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Interactive Brokers vs Firstrade 2019
The StockBrokers.com annual review (9 years running) takes six months to complete and produces over 30,000 words of research each year. Here's how we test.
Is Interactive Brokers better than Firstrade? After scoring brokers in nine separate categories for our 2019 review, Interactive Brokers (80.99%) is better than Firstrade (67.1%). While Interactive Brokers is not suitable for casual investors, it leads the industry in international trading and low-cost commissions desired by professional traders.
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| Open Account | Open Account |
Overall Rating
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Overall | ||
| 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 | $0.70 | $0.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | $0.00 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $30.00 | $19.95 |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Under $24,999.99 | 3.68% | 9.50% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 3.68% | 9.00% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 3.68% | 8.50% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 3.18% | 8.00% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 3.18% | 7.75% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 3.18% | 6.00% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 2.68% | 5.25% |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Account Fees
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| IRA Annual Fee | 0 | 0 |
| IRA Closure Fee | 0 | 0 |
| Returned ACH Fee | N/A | 50 |
| Returned Wire Fee | N/A | 50 |
| Stock Certificate Processing Fee | N/A | 300 |
| Stock Certificate Delivery Fee | N/A | 300 |
| Paper Statement Fee | N/A | 5 |
| Paper Confirmation Fee | N/A | 3 |
| Domestic Wire Fee | 10 | 30 |
| International Wire Fee | 10 | 50 |
| Commissions & Fees |
Investment Options
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
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Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Complex Options Max Legs |
8 | 2 |
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Futures Trading |
Yes | No |
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Forex Trading |
No | No |
| Commission-Free ETFs | 48 | all |
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Mutual Funds (No Load) |
7558 | 5234 |
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Mutual Funds (Total) |
11000 | 12603 |
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Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
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Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | Yes |
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Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | Yes |
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Advisor Services |
No | No |
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International Trading |
Yes | No |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Order Types
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Order Type - Market |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Limit |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Contingent |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - MultiContingent |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OCO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTOCO |
Yes | No |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Platforms
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Desktop Platform (Windows) |
Yes | No |
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Desktop Platform (Mac) |
Yes | No |
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Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
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Paper Trading |
Yes | No |
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Trade Journal |
Yes | No |
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Watch Lists - Total Fields |
453 | 13 |
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Two-Factor Authentication Login |
Yes | No |
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Heat Mapping |
Yes | Yes |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Charting Features
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Indicators / Studies |
121 | 58 |
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Charting - Drawing Tools |
9 | 5 |
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Charting - Historical Trades |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Corporate Events |
Yes | Yes |
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Charting - Automated Analysis |
No | No |
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Charting - Save Profiles |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
6 | 6 |
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Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Day Trading
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
No | No |
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Streaming Time & Sales |
Yes | No |
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Streaming TV |
Yes | No |
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Direct Market Routing - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Direct Market Routing - Options |
Yes | No |
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Ladder Trading |
Yes | No |
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Trade Hot Keys |
Yes | No |
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Level 2 Quotes - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Level 2 Quotes - Options |
Yes | No |
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Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
Yes | No |
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Short Locator |
Yes | No |
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Client Liquidity Rebates |
Yes | No |
| Winner | check_circle |
Mobile Trading Apps
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
iPhone App |
Yes | Yes |
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Android App |
Yes | Yes |
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Apple Watch App |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - After-Hours |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Conditional Orders |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Simple Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Complex Options |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
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Touch / Face ID |
Yes | Yes |
| Winner | check_circle |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | No |
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Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
No | No |
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Charting - After Hours |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | Yes |
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Customizable Homescreen |
No | No |
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Heatmapping |
No | No |
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Stream Live TV |
Yes | No |
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Barcode Lookup |
No | No |
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Research Overview
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Mutual Funds |
No | Yes |
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Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Futures |
Yes | No |
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Research - Forex |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - Mutual Funds |
No | Yes |
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Screener - Options |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Bonds |
Yes | Yes |
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Misc - Portfolio Builder |
Yes | No |
