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Is Interactive Brokers free?

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Adam N.
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Is Interactive Brokers free as of March 2024?

Interactive Brokers does charge a commission for real stock trading on US markets, so in this sense it is not a free-to-trade broker. However, it might still be a reasonable choice for some of you, as there are many other aspects other than commissions that are important when you choose a broker. If you wish to stick with Interactive Brokers though, then you will find the fees they charge below. Alternatively, you could check our article detailing the best zero commission brokers and how their apps scored in our test.

We should note that the payment-for-order-flow model, which is used by some zero-commission brokers to generate income (rather than relying on commissions), could potentially create a conflict of interest between you and your broker. This could result in trade execution (like routing your orders to specific market makers) that might be unfavorable for you under certain market conditions, especially when using market orders (as opposed to limit orders, which seem to be less affected).

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Confused about fees? Use this tool to see what the commission fee of a specific stock trade would be at Interactive Brokers. To check and compare fees at other brokers, go to our main Fee calculator page.

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Overview of Interactive Brokers fees and charges

It's safe to say that Interactive Brokers's fees are low in general. They either don't charge a brokerage fee for things that other brokers do, or they only charge a small amount.

Here's a high-level overview of Interactive Brokers's fees

Interactive Brokers Fees snapshot
Assets Fee level Fee terms
US stock fee Low Fixed pricing: $0.005 per share, min. $1, max. 1% of trade value. Free for US clients choosing IBKR Lite plan.
EURUSD fee Low Trade value less than $1 billion: 0.2 bps * trade value; min. $2
US mutual fund fees Average $14.95 per transaction or 3% of trade value, whichever is lower. There are also more than 19,000 funds with no transaction fee
Inactivity fee Low No inactivity fee

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Interactive Brokers fees explained

Online brokerages in general charge much lower brokerage fees than traditional brokerages do - this is largely because online brokerages' businesses can be much better scaled: from a purely technical standpoint, it doesn't make that much of a difference for them if they have 100 or 5,000 clients.

This is not to say, however, that they don't charge any fees at all. They make money by charging you various rates for various actions or events. Usually you need to keep an eye on the following three types of fees:

  • Trading fees - these are brokerage fees that you pay when you actually carry out a trade, like buying an Apple share or an ETF. What you pay is either a commission, a spread or a financing rate. Some brokers apply all of these.
    • A commission is either fixed or based on the traded volume.
    • A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
    • A financing rate or overnight rate is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.
  • Non-trading fees. These are usually related to some operations you carry out in your account, such as depositing money, withdrawing money, or not trading for an extended period.

We compare Interactive Brokers fees with its closest competitors, Saxo Bank and DEGIRO.

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Interactive Brokers trading fees

Interactive Brokers's trading fees are low, which makes it suitable for you even if you trade often (i.e. several times a week).

Let's break down trading fees according to the different asset classes available at Interactive Brokers.

Trading fees

Interactive Brokers's trading fees are low.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Interactive Brokers has low stock trading fees.

Stock fees of a $2,000 trade
US stock
$1.0
$1.6
$2.2
UK stock
$3.8
$3.8
$3.4
German stock
$3.2
$3.2
$5.3

Data updated on March 11, 2024

Forex fees

Interactive Brokers's forex fees are average.

Forex fees of a $20,000 30:1 position (open, 1-week-hold and close)
EURUSD benchmark fee
$13.3 $10.7 -
EURGBP benchmark fee
$13.3 $10.5 -

Data updated on March 11, 2024

Fund fees

Interactive Brokers fund fees are average.

Fees of a $2,000 fund purchase
Mutual fund
$15.0
$0.0
$4.2
EU mutual fund
$4.4
-
$10.3

Data updated on March 11, 2024

Bond fees

Interactive Brokers has low bond fees.

Fees of a $10,000 bond trade
US Treasury bond
$5.0
$21.6
-
EU/UK government bond
$10.0
$21.6
$3.2

Data updated on March 11, 2024

Options fees

Interactive Brokers's options fees are low.

Options fees for 10 contracts
US stock options
$6.5
$20.0
-
US stock index options
$6.5
$20.0
$7.5
UK stock index options
$21.3
$37.5
-
German stock index options
$18.4
$21.6
$9.7

Data updated on March 11, 2024

Futures fees

Interactive Brokers's futures fees are low.

Stock index futures fees for 10 contracts
US micro e-mini stock index futures
$2.5
$30.0
$7.5
UK stock index futures
$21.3
$37.5
-
German e-mini stock index futures
$8.6
$43.2
$8.1

Data updated on March 11, 2024

CFD fees

Interactive Brokers has average CFD trading fees.

CFD fees and commissions on a $2,000 trade
Apple CFD
$1.1
$4.1
-
Vodafone CFD
$4.3
$10.6
-
Germany
$3.4
$11.4
$5.7

Data updated on March 11, 2024

Currency 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.

Margin rates

Interactive Brokers margin rates are low.

Interactive Brokers margin rates
USD margin rate
6.8%
-
6.9%
EUR margin rate
5.5%
-
6.9%

Data updated on March 11, 2024

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Interactive Brokers non-trading fees

When it comes to non-trading fees, Interactive Brokers is a rather cheap broker.

Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at Interactive Brokers that are not related to buying or selling assets. This can be a withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee or account fee.

A high-level overview of how Interactive Brokers stacks up in terms of non-trading fees
Withdrawal fee
$0
$0
$0
Deposit fee
$0
$0
$0
Inactivity fee
No
No
No
Account fee
No
No
No

Data updated on March 11, 2024

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BrokerChooser score
4.9 4.9 /5
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Interactive Brokers deposit fee

Usually, brokers don't charge anything for deposits, and Interactive Brokers is no different.

Interactive Brokers deposit methods
Bank transfer
Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card
No
Yes
No
Electronic wallets
No No No
Deposit fee
$0
$0
$0

Data updated on March 11, 2024

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Interactive Brokers withdrawal fee

Interactive Brokers generally doesn't charge a withdrawal fee.

Interactive Brokers withdrawal fees and options compared
Bank transfer
Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card
No
Yes
No
Electronic wallets
No No No
Withdrawal fee for bank transfer
$0
$0
$0

Data updated on March 11, 2024

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Interactive Brokers inactivity fee

Interactive Brokers does not apply an inactivity fee, which is great because your account won't be charged even if you do not trade for an extended period (like several months or years).

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Author of this article

Adam Nasli

Financial Wizard | Trading • Safety • Market Analysis

I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

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