Charles Schwab vs Interactive Brokers 2024

Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. We spend hundreds of hours each year testing the platforms, mobile apps, trading tools and general ease of use among online brokerages, as well as comparing commissions and fees, to find the best online broker.

Though many U.S. brokers offer basic trading features, such as an app, charting tools, stock research and educational content, the depth of those features can vary widely. Let's compare Charles Schwab vs Interactive Brokers.

In stock trading, the more you know, the better you’ll do. Taking advantage of resources like articles, webinars, videos and interactive elements is a great way to shorten the learning curve. In our analysis, we examine the availability of several different types of educational materials.

For 2024, our review finds that Charles Schwab offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Interactive Brokers. Charles Schwab offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Paper Trading, Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement).

Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers both charge $0.65 per option contract. For futures, Charles Schwab charges $2.25 per contract and Interactive Brokers charges $0.85 per contract. For a deeper dive, see our best brokers for free stock trading or options trading guides.

Looking at a full range of investment options, including order types and international trading, our research has found that Interactive Brokers offers a more comprehensive offering than Charles Schwab. Charles Schwab ranks #2 out of 18 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Interactive Brokers ranks #1.

Charles Schwab offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading, Forex Trading and Advisor Services, while Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading and Forex Trading. Looking at Mutual Funds, Interactive Brokers trails Charles Schwab in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Charles Schwab offering 6085 and Interactive Brokers offering 4782.

In our analysis of top U.S. brokerages, we research whether each broker offers the ability to trade cash cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ethereum. Though crypto has risen steadily in popularity, availability still varies from broker to broker. Our review finds that Interactive Brokers offers crypto trading, while Charles Schwab does not.

To compare the day trading platforms of Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers, we focused on trading tools and functionality across both web and desktop-based platforms. Popular day trading platform tools include streaming real-time quotes, stock alerts, trading hotkeys, direct market routing, streaming time and sales, customizable watch lists, backtesting, and fully functional charting packages, among many others. For day trading, Interactive Brokers offers a better experience.

After testing 25 features across the stock trading apps of Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers, we found Interactive Brokers to be better overall. The best stock market apps are easy to use, have excellent design, and deliver a fully featured online trading experience. Charles Schwab ranks #4 out of 18 brokers, while Interactive Brokers ranks #1.

Charles Schwab Trading App Gallery

Interactive Brokers Trading App Gallery

For research, Charles Schwab offers superior market research than Interactive Brokers. Charles Schwab ranks #1 and Interactive Brokers ranks #2.

Over the years, we've found that the best brokers provide rich market commentary, a variety of third-party research reports, and thorough quote screens that are not just easy to navigate, but that also include a comprehensive selection of fundamental data. Robust stock, ETFs, and mutual fund screeners are also must-haves for trade idea generation.

Charles Schwab requires a minimum deposit of $0.00, while Interactive Brokers requires a minimum deposit of $0.00. From our testing, we found that SoFi is the only broker that requires a minimum deposit.

Charles Schwab charges 13.575% for accounts under $25,000 while Interactive Brokers charges a margin rate of 7.83%. The industry average of the 18 brokers we track is 9%.

Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers allow traders to trade fractional shares. Our research has found that 54% of brokers offer fractional shares investing. Fractional shares allow traders to buy a part of a whole share of stock. For example, if Amazon is trading at $1,000, you could buy half a share for $500.

Both Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers allow you to trade penny stocks. Charles Schwab charges $6.95 per trade while Interactive Brokers charges $0.00. Penny stocks are companies whose shares trade for under $5 and are listed over the counter (OTC). For brokers that do offer penny stock trades, the average commission is $3.

Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are offered by Charles Schwab, while Interactive Brokers offers Debit Cards.

StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research group Confero to conduct phone tests from locations across the United States to thoroughly evaluate the quality and speed of brokerage customer service. (Read more about How We Test.) Here are the results of our current testing.

Charles Schwab was rated 3rd out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 9.1 out of 10.

Interactive Brokers was rated 12th out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 7.7 out of 10.

With the addition of TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim platforms and the enhancement of several features, Schwab is now a vigorous competitor with thought-provoking research and commentary and a client experience to fit any preference.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, Charles Schwab was ranked No. 1 for Research, High Net Worth Investors, Bond Research, Desktop Stock Trading Platform, and Trader App. It was among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Investment Options, Education, Ease of Use, Day Trading, Beginners, Customer Service, Futures Trading, Options Trading, Penny Stock Trading, IRA Accounts and Overall.

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.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, Interactive Brokers was rated No. 1 for Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Investment Options, Day Trading, Bond Trading, ESG Investing, Fractional Shares, International Trading, Order Execution, Platform Technology, Professional Trading, and Sentiment Investing. It also placed among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Research, Education, Beginners, Futures Trading, IRA Accounts, Options Trading, High Net Worth Investors, and Overall.