Day Traders | Interactive Brokers LLC (2024)

IBKR Lite clients have access to $0 commissions on US listed stocks and ETFs and the lowest commissions on other products.
IB SmartRoutingSM helps support best execution by searching for the best available prices for stocks, options and combinations across exchanges and dark pools.
The lowest margin rates, with rates starting at 5.83%*
Our Stock Yield Enhancement Program lets you earn extra income on the fully-paid shares of stock held in your account.
Invest in stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, funds and more across 150 markets in 34 countries from a single unified platform.
Fractional shares let you divide investments among more stocks to achieve a more diversified portfolio.
Powerful trading technology and advanced trading tools help you create and execute your trading strategies with ease from virtually any desktop or mobile device.

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Lowest Trading Costs

IBKR Lite clients enjoy commissions as low as $0 for US listed stocks and ETFs and the lowest commissions on stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds from a single unified platform. IBKR Pro clients access the IB SmartRouting^SM system. IB SmartRoutingSM helps support best execution by searching for the best available prices for stocks, options and combinations across exchanges and dark pools.

Lowest Financing Costs

We offer the lowest margin loan interest rates of any broker, according to the Barron's 2020 online broker review.

Technology to Help Day Traders Succeed

Trading Platforms

Powerful enough for the professional trader but designed for everyone. Available on desktop, mobile and web.

Comprehensive Reporting

Real-time trade confirmations, margin details, transaction cost analysis, sophisticated portfolio analysis and more.

Order Types and Algos

100+ order types – from limit orders to complex algorithmic trading – help you execute any trading strategy.

Fractional Trading

Buy or sell almost any US stock using fractional shares, which are stock units that amount to less than one full share, or by placing an order for a specific dollar amount rather than quantity of shares.

Free Trading Tools

Spot market opportunities, analyze results, manage your account and make better decisions with our free trading tools.

API Solutions

Our proprietary API and FIX CTCI solutions let institutions create their own automated, rules-based trading system that takes advantage of our high-speed order routing and broad market depth.

Discover a World of Opportunities

Invest globally in stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds from asingle unified platform. Fund your account in multiple currencies and trade assets denominated in multiple currencies. Access market data 24 hours a day and six days a week.

150

Markets

Countries

Currencies*

Global Markets

*Available currencies vary by Interactive Brokers affiliate.

Graphic is for illustrative purposes only and should not be relied upon for investment decisions.

Local Time: Open Closed

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Which Plan is Best for You?

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IBKR Lite

IBKR Lite provides retail clients with $0 commissions on US listed stock and ETF trades, no account minimums and no inactivity fees.

IBKR Pro

IBKR Pro is the IBKR Plan for sophisticated investors and active traders. IBKR Pro clients access the IB SmartRouting^SM system. IB SmartRoutingSM helps support best execution by searching for the best available prices for stocks, options and combinations across exchanges and dark pools.

*For more information, click here.
Lower investment costs will increase your overall return on investment, but lower costs do not guarantee that your investment will be profitable.

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Frequently Asked Questions About IBKR Lite

The IBKR Lite pricing plan is available to US residents with the following account types: Individual, Joint, IRA and Trusts when the beneficiary and trustee are natural persons. In addition, US financial advisors can offer IBKR Lite to their clients.
IBKR Lite provides commission-free trades in US exchange-listed stocks and ETFs routed to select market makers. IBKR may charge non-commission related fees. Trades in non-exchange-listed US stocks (e.g., Pink sheet and OTCBB) are subject to IBKR’s standard commission schedule. For more information, see ibkr.com/liteinfo

Which Plan is Best for You?

Features	IBKR Lite	IBKR Pro
Commissions:
US Exchange-Listed Stocks / ETFs	Commission-free^{1, 12}	Fixed or Tiered Pricing
Other Stocks / ETFs	Fixed Pricing	Fixed or Tiered Pricing
Options	Fixed Pricing²	Fixed or Tiered Pricing
Futures	Fixed Pricing	Fixed or Tiered Pricing
Currencies	Tiered Pricing	Tiered Pricing
Bonds	Tiered Pricing	Tiered Pricing
Mutual Funds	Fixed Pricing	Fixed or Tiered Pricing
Account Fees:
Minimum Balance	USD 0	USD 0
Maintenance Fee	USD 0	USD 0
Interest Paid on Instantly Available Cash Balances³	Benchmark minus 1.5%	Benchmark minus 0.5%
Interest Charged for Margin Loan	Benchmark plus 2.5%	Begins at Benchmark plus 1.5%, with lower rates for higher loan values.⁴
Eligible Accounts:
US Retail Investors⁵
Institutional Accounts⁶
Advisors^7,8
Brokers^9,10
Account Features:
Stock Yield Enhancement Program
FDIC Promontory Program
Market Data - US Listed Stock/ETFs	Complimentary non-consolidated, real time streaming data* for primary exchanges for US Equities and ETFs.	Complimentary non-consolidated, real time streaming data* for primary exchanges for US Equities and ETFs.
Market Data - Other Products	Low-cost data bundles and a la carte subscriptions available.	Low-cost data bundles and a la carte subscriptions available.
Outside Regular Trading Hours¹¹	07:00 - 20:00	04:00 - 20:00
Trading Technology:
Client Portal
IBKR Mobile
IBot
Trader Workstation (TWS)	**
IBKR APIs
Algos	^†
Condition Orders & Advanced Order Types
Paper Trading
Mutual Fund / ETF Replicator
Risk Navigator^SM

