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Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest 2019

StockBrokers.com | December 9th, 2019

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  3. Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest Review

Is Ally Invest better than Interactive Brokers? Based on over 4,000 data points from our 2019 annual broker review, Interactive Brokers (80.99%) is better than Ally Invest (62.44%).

Interactive Brokers

Best For Professionals - Open Account
Exclusive Offer: New clients that open an account today receive a special margin rate

While Interactive Brokers does offer a $0 trading account type (IBKR Lite), the broker is best known for its professional traders accounts (IBKR Pro), where Interactive Brokers offers per-share pricing ($.005 per share with a $1 minimum per trade), and charges up to $20 per month between two minimum activity fees. Traders who can meet its $100,000 minimum deposit for margin trading are rewarded with an industry-leading commissions schedule, margin rates, and full support for international trading.Read full review.

Ally Invest

Best for IRA Accounts Overall
Among the bank and brokerage combinations, Ally shines and competes with the best in the industry. Ally’s high-yield savings account is easy to use and offers competitive annual yields above 2%. Also, Ally does not nickel and dime its customers; it embraces no-fee banking. Read full review.

Overall Rating

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Overall 4 3
Interactive Brokers Review Ally Invest Review

Trading Fees

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Minimum Deposit $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trade Fee (per trade) N/A $0.00
ETF Trade Fee $0.01 $0.00
Options Base Fee $0.00 $0.00
Options Per Contract Fee $0.70 $0.50
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $14.95 $9.95
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $30.00 $20.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3.5
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Interactive Brokers
Open Account 		Ally Invest
Under $24,999.99 3.08% 9.50%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 3.08% 9.25%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 3.08% 8.50%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 2.58% 7.25%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 3.18% 6.25%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 2.75% 5.75%
Above $1,000,000.00 2.08% 5.00%
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3.5
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $50.00
Returned ACH Fee N/A $30.00
Returned Wire Fee N/A $30.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee N/A $300.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee N/A $300.00
Paper Statement Fee N/A $2.00
Paper Confirmation Fee N/A $1.00
Domestic Wire Fee $10.00 $30.00
International Wire Fee $10.00 N/A
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3.5

Investment Options

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 8 4
Futures Trading
 Yes No
Forex Trading
 No Yes
Commission-Free ETFs 96 all
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 8534 11234
Mutual Funds (Total)
 1243 18728
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Advisor Services
 No Yes
International Trading
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 5 4
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Order Type - Market
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Contingent
 Yes Yes
Order Type - MultiContingent
 Yes No
Order Type - OCO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTOCO
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 5 4
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes No
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes No
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 Yes No
Trade Journal
 Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 494 21
Heat Mapping
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes No
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 121 117
Charting - Drawing Tools
 9 36
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes No
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis
 No Yes
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 6 5
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes Yes
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields
 No No
Streaming Time & Sales
 Yes No
Streaming TV
 Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Stocks
 Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Options
 Yes No
Ladder Trading
 Yes No
Trade Hot Keys
 Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks
 Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Options
 Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting
 Yes Yes
Short Locator
 Yes No
Order Liquidity Rebates
 Yes No
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 Yes No
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes No
Trading - Conditional Orders
 Yes No
Trading - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Trading - Simple Options
 Yes Yes
Trading - Complex Options
 Yes Yes
Trading - Option Rolling
 No No
Touch / Face ID
 Yes Yes
Winner check_circle

Mobile App Features

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Watch List Syncing
Yes Yes
Stock Alerts
 Yes No
Charting - After Hours
 Yes No
Charting - Drawing
 No No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes No
Heatmapping
 No No
Stream Live TV
 Yes No
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Research - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Research - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB
 Yes Yes
Research - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Screener - Stocks
 Yes No
Screener - ETFs
 Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds
 No No
Screener - Options
 Yes No
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes No
Research 3.5 2
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Stock Research - Reports
 2 2
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Social
 Yes No
Stock Research - Balance Sheet
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Cash Flows
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - News
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG
 Yes No
Research 3.5 2
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 No No
ETFs - Reports
 Yes Yes
Research 3.5 2
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 No No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 Yes Yes
Research 3.5 2
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 37 8
Option Chains - Greeks
4 1
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 Yes No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes No
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes No
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 No Yes
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Retirement
 No Yes
Paper Trading
 Yes No
Videos
 Yes No
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 20 15
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes No
Live Seminars
 No No
Progress Tracking
 Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes No
Investor Magazine
 Yes No
Education 3 3.5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Retail Locations
 0 0
Member FDIC
 Yes Yes
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 No Yes
Credit Cards
 No Yes
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 No Yes
No Fee Banking
 Yes Yes
Banking 2 4
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Interactive Brokers Review Ally Invest Review
Overall 4 3
Winner check_circle

The StockBrokers.com annual broker review assesses more than a dozen different brokers over six months, surfacing the best online stock brokers. This review compares Ally Invest vs Interactive Brokers. Is Ally Invest or Interactive Brokers a better online broker?

First, we will make a comparison of the stock and option trading fees for trading with both brokers. Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers both cost $0 per trade. For options trading, both Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers charge the same base fee of $0. Option contracts are pricier at Interactive Brokers, costing $0.70 versus $0.50 at Ally Invest. Note that some brokers charge a per-share fee instead of a flat-fee commission. For a full breakdown of commissions, read our online broker reviews.

For our next comparison of these two brokers, being able to trade the way you want is a must. Interactive Brokers offers clients Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading while Ally Invest offers Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Forex Trading. When it comes to mutual funds, Ally Invest boasts an offering of 14000 mutual funds compared to Interactive Brokers's 11000 available funds.

Last but not least, by breaking down important features, tools, etc that each broker offers, we can really help to separate the two. Interactive Brokers has virtual trading, Ally Invest doesn't. For mobile trading, Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers both have a iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Furthermore, some investors like to bank online, and multiple brokerages provide these services to clients. Clients can have Checking Accounts and Debit Cards at Interactive Brokers while customers at Ally Invest can have Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

Overall, between Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers, Interactive Brokers is the winner.

Ally Invest Review
Interactive Brokers Review

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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 02/18/2019 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. For stock trade rates, advertised pricing is for a standard order size of 500 shares of stock priced at $30 per share. For options orders, an options regulatory fee per contract may apply.

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