Interactive Brokers
Merrill Edge
*Data marked with an asterisk contain additional info, expand the relevant sections below to see details.
Basic data of broker
Recommended for Traders looking for broad market access and a professional trading environment
Best online broker
Recommended for Investors and traders looking for low fees, quick account opening and simple platforms
USA
USA
Fees
Low trading and non-trading fees, free stock and ETF trading for US customers
Low trading and non-trading fees, high fund fees
Stock and ETF fees
Forex fees
Fund fees
Bond fees
Options fees
Futures fees
Crypto fees
CFD fees
Non-trading fees
Deposit and withdrawal
23
1
Deposit type
Withdrawal type
Account opening
$0
$0
1-3 days
1 day
Proof of identity: national ID / passport / driver's license Proof of residency: bank statement / utility bill / driver's license / credit card statement
None for those with an IP address in the US; for those that don't--2 utility bills, drivers license, passport
Trading platform
Markets and products
Disclaimer: 60.0% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Research, education
Great
Mid-range
Customer service
Security
£85,000 or $500,000 (but only $250,000 for cash) in the UK depending on the assets you hold; $500,000 ($250,000) in the US; €20,000 (IB Ireland & Luxembourg) or €100,000 (IB Central Europe) in the EU, CAD 1 million in Canada; HKD 500,000 in Hong Kong
$500,000 (securities up to $500,000, cash up to $250,000)
1977
2010
USA, Ireland, UK, Hungary, India, Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore
USA
For detailed information and hands-on experience, read our review of this broker.
For detailed information and hands-on experience, read our review of this broker.
*Data marked with an asterisk contain additional info, expand the relevant sections below to see details.
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.
Interactive Brokers's service is on par with Merrill Edge's and a comparison of their fees shows that Interactive Brokers's fees are similar to Merrill Edge's.
Account opening takes more effort at Interactive Brokers compared to Merrill Edge, deposit and withdrawal processes are somewhat easier at Interactive Brokers, while customer service quality is similar to Merrill Edge's.
Our experts rated the trading platform of Interactive Brokers as somewhat worse than the platform of Merrill Edge, found that clients have access to much more markets and products with Interactive Brokers, while Merrill Edge provides just about the same quality of research and education.
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