In this Interactive Brokers review, we look at how the platform works, including Trader Workstation, pricing, main features, and top alternatives, to help you decide if Interactive Brokers is the right broker for you.
We will cover IB’s trading platform (aka Trader Work Station TWS) and explain how it has been a simple yet powerful ally to the active trader and investor. Right off the bat, they are a good broker, and their order executions and short locates are solid. However, their charting platform is old-fashioned and needs updating, and their customer service could be better.
Interactive Brokers Review Rating 4.8/5
Pricing for options is tiered ($0.15-$0.65), and futures vary by volume
What Is Interactive Brokers? (2026 Review)
Interactive Brokers is well known for two key elements: their international trading platform and low fees and commissions. As a newbie to the trading world, everything can seem overwhelming. But that doesn’t have to be the case. With IB, everything a beginner needs is at their fingertips.
Here’s a sample of what you get if you choose to go with them as your broker:
- Simulator: They offer a great simulated trading platform to practice trading
- Choice: You can trade stocks, options, and futures
- Customization: A customizable mosaic trading platform
- Trader Work Station (TWS): Advanced algos and trading tools
- IBKR WebTrader (PRO): Web-based trading platform.
- Mobile: Trade on the go from IOS and Android devices
- IBot: Find the info you need without special syntax or financial jargon
- Freedom: Choice to trade internationally in over 100 markets in over 24 countries.
We started using IB’s TWS as a secondary broker in early 2016, as it came highly recommended by another experienced trader in our stock market community.
Looking back, that seems like a typical way people learn about IB. It is very popular globally among the “hardcore” trading community, but it is all well-suited to the casual investor. It has spread rapidly through word of mouth and has a great reputation for being a reliable and versatile brokerage firm.
Who Is Interactive Brokers Best For?
IB is ideal if you are an experienced, active trader. The low commission structure, fees, and minimum balance requirements most benefit high-volume and high-frequency traders.
Those for whom investing is serious business. They are combined with access to international markets, ideal for those looking to dip their toes in faraway waters.
It’s also most certainly for those wanting to save on commissions, which is probably most traders. Interactive Broker’s commissions are some of the lowest in the entire industry.
On the flip side, beginner traders may find TWS somewhat overwhelming. Using the advanced features will require a steep learning curve beyond your needs and abilities.
You’d be better served to master the fundamentals before using a platform like this. Besides, if you plan to dabble, the minimum commissions and balance requirements will cost you unnecessary fees.
That’s why, for beginner traders, we recommend learning on a platform like Thinkorswim.
Pros & Cons
- Pros
- Global Trading. IB allows you to trade over 160 markets in over 36 countries. (Source)
- Short Locate. One of their best features is their ability to locate shorts
- Custom Orders. You can place over 30 different types of buy/sell orders
- Paper Trading. You can practice with $1,000,000 in paper “monopoly” money, much more than the typical paper trading demo accounts. (Source)
- Low Margin Rates. Let me tell you this: nothing will induce fear and losses faster than a margin call. Luckily, with IB’s low margin rates, the chances of this happening are significantly lower. (Source)
- Low Fees. IB is known for having some of the lowest fees and commissions in the industry, with a fixed and tiered fee structure. And, like most brokers, prices differ depending on the markets traded.
- Cons
- Charts. The charts are clunky, and compared to the rest of the platform, they will let you down. I’ve seen much better out there, like ThinkorSwim, for example.
- For Advanced Traders. You must be an experienced, active trader to take advantage of your IB account.
- Complex. As a warning, the TWS is Java-based, which might be confusing initially, especially if you’re unfamiliar with Java.
Interactive Brokers Pricing (2026 Fees & Costs)
| Monthly Volume (shares) | IBKR Pro - Tiered | IBKR Pro - Fixed | IBKR Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 300,000 | USD 0.0035 | USD 0.005 | USD 0.002 |
| 300,001 - 3,000,000 | USD 0.0020 | ||
| 3,000,001 - 20,000,000 | USD 0.0015 | ||
| 20,000,001 - 100,000,000 | USD 0.0010 | ||
| > 100,000,000 | USD 0.0005 | ||
| Minimum per order (shares) | USD 0.35 | USD 1.00 | USD 0.003 |
You can visit Interactive Brokers website for updated pricing here. (Updated 3/26).
Interactive Brokers Features and Trading Platform
Mosaic Layout
From day one, we were impressed with its simple yet alien-looking layout. However, while we continue to use and enjoy TD Ameritrade’s ThinkorSwim platform, there are some stark differences between the platforms.
First, when you download and install TWS, you will be greeted with their “Mosaic Layout.” This differs from the tab-based layout you may be used to with TOS.
You will want to arrange your Mosaic to your preference and liking. However, you also may notice that you can only fit some of the windows and charts into a single mosaic layout.
This is why it pays to have larger or multiple monitors when trading! First, get a handle on the right gear to power your platform. Next, on the top right, you’ll see “Layout Locked.” Click this, and you can re-arrange as you see fit.
Trader Workstation (TWS)
One of the best features of the Interactive Brokers Traders Work Station (TWS) platform is its shorting ability. Compared to other brokers we’ve researched, IB has one of the most substantial stocks available to short.
Additionally, we would like to use a minimum of TWO screens for TWS. However, you may find that it is not necessary. However, for day trading, this is needed. We typically will use the setup above and group the remaining windows we need in a separate window. Next, we want to talk about the strengths of Interactive Brokers.
