E-Trade vs Interactive Brokers

E-Trade vs Interactive Brokers Comparison Table 2023
E-Trade Interactive Brokers
3.3

E-Trade is #38 in our broker rankings.

4.3

Interactive Brokers is #1 in our CFD broker rankings.

United States Flag Traders from US accepted
United States Flag Traders from US accepted

E-trade is a one-stop shop that provides both investment and trading opportunities to clients through four proprietary platforms and apps. The firm has decades of experience and is authorized by the SEC. Investors can benefit from ready-made portfolios or open a do-it-yourself account to choose from stocks, funds, ETFs, futures and bonds; traders can access margin trading on stocks, options and futures.

Interactive Brokers is a leading global brokerage that provides access to a comprehensive offering of stocks as well as forex, futures, metals, bonds and cryptos. The firm has over 40 years experience in the online trading industry and is heavily regulated by SEC, FCA, IIROC, and SFC. Traders use the proprietary Trader Workstation and can access powerful tools and data feeds as well as comprehensive educational resources.

Bonus Offer
Commission Free Trades
Comment by Reviewer
"E-trade provides great service to anyone who wants to grow their wealth both through long-term investments and shorter-term trading, thanks to a diverse and flexible range of products. " "Serious traders seeking a regulated broker with unparalleled access to stock markets should look at IB. Their range of stocks can't be beaten."
Pros
  • Trade US stocks, ETFs and mutual funds with no commissions
  • Build an investment portfolio and trade stocks and derivatives through one broker
  • Good selection of extra features including data feed with input from leading third-party providers
  • Regulated by top US organizations including the SEC
  • Competitive fees and a transparent pricing structure
  • Very diverse range of assets to invest and trade
  • Gives retail traders unmatched access to global stocks with tens of thousands available from 100+ market centres in 24 countries
  • Direct market access, including to the FTSE 100 index, the CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX 40
  • You can trade from multiple account types, such as IRA, single registered, joint
  • Proprietary workstation comes with powerful tools and charting capabilities
  • Regulated by some of the world's most reputable bodies including in US
  • You have a reliable real-time market data feed, that rarely goes offline
  • Diverse payment options and account currencies
  • Commission reimbursement with Toggle AI
  • Low commissions and tight spreads
Cons
  • High commissions on some products
  • High threshold to qualify for the pro platform
  • No fractional shares
  • No demo account
  • No forex trading
  • Due to the pricing structure, this firm can be more expensive for aggressive traders who trade over $100,000 shares a day
  • Platform and web interface are complex and difficult for beginners to pick up
  • Accessing products like CFDs is not straightforward compared to competitors
  • The TWS platform falls short in terms of technical charting
  • Mediocre customer support
Instruments
Stocks, Futures, E-minis, Options Stocks, Futures, E-minis, Options, CFD, Forex, Crypto, Exchange Linked Warrants
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$500 $0
Trading Platforms
  • MT4
  • AlgoTrader
  • OmniTrader
  • eSignal
  • TradingCentral
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
$10 $100
Regulator
SEC SEC, FCA, IIROC, SFC
Margin Trading
No Yes
Margin Rate
1.55 - 2.59%
STP Account
No Yes
ECN Account
No No
DMA Account
No Yes
MAM Account
No Yes
PAMM Account
No No
LAMM Account
No No
Demat Account
No No
AI / Machine Learning
Yes Yes
Robo Advisor
No No
Negative Balance Protection
No No
Market Maker
No No
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
No Yes
Mobile Apps
iOS, Android and Windows iOS, Android and Windows
Copy Trading
No No
Social Trading
No No
VPS Hosting
No No
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
No No
Ethical Investing
No No
Custodial Account
Yes No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No No
Inactivity Fee
$0
Islamic Account
No No
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • INR
  • JPY
  • SEK
  • NOK
  • DKK
  • CHF
  • HUF
Stock Exchanges
Commodities
CFD Trading
CFD trading not offered Trade leveraged CFDs on thousands of global stocks as well as 13 global indices, 80+ forex pairs, and London gold and silver. Leverage is available in line with regulatory requirements.
Leverage
1:50
FTSE Spread
N/A 0.005% (£1 Min)
GBPUSD Spread
N/A Commission (.20 pts x trade value)
Oil Spread
0.06 pips N/A
Stocks Spread
0.2% Var From 0.003 per share, variable
Forex Trading
Forex trading not offered Trade 85 major, minor and exotic forex pairs via CFDs on IB's FXTrader platform with tight spreads and low commissions, or trade forex on the spot market. They offer more FX assets than almost any competitor.
GBPUSD Spread
Commission (.20 pts x trade value)
EURUSD Spread
Commission (.20 pts x trade value)
EURGBP Spread
Commission (.20 pts x trade value)
Assets
70+
Cryptocurrency
Crypto trading not offered Buy and hold Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin with low commissions of 0.12%–0.18%. Fees are low and the broker offers a secure environment to invest in digital assets.
Spread
Variable
Coins
  • BTC
  • LTC
  • ETH
  • XRP
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
More Comparisons
E-Trade
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Interactive Brokers
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