Interactive Brokers Review 2026: 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	$0.15
  Margin annual interest rate	6.14%
  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

  BBB accredited	No
  BBB rating	A
  BBB customer reviews	1.13 out of 5 stars, based on 16 customer reviews
  Trustpilot score	3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 5,173 customer reviews
  Apple App Store Score	4.5 out of 5 stars, based on 11,000 customer reviews
  Google Play Score	4.6 out of 5 stars, based on 66,350 customer reviews
  Customer reviews verified as of	31 March 2026

  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.

  Compare Interactive Brokers to other platforms

  

  9.4 Excellent

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  Available asset types

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

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  Minimum deposit

  $0

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  Signup bonus

  N/A

  

  9 Excellent

  Go to site

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  Available asset types

  Stocks, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Alternatives

  ---

  Minimum deposit

  $0

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  Signup bonus

  Get up to $1,000 in stock

  

  9 Excellent

  Go to site

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  Available asset types

  Stocks, Bonds, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Treasury Bills, High-yield cash account

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  Minimum deposit

  $0

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  Signup bonus

  Earn a 1% match

  Finder Scores: What they mean

  

  If you want peace of mind, this rating will give it to you. These products offer the best value and outcomes considering various product features, terms, conditions and price.

  

  Well-balanced products that provide what you need, offering a healthy mix of competitive features at a good price. However, they're not quite the best in class.

  

  Bottom line: You can find better, but these products still offer reasonable value and have the basics sorted.

  

  These products may not offer much value in the long run, and there are better options available.

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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.