Interactive Brokers Review: The Trader's Broker That Learned to Play Nice
Interactive Brokers is the broker that hedge funds and prop desks have used for decades — and it's now making a serious play for regular investors too. With nearly 50 years in the business, a Nasdaq listing, S&P 500 membership, $19.5 billion in total equity, and over $750 billion in client assets, IBKR is one of the most financially solid brokerages on the planet. They serve over 4 million clients worldwide and execute more than 3.5 million trades daily. The big story? IBKR now offers two pricing tiers: **IBKR Lite** with $0 commissions on US stocks and ETFs for casual investors, and **IBKR Pro** with ultra-low per-share pricing, the best margin rates in the industry, and higher interest on cash. That's a genuine attempt to serve everyone from a college student buying their first ETF to a day trader routing orders to specific exchanges. But let's be honest: this is still a broker built by engineers for traders. The platforms are powerful but can feel overwhelming. The fee structure has layers. And some features that are free elsewhere — like real-time market data for non-US products — cost extra here. Whether that trade-off is worth it depends entirely on how you invest.