Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest 2025
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
When comparing Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest, it's clear that each has its strengths. Interactive Brokers is a top choice for those seeking a wide range of investment options, particularly with its offerings in fractional shares, forex trading, futures trading, and crypto trading with access to 11 coins. In contrast, Ally Invest shines with its availability of advisor services, which can be advantageous for investors needing more personalized guidance. Both platforms provide traditional and Roth IRA accounts, as well as access to stock, margin, mutual funds, OTC stocks, and options trading. However, for those interested in forex, futures, or crypto trading, Interactive Brokers stands out as the superior option.
For those interested in stock trading, margin trading, or buying into mutual funds, both Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest offer comprehensive services. Each platform enables trading in OTC stocks and options, ensuring a broad selection for investors. Notably, Interactive Brokers distinguishes itself by offering fractional shares trading, a feature not available with Ally Invest, providing investors the flexibility to invest in high-priced stocks without purchasing entire shares. While Ally Invest supports a limited range of trading options, it still suits many investors, specifically with its advisor services that Interactive Brokers lacks.
Regarding overall ratings and rankings, Interactive Brokers emerges as the top contender, receiving five stars for its range of investments and ranked by StockBrokers.com as #1 out of 14 brokers. Ally Invest is not far behind, holding a 4.5-star rating and ranking 8th, suggesting it remains a strong option, particularly for investors who value guidance through advisor services. Each platform carries unique benefits, and understanding these differences helps investors choose the most suitable brokerage for their financial goals.
Feature |
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Stock Trading | Yes | Yes |
Account Feature - Margin Trading | Yes | Yes |
Fractional Shares (Stocks) | Yes | No |
OTC Stocks | Yes | Yes |
Mutual Funds | Yes | Yes |
Options Trading | Yes | Yes |
Futures Trading | Yes | No |
Crypto Trading | Yes | No |
Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 11 | 0 |
Range of Investments |
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Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025: A Beginner-Friendly Guide to an Advanced Market
When comparing the trading platforms and tools of Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest, Interactive Brokers takes the lead with its more comprehensive offerings. It provides both Windows and Mac desktop platforms, while Ally Invest only offers browser-based access. Interactive Brokers also boasts superior features such as paper trading and a trading journal, which are not available with Ally Invest. The decision largely hinges on user preferences for a more feature-rich and customizable trading experience with Interactive Brokers or the simpler, browser-based approach of Ally Invest.
Interactive Brokers sets itself apart with extensive customization options for watch lists, allowing for up to 659 columns, compared to Ally Invest's 10. Additionally, traders can adjust open orders directly on the chart within Interactive Brokers, exploit 155 technical indicators, and utilize 85 drawing tools. Ally Invest, on the other hand, provides 120 technical indicators and 36 drawing tools, lacking the capacity to adjust orders directly on charts. Both platforms offer automated technical analysis and allow users to save multiple chart profiles, but only Interactive Brokers can display historical trades and corporate events on charts.
For traders seeking more in-depth chart customization, Interactive Brokers offers 6 customizable fields for the Simple Moving Average (SMA) study. Nonetheless, neither platform supports the creation of custom studies for charts. Overall, Interactive Brokers earns a 5-star rating and holds the #2 spot among 14 brokers for its platforms and tools, while Ally Invest receives a 3-star rating and ranks #10 in the same category. This comparison highlights Interactive Brokers as the top pick for those prioritizing advanced trading features and customization.
Feature |
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Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | No |
Desktop Platform (Mac) | Yes | No |
Paper Trading | Yes | No |
Watch Lists - Total Fields | 659 | 10 |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 120 |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 36 |
Platforms & Tools |
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Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers & Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Paper Trading Apps & Platforms for 2025
Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest both offer educational resources for beginners and investors to enhance their understanding of stock, ETF, options, mutual funds, and bond trading. Interactive Brokers is particularly recognized for its comprehensive educational tools, including paper trading, webinars, educational videos, and quizzes, allowing users to track their learning progress effectively. On the other hand, Ally Invest provides a solid grounding in various trading avenues but lacks some interactive educational features like webinars, quizzes, and educational videos, which may limit the engagement for new investors.
When considering overall educational quality, Interactive Brokers stands out with a 5-star rating and ranks third out of 14 brokers evaluated by StockBrokers.com for education. Ally Invest, while still commendable with a 4-star rating, ranks seventh in the same evaluation, reflecting certain gaps compared to Interactive Brokers. Consequently, beginners seeking a more immersive educational experience might lean towards Interactive Brokers for their comprehensive learning tools, whereas those looking for straightforward, foundational resources may find Ally Invest sufficient.
