Overview of M1 Finance and Interactive Brokers
If you want a place for hands-off investing, M1 Finance might be your choice. If you need the best tools for active trading, Interactive Brokers may be a better fit. Keep reading to learn more about these two brokers.
Pricing
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
IB
|
$0
|
$14.95
|
$0.70 per contract
|
$0
|
$30
|
|
M1 Finance
|
$0
|
na
|
na
|
$0
|
$0
|
Promotions
M1 Finance:
Fund within 30 days of joining with $10,000 to get $75 bonus.
Interactive Brokers: Use this referral link to get up to $1,000 of IBKR stock for free!
Style of Investing
M1 Finance focuses on long-term buy-and-hold investing. With this in mind, it created Pies, which are baskets of stocks, closed-end funds, and ETFs. Orders for these Pies are sent to the exchanges only two times a day—no need to trade all day if you’re looking at a long-term horizon. M1 Finance clients can pick the broker’s Pies or build their own.
Since Interactive Brokers is geared more toward active traders, its customers can send orders during the full trading day (and after it, too). In addition to the securities available at M1, IB has mutual funds, bonds, futures, forex, warrants, and precious metals.
Along with the major US stocks M1 Finance offers, IB has OTC stocks and assets on many international markets. M1 does not.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Education and Asset Research
M1 Finance’s website has articles about investing that cover many subjects, from retirement to 529 plans to Regulation E, plus a blog.
For security research, M1 has two brief screeners (one for stocks and one for funds). Clicking on a result shows a security profile with minimal info. For Disney, M1 shows a market cap of $357 billion, a dividend yield of 0.0% (it was suspended during COVID-19), and some news.
Interactive Brokers provides more. Its site has:
- IBKR Campus
- Traders' Academy
- Traders' Insight
- IBKR Quant Blog
- Webinars
- Student Trading Lab
- Short Videos
- Traders' Glossary
- Traders' Calendar
We discovered many resources in these areas. For thorough security research, IB also has in-depth screeners on both its website and desktop platform. You’ll find data points like Lipper ratings, dividend history, ESG scores, a tear sheet, and social sentiment.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Margin Borrowing
Both brokers let you open margin accounts, which can expand your investing potential.
M1 Finance charges 6.25%.
Interactive Brokers uses a tiered plan from 4.83% to 6.83%, depending on your commission schedule (IBKR Lite or Pro) and how much you borrow. International assets have their own rates.
Interactive Brokers, but not M1, displays margin requirements for each security on its platforms.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Websites
M1 Finance’s website is as simple as its educational resources. It has a transfer tool, plus five tabs in the top menu. One is an Invest link where you manage, rebalance, and edit Pies. The Research tab has the basic screeners.
Charts at M1 are basic, and there is no order ticket. M1 gathers order requests and sends them in large groups.
Interactive Brokers leans toward active self-directed trading, so you can send orders at any time. The best way to do this is via the client portal on its site (2-factor authentication is required). It has advanced charts and a trade ticket with bracket orders.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Desktop Software
IB customers can use Trader Workstation on Windows, Mac, or Linux. This advanced platform has many features, including:
- An advanced ticket with direct routing
- Charts with many tools (including right-click trading)
- Complex option tools
- A screener that includes foreign exchanges
Since M1 Finance is built for buy-and-hold investing, it doesn’t have a desktop platform.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Mobile Apps
Both brokers have apps. M1 Finance’s software mirrors its website with very basic charts and an order request screen.
In contrast, Interactive Brokers’ app is quite advanced. It has solid charts with a horizontal mode and a variety of technical indicators. Several order tickets are available. One uses a wheel format for pre-set numbers.
If you use the standard vertical order form, you’ll find even more order types like limit-on-close, relative, and market-if-touched. You can add bracket orders and a price management algorithm, too.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Day Trading
Shorting: M1 Finance doesn’t allow short selling, while IB does.
Level II quotes: Provided by IB, but not by M1.
Direct-access routing: IB supports it; M1 doesn’t.
Routing fees and rebates: Again, IB has them, M1 does not.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Other Services
Cash management: Both brokers offer debit cards with no annual fees. M1 Finance refunds one ATM fee per month; IB does not refund any.
Automatic mutual fund investing: Interactive Brokers sells mutual funds but doesn’t allow recurring buys.
IRAs: Both brokers have Roth, traditional, and SEP accounts.
Fractional-share trading: Both let you buy fractions of stocks and funds.
IPO availability: Neither firm provides IPO access.
Extended hours: IB supports pre-market and post-market trading. M1 Finance does not—M1 doesn’t even offer the full regular session.
Dividend reinvestment program: Both brokers let you reinvest dividends. M1 has a $25 minimum reinvestment.
Winner: Interactive Brokers
Our Recommendations
Stock/ETF trading: Interactive Brokers is the easy pick.
Beginners: M1 Finance tries to make investing simpler, but Interactive Brokers has stronger customer support, better education, and a practice mode on its desktop platform. We consider it a tie.
Small accounts: M1 Finance needs $100 for a taxable account and $500 for an IRA. IBKR Lite has no such requirements.
Retirement savers and long-term investors: M1 Finance has 28 target-date Pies. IB provides a lot of target-date mutual funds from multiple families. We prefer IB.
Interactive Brokers vs M1 Judgment
M1 Finance has a user-friendly way to invest that reduces direct involvement. For nearly all other trading needs, though, Interactive Brokers stands well above the competition here.
Updated on 2/23/2025.
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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