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Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest 2025

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

September 17, 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.

Interactive Brokers
5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.65 info
Ally Invest
4/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.50

Range of investments

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Stock Trading info Yes Yes
Account Feature - Margin Trading info Yes Yes
Fractional Shares (Stocks) info Yes No
OTC Stocks info Yes Yes
Mutual Funds info Yes Yes
Options Trading info Yes Yes
Futures Trading info Yes No
Crypto Trading info Yes info No
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 11 info 0
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025: A Beginner-Friendly Guide to an Advanced Market

Trading platforms and tools

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Trading Platform info Yes No
Desktop Platform (Mac) info Yes No
Paper Trading info Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 659 10
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 155 120
Charting - Drawing Tools info 85 36
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers & Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Paper Trading Apps & Platforms for 2025

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Beginners and education

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info Yes Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info Yes Yes
Education (Fixed Income) info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Videos info Yes No
Webinars info Yes No
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025

Stock trading apps

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info Yes No
Stock Alerts info Yes No
Charting - After-Hours info Yes No
Charting - Technical Studies info 97 0
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025

Fees

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Options (Per Contract) info $0.65 info $0.50
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $0.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $25.00

Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025

Day Trading

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Streaming Time & Sales info Yes No
Streaming TV info Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Equities info Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info Yes No
Short Locator info Yes No

Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms for 2025

Market Research

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Screener - Stocks info Yes Yes
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes Yes
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Research - Fixed Income info Yes Yes
Screener - Fixed Income info Yes Yes
Research 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars

Banking

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
Ally Invest logoAlly Invest
Checking Accounts info No Yes
Savings Accounts info No Yes
Debit Cards info No Yes
Credit Cards info No Yes
Mortgage Loans info No Yes
Brokerage CDs info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Brokerage Checking Accounts for 2025

Winner

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.

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or Ally Invest?

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

Does Interactive Brokers or Ally Invest offer IRAs?

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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Compare

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Overall Rating Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Overall 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Customer Service 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Ally Invest Review
Broker Screenshots Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Broker Gallery (click to expand)
Trading Fees Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) info $0.01 $4.95 info
Mutual Fund Trade Fee info $14.95 info $0.00
Options (Per Contract) info $0.65 info $0.50
Futures (Per Contract) info $0.85 info (Not offered)
Broker Assisted Trade Fee info Varies info $20
Margin Rates Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Margin Rate Under $25,000 info 6.83% info 12%
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 info 6.83% info 11.75%
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 info 6.83% info 11%
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 info 6.83% info 9.75%
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 info 6.83% info 8.75%
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 info 6.83% info 8.25%
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 info 6.83% info 7.5%
Account Fees Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $25.00
Account Transfer Out (Partial) info $0.00 $50.00
Account Transfer Out (Full) info $0.00 $50.00
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $0.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $0.00
Investment Options Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Stock Trading info Yes Yes
Account Feature - Margin Trading info Yes Yes
Fractional Shares (Stocks) info Yes No
OTC Stocks info Yes Yes
Options Trading info Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs info 6 4
Futures Trading info Yes No
Forex Trading info Yes No
Crypto Trading info Yes info No
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 11 info 0
Fixed Income (Treasurys) info Yes Yes
Fixed Income (Corporate Bonds) info Yes Yes
Fixed Income (Municipal Bonds) info Yes Yes
Traditional IRAs info Yes Yes
Roth IRAs info Yes Yes
Advisor Services info No Yes
International Countries (Stocks) info 36 0
Order Types Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Order Type - Market info Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit info Yes Yes
Order Type - After Hours info Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop info Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop info Yes No
Order Type - OCO info Yes No
Order Type - OTO info Yes No
Order Type - Broker Assisted info Yes Yes
Beginners Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info Yes Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info Yes Yes
Education (Fixed Income) info Yes Yes
Education (Retirement) info Yes Yes
Retirement Calculator info Yes No
Investor Dictionary info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Videos info Yes No
Webinars info Yes No
Progress Tracking info Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes info Yes No
Stock Trading Apps Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info Yes No
Trading - Stocks info Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Trading - Simple Options info Yes Yes
Trading - Complex Options info Yes Yes
Order Ticket RT Quotes info Yes Yes
Order Ticket SRT Quotes info Yes No
Stock App Features Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Market Movers (Top Gainers) info Yes Yes
Stream Live TV info Yes No
Videos on Demand info Yes No
Stock Alerts info Yes No
Option Chains Viewable info Yes Yes
Watch List (Real-time) info Yes Yes
Watch List (Streaming) info Yes No
Watch Lists - Create & Manage info Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Column Customization info Yes No
Stock App Charting Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Charting - After-Hours info Yes No
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally info Yes No
Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 97 0
Charting - Study Customizations info Yes No
Charting - Stock Comparisons info Yes No
Trading Platforms Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Active Trading Platform info Trader Workstation (TWS) N/A
Desktop Trading Platform info Yes No
Desktop Platform (Mac) info Yes No
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Trade Journal info Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 659 10
Stock Chart Features Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart info Yes No
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 155 120
Charting - Drawing Tools info 85 36
Charting - Notes info Yes Yes
Charting - Historical Trades info Yes No
Charting - Corporate Events info Yes No
Charting - Custom Date Range info Yes No
Charting - Custom Time Bars info Yes No
Charting - Automated Analysis info Yes Yes
Charting - Save Profiles info Yes Yes
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis info Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations info 6 8
Charting - Custom Studies info No No
Day Trading Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Streaming Time & Sales info Yes No
Streaming TV info Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Equities info Yes No
Ladder Trading info Yes No
Trade Hot Keys info Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info Yes No
Short Locator info Yes No
Order Liquidity Rebates info Yes No
Research Overview Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes Yes
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB info Yes Yes
Research - Fixed Income info Yes Yes
Screener - Stocks info Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs info Yes Yes
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Fixed Income info Yes Yes
Portfolio Asset Allocation info Yes No
Stock Research Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Stock Research - PDF Reports info 17 info 0
Stock Research - Earnings info Yes No
Stock Research - Insiders info Yes Yes
Stock Research - Social info Yes Yes
Stock Research - News info Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG info Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings info Yes No
ETF Research Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
ETFs - Investment Objective info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio info Yes Yes
ETF Fund Facts - Total Assets info Yes Yes
ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings info Yes No
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings info Yes Yes
ETFs - Sector Exposure info Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis info Yes No
ETFs - Ratings info Yes Yes
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap info Yes No
ETFs - PDF Reports info Yes No
Mutual Fund Research Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Mutual Funds - Investment Objective info Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Performance Chart info Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Prospectus info Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings info Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings info Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation info Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap info Yes No
Options Trading Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Option Chains - Total Greeks info 5 5
Option Analysis - P&L Charts info Yes No
Banking Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Bank (Member FDIC) info No Yes
Checking Accounts info No Yes
Savings Accounts info No Yes
Credit Cards info No Yes
Debit Cards info No Yes
Mortgage Loans info No Yes
Customer Service Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Phone Support (Prospective Customers) info Yes Yes
Phone Support (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
Email Support info Yes Yes
Live Chat (Prospective Customers) info No No
Live Chat (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
24/7 Support info Yes Yes
Overall Interactive Brokers Ally Invest
Overall 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 3/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 3.5/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review Ally Invest Review
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