Interactive Brokers vs Firstrade 2023

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 Interactive Brokers vs Firstrade.

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 2023, our review finds that Interactive Brokers offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Firstrade. Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Paper Trading, Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while Firstrade offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (Options) and Education (Retirement). Neither have Education (Mutual Funds).

Interactive Brokers and Firstrade charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Option contracts are pricier at Interactive Brokers, costing $0.65 per contract versus $0.00 per contract at Firstrade. For futures, Interactive Brokers charges $0.85 per contract and Firstrade charges (Not offered) per contract. For a deeper dive, see our best brokers for free stock trading guide.

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 Firstrade. Interactive Brokers ranks #1 out of 17 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Firstrade ranks #7.

Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading, while Firstrade offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, OTC Stocks and Mutual Funds. Neither have Forex Trading and Advisor Services Looking at Mutual Funds, Firstrade trails Interactive Brokers in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Interactive Brokers offering 4329 and Firstrade offering 4206.

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 neither Interactive Brokers and Firstrade offer crypto trading.

To compare the day trading platforms of Interactive Brokers and Firstrade, 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 Interactive Brokers and Firstrade, 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. Interactive Brokers ranks #2 out of 17 brokers, while Firstrade ranks #6.

Interactive Brokers Trading App Gallery

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Firstrade Trading App Gallery

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For research, Interactive Brokers offers superior market research than Firstrade. Interactive Brokers ranks #3 and Firstrade ranks #7.

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.

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

Interactive Brokers charges 7.83% for accounts under $25,000 while Firstrade charges a margin rate of 13.75%. The industry average of the 17 brokers we track is 11%.

Fractional shares are not offered by either broker. Our research has found that 41% 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 Interactive Brokers and Firstrade allow you to trade penny stocks. Interactive Brokers charges $0.00 per trade while Firstrade 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. Debit Cards are offered by Interactive Brokers while Firstrade offers Checking Accounts and Debit Cards. Neither have Savings Accounts, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

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.

Interactive Brokers was rated 8th out of 14 brokers, with an overall score of 7.7 out of 10.

Firstrade was rated 13th out of 14 brokers, with an overall score of 6.1 out of 10.

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 2023 StockBrokers.com Annual Review, Interactive Brokers was rated No. 1 for Investment Options, Active Trading and Futures Trading. It also ranked among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Research, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Investment Options, and Options Trading. Interactive Brokers also won five StockBrokers.com Industry Awards: No. 1 for ESG Investing, International Trading, Platform Technology, Professional Trading, and Sentiment Investing.

Firstrade scored well in our 2023 Annual Review for ease of use, and is a great choice for Chinese-speaking investors. However, it lags behind the competition in certain areas, especially platforms, tools and education.