Interactive Brokers Review 2024

Thadeus Geodfrey

Thadeus Geodfrey is an experienced and celebrated writer and self-taught trader specialising in cryptocurrencies and forex. Market analysis, identifying fraudulent brokers, and security are his cup of tea. At BrokerRaters Thadeus develops educational materials and user-guides, offer market insights, ensures our content conforms to the best standards. Join Thadeus to succeed in your trading endeavours.

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Article was updated: October 4, 2024

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, Interactive Brokers is a popular multinational brokerage firm available in 200+ countries. It’s one of our favorites for various reasons. First and foremost, this broker is licensed and regulated by many outstanding authorities, from FINRA to ASIC and the FCA. Plus, it offers users unlimited access to thousands of financial instruments.

We want you to check out Interactive Brokers. But before you do that, please read our Interactive Brokers review carefully. It highlights fundamental elements you should know of before signing up and trading. Before compiling our review, the experts at BrokerRaters conduct extensive research and evaluation. We also read many reviews on Google Play, the App Store, and Trustpilot. Rest assured that what we’ve discussed here is unbiased and factual.

Our Opinion about Interactive Brokers

We consider IBKR to be one of the best brokers today for good reasons. For starters, this company is regulated by numerous authorities, including the CTC, SEC, and FINRA. That makes it secure, credible, and trustworthy. We also hold Interactive Brokers in high regard since its users can access tens of thousands of assets, including stocks, ETFs, forex pairs, etc. Most of these assets come with tight spreads and commissions. For instance, you can trade forex pairs with this broker and enjoy low spreads starting from 0.1 pips.

Not to forget, this broker has exceptional tools and resources, making it suitable for beginners and experts alike. First, there’s the IBKR campus, which contains everything from the proprietary academy and its superbly tailored courses to countless webinars, podcasts, and other materials. The available materials cover diverse asset classes, from stocks and options to forex and futures trading. Lastly, this service provider has no set minimum deposit, making it a suitable choice for both low-budget and high-budget traders.

Interactive Brokers

✔$0 minimum deposit requirement
✔No account inactivity fees

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2,929 User Reviews

43,200 User Reviews

9,700 User Reviews

Our Rating

Total Rating:

55,829 User Reviews

Fees

After conducting thorough research and extensive assesments, we can confidently categorize Interactive Brokers as one of the most affordable service providers out here. As we’ve already mentioned, this company has no minimum deposit requirement. Plus, it allows traders to fund their accounts with payment methods like ACH and wire transfer at no additional cost. We also highly recommend IBKR because, unlike other brokers, it doesn’t require traders to pay inactivity fees for dormant accounts.

Here’s an overview of the Interactive Brokers fees and charges our team unearthed during our evaluation and exploration:

Type	Fee
Account opening and maintenance	$0
Deposit	$0
Withdrawal	Yes
Inactivity	$0
Overnight charges	Yes
Currency conversion	0,5%

Available Assets

Tens of thousands of instruments are available on Interactive Brokers, which is one of the reasons we highly recommend this service provider. You should have an easy time finding your favorite assets and diversifying your portfolio on IBKR. Here’s a brief rundown of the assets we discovered while researching and assessing this terrific broker:

• Stocks: IBKR offers thousands of stocks, and they come with juicy commissions starting from $0.
• ETFs: With an IBKR account, you can trade different ETFs around the clock and enjoy low commissions starting from $0.
• Options: Many options are available on the IBKR trading platform, and the best part is they come with commissions as low as $0.15 per contract.
• Futures: IBKR offers its users access to futures on a broad selection of asset classes, from cryptocurrencies and metals to agriculture, energy, and interest rates. The contracts come with tight commissions starting at $0.25 per contract.
• Currencies: While trading with IBKR, you can access over 100 currency pairs with spreads as sharp as 0.1 pips. Popular pairs range from GBP/USD and EUR/USD to USD/JPY and USD/CAD. 
• US spot gold: IBKR allows US spot gold enthusiasts to trade their favorite asset and enjoy low, transparent commissions. The best part is that with this broker, you can leverage efficient pricing in low quantities starting from 1 ounce.
• Bonds: This broker gives traders unmatched access to a humongous selection of 1 million+ global bonds. These products have low commissions and zero built-in spreads or mark-ups.

Security

IBKR is one of the most secure brokers today for numerous reasons. First, it’s authorized and regulated by multiple globally recognized entities, including the FCA in the UK, SEC in the US, and ASIC in Australia. As such, this service provider has to adhere to diverse stringent standards and mandates set by all concerned regulators, making it 100% secure and reliable.

In addition, Interactive Brokers protects client accounts with the SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation). The SIPC provides financial coverage of up to $500,000. Moreover, the broker has an additional SIPC policy that extends the coverage by an extra $30 million. The chances of ever losing your funds to issues like bankruptcy are nonexistent when trading with IBKR.

Finally, IBKR adds a layer of security to client accounts with the Secure Login System. This is a free physical device that ensures your account is secure even if a malicious entity gains access to your username and password. Besides that, IBKR users can optimize security with temporary mobile 2FA and other measures.

Conclusion

We highly recommend this multi-regulated broker to all of our readers. But before committing, please do additional research. Furthermore, compare what this service provider offers to your needs and expectations. Also, if you are a trading newbie, we strongly urge you to start with an IBKR demo account before switching to live trading mode. 

Thadeus Geodfrey

Thadeus Geodfrey is an experienced and celebrated writer and self-taught trader specialising in cryptocurrencies and forex. Market analysis, identifying fraudulent brokers, and security are his cup of tea. At BrokerRaters Thadeus develops educational materials and user-guides, offer market insights, ensures our content conforms to the best standards. Join Thadeus to succeed in your trading endeavours.

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