Interactive Brokers Review

(8,848 user reviews)

 3.9/5

Simon Lewis

Simon is a recognized world expert in investing. He has tested dozens of investment clubs, communities and investment research services. His research has been featured on Bloomberg, Business Insider, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNet and more.

Ranked #2 out of 5

Interactive Brokers - Best for active traders

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is an established US firm active since the 1970s. The global brokerage company is specialized in online trading of equities and fixed income securities for retail and institutional investors worldwide. The platform is great for seasoned due to its advanced trading tools and features. IBKR doesn’t require an account minimum to start using the services.

The company's subsidiaries offer access to over 100 markets worldwide including equities; ETFs; futures; forex; options on stocks or indices; bonds; mutual funds from many different fund families.

Interactive Brokers Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Commissions & Fees

The brokerage firm offers two plans: IBKR Pro (professionals) and IBKR Lite (casual investors) with different commissions and fees..

IBKR Lite: an option for casual investors to trade US listed stocks and ETFs with $0 commissions, no account minimum requirements and no inactivity fees. Other investments, such as options, futures and mutual funds, follow the same IBKR Pro pricing.

IBKR Pro: plan for sophisticated investors and active trades who want access to an industry-leading trading platform (IB SmartRoutingSM) , which provides $0.47 per 100 shares of price improvement vs. the industry, allowing members to trade paying less than everyone else.

Interactive Broker’s Pro service is great for small order sizes, but big orders may become pricey due to the per-share commission. Moreover, accounts with less than $100K pay $10/month minus any trade commissions, and accounts with less than $2K pay $20/month minus commission.

Both services offer a $0 account minimum and fractional shares of stocks. IBKR Lite is a free service, while IBKR Pro charges an inactivity fee ($20 per month) if you’re not trading. We recommend IBKR Lite for casual investors and beginners.

Stock Trade	ETF Trade	Options Base	Options Per Contract	Futures Per Contract	OTC Trade	CFD's Trades	Mutual Fund Trade	Forex Trade	Crypto Trade	Inactive Account	Withdrawal
IBKR Lite: $0.00 IBKR Pro: $0.005 per share ($1 min)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.65 ($1 min)	$0.85	$0.0035 per share	0.005% to 0.010% per trade	$14.95	Variable spread + Commission (0.08 to 0.20 basis points. 0.1 pip GBP/USD)	$15.01 per Bitcoin contract.	IBKR Lite: $0.00 IBKR Pro: $20.00 per month	$0.00

Feature	Fee
Stock Trade	IBKR Lite: $0.00 IBKR Pro: $0.005 per share ($1 min)
ETF Trade	$0.00
Options Base	$0.00
Options Per Contract	$0.65 ($1 min)
Futures Per Contract	$0.85
OTC Trade	-
CFDs Trades	-
Mutual Fund Trade	$14.95
Forex Trade	-
Crypto Trade	-
Inactive Account	-
Withdrawal	-