Interactive Brokers is the broker other brokers get compared against: NASDAQ-listed, tier-one licences on four continents, more than a million tradable instruments, costs at the bottom of the retail market. It is also one of the least forgiving platforms a beginner can walk into. We traded a funded account for four weeks and re-checked every licence and fee before republishing.
Disclosure: we may receive a commission if you open an account through links on this page. It does not change our ratings or rankings — the findings below come from a funded live account and from the regulators’ own registers. Read how we make money.
| Overall rating | 8.9/10 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, United States |
| Main licences | SEC/FINRA CRD 36418 (US), FCA FRN 208159 (UK), Central Bank of Ireland C423427 (EU), ASIC AFSL 453554 (Australia), CIRO (Canada), MAS (Singapore), SFC (Hong Kong) |
| Minimum deposit | $0 (cash account) / $2,000 (margin account) |
| Spread from | 0.1 pips, plus a separate commission |
| Maximum leverage | 1:30 (UK, EU, Australia), up to 1:50 in some jurisdictions |
| Instruments | More than 1 million across 160+ markets in 34 countries |
| Swap-free available | No |
| Retail loss rate | 59.7% of retail CFD accounts lose money (IBUK risk disclosure, April 2026) |
Pros and cons
We funded a live account with $1,000 in February 2026 and traded it for four weeks across major currency pairs and US equities, placing more than 40 orders.
What works
- $0.005 per share on US equities (fixed IBKR Pro schedule, $1 minimum, 1% cap) — among the lowest costs anywhere in retail
- More than 160 markets across 34 countries from one account: shares, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds
- Tier-one regulation in every major jurisdiction — SEC and FINRA, FCA, Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC
- EUR/USD averaged 0.2 pips in our testing, with commission charged separately rather than buried in the price
- Median fills under 40 milliseconds on US equities across our order sample, routed by SmartRouting
- SIPC protection of $500,000 plus excess Lloyd’s cover on the US entity — the strongest client-asset protection we have documented
What does not
- No swap-free account of any kind, and no way to disable overnight financing
- Trader Workstation is genuinely hard — close to a week of daily use before we worked in it efficiently
- Account opening takes a few hours to three business days, slower than most competitors
- Wire withdrawals cost $10 after the first free withdrawal each calendar month
- Five separate FINRA disciplinary settlements with the US entity in 2025 — supervisory failures rather than misconduct against clients, but a pattern
- Phone support was the weakest part of the experience; the voice menu defeated us once entirely
Company information
Thomas Peterffy founded the firm in 1978, having been among the first to bring electronic trading to the options markets. Milan Galik has been chief executive since 2019; Peterffy remains chairman and, through IBG Holdings, controlling shareholder — unchanged when we re-checked in July 2026.
The group has traded on NASDAQ as IBKR since May 2007, which means audited quarterly accounts rather than a marketing page’s word for its financial position. Those accounts have moved since our original testing, in one direction. We first recorded $17.5 billion of equity capital and 4.399 million accounts at the end of 2025. As of Q2 2026 the group reports $22.3 billion of equity capital, $13.9 billion of aggregate excess regulatory capital across operating subsidiaries as of 31 March 2026, 5.19 million client accounts, $930.3 billion of client equity, and a 77% pre-tax margin — the seventh consecutive quarter above 70%. There is no long-term debt.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, United States |
| Chief executive | Milan Galik |
| Chairman and founder | Thomas Peterffy |
| Listing | NASDAQ: IBKR, since May 2007 |
| Client accounts | 5.19 million (Q2 2026) |
| Client equity | $930.3 billion (Q2 2026) |
| Equity capital | $22.3 billion (Q2 2026) |
| Markets | More than 160, across 34 countries |
| Currencies supported | 28 |
| Credit rating | A- (stable outlook), S&P |
Who this broker suits (and who it does not)
It suits the trader or long-term investor who already knows what they are doing and wants the widest market access at the lowest cost. During testing we bought US shares, traded an S&P 500 index option and opened a EUR/USD position from one account — integration most retail brokers cannot offer. It suits anyone whose first filter is regulatory strength equally well: a listed broker-dealer with $22.3 billion of equity, no long-term debt and an A- rating is not the profile of a firm that disappears with client money.