Fast Trade Executions
IB has lightning-fast trade executions. Interactive Brokers has created a “Smart Routing” system to provide traders with lightning-fast execution speeds. This means IB searches for the best fill on your option or stock, depending on the time of your order, to execute it immediately.
IB boasts that this adds up to real money in your account. In addition, we enjoy that there is very little lag, and we have not found a faster trade execution with any of the other brokers we have tried.
Tools
In this Interactive Brokers review, we found that the platform is packed with powerful tools. Whether you’re an advanced trader, active investor, or just getting started, there’s something for everyone. It offers nearly every type of scanner you could need — fundamental, options, volatility, news, bond, complex order, and trade scanners. We like the free analyst research reports and event calendar, and it even has an “Alexa Style” voice-activated information window called Ibot.
Ask questions about a stock symbol, and it will retrieve the information you are after. IB has thought of everything regarding tools, and you could honestly take a year exploring all the various tools at your disposal. You can even stream Bloomberg TV within the platform!
Access to the global markets, Futures, and FX. There are no limitations when it comes to global markets. Margin is great at IB and has the lowest rates of any broker, according to Barons. So that you know, no margin is available on FX unless your account is 1 million.
Paper Trading
To become a consistent trader, it’s important to make at least a couple of hundred trades in your Interactive Brokers platform account first to become comfortable with the emotions of trading before trading with real money.
IB paper trading accounts become much easier to navigate the more you practice—focus and practice on making winning trades rather than making big money. We would rather see you take small positions and work up to bigger trades to condition and control your emotions. Most importantly, ensure never to trade with money you can’t afford to lose.
Trading is a challenging skill to master, and there is no set amount of time you should practice till you one day wake up a good trader. After that, it’s a matter of discipline, respect, and technical analysis. Master the market by mastering yourself.
Interactive Brokers Shorting
One of our favorite features of the Interactive Brokers platform is locating shares to short. IB even has a shorting tool that you can open that displays the number of shares available in real-time. This is awesome when looking to short a stock and seeing traders borrowing shares in real-time. In addition, this lets you know many others are shorting the stock at a key area of support or resistance, giving you an early indication of what the mob is thinking.
We also love that IB has a “Mosaic” that allows you to move windows and sections around in the best format. Most brokers give you a platform, and while you can customize it, you are limited to where your windows are located within the platform. With IB, you can click and drag your windows around where you see fit and lock them in place. In addition, you may save several different layouts you like for certain types of trading.
Hotkeys
The Interactive Brokers platform is great for hotkeys. They have very versatile, editable hot keys with only minor limitations. If you’re going to be a casual day trader, not trading huge positions, their hotkeys work great. Some of the most common hotkey configurations will look like this:
- C = cancel
- B = buy limit
- Shift B = buy market
- S = sell limit
- Shift S = sell market
- Arrow up = increase price
- Arrow down == decrease price
The TWS mobile app is one of the best trading mobile apps. We wish it had more indicators, but you can only use it on a mobile platform. Nevertheless, we found the mobile app clean and fast, and of course, we experienced the same speedy executions as usual with the desktop.
Green Dot
Another big thing we like is that IB has a little green dot that is either dimmed or illuminated, depending on whether it has shares available for borrowing right on the order entry screen.
This is fantastic because as your scanner picks up a stock, and you wish to check it out in IB, you’ll know immediately if shares are available to short at a glance.
You can expand additional information by hovering over the dot and opening the SLB tool’s stock symbol. This tool will show you the shares available, and you can see shares being covered or borrowed in real time! This is incredibly useful information.
Interactive Brokers Alternatives
- Charles Schwab
- Fidelity
- eTrade
Interactive Brokers Customer Reviews
Interactive Brokers has approximately 5,151 customer reviews on Trustpilot with a 3.5 TrustScore (Average as of March 2026).
Bottom Line: Is Interactive Brokers Worth It?
Newbies should know that there are some minimum charges that IB has. In addition, unless you have $100,000 or more and or spend at least $30 in commission fees each month, you will be subject to some maintenance charges. These inactivity charges can go up to $20 per month. We are active traders and investors, so the fees are not a big deal, but worth noting. They are great for investing in foreign markets
IB has a bit longer wait time to reach a person for support, usually 3-5 minutes on average. The same was also true of using their chat function. This is slightly longer than most brokers. However, their customer service personnel are very helpful.
Our Interactive Brokers review concludes that it’s a solid all-around broker suitable for nearly any trading style. The charting tools are decent but not as advanced as some competing platforms we’ve tested. Aside from that, there are no major drawbacks to its overall platform or charting setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can be short on Interactive Brokers. They have one of the best shortlist platforms on the market while being one of the most economical brokers. You can also set up a scanner using their "Advanced Market Scanner" and scan specifically for stocks with short shares available. Interactive Brokers has had the best "short share" availability we have ever seen. That was a big draw for us when trading stocks. They have some very interesting features when it comes to shorting. We like to sort the list by the least amount of shares available. This way, we can find stocks that are most likely already being shorted and have a limited surplus left to borrow from.
Interactive Brokers is a solid choice for active traders. Their order execution is fast, fees are reasonable, and they are good for shorting.
Interactive Brokers is a complex broker for beginner traders. Their mosaic layout is cumbersome, and the user interface can be complicated to set up.
Interactive Brokers is a safe platform because the Financial Conduct Authority and SEC regulate them.
