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Interactive Brokers vs Merrill Edge 2019

StockBrokers.com | December 4th, 2019

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  3. Interactive Brokers vs Merrill Edge Review

Is Interactive Brokers better than Merrill Edge? After scoring brokers on over 4,000 data points for our 2019 review, Interactive Brokers (80.99%) is better than Merrill Edge (77.93%).

Interactive Brokers

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

While Interactive Brokers does offer a $0 trading account type (IBKR Lite), the broker is best known for its professional traders accounts (IBKR Pro), where Interactive Brokers offers per-share pricing ($.005 per share with a $1 minimum per trade), and charges up to $20 per month between two minimum activity fees. Traders who can meet its $100,000 minimum deposit for margin trading are rewarded with an industry-leading commissions schedule, margin rates, and full support for international trading.Read full review.

Merrill Edge

Best Rewards Program - Open Account
Special Offer: Invest in a new account and get up to $600.

Merrill Edge ($2.95 per trade) was awarded #1 for Banking Services and #1 Overall Client Experience, thanks to its parent company, Bank of America (BofA). Not limited to just BofA customers, Merrill Edge's Preferred Rewards program is excellent, offering unlimited $0 stock trades among other perks such as bonus rewards on credit cards and discounted mortgage rates.Read full review.

Overall Rating

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Overall 4 4
Interactive Brokers Review Merrill Edge Review

Trading Fees

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
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 $0.65
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $14.95 $19.95
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $30.00 $29.95
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Interactive Brokers
Open Account 		Merrill Edge
Open Account
Under $24,999.99 3.08% 10.13%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 3.08% 9.00%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 3.08% 9.00%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 2.58% 7.63%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 3.18% 7.63%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 2.75% 7.38%
Above $1,000,000.00 2.08% 6.75%
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $49.95
Returned ACH Fee N/A $30.00
Returned Wire Fee N/A N/A
Stock Certificate Processing Fee N/A $500.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee N/A N/A
Paper Statement Fee N/A $5.00
Paper Confirmation Fee N/A $3.00
Domestic Wire Fee $10.00 $24.95
International Wire Fee $10.00 $24.95
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4

Investment Options

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 8 2
Futures Trading
 Yes No
Forex Trading
 No No
Commission-Free ETFs 96 0
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 8534 2471
Mutual Funds (Total)
 1243 3709
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Advisor Services
 No Yes
International Trading
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 5 3
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
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 No
Order Type - MultiContingent
 Yes No
Order Type - OCO
 Yes No
Order Type - OTO
 Yes No
Order Type - OTOCO
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 5 3
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes Yes
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 Yes No
Trade Journal
 Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 494 285
Heat Mapping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 121 100
Charting - Drawing Tools
 9 22
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes Yes
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis
 No Yes
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 6 8
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes Yes
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields
 No Yes
Streaming Time & Sales
 Yes Yes
Streaming TV
 Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Stocks
 Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Options
 Yes No
Ladder Trading
 Yes No
Trade Hot Keys
 Yes Yes
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Level 2 Quotes - Options
 Yes Yes
Trade Ideas - Backtesting
 Yes Yes
Short Locator
 Yes No
Order Liquidity Rebates
 Yes No
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

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

Research Overview

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Research - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Research - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds
 No 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 Yes
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes Yes
Research 3.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Stock Research - Reports
 2 3
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 Yes
Research 3.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
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 3.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 No Yes
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 No Yes
Research 3.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 37 69
Option Chains - Greeks
4 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 Yes No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 No Yes
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Retirement
 No Yes
Paper Trading
 Yes No
Videos
 Yes Yes
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 20 0
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes No
Live Seminars
 No Yes
Progress Tracking
 Yes Yes
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes Yes
Investor Magazine
 Yes Yes
Education 3 4.5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Retail Locations
 0 4300
Member FDIC
 Yes Yes
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 No Yes
Credit Cards
 No Yes
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 No Yes
No Fee Banking
 Yes No
Banking 2 5
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Interactive Brokers Merrill Edge
Interactive Brokers Review Merrill Edge Review
Overall 4 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 Interactive Brokers vs Merrill Edge.

To start this comparison, first, we will take a look at the online broker commission rates for placing regular stock and options trades. Merrill Edge charges $2.95 per stock trade which is $2.95 more than Interactive Brokers which charges customers $0 (the broker charges a per share rate instead) per trade. For options trading, Merrill Edge has a base fee of $2.95, and Interactive Brokers a base fee of $0. Option contracts are pricier at Interactive Brokers, costing $0.70 versus $0.65 at Merrill Edge. 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. Merrill Edge offers clients Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds while Interactive Brokers offers Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading. Looking at mutual funds, Merrill Edge trails Interactive Brokers by 7,291 total mutual funds, with Interactive Brokers offering 11000 and Merrill Edge offering 3709.

Trading access aside, by comparing popular features and functionality, we can break down relevant differences between both brokers. Interactive Brokers offers virtual trading while Merrill Edge does not. Taking a look at mobile trading, Interactive Brokers along with Merrill Edge 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 offered by Interactive Brokers while Merrill Edge offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

Overall, between Interactive Brokers and Merrill Edge, Interactive Brokers is the winner.

Interactive Brokers Review
Merrill Edge Review

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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.

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