Written by StockBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
Bottom line: For the broadest range of investments, Interactive Brokers is the frontrunner. It earns 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranks #1 of 14 at StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade holds 4 stars and ranks #10. Both brokers cover the essentials, but Interactive Brokers adds OTC stocks and mutual funds to its menu, whereas tastytrade counters with a larger crypto coin list (17 vs 11). Choose Interactive Brokers if you want maximum product breadth; choose tastytrade if your focus is active trading in options, futures, and crypto and you don’t need mutual funds or OTC stocks.
Side by side, both platforms offer stock trading, margin, fractional shares, options, forex, futures, and crypto. Only Interactive Brokers supports OTC stocks and mutual funds; tastytrade does not. For crypto, both support trading, with tastytrade listing 17 coins and Interactive Brokers listing 11. Neither firm provides advisor services.
For account choices, both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade support traditional and Roth IRAs, making either suitable for retirement savers who want to trade. If you’re comparing Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade on investment options alone, the deciding factors are whether you need mutual funds and OTC stocks (go with Interactive Brokers) or prefer a broker with more crypto coin availability (tastytrade).
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Stock Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Account Feature - Margin Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional Shares (Stocks) | Yes | Yes |
| OTC Stocks | Yes | No |
| Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
| Options Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Futures Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 11 | 17 |
| Range of Investments |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025: A Beginner-Friendly Guide to an Advanced Market
Interactive Brokers vs. tastytrade: both offer strong platforms, but Interactive Brokers gets the overall nod for trading platforms and tools. It earns 5 stars and ranks #2 out of 14 at StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade scores 4 stars and ranks #8. Pick Interactive Brokers if you want paper trading, deeper watch list controls, automated chart pattern detection, and many drawing tools. Choose tastytrade if you value a very large indicator library and the ability to build your own custom studies.
Access is flexible on both brokers: each provides a Windows desktop app, a Mac desktop app, and a browser-based trading platform. Interactive Brokers includes paper trading; tastytrade does not. Both include a trading journal. Watch lists are a major divider: Interactive Brokers offers 659 possible columns versus tastytrade’s 33, which can matter if you track lots of data. Both let you adjust open orders right on the chart and save multiple chart profiles. For study tweaks, tastytrade exposes one more field when editing an SMA (7 vs. 6 for Interactive Brokers).
Charting trade-offs are clear. Tastytrade supplies more built-in technical indicators (308 vs. 155), while Interactive Brokers delivers more drawing tools (85 vs. 31). Both let you add notes, show your past trades, display corporate events, and set custom date ranges. Only Interactive Brokers offers automated technical analysis to surface chart patterns, but only tastytrade lets you create custom studies. Your best fit comes down to whether you want automated pattern spotting and heavy watch list detail (Interactive Brokers) or custom study creation and a huge indicator set (tastytrade).
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Mac) | Yes | Yes |
| Paper Trading | Yes | No |
| Watch Lists - Total Fields | 659 | 33 |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 308 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 31 |
| Platforms & Tools |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers & Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Paper Trading Apps & Platforms for 2025
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Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade for beginner and investor education: both teach stocks, ETFs, and options, and both provide video lessons and live webinars. Interactive Brokers goes further with lessons on mutual funds and bonds, plus paper trading to practice without risking money. It also adds quizzes to check understanding. Both platforms let you track your learning progress, but tastytrade does not include mutual fund or bond education, quizzes, or a paper trading simulator.
For overall quality, Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #3 out of 14 brokers for education at StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade earns 4 stars and ranks #9. If you want the widest topic coverage and tools for hands-on practice, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick. If you mainly want engaging videos and webinars focused on trading, tastytrade still delivers a solid learning experience.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (ETFs) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Options) | Yes | Yes |
| Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes | No |
| Education (Fixed Income) | Yes | No |
| Paper Trading | Yes | No |
| Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Education |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025
Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade: For a feature-rich stock trading app, Interactive Brokers takes the lead. Both are well rated, but IB adds an Apple Watch app, confirmed mobile after-hours trading, streaming live TV, and videos on demand. That aligns with its 5-star rating and #2 out of 14 ranking for stock trading apps from StockBrokers.com, compared with tastytrade’s 4.5-star score and #10 ranking.
Both brokers offer iPhone and Android apps, mobile options trading, streaming quotes, stock alerts, custom watch lists with adjustable columns, after-hours charting, landscape chart views, and multiple time frames. Note: tastytrade’s support for mobile after-hours trading wasn’t specified in the provided data.
Charting depth is a key divider. Interactive Brokers supplies 97 built-in technical studies and lets you compare symbols on the same chart, while tastytrade offers no built-in studies and no chart comparisons. If you want advanced charting and in-app media, IB is the better fit; if you just need straightforward trading with real-time quotes and alerts, tastytrade covers the basics.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes |
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Watch App | Yes | No |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - After-Hours | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Technical Studies | 97 | 0 |
| Mobile Trading Apps |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025
Bottom line: if you want the lowest options commission per contract, tastytrade wins at $0.50 versus Interactive Brokers at $0.65. For most other costs—margin interest, transfer fees, option exercise/assignment, and IRA closure—Interactive Brokers is cheaper or free. Both brokers have a $0 minimum deposit and $0 commissions for regular stock trades.