It suits you badly if you are starting out, because Trader Workstation assumes competence the way a professional tool does; if you need swap-free trading, which is not available in any form; or if you trade small forex positions and want a simple interface with hand-holding. Several brokers in our broker reviews do that better, and this one is not trying to.
Licensing and regulation
Interactive Brokers operates through separately licensed entities, each authorised in its own jurisdiction. We checked every reference against the regulators’ own registers in Q1 2026 and again immediately before publishing. All remain active.
| Regulator | Licensed entity | Reference | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEC / FINRA (United States) | Interactive Brokers LLC | CRD 36418 | Tier 1 |
| FCA (United Kingdom) | Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited | FRN 208159, authorised since 17 May 2001 | Tier 1 |
| Central Bank of Ireland (EU/EEA) | Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited | C423427 | Tier 1 |
| ASIC (Australia) | Interactive Brokers Australia Pty Ltd | AFSL 453554, current since 28 July 2016 | Tier 1 |
| CIRO (Canada) | Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. | CIRO member | Tier 1 |
| MAS (Singapore) | Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte. Ltd. | Capital Markets Services licence | Tier 1 |
| SFC (Hong Kong) | Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Limited | SFC licensed | Tier 1 |
Which entity will hold your account
This matters more than the length of the list, because your protection comes from the entity you contract with, not from the group. UK residents are onboarded through Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited, authorised by the FCA and covered by the FSCS. EU and EEA residents are served by Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited under the Central Bank of Ireland — the group consolidated its European brokerage operations there in August 2024, folding the Budapest-based Interactive Brokers Central Europe client base into the Irish entity. Australian residents contract with Interactive Brokers Australia Pty Ltd, a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. The $500,000 SIPC figure belongs to the US entity and does not travel with you.
Regulatory actions and warnings
We found no fraud finding, no licence suspension and no revocation against any Interactive Brokers entity. We did find two things a reader is entitled to see.
The first is a run of FINRA settlements with the US broker-dealer concluded during 2025: $2.25 million over a failure to detect free-riding in cash accounts between October 2015 and December 2022, where the surveillance system was not built to catch the pattern when options were involved; $650,000 and a censure over an automated options-approval system that did not reliably flag unsuitable applicants; $475,000 over lapses in securities lending; $400,000 over inaccurate reporting of written customer complaint statistics; and $150,000 over market data displays missing required elements. Each is a supervisory or systems failure at scale rather than dishonesty, and settlements of this shape are routine at firms this size. Five inside one year is still a pattern, and it is why the regulation score below is not a perfect ten. The full record is on FINRA BrokerCheck.
The second is clone-firm activity. The FCA warning list carries entries for “Interactive Brokers” and “Interactive Brokers / Polar Capital” as clones of an FCA-authorised firm — not warnings against the broker but against criminals impersonating it, using the real firm’s name and sometimes its genuine reference number to look regulated. The defence: reach the broker through its own domain, never through a link sent to you, and confirm the firm on the FCA register before sending money. Deal with a clone and you have no Ombudsman recourse and no FSCS cover.
Opening an account and verification
We registered in February 2026. The form took around 20 minutes because it asks for more than most: personal details, financial position including annual income, liquid assets and net worth, investment experience broken out separately for shares, options, futures and forex, and investment objectives. That depth is a regulatory requirement, not a funnel.
Verification needed a passport or national ID showing both sides, proof of address no more than three months old, and a tax or national identification number. We uploaded everything electronically and were approved in one business day; the broker’s guidance is a few hours to three business days depending on country and documents. That is slower than forex brokers who approve within hours, and a consequence of the compliance standard the US entity works to.
Account types
Two retail tiers, and the difference is not cosmetic — it changes both what you pay and how your orders are routed.
| Feature | IBKR Lite | IBKR Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | US residents only | All accepted countries |
| US share commission | $0 | $0.005 per share (fixed, $1 minimum) |
| Options commission | $0.65 per contract | $0.15 to $0.65 per contract, by volume |
| Order routing | Payment for order flow | SmartRouting (best available price) |
| Pre-market access | From 07:00 US Eastern | From 04:00 US Eastern |
| Interest on cash balances | Benchmark minus 1.5% | Benchmark minus 0.5% |
| Minimum deposit | $0 | $0 (cash) / $2,000 (margin) |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
Because Lite is restricted to US residents, UK, European and Australian clients are on IBKR Pro by default — the better outcome, since SmartRouting seeks the best price across venues while Lite routes to market makers in exchange for the zero headline commission.
