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Interactive Brokers was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It’s the largest trading platform in the U.S. and serves over 2.29 million customers. It has received multiple awards, including Best Online Broker by Barron’s in 2023 for the sixth time in a row. It has also won awards from Investopedia and BrokerChooser.
Known for its low fees and advanced trading technology, Interactive Brokers offers a range of financial products, including stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and more, from a single unified platform, as well as access to over 150 markets in 33 countries. In addition, the company provides a variety of trading platforms, tools, and resources for investors, such as a trading simulator, risk navigator, free educational resources through the IBKR Campus website, and free research and news services.
Interactive Brokers offers a suite of trading platforms, including its flagship Trader Workstation (TWS) platform, a web-based Client Portal, and three mobile apps. They’re used by many types of traders, including individuals, brokers, hedge funds, and proprietary trading firms.
The platforms give traders access to advanced trading technology, including IB SmartRoutingSM, which automatically finds the best price available at the time of the order and routes it to that destination. The company offers real-time market data, customizable trading screens, and advanced charting.
Interactive Brokers also provides risk management tools, including its Risk Navigator, which enables traders to monitor their portfolio risk in real-time and stress test their positions under different market conditions.
Interactive Brokers is best suited to investors who wish to take a hands-on approach to building and managing their portfolios. Its array of trading platforms caters to all experience levels, meaning new investors won’t outgrow the service as they gain knowledge.
Experienced traders will appreciate its investment technology, and traders who deal in high volumes benefit the most from Interactive Brokers' tiered pricing structure.
Interactive Brokers is a good choice for traders who want to stay on top of new developments in trading technology. Since its inception, Interactive Brokers has been a pioneer in this field.
It was the first broker to introduce Smart Order Routing (SOR), allowing traders to automatically route their orders to the exchange, and launched Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in the 1990s. Since then, Interactive Brokers has continued to expand its products and remains at the forefront of technical innovation.
Interactive Brokers' commissions are often significantly lower than those of its competitors, and there are no account minimums or inactivity fees.
Interactive Brokers offers two primary pricing plans: IBKR Pro for institutional investors and sophisticated retail investors, and IBKR Lite for non-professional retail investors and advisors trading on their behalf.
IBKR Lite | IBKR Pro | |
Stocks | $0 | Fixed: $0.005 Tiered: $0.0005 - $0.0035 |
ETFs | $0 | Fixed: $0.005 Tiered: $0.0005 - $0.0035 |
Options | $0.65 per contract ($1 minimum order) | $0.15 to $0.65 per contract ($1 minimum order) |
Futures and Futures Options | $0.85 per contract | $0.25 to $0.85 per contract |
Bonds | 0.0001% - 0.1%* | 0.0001% - 0.1%* |
Mutual Funds | $0 (on No Transaction Fee Funds) or The lesser of 3% of Trade Value or USD 14.95 per transaction | $0 (on No Transaction Fee Funds) or The lesser of 3% of Trade Value or USD 14.95 per transaction |
* Commissions and minimum orders vary depending on types of bonds (Corporate & CDs, Municipal Bonds, or Treasuries) and face value.
Interactive Brokers' two pricing plans, IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro, are designed to meet the needs of different kinds of traders. IBKR Lite is for individual retail investors and financial advisors working on their behalf. The more sophisticated investors, including institutional investors, such as investment funds, asset management companies, and banks, tend to use an IBKR Pro plan. In fact, if a trade makes sense to use the IBKR Lite account, an investor may switch to Lite for the trade and then switch back to their Pro account for the rest of their portfolio.
Both payment plans offer the same range of products, including the client portal, trader workstation, and mobile apps. However, the functionality available may be slightly limited if you use IBKR Lite. For example, the SmartRouting advanced order routing system is only available to IBKR Pro plan holders.
A simple and user-friendly platform, the Client Portal is primarily designed for account management and basic trading functionalities. Here you can manage and fund your accounts, view portfolio details, and access market data. You can access the portal via a login without downloading any software.
For many traders, the Client Portal will provide all the functionality you need. However, the Trader Workstation might be a better fit if you want a more comprehensive range of trading tools.
