Is Ally Invest better than Interactive Brokers? After testing 11 of the best online brokers over three months, Interactive Brokers (95.07%) is better than Ally Invest (76.84%). Once again, in 2021, Interactive Brokers is our top pick for professionals because of its institutional-grade desktop trading platform and rock bottom margin rates. Professionals aside, Interactive Brokers also appeals to casual investors with $0 trades and its user-friendly web platform.
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Interactive Brokers vs Ally Invest 2021
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Overall Rating
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Interactive Brokers Review | Ally Invest Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Fees
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | $9.95 |
| Options (Base Fee) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 |
| Futures (Per Contract) | $0.85 | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $30.00 | $20.00 |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
| Under $24,999.99 | 1.59% | 7.75% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 1.59% | 7.50% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 1.59% | 6.75% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 1.29% | 5.50% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 1.19% | 4.50% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 1.14% | 4.00% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 0.75% | 3.25% |
Account Fees
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $0.00 | N/A |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $0.00 | N/A |
| 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 |
Investment Options
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
|
Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Fractional Shares |
Yes | No |
|
OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
|
Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Complex Options Max Legs |
8 | 4 |
|
Futures Trading |
Yes | No |
|
Forex Trading |
No | Yes |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
|
Mutual Funds (No Load) |
8734 | 11153 |
|
Mutual Funds (Total) |
11080 | 18352 |
|
Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Advisor Services |
No | Yes |
|
International Trading |
Yes | No |
|
AI Assistant Bot |
Yes | No |
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 | No |
|
Order Type - Contingent |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - MultiContingent |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - OCO |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - OTO |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - OTOCO |
Yes | No |
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 |
|
Heat Mapping |
Yes | No |
|
Watch Lists - Total Fields |
494 | 21 |
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 |
|
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis |
No | Yes |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
6 | 5 |
|
Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
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 |
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 |
| Mobile Trading |
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 |
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 | Yes |
|
Screener - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - Options |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - Bonds |
Yes | Yes |
|
Misc - Portfolio Builder |
Yes | Yes |
|
Misc - Portfolio Allocation |
Yes | No |
Stock Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
|
Stock Research - Reports |
3 | 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 |
ETF Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
|
ETFs - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Sector Exposure |
Yes | No |
|
ETFs - Risk Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Performance Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap |
Yes | No |
|
ETFs - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
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 | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
Yes | 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 |
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 |
Beginners
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
|
Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (ETFs) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (Mutual Funds) |
No | Yes |
|
Education (Fixed Income) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (Retirement) |
No | Yes |
|
Paper Trading |
Yes | No |
|
Videos |
Yes | No |
|
Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
20 | 15 |
|
Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Seminars |
No | No |
|
Progress Tracking |
Yes | No |
|
Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
Yes | No |
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 | No |
|
Debit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mortgage Loans |
No | Yes |
|
No Fee Banking |
Yes | Yes |
Overall
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Ally Invest |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Interactive Brokers Review | Ally Invest Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2021 annual broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 11 brokerages to find the best online broker. Let's compare Ally Invest vs Interactive Brokers.
Is Ally Invest or Interactive Brokers better for beginners?
Interactive Brokers is better for beginner investors than Ally Invest. Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Paper Trading, Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options) and Education (Fixed Income).
What about Ally Invest vs Interactive Brokers pricing?
Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0. For options trading, both Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers charge the same base fee of $0. Ally Invest's per contract rate of $0.50 is less than Interactive Brokers which charges $0.65. For a complete commissions summary, see our best discount brokers guide.
Does Ally Invest or Interactive Brokers offer a wider range of investment options?
Interactive Brokers offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Ally Invest. Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, OTCBB / Pink Sheets, Options Trading, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading and International Trading. Looking at Mutual Funds, Ally Invest boasts an offering of 18352 mutual funds compared to Interactive Brokers's 11080 available funds.
Which trading platform is better: Ally Invest or Interactive Brokers?
To compare the trading platforms of both Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Interactive Brokers offers a better experience. With research, Interactive Brokers offers superior market research. Finally, we found Interactive Brokers to provide better mobile trading apps.
Does either broker offer banking?
Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts and Debit Cards are offered by Interactive Brokers while Ally Invest offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards and Mortgage Loans.
Overall winner: Interactive Brokers
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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/19/2021 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.