Feature |
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Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes |
Education (ETFs) | Yes | Yes |
Education (Options) | Yes | Yes |
Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes | Yes |
Education (Fixed Income) | Yes | Yes |
Paper Trading | Yes | No |
Videos | Yes | No |
Webinars | Yes | No |
Education |
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Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025
Bottom line: Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick for active traders who want a feature-rich stock trading app, earning 5 stars and ranking 2nd out of 14 brokers at StockBrokers.com. Ally Invest delivers a simpler experience with 4 stars and a 13th-place ranking. Both can handle everyday trading, but Interactive Brokers stands out for advanced tools, research, and flexibility on the go.
Both Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest offer iPhone and Android apps, plus streaming quotes and mobile options trading. Only Interactive Brokers supports Apple Watch. Interactive Brokers also supports mobile after-hours trading; Ally Invest’s after-hours support on mobile was not specified. For organization, both let you build custom watch lists, but only Interactive Brokers lets you customize watch list columns and set stock alerts.
Charting and media are where the gap widens. Interactive Brokers offers after-hours charting, landscape charts, multiple time frames, and 97 technical studies, plus the ability to compare stocks on the same chart. Ally Invest offers multiple time frames but no after-hours charting, no landscape view, and no technical studies or chart comparisons. For market content, Interactive Brokers streams live TV and provides videos on demand, while Ally Invest does not.
Feature |
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iPhone App | Yes | Yes |
Android App | Yes | Yes |
Apple Watch App | Yes | No |
Stock Alerts | Yes | No |
Charting - After-Hours | Yes | No |
Charting - Technical Studies | 97 | 0 |
Mobile Trading Apps |
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Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025
Bottom line: Interactive Brokers generally offers lower overall costs than Ally Invest thanks to far cheaper margin interest and no fees for transfers or IRA closures, while Ally can be the better pick if your main expense is options contract fees. Both brokers have a $0 minimum deposit, $0 commissions for stock trades, and $0 fees for options exercise and assignment. If you plan to use margin or might move your account, Interactive Brokers is likely to be more cost‑effective; if you trade lots of options contracts and don’t use margin, Ally’s per‑contract pricing can save money.
Trading and IRA fees: Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest both require a $0 minimum deposit and charge $0 for regular stock trades. For options, Interactive Brokers is $0.65 per contract, while Ally Invest is $0.50 per contract. Options exercise and assignment are $0 at both. IRA annual fees are $0 at both; IRA closure is $0 at Interactive Brokers and $25 at Ally Invest.
Margin and transfer fees: Interactive Brokers lists a 6.83% margin rate for balances under $25,000, $25,000–$49,999, and $50,000–$99,999. Ally Invest’s margin rates are higher at 12% (under $25,000), 11.75% ($25,000–$49,999), and 11% ($50,000–$99,999). For ACAT transfers, Interactive Brokers charges $0 for partial and full transfers, while Ally Invest charges $50 for both partial and full transfers.
Feature |
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Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 |
Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $25.00 |
Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025
Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest cater to traders in different ways, but when it comes to day trading features, Interactive Brokers holds a significant edge. Traders using Interactive Brokers enjoy a range of advantages such as streaming time and sales for stocks, access to streaming live TV, and direct market routing. These features aid in quick decision-making, crucial in day trading. Additionally, Interactive Brokers provides ladder trading, keyboard shortcuts for fast trade entries, and level 2 quotes, all of which empower traders with instant and in-depth market information.
For those interested in strategy building and optimization, Interactive Brokers is a favorable choice, offering both basic and advanced strategy backtesting. In contrast, Ally Invest lacks these capabilities, which might be limiting for active traders seeking a technical edge. Furthermore, only Interactive Brokers offers a short locator tool, essential for traders involved in short selling, and provides order liquidity rebates. With these tools and offers, Interactive Brokers stands out as a comprehensive platform for day traders, while Ally Invest may be more suitable for those with simpler trading needs.
Feature |
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Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No |
Streaming TV | Yes | No |
Direct Market Routing - Equities | Yes | No |
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | No |
Short Locator | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms for 2025
Bottom line first: for market research, Interactive Brokers beats Ally Invest. Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 14 brokers at StockBrokers.com, while Ally Invest earns 3.5 stars and ranks #8. IB offers wider coverage, ESG analysis, a view of your portfolio by asset class, and a large library of downloadable analyst reports. Ally Invest covers the essentials and has helpful screeners, but it leaves out several deeper tools.
