If you want to start investing, Questrade and Interactive Brokers are two popular trading platforms for Canadians. But which of these two brokers is the best choice for you? Let’s compare Questrade vs Interactive Brokers side-by-side to find out.
| Questrade | Interactive Brokers | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded in | 1999 | 1978 |
| Best for | Go with this platform if you want commission-free trading and a user-friendly platform. | Go with this platform if you want advanced trading tools and global market access. |
| Stock and ETF trading fees | $0 | Min $1.00, Max 0.5% |
| Minimum deposit |
| $0 |
| Funding methods |
|
|
| Withdrawal methods |
|
|
| Fractional shares | Yes for eligible US stocks and ETFs | Yes for eligible Canadian, US and European stocks and ETFs |
| After-hours trading | Yes, 22 hours a day for 5 days a week for US-listed stocks and ETFs | Yes, 24 hours a day 5 days a week for US-listed stocks and ETFs |
| Customer support | Available via phone, email, live chat and in person at Questrade’s North York location | Available via live chat, email and phone |
| Get started |
Questrade is a Canadian discount brokerage platform. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Toronto, it lets users trade Canadian and US stocks and ETFs as well as bonds, options in more online or via mobile.
Questrade offers commission-free stock and ETF trading and supports fractional shares. It also offers separate trading platforms and apps to suit beginners as well as experienced investors, including its Questrade Pro platform for advanced traders.
Interactive Brokers is a popular global brokerage platform that operates in over 200 countries and territories around the world. For Canadian users, it supports the trading of stocks, ETFs, options, futures, currencies and more on over 170 global markets.
Interactive Brokers offers separate platforms and apps to suit new investors as well as active traders. It’s known for its competitive commissions and pro-level tools like advanced charting and order types.
The best broker for you will provide access to all the assets you want to trade. Questrade and Interactive Brokers both support a long list of investment products, so there’s plenty of choice for investors.
Both brokers support some types of trading that the other doesn’t, such as CFDs on Questrade Global or prediction markets on Interactive Brokers. But one of the key differences between the two is the global access that Interactive Brokers provides, allowing you to trade on over 170 markets around the world.
Here’s a breakdown of what you can trade on both platforms.
Who’s the winner?Interactive Brokers. Both platforms support a wide range of tradeable assets, but Interactive Brokers provides access to a huge selection of global markets.
| Fee | Questrade | Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Account fee | $0 | $0 |
| Trading fees |
|
|
| Management fee | 0.2%–0.25% | N/A |
| Currency conversion fee | 1.5% | 0.08–0.2 bps trade value, min $1.00–$2.00 USD |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 for Interac e-Transfers (up to $50,000 CAD or $25,000 USD) | $2–$12 per withdrawal (1 free/month) |
| Inactivity fee | $0 | $0 |
| Account transfer fee | $150 | $0 |
Who’s the winner?If you’re just trading Canadian stocks and ETFs, $0 commission trading sees Questrade come out on top. But if you’re trading US and international markets, the low commissions and competitive exchange rates of Interactive Brokers make it the more affordable option.
Questrade supports cash and margin trading, as well as trading in the following registered accounts:
Interactive Brokers also offers cash and margin trading, but it only supports RRSPs, TFSAs and FHSAs. Joint and trust accounts are available from both brokers.
Who’s the winner?Questrade supports a wider variety of account types.
If you prefer a hands-off approach to investing, Questrade offers managed portfolio services with its Questwealth Portfolios. These portfolios invest in a variety of ETFs based on your risk tolerance: aggressive, growth, balanced, income and conservative. Socially responsible investment portfolios are available too.
Management fees are competitive at 0.25% on balances of less than $100,000, and 0.20% on larger portfolios.
Interactive Brokers does not provide managed portfolios or robo-advisor services in Canada.
Who’s the winner?Questrade.
If you choose a broker that only supports CAD accounts, you’ll need to factor currency conversion costs into the equation every time you need to convert to or from a foreign currency.
But Questrade accounts offer native support for CAD and USD, so you can hold funds and trade in the currency of your choice. When you do want to convert currencies, a 1.5% fee applies. It’s also worth noting that Questrade supports Norbert’s Gambit, but it’ll cost you $9.95 per request. That’s unless you’re a Questrade Plus subscriber (for $19.95 per month), in which case you get unlimited free journaling.
Interactive Brokers also supports USD accounts, along with accounts denominated in 25+ other currencies. It charges a small fee of 0.08–0.2 bps trade value, min $1.00–$2.00 USD on currency conversions too, making it easy to save money when switching between CAD, USD and other currencies.
