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Interactive Brokers vs OptionsXpress
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OptionsXpress vs Interactive Brokers: Commissions and Investments
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- Stocks and ETFs: $8.95
- Options (active traders): $12.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.25/contract for over 10 contracts
- Options (non-active traders): $14.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.50/contract for over 10 contracts
- Mutual Funds: $9.95
- Bonds: $5 per bond, $9.95 minimum
- Futures: 1-40 contracts $6.99; 41-100 contracts $5.99; 101-300 contracts $4.99; 301-1,000 contracts $3.99; 1,001 + contracts $2.99
- Options on Futures: 1-40 contracts $12.99; 41-100 contracts $8.99; 101-300 contracts $7.99; 301-1,000 contracts $6.99; 1,001 + contracts $5.99
- Covered Calls: $22.90 up to 10 contracts
- Penny Options: 1-10 contracts $4.95 flat; 10 + $0.50/contract
- Spreads, Straddles & Combos: 2-10 contracts - $12.95 Flat (active traders) $14.95 Flat (non-active traders); 10 + contracts - $1.25/contract (active traders); $1.50/contract (non-active traders)
- Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, futures, options on futures, covered calls, ETFs
- Minimum to open OptionXpress account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All OptionXpress fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $0.005 per share with $1 minimum per trade for SMART routed orders
- Options: $0.70 per contract plus exchange fees
- Mutual funds: $14.95 per transaction
- Investment products: stocks, options, ETFs, bonds, futures, currency transactions
- Minimum to open Interactive Brokers account: $10,000 for non-IRA account, $5,000 for IRA account
- All Interactive Brokers fees
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- Best customer service
- Many well-designed trading tools and cutting-edge trading technology
- Free streaming quotes
- $100 bonus for opening new account
- No fee IRA accounts
- Great research
- Free paper trading
- No money down to open new account
- Free account transfers
- Free instructor lead online classes
- Free broker-assisted trading
- Free dividend reinvestment (contact customer service)
- No platform fees
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Low stock commissions for orders with 800 shares or less
- Professional trading platform
- Great margin rates
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- Higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs
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- $10,000 minimum to open most accounts
- $30/month minimum commission requirement to avoid $10/month fee
- $10/month for IB market data feed (waived if trade commissions are more than $30/month)
- Fees on modified or canceled orders
- Trader Workstation is designed for professional traders, it is not intuitive; difficult to learn
- Expensive to make trades with over 1,500 shares
- A lot of complains about snobby customer service (experienced it ourselves)
- $1.20 fee to modify or cancel an option order
- Merciless margin tightening and margin calls - IB doesn't care if their customers get completely wiped out
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Interactive Brokers vs OptionsXpress: Comparison Summary
OptionsXpress (OptionsXpress Review)
has much higher commissions on stocks and ETFs than
Interactive Brokers (Interactive Brokers Review).
Both companies don't have surcharges on penny stocks and extended hours trading.
OptionsXpress provides better customer service and new clients could open account in minutes with no money down and
no obligation (compare it to $10,000 minimum, and tons of paper-work plus days of waiting for approval required at Interactive Brokers).
IB has a notoriously rude customer service. The firm doesn't care if their customers loose
all their money: positions are liquidated automatically as soon as they get into negative territory and
margin requirements are tightened at the worst time for the clients.
Both firms don't have IRA setup fee and annual IRA fee. Unlike Interactive Brokers, OptionsXpress doesn't charge monthly inactivity
fees (could be as high as $240 a year), and the firm has one of the
Best IRA Accounts.
Barron's magazine rated OptionsXpress at the top of Best For Long Term Investing, Best For Futures Traders and
Best For Options Traders categories in 2010 stock broker survey.
IB customers are very active and experienced traders. Interactive Brokers would be our pick for very active traders and day-traders.
Thanks to no inactivity fees, OptionsXpress would work much better for everyone else, especially beginners, buy-an-hold investors and
retirement account holders. In 2012 we rated OptionsXpress one of the Best Brokers.
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