Interactive Brokers review 2024: Tailored trading and investing

Interactive Brokers at a glance

To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read our methodology.

Interactive Brokers is best for active traders, beginners and long-term investors

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) stands out as a versatile platform suitable for a range of investors, from active traders to beginners and long-term investors. For active traders, the platform offers sophisticated trading tools and a wide selection of assets that include global stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds. Beginners benefit from extensive educational resources and a user-friendly interface on the IBKR GlobalTrader mobile app that eases the learning curve, while offering low-cost access to multiple markets. For long-term investors, IBKR provides individual retirement accounts (IRAs), portfolio management tools and competitive fees.

What we like about Interactive Brokers

IBKR offers a number of standout features for traders and investors, including global market access, a wide selection of trading platforms, tools and investment options and a robo-advisor.

Global market access

Trade stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, funds and more across 150 markets in 34 countries using either of IBKR’s desktop trading platforms, IBKR Desktop or IBKR Trader Workstation. What’s more, you can fund your account in 27 currencies.

Meanwhile, trade stocks, ETFs and options worldwide with the IBKR GlobalTrader app. Trade across 90+ stock markets worldwide and trade options on 30+ global market centers on a beginner-friendly trading platform.

Trading platforms for different trading styles

With its eight trading platforms for traders and investors of different styles and experience levels, IBKR is one of the most capable brokerages we review.

Wide selection of investment options

Invest in traditional assets like stocks, ETFs, bonds and mutual funds, trade options and futures and invest in alternative assets like precious metals and cryptocurrency.

Where Interactive Brokers falls short

IBKR is one of the most feature-rich brokers we review but it has a couple notable drawbacks:

• Limited cash sweep program. Only Pro accounts get access to IBKR’s cash sweep program that offers up to $2,500,000 of FDIC insurance.
• Limited interest on cash. No interest earned on cash under $10,000.
• Unreliable customer support chat. Though live chat is an option, successfully connecting to a live agent is rare.
  

  Interactive Brokers’s IBKR Lite fees

  Type of fee	Fee details
  Minimum deposit to open	$0
  Minimum investment	$1
  Annual fee	$0
  Stock trading fee	$0
  Options trading fee	$0
  Options contract fees	$0.65
  Margin annual interest rate	7.83%
  Outgoing account transfer fee	$0
  Wire transfer out	$10
  Inactivity fee	$0

  Is Interactive Brokers legit?

  Interactive Brokers is a legitimate company and multinational brokerage firm founded in 1977. It’s authorized and regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and is a member of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

  In terms of platforms security, Interactive Brokers uses two-factor authorization. It’s also considered safe due to its memberships with SEC, FINRA and SIPC. Each IBKR customer is protected up to $500,000 for securities and $250,000 for cash, should the broker face insolvency.

  Customer experience

  Customer sentiment and feedback for Interactive Brokers across the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Trustpilot and Reddit is generally mixed, with both positive and negative aspects highlighted by users. Overall, while Interactive Brokers is highly regarded by seasoned traders for its features and pricing, the platform’s interface and customer support often receive criticism.

  BBB

  On the BBB, it holds an A+ rating, although it’s not accredited and the customer reviews are quite low, averaging 1.6 out of five stars based on 10 reviews as of June 2024. Common complaints include high fees, particularly for inactivity and transactions, and poor customer service when managing account issues. Interactive Brokers does not charge inactivity fees, according to its website, so take that for what it’s worth.

  Trustpilot

  In contrast, Trustpilot shows a more moderate level of customer satisfaction with a 3.4 out of five rating from over 2,700 reviews, as of June 2024. While some users criticize the platform for its complexity and customer service, others praise its extensive trading tools and capabilities, suitable for experienced traders.

  Reddit

  Reddit feedback generally leans positive, especially from professional or experienced traders who value the platform’s robust tools and low trading costs, though some users also echo the sentiments about its steep learning curve and less responsive customer service.

  Compare Interactive Brokers to other platforms

  

  Interactive Brokers

  ★★★★★

  Finder rating 4.6 / 5

  Go to site

  ---

  Available asset types

  Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Futures, Forex, Treasury Bills

  ---

  Stock trade fee

  $0

  ---

  Minimum deposit

  $0

  ---

  Signup bonus

  N/A

  

  SoFi Invest®

  ★★★★★

  Finder rating 4.1 / 5

  Go to site

  ---

  Available asset types

  Stocks, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Alternatives

  ---

  Stock trade fee

  $0

  ---

  Minimum deposit

  $0

  ---

  Signup bonus

  Get up to $1,000 in stock

  

  Tastytrade

  ★★★★★

  Finder rating 4.4 / 5

  Go to site

  ---

  Available asset types

  Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Futures, Treasury Bills

  ---

  Stock trade fee

  $0

  ---

  Minimum deposit

  $0

  ---

  Signup bonus

  Get $50-$5,000

  Frequently asked questions

  Can I learn to trade with Interactive Brokers?

  Yes. Interactive Brokers offers IBKR Campus where you can learn about trading, financial markets and how to use IBKR’s trading tools.

  You get access to webinars and courses, as well as access to the IBKR Quant Blog where you can learn about programming, deep learning, API, AI, blockchain and other technologies in trading.

  Where is Interactive Brokers based?

  Interactive Brokers is headquartered in Connecticut, USA.

  Is Interactive Brokers good for beginners?

  Interactive Brokers offers several beginner-friendly trading platforms, fractional share trading, $0 commission stock and ETF trading and extensive educational resources, making it a suitable option for beginners.

  How we rate trading platforms

  ★★★★★ 5/5 — Excellent

  ★★★★★ 4/5 — Good

  ★★★★★ 3/5 — Average

  ★★★★★ 2/5 — Subpar

  ★★★★★ 1/5 — Poor

  We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability.

  For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate trading platforms.

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  Finder is not an advisor or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.