Who’s the winner?With low trading commissions and currency conversion costs, Interactive Brokers takes the win here.
Want to increase your trading power with a margin account? Questrade and Interactive Brokers have both got you covered.
Questrade offers margin accounts for individuals, couples and corporations. It also has a Margin Power feature that allows you to use the equity in your TFSA as collateral to boost your buying power further.
But if you’re looking for the lowest margin interest rates, Interactive Brokers is the clear winner. Both platforms offer tiered rate systems, but Interactive Brokers’ rates are significantly lower.
| Questrade | Interactive Brokers | |
|---|---|---|
| CAD | 7.70% – 8.70% | 2.721% – 3.721% |
| USD | 10.25% – 11.25% | 4.130% – 5.130% |
Who’s the winner?Interactive Brokers. You can’t go past those low margin interest rates.
When comparing the user experience of these two platforms, it’s important to remember that they’re tailored to suit the needs of different investors.
Questrade is aimed more at beginners and casual investors. It’s easy to use right off the bat, offers zero-commission trading, and basically offers everything you need to start your investing journey. We like its new Flows feature too, which allows you to describe an investment strategy that Questrade then automates and executes for you.
Questrade also offers the Pro advanced trading platform, opening up high-end features like advanced charts and automated pattern detection. So there’s room to grow as your investing knowledge expands.
But active and experienced traders will appreciate the suite of platforms and advanced trading tools on offer over at Interactive Brokers. Where beginners might feel lost, old hands will enjoy the level of customization on offer, the extensive access to global markets, the advanced charts and scanners, and the choice of over 100 order types.
Who’s the winner?It’s a tie. Both platforms offer an impressive experience for different types of users.
New investors often face a steep learning curve, so it’s important to choose a broker that offers accessible educational resources.
Questrade offers a good selection of lessons on investing strategies and understanding the market, plus online tutorials on getting the most out of its trading platforms. But Interactive Brokers excels with its IBKR Campus learning hub, which offers access to courses across a host of investing topics for beginners, intermediate and advanced traders. Podcasts, webinars and market news are available too.
The right broker for you will also offer a suite of tools to help you analyze and choose investments. Questrade users can access resources like TipRanks stock ratings, TradingView charts, and analysis from SeekingAlpha.
The platform also recently launched agentic finance, which allows you to connect the AI agent of your choice to your trading account. You can then use AI to analyze your portfolio and the market, research investments, and set up trades.
Interactive Brokers offers a wealth of research and analysis tools for investors. The range starts with IBKR GlobalAnalyst, a free stock-screening tool that makes it easy to research and choose investments. You can also access portfolio analytics, get research and analysis from a long list of third-party providers, practise your trades with a paper trading account, and seamlessly integrate with AI models like Claude and ChatGPT.
Who’s the winner?Interactive Brokers has a wide range of tools for everyone from beginners through to experienced traders.
Questrade and Interactive Brokers are both registered investment dealers and members of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Both platforms are also members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), ensuring that up to $1 million of your eligible assets are covered if your broker becomes insolvent.
Who’s the winner?It’s a tie. Both platforms are properly regulated in Canada.
As you’d expect from any legit trading platform, both brokers have a range of security measures in place to keep your assets safe.
Questrade uses 256-bit data encryption, supports two-factor authentication, has account login alerts, and allows you to set up push approvals to verify login attempts. The platform also has a handy Online Security Guarantee, so you will be 100% reimbursed for any unauthorized transactions.
Interactive Brokers uses 128-bit or higher encryption to help protect your data. It also supports two-factor authentication for an extra layer of security, while you also have the ability to whitelist IP addresses for your account. Advanced transaction monitoring systems and a dedicated security team are also employed to detect any suspicious activity.
Who’s the winner?Questrade. Questrade and Interactive Brokers are both safe, secure and legit platforms, but we like the added peace of mind of Questrade’s Online Security Guarantee.
In-depth, real-time market data is an important inclusion for active traders, allowing them to trade based on the latest market trends and patterns.
Questrade offers free snap quotes and free Level 1 streaming data. Level 2 data is also available for full market depth, but it requires a paid monthly subscription.
Sign up for an Interactive Brokers account and you can access free streaming data on US stocks and ETFs, but delayed data on other products. You’ll need a paid subscription for Level 2 data, but fees can be offset or waived based on the monthly trading commissions you generate.
Who’s the winner?Interactive Brokers has the edge here.
Questrade and Interactive Brokers both offer multiple mobile apps for investors.