Both brokers provide research for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, Pink Sheets/OTCBB, and bonds. Each includes stock, ETF, and bond screeners, and both tap social media sentiment for stock ideas. The differences stand out in the details: Interactive Brokers also has a mutual fund screener, ESG research, and the ability to see allocation by asset class—features Ally Invest does not include.
Report access is another separator. Interactive Brokers offers 17 downloadable PDF research reports for stocks and provides PDFs for ETFs and mutual funds as well. Ally Invest does not offer downloadable PDF reports for these assets. For many investors, that extra depth helps explain why Interactive Brokers outperforms Ally Invest in market research.
Feature |
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Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes |
Screener - Stocks | Yes | Yes |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Screener - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Research - Mutual Funds | Yes | Yes |
Screener - Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
Research - Fixed Income | Yes | Yes |
Screener - Fixed Income | Yes | Yes |
Research |
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When comparing the banking capabilities of Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest, it's clear that Ally Invest provides a more comprehensive suite of traditional banking services. Ally Invest offers checking and savings accounts, which Interactive Brokers does not. Additionally, Ally Invest provides access to debit and credit cards, options that are unavailable at Interactive Brokers. For those considering a mortgage, Ally Invest also has that covered, unlike Interactive Brokers. However, both brokers offer Certificates of Deposit (CDs), giving them some common ground. Overall, if you're seeking a broker that combines investment tools with extensive banking features, Ally Invest stands out as the more versatile option.
Feature |
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Checking Accounts | No | Yes |
Savings Accounts | No | Yes |
Debit Cards | No | Yes |
Credit Cards | No | Yes |
Mortgage Loans | No | Yes |
Brokerage CDs | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokerage Checking Accounts for 2025
After opening live accounts and testing 14 of the best online brokers, our research and live account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than Ally Invest. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall score of 96.9%, while Ally Invest finished with a score of 80.1%.
Interactive Brokers is a go-to choice for professionals because of its institutional-grade desktop trading platform, high-quality trade executions and rock-bottom margin rates.
Interactive Brokers provides crypto trading with access to 11 coins, whereas Ally Invest does not offer any crypto trading services.
Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2025
Interactive Brokers and Ally Invest both offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts with no annual fees; however, Interactive Brokers stands out with no closure fees, while Ally Invest charges $25 for closing IRA accounts.
Dive deeper: Best IRA Accounts for 2025
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0 of 5Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Overall |
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Platforms & Tools |
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Mobile Trading Apps |
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Research |
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Customer Service |
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Education |
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Ease of Use |
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Winner | check_circle | ||
Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Ally Invest Review |
Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) | $0.01 | $4.95 | |
Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | $0.00 | |
Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 | |
Futures (Per Contract) | $0.85 | (Not offered) | |
Broker Assisted Trade Fee | Varies | $20 |
Margin Rates | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Margin Rate Under $25,000 | 6.83% | 12% | |
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 | 6.83% | 11.75% | |
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 | 6.83% | 11% | |
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 | 6.83% | 9.75% | |
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 | 6.83% | 8.75% | |
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 | 6.83% | 8.25% | |
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 | 6.83% | 7.5% |
Account Fees | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $25.00 | |
Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $0.00 | $50.00 | |
Account Transfer Out (Full) | $0.00 | $50.00 | |
Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Investment Options | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Stock Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Account Feature - Margin Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Fractional Shares (Stocks) | Yes | No | |
OTC Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Options Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Complex Options Max Legs | 6 | 4 | |
Futures Trading | Yes | No | |
Forex Trading | Yes | No | |
Crypto Trading | Yes | No | |
Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 11 | 0 | |
Fixed Income (Treasurys) | Yes | Yes | |
Fixed Income (Corporate Bonds) | Yes | Yes | |
Fixed Income (Municipal Bonds) | Yes | Yes | |
Traditional IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
Roth IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
Advisor Services | No | Yes | |
International Countries (Stocks) | 36 | 0 |
Order Types | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Order Type - Market | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Limit | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - After Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Stop | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes | No | |
Order Type - OCO | Yes | No | |
Order Type - OTO | Yes | No | |
Order Type - Broker Assisted | Yes | Yes |
