.

eToro and Interactive Brokers, field by field

FieldeToroInteractive Brokers
KindBroker with its own APIBroker with its own API
API familyREST, WebSocket, OAuth 2.0 SSO (partners)TWS API (TCP socket), REST (Client Portal Web API), WebSocket
How you get accessSettings > Trading > API Key Management > Create New Key; choose Read or Write, optional IP whitelist and expiry.eToro API portal: authenticationchecked No key: run TWS or IB Gateway (TWS API) or the Client Portal Gateway and log in via browser (Web API).IBKR TWS API documentation, the IB Gatewaychecked
Who can use itVerified eToro account required. Regional availability not published on pages opened.eToro API Portalchecked Open, funded IBKR Pro account. The Web API supports only IBKR Pro accounts, and the TWS API lists a funded and opened IBKR Pro account among its requirements.IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, requirements and limitationschecked
DemoYes: the environment is bound to the key when it is created, Demo or Real, and each key supports one environment only.eToro Builders FAQchecked Partial: paper trading accounts are supported and the Web API is logged in to with a separate paper username; demo accounts cannot subscribe to data.IBKR Web API documentation, using a paper accountchecked
AuthenticationHeaders x-api-key, x-user-key and x-request-id on every request, or an OAuth 2.0 bearer token instead of the key headers. eToro now states the exclusivity itself rather than leaving it to be inferred: a request presenting both is rejected.eToro API portal: authenticationchecked TWS API: local socket to a TWS or IB Gateway the user has logged in to by hand. Web API: Client Portal Gateway with a browser login on the same machine; the Web API also lists OAuth 1.0a, OAuth 2.0 and SSO, and IBKR's older use cases page gives OAuth as the route for institutional clients.IBKR TWS API documentation, the IB Gatewaychecked
StreamingWebSocket at wss://ws.etoro.com/ws, described by an AsyncAPI 3.0 document that eToro publishes. Instrument topics need no authentication; the private topic needs an Authenticate message first, which carries the user key and API key inside its data object over the open socket, never as a header. A Subscribe message lists topics such as instrument:<instrumentId> or private, with an optional snapshot flag. The AsyncAPI document, the Topics page and the example code agree on that shape. The server sends a single binary frame from time to time as a heartbeat. No connection or subscription limit is given and no reconnection or replay behaviour is described.eToro WebSocket API, AsyncAPI documentchecked TWS API is event driven over the socket. The Web API websocket is at /v1/api/ws (wss://localhost:5000/v1/api/ws through the gateway): the number of market data subscriptions depends on the account's market data lines, 100 by default, a market data stream ends after 15 minutes unless it is requested again, and at most 5 historical data requests run at once.IBKR Web API v1.0 documentation, websockets introductionchecked
History depthCandles: max 1,000 per request, one minute to one week. Trading history: lookback under 1 year per request; split longer ranges.eToro API: Get instrument candle historychecked Bars of 30 seconds or less are not available beyond six months, and expired futures not beyond two years from expiry. IBKR's current TWS API documentation, read on 12 Oct 2026, counts three pacing violations for bars of 30 seconds or less: an identical historical data request within 15 seconds, six or more requests for the same contract, exchange and tick type within two seconds, and more than 60 requests in any ten minute period, with a BID_ASK request counted twice. The Web API endpoint /iserver/marketdata/history has its own published pacing of 10 requests a second or 50 a minute. Executions: since midnight by default, up to 7 days in TWS if its Trade Log setting is changed, and the current day only in IB Gateway.IBKR TWS API documentation, unavailable historical datachecked
Limits
  • Global requests a second (Web API): 10. Per authenticated username, that is per Web API sessionibkrcampus.comchecked
  • Historical market data requests: Either 10 req/s or 50 req/minute, as the page words it. GET /iserver/marketdata/history onlyinteractivebrokers.comchecked
  • Market data snapshot requests a second: 10. GET /iserver/marketdata/snapshot onlyinteractivebrokers.comchecked
  • Order and trade list requests: 1 req/5 s. GET /iserver/orders and GET /iserver/trades, each counted on its owninteractivebrokers.comchecked
  • Session validation requests a minute: 1. GET /sso/validate onlyinteractivebrokers.comchecked
  • Session keep alive requests a second: 1. GET /tickle onlyinteractivebrokers.comchecked
Endpoints documented here5123
Error codes decoded here16511
Official documentationapi-portal.etoro.cominteractivebrokers.com

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eToro

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