Interactive Brokers offers $0 commission trades on U.S. listed stocks and ETFs to U.S. traders, like almost all rivals. Interactive Brokers’ charges are competitive across the board, and one area where it continues to stand out is in margin interest rates, where the firm undercuts key rivals by more than a few percentage points each.

Further, Active traders and pros are bound to enjoy Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation (TWS) desktop platform, which offers Level II market data, advanced charting, technical analysis tools, scanners, alerts and Bloomberg TV streaming. Popular features among professional day traders, such as “hot keys,” are also available.

Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation (TWS) desktop platform offers Level II market data, advanced charting, technical analysis tools, scanners, alerts and Bloomberg TV streaming. Popular features among professional day traders, such as “hot keys,” are also available.

PROS    

• Low commissions and fees
• Outstanding platform and technology
• Unrivaled range of products to trade

CONS   

• Inconsistent customer service.
• Some may find the complexity of the platform intimidating.
• Look and feel of the client portal could be improved.