Questrade splits its apps into two offerings: QuestMobile is better suited to beginners, while Questrade Edge Mobile is the platform’s advanced trading app. QuestMobile is simple to use, with a relatively uncluttered interface and easy access to all the basic features you need to start investing. Edge takes things up a notch with advanced order types, charts and order routing.
IBKR Mobile is Interactive Brokers’ main app, and it’s loaded with plenty of features for experienced traders. It lets you trade on over 170 markets, track your portfolio, and access advanced order types and trading tools.
IBKR GlobalTrader is a streamlined app targeted at beginners. It lets you trade on over 90 markets, supports fractional shares, and basically offers a more accessible trading experience than IBKR mobile.
Finally, IMPACT is Interactive Brokers’ ESG investing app, and it’s specifically designed to help you find stocks that match your values with relatively high ratings on both iOS and Android.
| QuestMobile | Questrade Edge Mobile | IBKR Mobile | IBKR GlobalTrader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple App Store rating |
4.7 –
★★★★★ 19,290 reviews |
4.6 –
★★★★★ 4,860 reviews |
4.5 –
★★★★★ 4.6K reviews |
3.6 –
★★★★★ 57 reviews |
| Google Play rating |
4.6 –
★★★★★ 12,201 reviews |
4.4 –
★★★★★ 4,191 reviews |
4.5 –
★★★★★ 72.9K reviews |
4.6 –
★★★★★ 2.5K reviews |
Who’s the winner?It’s a tie. Both offer user-friendly apps with features to suit different types of investors.
Questrade and Interactive Brokers don’t just offer a selection of mobile apps but also your choice of web and desktop trading platforms. As well as its standard web-based platform, Questrade also offers its Edge platform for advanced traders. But it seems Edge will be replaced by the browser-based Questrade Pro, which offers features like a customizable workspace, advanced charts and the ability to automate trades.
Over at Interactive Brokers, you can start trading with its standard Client Portal, or upgrade to features like advanced charts, Level 2 data and a customizable workspace with IBKR Desktop. Next comes the broker’s flagship desktop platform, Trader Workstation, designed for active traders and supporting over 100 order types. Finally, Interactive Brokers also has a web-based platform specifically for trading prediction markets.
As mentioned above, Questrade has moved into the world of agentic finance by allowing you to connect AI models to your account to research and execute trades. Its Pro platform also boasts a selection of AI tools, including its Pro Intelligence research assistant, automatic pattern detection, and the Smart Score stock rating system from TipRanks.
Interactive Brokers has also joined the AI revolution. Free tools available as part of the platform include AI-powered investment screeners, AI news summaries, and trading using natural language. AI platforms that support Model Context Protocol (such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok) can also be connected to your account to analyze your portfolio.
Both platforms support fractional shares, so you can start investing with only a small amount of money. At Questrade, fractional trading is available on hundreds of US stocks and ETFs, including all stocks in the S&P 500, all stocks in the NASDAQ 100 and the top 100 ETFs by assets.
Interactive Brokers lets you invest in over 10,500 fractional shares with as little as $1. You can choose from a range of eligible Canadian, US and European stocks.
If you’re focused on time in the market rather than timing the market, Interactive Brokers has a Recurring Investments feature. This lets you automate the process of buying US, Canadian and European stocks on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
Questrade offers a similar feature of the exact same name. You can use it to automatically invest a fixed amount into eligible stocks and ETFs daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
If you need help with your account, Questrade offers live chat and phone support 7 days a week. You can also contact support via email, or visit the Questrade Centre in-person in North York. Interactive Brokers offers 24-hour phone support from 1:00pm on Sunday to 7:30pm Friday ET, with live chat and email support available too.
What does Reddit think of the Questrade vs Interactive Brokers debate?There are always conflicting opinions on Reddit, but users generally agree that these two leading brokerages companies are better at different things.
If you’re an active trader, regularly converting to foreign currency to invest in international markets, and you want professional-grade tools, Interactive Brokers excels. But if you’re a beginner or a long-term buy-and-hold investor, Questrade offers everything you need in a user-friendly package.
The bottom line is that Questrade and Interactive Brokers excel in different areas.
If you’re a new investor hunting for a user-friendly platform that offers commission-free trading, Questrade is a top choice.
But if you want broad global access and advanced trading tools with low fees, Interactive Brokers is a better option.
Looking for a broker that offers something different to Questrade and Interactive Brokers? Check out these alternatives.
Read our full Wealthsimple review
Read our full Qtrade Direct Investing review
Read our full CIBC Investor’s Edge review
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