Core trading costs are straightforward: $0 to open an account and $0 for stock trades at both firms. Options pricing differs, with tastytrade at $0.50 per contract and Interactive Brokers at $0.65. Margin borrowers will usually pay less at Interactive Brokers, which lists 6.83% for balances under $25,000, $25,000–$49,999, and $50,000–$99,999. Tastytrade’s margin rates are higher across those tiers at 11%, 10.5%, and 10%, respectively.
On account and incidental fees, Interactive Brokers charges $0 for IRA annual and IRA closure, $0 for ACAT transfers (partial and full), and $0 for options exercise and assignment. Tastytrade’s IRA annual fee is also $0, but IRA closure is $60; ACAT partial and full transfers are $75; and options exercise and assignment are $5 each.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 |
| Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $60.00 |
Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025
Interactive Brokers stands out for stock day trading tools that give active traders more control. It offers streaming time and sales, Level II quotes, direct market routing, trading hotkeys, ladder trading, and order liquidity (maker/taker) rebates. You also get both basic and advanced strategy backtesting, a real-time short locator, and streaming live TV. In short, Interactive Brokers packs the key features many day traders rely on for fast entries, granular market data, and potential savings on order flow.
tastytrade delivers streaming live TV, ladder trading, advanced strategy backtesting, and a short locator, but it lacks several day trading staples: no streaming time and sales for stocks, no Level II quotes, no direct routing, no trading hotkeys, and no maker/taker rebates. If your workflow centers on deep market visibility, quick keyboard-driven order entry, and fee incentives, Interactive Brokers is the better fit. If you value ladder trading plus on-platform media and advanced strategy testing, tastytrade can still suit a simpler day trading setup.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No |
| Streaming TV | Yes | Yes |
| Direct Market Routing - Equities | Yes | No |
| Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | Yes |
| Short Locator | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms of 2025 for Beginners and Active Traders
For market research, Interactive Brokers clearly outpaces tastytrade. Interactive Brokers earns 5 stars and ranks #4 out of 14 for research at StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade holds 1.5 stars and ranks #13. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want wide-ranging coverage and downloadable reports across more asset classes; pick tastytrade if you mainly want basic stock and ETF ideas plus a simple portfolio allocation view.
Both brokers offer stock and ETF research, but only Interactive Brokers adds research for mutual funds, pink sheets/OTC, and bonds. Interactive Brokers also includes social media sentiment and ESG data, which tastytrade lacks. For reports, Interactive Brokers provides 17 downloadable stock research PDFs and also offers PDFs for ETFs and mutual funds; tastytrade offers none.
On idea tools, both platforms supply stock and ETF screeners, and both include a bond screener. Interactive Brokers also provides a mutual fund screener. Each broker shows portfolio allocation by asset class, but Interactive Brokers’ broader research lineup makes it the more complete choice for investors comparing stocks, funds, and bonds in one place.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| Screener - Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Screener - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Research - Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
| Screener - Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
| Research - Fixed Income | Yes | No |
| Screener - Fixed Income | Yes | Yes |
| Research |
|
|
When it comes to banking capabilities, both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade are similar in many areas. Neither platform offers checking or savings accounts, and you won't find debit or credit cards at either service. Additionally, neither Interactive Brokers nor tastytrade provide mortgage loans, so features commonly associated with traditional banks are missing. However, a notable difference is that Interactive Brokers offers Certificates of Deposit (CDs), while tastytrade does not. This could be a crucial point for users considering these platforms and looking for specific financial products, such as CDs, that can protect their cash with FDIC insurance.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
tastytrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Checking Accounts | No | No |
| Savings Accounts | No | No |
| Debit Cards | No | No |
| Credit Cards | No | No |
| Mortgage Loans | No | No |
| Brokerage CDs | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Brokerage Checking Accounts for 2025
After opening live accounts and testing 14 of the best online brokers, our research and live account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than tastytrade. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall score of 96.9%, while tastytrade finished with a score of 80.1%.
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.
Interactive Brokers and tastytrade both facilitate crypto trading, with Interactive Brokers offering 11 coins compared to tastytrade's 17 options, catering to diverse crypto trading preferences. Explore the platforms to find the ideal choice for your cryptocurrency investment needs.
Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2025
Both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts without any annual fee; however, while Interactive Brokers has no closure fee for IRA accounts, tastytrade charges a $60.00 fee upon closing.