More sophisticated and powerful than the Client Portal, Trader Workstation is tailored for active and advanced traders. It offers a wide range of advanced trading tools, comprehensive market data, customizable trading screens, advanced charting, and complex order types. With TWS, you can access multiple asset classes, like stocks, options, futures, forex, and bonds, on more than 150 markets worldwide.
Interactive Brokers also offers a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) so developers can build custom trading applications, automated trading systems, and financial tools that interact with Interactive Brokers' trading platform. These APIs provide access to various functionalities, including market data, order execution, account information, historical data, and risk management tools. Three APIs are available: a Client Portal API, a TWS API, and an API that uses the industry-standard Financial Information eXchange (FIX) Protocol.
Trading Technology
Interactive Brokers’ trading technology includes APIs, algorithms, reports, news, and a proprietary risk navigator.
Options Wizard
A straightforward way for you to understand how options work and how to trade them.
PortfolioAnalyst
Consolidates, tracks, and analyzes portfolios and lets you link external accounts, including investment, checking, savings, credit card, annuities, incentive plans, mortgages, student loans, and more.
IBKR GlobalAnalyst
Quickly scan the globe for undervalued stocks and compare the prices and metrics of global stocks in the same currency.
Recurring Investments
Simply choose a start date and pick from flexible schedule choices, including daily, weekly, monthly, and more.
IBKR Bond Marketplace
A vast universe of over 1 million bonds globally with low, transparent commissions and no mark-ups or built-in spreads.
IBKR Mutual Fund Marketplace
Access over 48,000 funds, including over 19,000 no transaction fee funds from over 550 fund families.
Fractional Shares Trading
Buy and sell fractional shares of eligible US and European stocks and ETFs, providing a simple way to build a balanced portfolio and invest in shares regardless of the share price.
Fundamentals Explorer
With over 30,000 companies covered worldwide and over 300 data points per company, Fundamentals Explorer offers comprehensive worldwide fundamentals data to let you quickly view the most essential information about a company and its competitors.
Securities Lending Dashboard
Designed to help you assess the short-selling activity for specific securities.
All-in-One Cash Management Solution
Manage all of your finances in one account.
Overnight Trading Hours
Overnight Trading on over 10,000 US Stocks and ETFs enables you to react immediately to market-moving news and conveniently trade at almost any time.
Paper Trading
This is a virtual trading account for practicing trading strategies and testing features without risking any real money. It works by simulating real market conditions using real-time market data and pricing.
Stock Yield Enhancement Program
A program for earning additional income on fully paid, lendable securities, such as stocks and ETFs, by lending your securities to other traders for short sales or other purposes.
Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program
A program that provides additional FDIC insurance coverage beyond the standard depositor limit.
Before you start
Interactive Brokers offers a free trial of its trading platform, so before you sign up, it’s a good idea to download the trial version. That way, you can test the platform's features and functionality to see if it’s right for you. You can start the trial by signing up with your email address online.
Setting up an account
Once you’re ready to get started with Interactive Brokers, select the Open an Account button. You’ll need to provide an email address, state your country, and create a username and password.
To complete the application form, enter your personal details, social security number, employment status, income, and investment experience. You’ll also need to upload copies of your government-issued ID and proof of address, such as a utility bill or bank statement.
Funding your account
You can transfer funds into your account via wire transfer, ACH transfer, or check. Once your account is funded, you can start trading.
Choosing your trading platform
Interactive Brokers offers multiple desktop, web, and mobile trading platforms. A summary of the differences between platforms is shown in the table below.
Trading Platform | Device | Stocks & options | Mutual funds | Futures | Bonds | Technical analysis | Smart routing |
Trader Workstation (TWS) | Desktop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
IBKR Mobile | Mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Client Portal | Web | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
IBKR APIs | Desktop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
IBKR Global Trader | Mobile | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
IMPACT | Mobile | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Configuring your trading platform
Set up your trading platform by customizing your layout, adding watchlists, and setting up your trading preferences.
Placing a trade
To place a trade, select the instrument you want to trade, choose the order type and quantity, and submit your trade. Interactive Brokers offers a wide range of order types, including limit orders, market orders, stop orders, and more.
