Is Firstrade better than Interactive Brokers? After testing 11 of the best online brokers over three months, Interactive Brokers (95.07%) is better than Firstrade (78.89%). 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 Firstrade 2021
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Overall Rating
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Interactive Brokers Review | Firstrade Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Fees
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 | $0.00 |
| Futures (per contract) | $0.85 | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $30.00 | $19.95 |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Under $24,999.99 | 1.59% | 8.75% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 1.59% | 8.25% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 1.59% | 7.75% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 1.29% | 7.25% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 1.19% | 7.00% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 1.14% | 5.10% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 0.75% | 4.50% |
Account Fees
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $0.00 | $55.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $0.00 | $75.00 |
| 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 |
Investment Options
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Fractional Shares |
Yes | No |
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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 | 4 |
|
Futures Trading |
Yes | No |
|
Forex Trading |
No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
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Mutual Funds (No Load) |
8734 | 11134 |
|
Mutual Funds (Total) |
11080 | 18322 |
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Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Advisor Services |
No | No |
|
International Trading |
Yes | No |
|
AI Assistant Bot |
Yes | No |
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 |
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Order Type - Contingent |
Yes | No |
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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 |
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 |
|
Heat Mapping |
Yes | Yes |
|
Watch Lists - Total Fields |
494 | 47 |
Charting Features
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Indicators / Studies |
121 | 102 |
|
Charting - Drawing Tools |
9 | 8 |
|
Charting - Historical Trades |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Corporate Events |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - Automated Analysis |
No | No |
|
Charting - Save Profiles |
Yes | No |
|
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis |
No | No |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
6 | 6 |
|
Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
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 |
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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 |
|
Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
Yes | No |
|
Short Locator |
Yes | No |
|
Order Liquidity Rebates |
Yes | No |
Mobile Trading Apps
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
iPhone App |
Yes | Yes |
|
Android App |
Yes | Yes |
|
Apple Watch App |
Yes | No |
|
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 | Yes |
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Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
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Touch / Face ID |
Yes | Yes |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts |
Yes | No |
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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 |
Research Overview
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Mutual Funds |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | Yes |
|
Screener - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - Mutual Funds |
Yes | 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 |
Stock Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Stock Research - Reports |
3 | 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 |
|
Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - ESG |
Yes | No |
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 |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
Mutual Fund Research
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Prospectus |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Reports |
Yes | No |
|
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
Yes | 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 |
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 |
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Option Analysis - P&L Charts |
Yes | No |
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Option Probability Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
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 |
|
Option Positions - Rolling |
Yes | Yes |
|
Option Positions - Grouping |
Yes | No |
Beginners
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
|
Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (ETFs) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (Mutual Funds) |
No | No |
|
Education (Fixed Income) |
Yes | No |
|
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 |
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 |
Overall
| Feature | Interactive Brokers | Firstrade |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Interactive Brokers Review | Firstrade 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 Firstrade vs Interactive Brokers.
Is Firstrade or Interactive Brokers better for beginners?
Interactive Brokers is better for beginner investors than Firstrade. Interactive Brokers offers investors access to Paper Trading, Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options) and Education (Fixed Income).
What about Firstrade vs Interactive Brokers pricing?
Firstrade and Interactive Brokers both cost $0 per trade. For options trading, both Firstrade and Interactive Brokers charge the same base fee of $0. Option contracts are pricier at Interactive Brokers, costing $0.65 versus $0 at Firstrade. For a complete commissions summary, see our best discount brokers guide.
Does Firstrade or Interactive Brokers offer a wider range of investment options?
Interactive Brokers offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Firstrade. 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, Interactive Brokers trails Firstrade by 7,242 total mutual funds, with Firstrade offering 18322 and Interactive Brokers offering 11080.
Which trading platform is better: Firstrade or Interactive Brokers?
To compare the trading platforms of both Firstrade 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. Both Firstrade and Interactive Brokers offer Checking Accounts and Debit Cards.
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.
