It’s safe to say that Interactive Brokers’s fees are low in general. They either don’t charge a brokerage fee for things other brokers do charge for, or they only charge a small amount. This means that you can use Interactive Brokers even in case you trade frequently like multiple times a week or daily.
Here’s a high level overview of Interactive Brokers’s fees
We compare Interactive Brokers fees with its closest competitors, Saxo Bank and DEGIRO.
Interactive Brokers fees
Interactive Brokers trading fees
Interactive Brokers trading fees are low. This is great if you do a lot of trades frequently.
Moreover, US clients can choose the IBKR LITE plan. With this, they can trade US-listed stocks and ETFs commission-free.
Clients from any country can opt for the IBKR Pro plan, which comes with 2 pricing plans.
- The fixed-rate price plan typically charges a fixed rate per contract or share. This charge covers all commissions and exchange fees.
- The tiered price plan charges fees based on your monthly trading volume. The more you trade, the lower the commissions are. However, exchange, regulatory and clearing fees may be charged additionally.
In this review, we tested the fixed-rate plan.
The following section contains Interactive Brokers’ fees for various asset classes. Use the drop down menu to change between asset classes:
Asset management service
Interactive Brokers provides an asset management service called Interactive Advisors. It is a mix of mutual funds and a robo-advisor. It may be suitable for you if you don’t want to manage your investments on your own or just need a bit more confidence in investing.
Besides the usual brokerage commissions, there is an annual management fee ranging from 0.08% to 1.50%, depending on the amount you invest. The required minimum investment amount is $5,000.
There are two ways to invest with Interactive Advisors:
- Answer a couple of questions, based on which Interactive Advisors will compile a portfolio that is automatically rebalanced from time to time.
- Choose from among several pre-set portfolios managed by professional portfolio managers.
Financing rates
Interactive Brokers financing rates are low.
If you want to trade on margin and prefer to hold your positions long, financing costs can be significant.
| Interactive Brokers | Saxo Bank | DEGIRO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple CFD financing rate | 5.3% | 7.3% | - |
| Vodafone CFD financing rate | 4.5% | 5.7% | - |
| EURUSD financing rate | 2.7% | 3.4% | - |
| EURGBP financing rate | 2.1% | 2.4% | - |
Leverage is a double-edged sword and can dramatically amplify your profits. It can also just as dramatically amplify your losses. Trading foreign exchange/CFDs with any level of leverage may not be suitable for all investors.
Interactive Brokers fees
Interactive Brokers conversion fee
Interactive Brokers will charge a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account. The fee is charged as the following: Trade value less than $1 billion: 0.2 bps * trade value; min. $2.
Non-trading fees
Interactive Brokers eliminated their monthly inactivity fee in 2021. There is no account or deposit fee, either. The first withdrawal each month is free of charge while subsequent withdrawals carry a fee.
Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at Interactive Brokers that you pay not related to buying and selling assets. Among some others, typical non trading fees are withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee and account fee.
| Interactive Brokers | Saxo Bank | DEGIRO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Inactivity fee | No | Yes | No |
| Account fee | No | No | No |
Interactive Brokers deposit fee
Deposit fees are applied when you send money to your trading account from your bank account. Usually brokers don’t charge money for that and Interactive Brokers is not different: you will see the exact same amount on your brokerage account that you sent by any of the deposit methods Interactive Brokers offers.
| Interactive Brokers | Saxo Bank | DEGIRO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | No | Yes | No |
| Electronic wallets | No | No | No |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Interactive Brokers withdrawal fee
Unlike some online brokers we have reviewed Interactive Brokers does not charge a withdrawal fee. This means that you’ll see the same amount of money on your bank account that you transferred from your brokerage account.
| Interactive Brokers | Saxo Bank | DEGIRO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | No | Yes | No |
| Electronic wallets | No | No | No |
| Withdrawal fee with bank transfer | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Interactive Brokers inactivity fee
Interactive Brokers does not apply an inactivity fee which is great because your account will not be charged even if you do not trade for a longer time period (months or years).
Interactive Brokers fees
How Interactive Brokers’ fees are ranked
We ranked Interactive Brokers’s fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.
First, let’s go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.
- Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
- Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.
In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Interactive Brokers for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing the most important fees are commissions.
We also compared Interactive Brokers’s fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Saxo Bank and DEGIRO. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Interactive Brokers alternatives.