Monitoring your trades
Monitor your trades by watching your position, P&L, and other important metrics. You can also set up alerts and notifications to stay informed about market events.
Note that the process of setting up an account with Interactive Brokers may vary depending on your country of residence, account type, and other factors. You may also be required to complete additional steps or provide additional documentation.
Yes, there are three Interactive Brokers apps, IBKR Mobile, IBKR Global Trader, and IMPACT. All are available on Apple and Android devices, requiring at least iOS 13.0 or Android OS 7.0, although older operating systems can use unsupported versions of the apps.
The mobile apps are intuitive to use and make it easy to stay connected to your accounts and access the financial markets wherever you are. Interactive Brokers apps support two-factor authentication and use encryption technology to ensure that sensitive information remains confidential.
IBKR Mobile
The most comprehensive of Interactive Brokers’ apps, IKBR Mobile, enables you to trade stocks, options, futures, bonds, mutual funds, and more wherever you are. Features include an option spread grid to help you compare strategies and an order entry wheel that displays order details and prices in an intuitive format.
IBKR Global Trader
This is a slightly simplified version of the IBKR Mobile app, which allows you to trade stocks, options, ETFs, and mutual funds from your mobile. Eligible clients of IB LLC can also trade cryptocurrency through Paxos Trust Company. You can’t, however, trade futures and bonds on IBKR Global Trader, and there are fewer technical features than on the main app.
IMPACT
The IMPACT mobile app enables you to invest in companies that share your environmental and social values. By identifying causes you support—such as clean water or racial equality—and practices you oppose—like animal testing or sweatshops—you can invest in a socially responsible way with ethical businesses. It doesn’t have all the features of the IBKR Mobile App, but you can use it to trade stocks, ETFs, and options. Eligible clients of IB LLC can also trade cryptocurrency through Paxos Trust Company.
Interactive Brokers is regulated by multiple financial authorities, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This means that Interactive Brokers must comply with strict regulations to ensure the safety of its clients' funds and data.
It has a strong financial position, has consistently reported positive financial results, and has an A+ ranking from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This indicates that Interactive Brokers has sufficient capital to weather market downturns or other unexpected events.
It has a score of 3.9 on Trustpilot, which is considered a good score, and has received multiple awards from companies such as Barron’s, BrokerChooser, Investopedia, and Stockbrokers.com.
Interactive Brokers offers customer support via phone, email, and live chat. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday, via its offices in America, Europe, and Asia.
It also provides an extensive knowledge base with articles, user guides, FAQs, and video tutorials on its website. There is also a community forum available to account holders.
We found Interactive Brokers’ customer support quick and responsive, but some users on review sites report difficulties reaching customer support during periods of heavy demand.
One of the largest brokerage firms in the world, Interactive Brokers has been a major innovator in the brokerage industry since the 1970s—many of the automated broking systems that we now take for granted started here. And while the vast number of features and tools may be intimidating for newcomers, I love how Interactive Brokers keeps pushing the envelope when exploring how technology can be utilized in trading.
Its impressive collection of awards and accolades demonstrates the high regard in which Interactive Brokers is held. Anyone who wants to digitally trade stocks, options, futures, bonds, ETFs, and other products should look at what Interactive Brokers is able to offer.
One Pickwick Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830 USA
What are the fees and commissions charged by Interactive Brokers?
Interactive Brokers' fees and commissions vary depending on the product and market being traded. The company is known for its competitive pricing and offers commission-free trading for US-based stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Comprehensive information on pricing and commissions is available on the website.
Is Interactive Brokers a safe and reliable broker?
Interactive Brokers is a well-regulated broker with a long track record of providing reliable service to its clients. The company is regulated by several central financial authorities, including the SEC and FINRA. It also undergoes regular audits to ensure that it’s compliant with the highest standards of financial security and integrity.
Does Interactive Brokers offer Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)?
Yes, the company recognized the growing demand from investors for investments that align with their values and has responded by offering a range of SRI options. This includes screening tools you can use to filter investments based on various social responsibility criteria, such as environmental impact, labor practices, and corporate governance.