Dive deeper: Best IRA Accounts for 2025
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| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | tastytrade Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
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| Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| Penny Stock Fees (OTC) | $0.01 | N/A | |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | N/A | |
| Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 | |
| Futures (Per Contract) | $0.85 | $1.00 | |
| Broker Assisted Trade Fee | Varies | $0 |
| Margin Rates | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margin Rate Under $25,000 | 6.83% | 11% | |
| Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 | 6.83% | 10.5% | |
| Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 | 6.83% | 10% | |
| Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 | 6.83% | 9.5% | |
| Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 | 6.83% | 9% | |
| Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 | 6.83% | 8.5% | |
| Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 | 6.83% | 8% |
| Account Fees | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
| IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $60.00 | |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $0.00 | $75.00 | |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $0.00 | $75.00 | |
| Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 | |
| Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| Investment Options | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Account Feature - Margin Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Fractional Shares (Stocks) | Yes | Yes | |
| OTC Stocks | Yes | No | |
| Options Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Complex Options Max Legs | 6 | 4 | |
| Futures Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 11 | 17 | |
| Fixed Income (Treasurys) | Yes | Yes | |
| Fixed Income (Corporate Bonds) | Yes | No | |
| Fixed Income (Municipal Bonds) | Yes | No | |
| Traditional IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
| Roth IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
| Advisor Services | No | No | |
| International Countries (Stocks) | 36 | 0 |
| Order Types | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order Type - Market | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Type - Limit | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Type - After Hours | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Type - Stop | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes | No | |
| Order Type - OCO | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Type - OTO | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Type - Broker Assisted | Yes | Yes |
| Beginners | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (ETFs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Options) | Yes | Yes | |
| Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Fixed Income) | Yes | No | |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes | Yes | |
| Retirement Calculator | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary | Yes | Yes | |
| Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
| Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Progress Tracking | Yes | Yes | |
| Interactive Learning - Quizzes | Yes | No |
| Stock Trading Apps | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple Watch App | Yes | No | |
| Trading - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading - Simple Options | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading - Complex Options | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Ticket RT Quotes | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Ticket SRT Quotes | Yes | Yes |
| Stock App Features | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market Movers (Top Gainers) | Yes | Yes | |
| Stream Live TV | Yes | No | |
| Videos on Demand | Yes | No | |
| Stock Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Option Chains Viewable | Yes | Yes | |
| Watch List (Real-time) | Yes | Yes | |
| Watch List (Streaming) | Yes | Yes | |
| Watch Lists - Create & Manage | Yes | Yes | |
| Watch Lists - Column Customization | Yes | Yes |
| Stock App Charting | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charting - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Can Turn Horizontally | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Technical Studies | 97 | 0 | |
| Charting - Study Customizations | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Stock Comparisons | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Trading Platform | Trader Workstation (TWS) | tastytrade | |
| Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Mac) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
| Trade Journal | Yes | Yes | |
| Watch Lists - Total Fields | 659 | 33 |
| Stock Chart Features | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 308 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 31 | |
| Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Historical Trades | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Corporate Events | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Custom Date Range | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Custom Time Bars | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Automated Analysis | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Save Profiles | Yes | Yes | |
| Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Study Customizations | 6 | 7 | |
| Charting - Custom Studies | No | Yes |
| Day Trading | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No | |
| Streaming TV | Yes | Yes | |
| Direct Market Routing - Equities | Yes | No | |
| Ladder Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| Trade Hot Keys | Yes | No | |
| Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No | |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No | |
| Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | Yes | |
| Short Locator | Yes | Yes | |
| Order Liquidity Rebates | Yes | No |
| Research Overview | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Research - Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
| Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB | Yes | No | |
| Research - Fixed Income | Yes | No | |
| Screener - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
| Screener - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
| Screener - Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
| Screener - Fixed Income | Yes | Yes | |
| Portfolio Asset Allocation | Yes | Yes |
| Stock Research | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Research - PDF Reports | 17 | 0 | |
| Stock Research - Earnings | Yes | No | |
| Stock Research - Insiders | Yes | No | |
| Stock Research - Social | Yes | No | |
| Stock Research - News | Yes | Yes | |
| Stock Research - ESG | Yes | No | |
| Stock Research - SEC Filings | Yes | No |
| ETF Research | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETFs - Investment Objective | Yes | No | |
| ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date | Yes | No | |
| ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio | Yes | No | |
| ETF Fund Facts - Total Assets | Yes | No | |
| ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings | Yes | No | |
| ETFs - Top 10 Holdings | Yes | No | |
| ETFs - Sector Exposure | Yes | No | |
| ETFs - Risk Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
| ETFs - Ratings | Yes | No | |
| ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap | Yes | No | |
| ETFs - PDF Reports | Yes | No |
| Mutual Fund Research | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutual Funds - Investment Objective | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Performance Chart | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Prospectus | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - Country Allocation | Yes | No | |
| Mutual Funds - StyleMap | Yes | No |
| Options Trading | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Option Chains - Total Greeks | 5 | 5 | |
| Option Analysis - P&L Charts | Yes | Yes |
| Banking | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank (Member FDIC) | No | No | |
| Checking Accounts | No | No | |
| Savings Accounts | No | No | |
| Credit Cards | No | No | |
| Debit Cards | No | No | |
| Mortgage Loans | No | No |
| Customer Service | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phone Support (Prospective Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
| Phone Support (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
| Email Support | Yes | Yes | |
| Live Chat (Prospective Customers) | No | Yes | |
| Live Chat (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
| 24/7 Support | Yes | No |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
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| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | tastytrade Review |
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