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Interactive Brokers vs Firstrade 2020

StockBrokers.com | January 21st, 2020

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  3. Interactive Brokers vs Firstrade Review

Is Firstrade better than Interactive Brokers? After scoring brokers on over 3,500 data points for our 2020 review, Interactive Brokers (90.58%) is better than Firstrade (76.33%).

Interactive Brokers

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

While Interactive Brokers is not well known for its casual investor offering, it leads the industry with low-cost trading for professionals. Through the Trader Workstation (TWS) platform, Interactive Brokers offers excellent tools and an extensive selection of tradable securities. Read full review

Firstrade

Best for Chinese-speaking investors - Open Account
Special Offer: Commission-Free Trading on 700+ ETFs

Firstrade offers $0 stock, ETF, and options trades, and is best known for its easy-to-use website, alongside its Chinese language services. While Firstrade offers Morningstar research and a variety of tools, its overall offering struggles to stand out against household name brands who are also priced at $0. Read full review

Overall Rating

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Overall 4.5 4
Interactive Brokers Review Firstrade Review

Trading Fees

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
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 $0.65 $0.00
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $14.95 $0.00
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $30.00 $19.95
Commissions & Fees 5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Under $24,999.99 3.08% 9.00%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 3.08% 8.75%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 3.08% 8.25%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 2.58% 7.75%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 3.18% 7.50%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 2.75% 5.60%
Above $1,000,000.00 2.08% 5.00%
Commissions & Fees 5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $0.00
Returned ACH Fee N/A $50.00
Returned Wire Fee N/A $50.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee N/A $300.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee N/A $300.00
Paper Statement Fee N/A $5.00
Paper Confirmation Fee N/A $3.00
Domestic Wire Fee $10.00 $30.00
International Wire Fee $10.00 $50.00
Commissions & Fees 5 4.5

Investment Options

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
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 No
Commission-Free ETFs 96 all
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 8534 10746
Mutual Funds (Total)
 12 14939
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Interest Sharing
 Yes No
Advisor Services
 No No
International Trading
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
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 Yes
Order Type - OCO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTOCO
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
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 47
Heat Mapping
 Yes Yes
AI Assistant Bot
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes No
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 121 58
Charting - Drawing Tools
 9 8
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes No
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis
 No No
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations
 6 6
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
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 No
Short Locator
 Yes No
Order Liquidity Rebates
 Yes No
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 Yes No
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes Yes
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 Firstrade
Watch List Syncing
Yes Yes
Stock Alerts
 Yes No
Charting - After Hours
 Yes No
Charting - Drawing
 No No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes Yes
Heatmapping
 No No
Stream Live TV
 Yes No
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 4.5 3.5
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
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
 No Yes
Screener - Options
 Yes No
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes No
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes Yes
Research 4 4
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Stock Research - Reports
 2 1
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes Yes
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 4 4
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 No Yes
ETFs - Reports
 Yes Yes
Research 4 4
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 Yes Yes
Research 4 4
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes No
Option Chains - Total Columns
 37 8
Option Chains - Greeks
4 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes No
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes No
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes No
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 Yes No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes No
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes No
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes No
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 No No
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Has Education - Retirement
 No Yes
Paper Trading
 Yes No
Videos
 Yes Yes
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 20 6
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes Yes
Live Seminars
 No No
Progress Tracking
 Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes No
Investor Magazine
 Yes No
Education 4 3
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Retail Locations
 0 1
Member FDIC
 Yes No
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 No No
Credit Cards
 No No
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 No No
No Fee Banking
 Yes No
Banking 2 2

Overall

Feature Interactive Brokers Firstrade
Interactive Brokers Review Firstrade Review
Overall 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our annual broker review, we assess over a dozen brokers on hundreds of different variables to find the best online broker. Yielding a database of over 4,000 data points, let's compare Firstrade vs Interactive Brokers.

To start this comparison, first, we will take a look at the online broker commission rates for placing regular stock and options trades. Firstrade and Interactive Brokers have equal fees for trading stocks (equities), $0 per trade. Looking at options, the base fees charged are the same for both brokers, $0. Option contracts are pricier at Interactive Brokers, costing $0.70 versus $0 at Firstrade. It's important to note that not all brokers charge a flat fee per trade. Thus, it is important to read the full commission notes for each broker, which we include with each online broker review.

Next to commission rates, being able to trade what you want is important. Interactive Brokers supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading while Firstrade supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. Looking at mutual funds, Firstrade boasts an offering of 14939 mutual funds compared to Interactive Brokers's 12 available funds.

Trading access aside, by comparing popular features and functionality, we can break down relevant differences between both brokers. Interactive Brokers makes virtual trading available to clients, while Firstrade does not. Taking a look at mobile trading, Firstrade along with Interactive Brokers both support the iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Not to be left out, online banking is also a nice benefit for many investors, and some brokerages provide these services to clients. Checking Accounts and Debit Cards are available to customers of Firstrade and Interactive Brokers.

Overall, between Firstrade and Interactive Brokers, Interactive Brokers is the winner.

Firstrade Review
Interactive Brokers Review

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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/20/2020 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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