Interactive Brokers offers clients the Trader Workstation (TWS) for download to desktop, a highly complex proprietary platform designed to trade every kind of global financial asset imaginable from the multi-asset display. In our opinion, the TWS platform is far too complicated for casual traders, especially those with little market experience. Nevertheless, we saw that traders are given access to the default version of the Trader Workstation, called ‘Mosaic’. At the same time, they can access the original version of the platform called the Classic TWS. Notably, traders can choose from 63 different order types which is more than any trading platform reviewed by us to date. Moreover, 121 studies can be added to the integrated charts on the platform, providing everything that technical traders need. And if that’s not sufficient, there are more than 120 optional indicators available.
For traders who find themselves away from their personal desktop computers and the Trader Workstation, Interactive Brokers provide the Web Trader, designed to place and manage trades as well as view the extensive watchlists. We saw that the Web Trader is not considered useful for placing advanced order types or for automated orders with algorithmic trading.
IBKR Mobile Platform
The IBKR Mobile app provides traders with incredibly powerful trading tools and advanced order types straight from a mobile phone. Incredibly, the mobile trading platform has all the asset types and market moving information seen on the desktop TWS trading platform at Interactive Brokers. Designed for traders who want to remain in touch with the 120 global markets, the IBKR mobile app includes 50 data columns and high quality research to trade forex, stocks, options, CFDs, futures, bonds and ETFs. The IBKR Mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices from the Google Play Store and the App Store.
Interactive Brokers Trading Fees and Commissions
Trading fees at Interactive brokers are charged according to the type of financial instrument traded. Notably, we found the trading fees on equities, futures, bonds, CFDs and options very competitive. However, in our opinion the fees for trading in forex and funds are about average. Interactive Brokers offers customers fixed rate price plans on contracts, where the fixed rates include exchange fees and all commissions. Additionally, there are tiered plans where customers are charged comparatively low monthly trading fees based on volume traded, plus exchange, clearing and regulatory fees. Traders in forex currency pairs and forex CFDs, pay fees on the monthly trading volume, where a minimum $2 fee is charged for trading less than $1 billion (fees falling gradually with increasing trading volume to $1 for $5 billion traded volume in one month). Moreover, competitive financing fees are offered to traders with more than $100,000 deposited at Interactive Brokers, with yearly financing fees for USD at 2.9% and for EUR at 1.5%. We saw that casual and novice traders need to be aware that they must trade sufficient volumes each month, generating at least $10 of commission for Interactive Brokers. If not, they are charged an inactivity fee of $10 per month.