Joint, corporate and adviser accounts are also available, and switching between Lite and Pro takes about one business day from the client portal, free. Margin accounts require $2,000; Portfolio Margin, which offers higher leverage against a risk-based calculation, requires $110,000 and is aimed at experienced traders. Retail leverage is capped at 1:30 in the UK, EU and Australia, rising to 1:50 elsewhere. Leverage magnifies losses as fast as gains, and most retail accounts trading leveraged products lose money.
Fees and trading costs
Interactive Brokers runs a low-commission, tight-spread model rather than the zero-commission, wide-spread model most forex brokers use, which makes headline comparisons misleading in both directions. So we measured the total.
Spreads
The broker aggregates quotes from 17 of the largest forex liquidity providers and passes the price through, charging commission separately. These are the typical spreads we recorded across sessions in February 2026 against three competitors; spreads are repriced continuously, so this is not a statement about what you will see today.
| Instrument | Interactive Brokers | IG | Saxo Bank | IC Markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.2 pips | 0.6 pips | 0.6 pips | 0.1 pips |
| GBP/USD | 0.5 pips | 0.9 pips | 1.0 pips | 0.3 pips |
| USD/JPY | 0.3 pips | 0.7 pips | 0.8 pips | 0.2 pips |
| AUD/USD | 0.4 pips | 0.6 pips | 0.7 pips | 0.2 pips |
| USD/CHF | 0.4 pips | 1.5 pips | 1.2 pips | 0.4 pips |
| Gold (XAU/USD) | $0.15 | $0.30 | $0.40 | $0.10 |
| Crude oil (WTI) | $0.025 | $0.028 | $0.050 | $0.020 |
The caveat that matters: the Interactive Brokers column excludes the separate commission. Add it and the all-in cost sits close to IC Markets and clearly below IG and Saxo Bank. Spreads widened noticeably around the US session close and ahead of major economic releases — normal everywhere, and worth planning around.
Commissions
| Asset class | Commission (IBKR Pro) |
|---|---|
| US shares | $0.005 per share fixed, $1 minimum, capped at 1% of trade value; from $0.0035 per share on the tiered schedule |
| Forex | From $2 per trade, falling with volume |
| US futures | $0.25 to $0.85 per contract |
| Options | $0.15 to $0.65 per contract, by volume |
| CFDs | Varies by market, 0.005% to 0.05% |
| Mutual funds | $14.95 per trade or 3% of value, whichever is lower |
Overnight financing and swap-free trading
Overnight financing is calculated from interbank benchmarks such as the Fed Funds rate and ESTR, with a broker margin added on CFD positions. In our testing the forex financing rates were competitive with other large brokers.
There is no swap-free option. We confirmed it during the original testing and again before publishing: no interest-free variant exists, and overnight financing cannot be switched off on forex or CFD positions. For anyone who needs interest-free trading — for religious reasons, because a mandate prohibits interest-bearing exposure, or to avoid carry on long-held positions — that is a hard exclusion. The nearest approximation is a cash account with no margin borrowing used to buy and hold shares outright, since a fully funded purchase incurs no financing; but cash balances above $10,000 can themselves accrue interest, and the approach does not extend to forex or CFDs at all. IC Markets and AvaTrade, among others, do offer proper swap-free accounts.
Deposit, withdrawal and inactivity fees
Deposits are free by every method. One withdrawal per calendar month is free; after that a wire costs $10, a cheque $4, other methods $1. Third-party bank charges are separate. There is no inactivity fee — the historic $10 monthly charge on accounts under $2,000 was abolished, still the case when we re-checked in July 2026.
Desktop platforms
Trader Workstation (TWS) is the flagship and one of the most capable retail platforms in existence: over 100 order types and algorithms, advanced charting, Level 2 depth, full customisation, institutional-grade risk tools and an API. It also has the steepest learning curve we have met in a retail platform — close to a week of daily use before we worked in it comfortably. The density is right for an advanced trader and demoralising for a new one, and TWS runs on Java, making it heavy on older hardware.