Beginners | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (ETFs) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Options) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Fixed Income) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
Retirement Calculator | Yes | No | |
Investor Dictionary | Yes | Yes | |
Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
Videos | Yes | No | |
Webinars | Yes | No | |
Progress Tracking | Yes | No | |
Interactive Learning - Quizzes | Yes | No |
Stock Trading Apps | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
Android App | Yes | Yes | |
Apple Watch App | Yes | No | |
Trading - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - Simple Options | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - Complex Options | Yes | Yes | |
Order Ticket RT Quotes | Yes | Yes | |
Order Ticket SRT Quotes | Yes | No |
Stock App Features | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Market Movers (Top Gainers) | Yes | Yes | |
Stream Live TV | Yes | No | |
Videos on Demand | Yes | No | |
Stock Alerts | Yes | No | |
Option Chains Viewable | Yes | Yes | |
Watch List (Real-time) | Yes | Yes | |
Watch List (Streaming) | Yes | No | |
Watch Lists - Create & Manage | Yes | Yes | |
Watch Lists - Column Customization | Yes | No |
Stock App Charting | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Charting - After-Hours | Yes | No | |
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally | Yes | No | |
Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Technical Studies | 97 | 0 | |
Charting - Study Customizations | Yes | No | |
Charting - Stock Comparisons | Yes | No |
Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Active Trading Platform | Trader Workstation (TWS) | N/A | |
Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | No | |
Desktop Platform (Mac) | Yes | No | |
Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
Trade Journal | Yes | No | |
Watch Lists - Total Fields | 659 | 10 |
Stock Chart Features | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart | Yes | No | |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 120 | |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 36 | |
Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Historical Trades | Yes | No | |
Charting - Corporate Events | Yes | No | |
Charting - Custom Date Range | Yes | No | |
Charting - Custom Time Bars | Yes | No | |
Charting - Automated Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Save Profiles | Yes | Yes | |
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis | Yes | No | |
Charting - Study Customizations | 6 | 8 | |
Charting - Custom Studies | No | No |
Day Trading | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No | |
Streaming TV | Yes | No | |
Direct Market Routing - Equities | Yes | No | |
Ladder Trading | Yes | No | |
Trade Hot Keys | Yes | No | |
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No | |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | No | |
Short Locator | Yes | No | |
Order Liquidity Rebates | Yes | No |
Research Overview | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
Research - Mutual Funds | Yes | Yes | |
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB | Yes | Yes | |
Research - Fixed Income | Yes | Yes | |
Screener - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Screener - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
Screener - Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
Screener - Fixed Income | Yes | Yes | |
Portfolio Asset Allocation | Yes | No |
Stock Research | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Stock Research - PDF Reports | 17 | 0 | |
Stock Research - Earnings | Yes | No | |
Stock Research - Insiders | Yes | Yes | |
Stock Research - Social | Yes | Yes | |
Stock Research - News | Yes | Yes | |
Stock Research - ESG | Yes | No | |
Stock Research - SEC Filings | Yes | No |
ETF Research | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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ETFs - Investment Objective | Yes | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date | Yes | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio | Yes | Yes | |
ETF Fund Facts - Total Assets | Yes | Yes | |
ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings | Yes | Yes | |
ETFs - Sector Exposure | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Risk Analysis | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Ratings | Yes | Yes | |
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap | Yes | No | |
ETFs - PDF Reports | Yes | No |
Mutual Fund Research | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Mutual Funds - Investment Objective | Yes | Yes | |
Mutual Funds - Performance Chart | Yes | Yes | |
Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Prospectus | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings | Yes | Yes | |
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings | Yes | Yes | |
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation | Yes | Yes | |
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - StyleMap | Yes | No |
Options Trading | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Option Chains - Total Greeks | 5 | 5 | |
Option Analysis - P&L Charts | Yes | No |
Banking | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Bank (Member FDIC) | No | Yes | |
Checking Accounts | No | Yes | |
Savings Accounts | No | Yes | |
Credit Cards | No | Yes | |
Debit Cards | No | Yes | |
Mortgage Loans | No | Yes |
Customer Service | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Phone Support (Prospective Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Phone Support (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Email Support | Yes | Yes | |
Live Chat (Prospective Customers) | No | No | |
Live Chat (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
24/7 Support | Yes | Yes |
Overall | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest | |
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Overall |
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Platforms & Tools |
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Mobile Trading Apps |
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Research |
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Education |
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Ease of Use |
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Winner | check_circle | ||
Review | Interactive Brokers Review | Ally Invest Review |