Interactive Brokers vs. J.P. Morgan: Key Takeaways
• Brokerage accounts are available at Interactive Brokers and J.P. Morgan Investing.
• Interactive Brokers provides automated investing through Interactive Advisors, while J.P. Morgan offers advisor-led wealth-management services outside its self-directed brokerage product.
• Interactive Brokers offers advanced trading software and services, while J.P. Morgan Investing is more basic.
J.P. Morgan vs. Interactive Brokers Introduction
The next time you open a brokerage account, J.P. Morgan Investing and Interactive Brokers may both be worth considering. Each firm does well in some areas but is weaker in others.
Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
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IB
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$0
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3% of trade value up to $14.95
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
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$0
|
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Chase
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$0
|
$0
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$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
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Charles Schwab
|
$0
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$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
| Broker Review |
Cost |
Investment Products |
Trading Tools |
Customer Service |
Research |
Overall Rating |
|
IB
|
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Chase
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Charles Schwab
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Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Interactive Brokers: Use this referral link to get up to $1,000 of IBKR stock for free!
Chase:
Currently, no promotions.
Investing
J.P. Morgan Investing customers can buy and sell these asset classes:
- Option contracts
- Equities
- Bonds and other fixed-income securities, such as brokered CDs
- Mutual funds
- Exchange-traded funds
- Closed-end funds
Interactive Brokers traders get the same list, plus additional products that include:
- Precious metals
- Cryptocurrencies
- Futures
- Forex
- Warrants
- Foreign securities
Interactive Brokers provides automated investing through Interactive Advisors. J.P. Morgan, meanwhile, also has advisor-led wealth-management services, although these are separate from its self-directed brokerage accounts.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Banking
Both investment firms in this comparison provide cash-management features for idle cash. Interactive Brokers
offers an Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program for eligible clients, and IBKR Lite provides commission-free
trading in U.S. exchange-listed stocks and ETFs. Clients can also earn interest on eligible cash balances, although the rate changes over time. J.P. Morgan Investing generally pays a very low rate on idle brokerage cash.
J.P. Morgan Investing clients, however, get another option for uninvested cash: Chase Bank. Deposit accounts opened through J.P. Morgan Investing’s affiliated banking business can be connected to investing accounts, and moving money among multiple accounts is very easy. Chase checking accounts offer several features, such as debit cards and checkwriting. Interactive Brokers focuses more on sweep, direct deposit, and mobile check deposit features.
Winner: J.P. Morgan Investing
Margin
Cash accounts and margin accounts are available at both firms. Interactive Brokers charges
6.14% for borrowed money, and Pro customers can receive even
lower rates. J.P. Morgan Investing uses a tiered margin schedule that starts at
11.5%, with lower rates for larger balances and a top tier for balances above $10 million.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Websites
Both investment firms in this comparison have websites with tools for charting, order entry, account management, and investment research. The J.P. Morgan Investing site is a little easier to use and navigate. But when it comes to trading power, the IBKR site is much stronger.
For example, the J.P. Morgan Investing site’s order ticket has only four trade types. The IBKR web-based ticket, by comparison, has many more advanced features, including bracket orders. Charting is similar, with no full-screen charts at J.P. Morgan Investing. Interactive Brokers does provide full-screen charting with many TradingView-powered tools.
Options trading shows the same pattern. Interactive Brokers’ website includes some very strong tools, such as implied-volatility graphs and a strategy builder. J.P. Morgan Investing’s site, by comparison, only has basic chains for calls and puts.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Desktop Programs
Interactive Brokers did not stop with its strong website. It also offers Trader Workstation, an advanced desktop trading system. It later launched IBKR Desktop, a simpler desktop program that is still quite useful. J.P. Morgan Investing does not have desktop software.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Mobile Apps
J.P. Morgan Investing does offer a mobile platform. It includes mostly the same resources available on the website. These tools include the same order ticket and charting software, along with many useful personal-finance tools from Chase Bank, an affiliated company. Mobile check deposit is also available for added convenience.
The IBKR app does not have the same personal-finance tools found in the J.P. Morgan Investing app. However, its trading tools are much stronger, with better charting and more detailed security profiles. Many securities include details such as:
- Analyst ratings with consensus recommendations
- Industry competitors
- News articles
- Advanced option tools
IBot and other AI-powered tools also appear in IBKR’s ecosystem and make the user experience more useful.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Day/Swing Trading
Direct-Access Routing: Direct routing is available in Trader Workstation, and IBKR Desktop also has advanced order-routing features.
Extended-Hours Trading: Available at Interactive Brokers, including overnight trading in some products.
Shorting: Short selling is possible at Interactive Brokers, and the company provides many tools that bearish traders will want to use. Equity profiles, for example, show the number of shares available for shorting.
Maker-Taker Fees: Interactive Brokers can pass through exchange fees and rebates under its tiered pricing schedule, and SmartRouting considers fees and rebates when routing orders.
Level II Quotes: Available in Trader Workstation and related advanced tools.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Complementary Services
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Interactive Brokers offers this service.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Both firms offer IRAs, although Interactive Brokers has more IRA types and does not charge a closeout fee. J.P. Morgan Investing does.
Automatic Investing: Both firms provide automatic-investing features, although the eligible investments and setup choices are different.
Initial Public Offerings: Interactive Brokers does offer IPO access for eligible clients, so they are not unavailable at both firms.
Fractional Shares: Interactive Brokers customers can buy and sell eligible stocks and ETFs in whole-dollar amounts, with eligible U.S. stocks and ETFs starting at $1. J.P. Morgan Investing also offers fractional shares in eligible stocks and ETFs starting at $5.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: DRIP service is available at both firms. Interactive Brokers’ current disclosure covers certain eligible stocks and ETFs.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Recommendations
Beginners: We suggest an automated account with Interactive Advisors.
Small Accounts: Brokerage accounts at both firms have no minimums and no commissions for many standard online U.S. stock and ETF trades at J.P. Morgan and on the IBKR Lite plan at Interactive Brokers. Because Interactive Brokers offers fractional-share trading, it will have lower trade minimums in many situations. Interactive Advisors requires a low starting balance, although minimums can vary by strategy.
Mutual Funds: J.P. Morgan Investing has better fund resources on its website.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: A full-service account through a local J.P. Morgan advisor could be a good fit for investors who want guidance, while Interactive Brokers is stronger for self-directed investors who want broad market access.
Frequent Stock Trading: Interactive Brokers, with its excellent software, would be a strong choice.
Chase vs IBKR Verdict
J.P. Morgan has a much longer history as a global financial institution, but that does not make it the better place to invest for most self-directed traders.
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Updated on 5/30/2026.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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