IBKR Desktop closes the gap between the power of TWS and everyday usability: cleaner, easier to navigate, and keeping most of the tools that matter, including a Toolbox panel pulling news and research into one place. For a trader who does not need every advanced TWS feature, this is the better starting point.
Client Portal, the browser platform, is the simplest — account management, portfolio monitoring and straightforward order entry. Nowhere near the depth of TWS, but sufficient for a long-term investor buying and holding shares.
Mobile apps
We tested IBKR Mobile on iPhone and Android in February 2026. It is free on both stores and genuinely full-featured: order execution, portfolio monitoring, charting, news, price alerts and advanced order types, with access to the same 160-plus markets.
Execution matched the desktop closely — 15 orders on currency pairs and shares with no meaningful delay. Charting is basic next to TWS: adequate for monitoring positions, but no complex trendline analysis.
The most common public complaint is the multi-step login using IBKR Key or a security code. We found it fiddly too, but two-factor authentication on an account holding your money is a security feature, not a design flaw.
Trading tools
Instrument breadth is the standout. Most retail brokers offer 200 to 500 instruments; Interactive Brokers offers more than a million across 160 exchanges in 34 countries, from a single account.
| Asset class | Approximate count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shares and ETFs | More than 1 million | Across 90+ global exchanges |
| Options | Thousands of contracts | On shares, indices and currencies |
| Futures | More than 300 contracts | Indices, commodities, currencies |
| Forex | 100+ pairs | With interbank market access |
| Bonds | Thousands | Government and corporate |
| Mutual funds | More than 40,000 | No-load on more than 17,000 |
| CFDs | 8,500+ | Shares, forex, indices, commodities |
| Cryptocurrencies | Limited | Bitcoin, Ethereum and others, through specific entities only |
One caveat catches people out: not every instrument is available to every client. What you can trade depends on the entity you contract with and where you live — cryptocurrency access, for example, runs through some entities but not the UK one.
Order execution
Execution was the strongest single aspect of the experience. Across more than 40 orders, fills on US equities came in under 40 milliseconds in the majority of cases — faster than most brokers we have tested. SmartRouting sends each order to whichever venue shows the best price at that instant, and slippage was minimal even in volatile periods. Total implicit costs, spread plus slippage, ran between 1.8 and 5.7 basis points according to independent measurement over the same period.
The order type range is the other differentiator — more than 100 types and algorithms, including:
- The Adaptive algorithm, which works an order toward the best available fill while limiting slippage
- The Closing Price algorithm, which slices large orders and times entry to reduce market impact
- Iceberg orders, which conceal true position size from the order book
- The full conventional set — market, limit, stop and trailing stop
This is institutional-desk functionality, and at medium to large size it compounds into a meaningful cost difference against market-making brokers. Lower costs are not profits, though, and no routing technology changes the fact that most retail accounts trading leveraged products lose money.
Deposits
We funded the account with $1,000 by bank wire in February 2026 and the money arrived within one business day.
| Method | Fee | Arrival | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank wire | Free from IBKR (sending bank may charge) | Same day to one business day | Fastest route for larger amounts |
| ACH (US only) | Free | 1 to 2 business days | Capped at $100,000 per 7 days |
| SEPA (Europe) | Free | 1 to 2 business days | Euro only |
| Transfer of assets from another broker | Free | 1 to 2 weeks | For moving a whole portfolio |
The sending bank account must be in the account holder’s own name; third-party deposits are refused. The platform supports 28 currencies with in-platform conversion at competitive rates, which matters if your bank account is not denominated in US dollars — converting inside the account is usually cheaper than letting your bank do it.
One restriction to plan around: funds deposited by ACH carry a 40-business-day withdrawal restriction, during which they can only be withdrawn back to the originating bank account. It is a fraud control, and it surprises people.
