Interactive Brokers Review: What You Need To Know
Written by
John Csiszar
Edited by
Susan Kim
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Interactive Brokers Group has long occupied a unique niche in the online brokerage world. Originally developed for advanced traders, the firm has always had a comprehensive interface, chock full of market and trading information. Interactive Brokers opened its doors to more casual investors with the introduction of its IBKR Lite pricing plan. Here’s a look at the inner workings of Interactive Brokers.
See: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000
About Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers was founded by Thomas Peterffy in 1978 to serve advanced traders looking for speed, price, size and diversity of global products. As of 2023, the firm has equity capital of over $12.2 billion. Interactive Brokers and its affiliates execute more than 1.86 million trades a day on over 150 global market destinations. Big changes came to the firm in 2019 when it introduced a new pricing plan for less active traders called IBKR Lite.
Interactive Brokers has impressive trading capabilities and low costs, receiving high marks overall. Here are some of its key features:
- No account minimums
- $0 commissions with IBKR Lite
- Extensive charting and research capabilities, especially for IBKR Pro
Interactive Brokers at a Glance
Here’s a quick overview of the services and costs of Interactive Brokers:
| Feature | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Account Minimum | $0 |
| Stock Commission | $0 |
| Option Commission | – $0.65 per contract for IBKR Lite – $0.15-$0.65 per contract, depending on monthly volume, for IBKR Pro |
| Commission-Free ETFs | Over 200 |
| Zero Transaction-Fee Mutual Funds | Yes, 19,000 |
| Investment Selection | – Stocks, options, futures, forex, metals, fixed income, ETFs, mutual funds, hedge funds, robo portfolios – Cryptocurrency for eligible clients through Paxos Trust Company |
| Customer Service | 24/7 phone lines via regional call centers, live chat, email and fax |
| Mobile App | Yes, with full functionality |
| News and Research | Educational webinars, videos and courses |
| Current Promotion | N/A |
Key Features
Most online brokers offer similar services but with different interfaces and capabilities. Here’s a look at how Interactive Brokers delivers its product across various categories.
Account and Investment Minimums
Interactive Brokers has no account or investment minimums.
Commissions and Fund Expenses
Commissions for IBKR Lite are just about as low as they can go. Interactive Brokers charges nothing for online equity and ETF trades and also offers 19,000 no-fee mutual funds.
Usability
Fast executions, advanced charting capability and price improvement make Interactive Brokers a dream to use for advanced traders, but all of these do-it-yourself features can be a bit much for newer investors. The IBKR Lite pricing plan makes the Interactive Brokers platform more user-friendly for the casual investor.
Mobile and Emerging Tech
Interactive Brokers has a mobile app that allows traders to access more than 150 markets worldwide. You can trade stocks, options, futures, forex and more from the mobile app, just like you would on the desktop Trader Workstation. Advanced quotes and research also are available, offering more than 600 data columns.
Range of Offerings and Investment Selection
You’re likely to find nearly any type of investment you’d like to buy. The impressive range of options at Interactive Brokers includes the following:
- Stocks
- Options
- Futures
- Forex
- Metals
- Fixed Income
- ETFs
- Cryptocurrencies
- Mutual funds
- Hedge funds
- Portfolios through Interactive Advisors, the robo-advisor affiliate of Interactive Brokers
Customer Service
Interactive Brokers offers 24-hour phone customer service via regional Client Services Centers. It also offers a national toll-free customer service number, but hours are limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday-Friday and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET on Sunday. Online chat is available 24 hours. Customers can also email or fax the company.
Costs
Costs are extremely low for Interactive Brokers compared with other platforms. In fact, for most investors, the most important cost of all — commissions — are zero for most trades. There are no account minimums or maintenance fees to worry about, either.
Current Promotions
No promotions are currently available at Interactive Brokers.
Should You Invest With Interactive Brokers?
Interactive Brokers is a bit different from most other online brokers. Founded as a trader’s brokerage, the firm still offers advanced capabilities that experienced investors can utilize to great advantage. However, with the advent of IBKR Lite, Interactive Brokers now serves beginning and intermediate investors as well.
Interactive Brokers has always had low commissions, but in the “race to zero” that began in October 2019, the firm has joined many of its competitors in charging $0 commissions for online stock and ETF trades. Interactive Brokers also has 19,000 no-fee mutual funds to choose from, making it a great option for casual and active investors alike.
Overall, Interactive Brokers offers a very low-cost package that can serve two distinct investor types: advanced and beginner. It has a great combination of low costs and high-level capabilities.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