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Misc - Portfolio Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Stock Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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Stock Research - Reports |
1 | 1 |
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Stock Research - Earnings |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Insiders |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Metric Comp |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - SEC Filings |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Social |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - Balance Sheet |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - ESG |
Yes | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
ETF Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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ETFs - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Sector Exposure |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Risk Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Performance Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap |
No | Yes |
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ETFs - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Mutual Fund Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview |
No | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Prospectus |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Reports |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings |
No | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
No | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation |
No | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Country Allocation |
No | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - StyleMap |
No | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings |
No | Yes |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Options Trading
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
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Option Chains - Streaming |
Yes | No |
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Option Chains - Total Columns |
37 | 8 |
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Option Chains - Greeks |
4 | 5 |
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Option Chains - Quick Analysis |
Yes | No |
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Option Analysis - P&L Charts |
Yes | No |
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Option Probability Analysis |
Yes | No |
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Option Probability Analysis Adv |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Greeks |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Adv Analysis |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Rolling |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Positions - Grouping |
Yes | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Beginners
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Has Education - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Has Education - ETFs |
No | No |
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Has Education - Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Has Education - Mutual Funds |
No | No |
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Has Education - Fixed Income |
No | No |
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Has Education - Retirement |
No | Yes |
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Paper Trading |
Yes | No |
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Videos |
Yes | Yes |
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Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
20 | 5 |
|
Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Seminars |
No | No |
|
Progress Tracking |
Yes | No |
|
Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
Yes | No |
|
Investor Magazine |
Yes | No |
| Education | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Banking
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Retail Locations |
0 | 2 |
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Member FDIC |
No | No |
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Checking Accounts |
Yes | Yes |
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Savings Accounts |
No | No |
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Credit Cards |
No | No |
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Debit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
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Mortgage Loans |
No | No |
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No Fee Banking |
No | No |
| Banking | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Overall
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Interactive Brokers Review | Firstrade Review | |
| Overall | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Using data from our latest annual broker review which tested more than a dozen different online brokers over six months, we can compare Firstrade vs Interactive Brokers to determine which broker is best. Let's dive in.
First, we will break down the commission charges of both brokers for placing stock and options trades. Firstrade and Interactive Brokers both cost $0 per trade. With options, the base fee is $0 for both Firstrade and Interactive Brokers. Firstrade's per contract rate of $0 is less than Interactive Brokers which charges $0.70. Instead of flat rate fees, several brokers charge a per-share fee instead. For a complete review of trading charges, read our full online broker reviews.
Next, investors want to make sure they can trade the investment vehicle they want. Interactive Brokers supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading while Firstrade supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. As far as mutual funds go, Interactive Brokers trails Firstrade by 1,603 total mutual funds, with Firstrade offering 12603 and Interactive Brokers offering 11000.
Finally, by comparing the each broker's website and platform features, we can surface interesting differences. Interactive Brokers offers virtual trading while Firstrade does not. For mobile trading, Firstrade along with Interactive Brokers both support the iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Online banking is also used by many customers, and multiple full-service brokerages provide these services. Checking Accounts and Debit Cards are found at Firstrade alongside Interactive Brokers.
Overall, between Firstrade and Interactive Brokers, Interactive Brokers is the winner.
Firstrade Review
Interactive Brokers Review
First, we will break down the commission charges of both brokers for placing stock and options trades. Firstrade and Interactive Brokers both cost $0 per trade. With options, the base fee is $0 for both Firstrade and Interactive Brokers. Firstrade's per contract rate of $0 is less than Interactive Brokers which charges $0.70. Instead of flat rate fees, several brokers charge a per-share fee instead. For a complete review of trading charges, read our full online broker reviews.
Next, investors want to make sure they can trade the investment vehicle they want. Interactive Brokers supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading while Firstrade supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. As far as mutual funds go, Interactive Brokers trails Firstrade by 1,603 total mutual funds, with Firstrade offering 12603 and Interactive Brokers offering 11000.
Finally, by comparing the each broker's website and platform features, we can surface interesting differences. Interactive Brokers offers virtual trading while Firstrade does not. For mobile trading, Firstrade along with Interactive Brokers both support the iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Online banking is also used by many customers, and multiple full-service brokerages provide these services. Checking Accounts and Debit Cards are found at Firstrade alongside Interactive Brokers.
Overall, between Firstrade and Interactive Brokers, Interactive Brokers is the winner.
Firstrade Review
Interactive Brokers Review
All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 02/18/2019 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.