Withdrawals
We tested this directly. In March 2026 we requested a $500 wire withdrawal. It was processed in one business day and reached our bank account two business days after that — three in total. The broker states its treasury department processes requests within a maximum of 72 business hours, which matches what we saw.
| Method | Fee | Processing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank wire | Free once per calendar month, then $10 | 1 to 3 business days | Fastest route |
| ACH (US only) | Free once per month, then $1 | 2 to 4 business days | US accounts only |
| SEPA (Europe) | Free once per month, then a nominal fee | 1 to 2 business days | Euro only |
The fee structure is the weak point. One free withdrawal a month is reasonable; $10 per wire after that is high next to brokers who charge nothing, and consolidating into one monthly withdrawal is the obvious workaround.
On the withdrawal complaints that circulate in trading forums: we reviewed dozens, and the recurring causes were three — a name mismatch between the bank account and the trading account, a withdrawal to a different account inside the 40-business-day ACH restriction, or incomplete verification documents. We found no documented case of a properly due withdrawal being refused.
Customer support
Support was the most uneven part of the experience: agents were competent once reached, and reaching them was not always straightforward.
| Channel | Availability | Languages | What we measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telephone | 24/5 | English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Hindi | 5 to 15 minutes to reach an agent |
| Live chat | Business hours | English | Response in 3 to 8 minutes |
| Secure message centre | 24/7 | English | Reply within one business day |
| Through the message centre only | English | External email not accepted |
We called twice. The first reached an agent in eight minutes who answered a question on account types accurately. The second failed: the voice menu was unclear enough that we could not route ourselves to the right department and had to start again — a complaint that recurs in public reviews, so not a one-off. Live chat was the best channel, with a detailed, accurate answer on currency conversion charges in five minutes.
When we checked during the original testing, the company held 3.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot across more than 5,100 reviews: criticism of login complexity, platform navigation and telephone support; praise for low costs, market breadth and security. That distribution matches our own experience.
Research and education
This is where Interactive Brokers clearly outperforms conventional forex brokers, at no extra cost. IBKR Campus is the education hub:
- Traders’ Academy — free structured courses on asset classes and trading tools, for beginners and advanced traders alike
- Traders’ Insight — daily articles and analysis from in-house analysts and outside financial institutions
- Webinars, live and recorded
- Podcasts on markets and strategy
- Student Trading Lab — free teaching tools for universities and educators
The platform also gives free access to more than 60 research and news sources plus Fundamentals Explorer for company financials, ratios and analyst forecasts. Quality is the point: Traders’ Insight carries genuine institutional analysis rather than marketing copy dressed as research.
Fund safety and protections
Client money is segregated daily. Interactive Brokers was the first broker to obtain FINRA approval to compute its customer reserve requirement daily, against an industry standard of weekly or monthly, so the protected amount tracks your actual balance more closely.
| Entity | Scheme | Maximum cover |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers LLC (US) | SIPC | $500,000, including a $250,000 cash sublimit |
| Interactive Brokers LLC (US) | Excess policy with underwriters at Lloyd’s of London | A further $30 million, including a $900,000 cash sublimit, subject to a $150 million aggregate |
| Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited | FSCS | £85,000 per person |
| Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited | EU investor compensation | €20,000 |
Two limits on that headline matter. SIPC protects securities and cash in a securities account; it does not cover forex, futures or options on futures, so if you mainly trade currencies the $500,000 figure does not apply to you. And the cover attaches to the entity you contract with — a UK client is protected by the FSCS to £85,000, not by SIPC to $500,000. Read the entity name on your account agreement, not the number in the marketing.
The scenario these schemes exist for — insolvency — is remote here in a way it is not at a thinly capitalised offshore firm, given the capital position set out above.
Clients in the UK, Europe and Australia have negative balance protection as a regulatory requirement, so you cannot lose more than your account balance; under the US entity it varies by account type and instrument. Position sizing and stop discipline remain the trader’s own responsibility regardless.
Verdict
After four weeks on a funded account, Interactive Brokers delivers one of the best trading environments available anywhere on cost, market access, execution and asset protection — and it is not right for everyone. We score it 8.9 out of 10, re-derived from our six weighted categories rather than carried over. Read our full methodology.
| Category | Weight | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation and licensing | 25% | 9.2 |
| Trading costs | 20% | 9.5 |
| Withdrawals and fund access | 20% | 8.5 |
| Platforms and execution | 15% | 9.0 |
| Customer support | 10% | 7.0 |
| Research and transparency | 10% | 9.5 |
| Overall | 100% | 8.9 |
Customer support at 7.0 is the weakest category: competent agents behind a voice menu that can defeat a determined caller is a real failure at this size. Withdrawals at 8.5 pairs fast, reliable processing with the $10 wire fee and the 40-business-day ACH restriction. Regulation scores 9.2 rather than a perfect mark because of the five FINRA settlements concluded in 2025 — supervisory failures rather than misconduct against clients, but five in a year is a pattern, not an accident.
Risk warning. IBUK’s risk disclosure statement dated 10 April 2026 states that 59.7% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with the firm. Margin trading carries additional risk and is not suitable for all investors. Consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Nothing here is investment advice or a prediction of returns — we assess brokers, not outcomes.
Is Interactive Brokers trustworthy?
Is Interactive Brokers a scam?
No, and the evidence is unusually easy to check: NASDAQ-listed since 2007, audited quarterly accounts filed with the SEC, $22.3 billion of equity capital, no long-term debt, tier-one supervision in seven jurisdictions. Dissatisfaction with support quality or platform complexity is a real complaint about the product; it is not evidence of fraud.
Is it actually licensed, or just claiming to be?
Licensed, and we verified each reference against the regulators’ registers rather than the broker’s website: CRD 36418 with FINRA, FRN 208159 with the FCA, C423427 with the Central Bank of Ireland, AFSL 453554 with ASIC. All active at the time of publication. You can repeat these checks in minutes, and you should — for any broker.
Are there any regulator warnings against the firm?
Not against the firm itself. The FCA warning list entries naming “Interactive Brokers” and “Interactive Brokers / Polar Capital” are clone-firm alerts about criminals impersonating the regulated broker — a reason to be careful how you reach it, not a reason to avoid it. The five FINRA disciplinary settlements concluded during 2025 are disclosed in full in the licensing section above.
Can I actually get my money out?
We tested it. A $500 wire requested in March 2026 was processed in one business day and landed two business days later. The complaints that circulate almost always trace to a name mismatch, the 40-business-day ACH restriction, or incomplete verification.
What happens to my money if the broker fails?
It depends which entity holds your account — SIPC and the excess Lloyd’s policy on the US entity, the FSCS to £85,000 in the UK, the Irish investor compensation scheme to €20,000 in the EU, as set out in the fund safety section. The limit worth repeating: SIPC does not cover forex, futures or options on futures.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum deposit at Interactive Brokers?
None for a cash account. A margin account requires $2,000 and Portfolio Margin $110,000. Unchanged when we re-checked in July 2026.
Does Interactive Brokers offer a swap-free account?
No — no interest-free variant exists and overnight financing cannot be switched off. The workaround and its limits are set out in the fees section above. Brokers such as IC Markets and AvaTrade offer dedicated swap-free accounts.
How long do withdrawals take?
When we tested in March 2026, a bank wire took three business days end to end: one for processing, two for the funds to arrive. The first withdrawal each calendar month is free; subsequent wires cost $10.
Is Interactive Brokers suitable for beginners?
It is hard to recommend as a first broker. IBKR Desktop is easier than Trader Workstation and Client Portal simpler still, and IBKR Campus provides excellent free education. But if you want to be trading confidently by the end of the week, look elsewhere.
What does it cost to trade US shares?
On the IBKR Pro fixed schedule, $0.005 per share with a $1 minimum, capped at 1% of trade value; the tiered schedule falls to $0.0035 at higher volumes. IBKR Lite is commission-free on US-listed shares and ETFs but restricted to US residents.
Is there an inactivity fee?
No. The historic $10 monthly charge on accounts holding less than $2,000 was abolished, and no monthly inactivity fee applies to any account type. Re-confirmed in July 2026.
Which Interactive Brokers entity will hold my account?
UK residents contract with Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited under the FCA, EU and EEA residents with Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited under the Central Bank of Ireland, Australian residents with Interactive Brokers Australia Pty Ltd under ASIC. The entity determines your compensation scheme, complaints route and product access, so confirm it before funding.
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