= Included

IBKR Lite is meant for retail investors, including financial advisors trading on behalf of their retail clients. IBKR reserves the right to reject any IBKR Lite order or series of orders if IBKR determines the order(s) appear to show non-retail trading behavior. At the time an order is rejected, the client will be automatically presented the option to resubmit the rejected order on a Fixed commission basis.
Where available in North America.
Accounts with a NAV of less than USD 100,000 (or equivalent) will be paid at a rate proportional to accounts with a NAV of USD 100,000 (or equivalent) or more. The proportion is determined by the ratio of the account's NAV to USD 100,000 (or equivalent). This does not apply to currencies with negative interest rates, where the negative rate applied will be the same regardless of account size. See our Interest Rates for details.
See our Margin Rates for details.
US Retail Investors includes individuals, joint, UGMA/UTMA, retirement and trust accounts.
1. Standalone trust accounts with legal entity trustees are not eligible for IBKR Lite
Institutional Accounts are defined as any hedge funds, proprietary trading group or organizational type accounts
Advisors include all registered financial advisors and non-registered financial advisors.
To be eligible for IBKR Lite, advisors must be US domiciled and must have:
1. Less than 15% of client accounts outside the US
2. Less than 15% of client equity outside the US
3. Less than 15% of client accounts as organization accounts
4. No client accounts from Israel
5. No partitioned client accounts
6. No Separate Trading Limits (Proprietary Trading) accounts
Brokers require special approval from IBKR before opening an IBKR Lite account. Brokers cannot have both IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro clients under the same account structure. Separate accounts structures are required to facilitate.
Brokers on the IBKR Lite plan cannot support the follow ing type of client sub accounts:
1. Israel is the country of legal residence of the account holder
2. Partitioned client accounts
3. Three-tier hierarchies (no advisor or STL proprietary trading accounts)
4. OMS clients
Regular trading hours for IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro are 09:30 – 16:00. Market orders placed prior to regular trading hours will be treated as MarketOnOpen orders and count towards client threshold.
At the end of each month, IBKR will review the total monthly trading volume of US listed stock orders. If the combined volume of OnClose, OnOpen, Outside Regular Trading Hours ("Outside RTH") or sub-USD 1.00 NMS exceeds 10% of an account's monthly US stocktrading volume, a commission of the lesser of USD 0.005 per share or 1% of trade value will be charged.

* Excludes pink sheet data.
**Trader Workstation (TWS) is not available to Brokers' clients enrolled in IBKR Lite.
† Fees may apply.

We understand your investment needs change over time. You can switch between the IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro plan at any time. Your first three reclassifications are processed on a daily basis while subsequent reclassifications happen on a quarterly basis.

IBKR Lite / IBKR Pro Comparison

Day Traders | Interactive Brokers LLC (2024)

FAQs

What broker do day traders use? ›

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) remains firmly entrenched as our overall pick as Best Online Broker for Day Trading because it offers among the widest ranges of assets available to trade while charging some of the lowest commissions and margin rates in the industry.

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How much money do day traders with $10000 accounts make per day on average? ›

With a $10,000 account, a good day might bring in a five percent gain, which is $500. However, day traders also need to consider fixed costs such as commissions charged by brokers. These commissions can eat into profits, and day traders need to earn enough to overcome these fees [2].

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Is day trading a legitimate business? ›

While day trading offers an entrepreneurial career route and a high profit potential, there exist some limitations and risks to the profession. These include high financial loss, emotional pressure, lack of access to certain markets, time commitment, and regulatory requirements.

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Is Interactive Brokers LLC safe? ›

Client securities accounts at Interactive Brokers LLC are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC") for a maximum coverage of $500,000 (with a cash sublimit of $250,000).

Get More Info Here ›

Can you day trade under an LLC? ›

If you are successful as an independent day trader, it can create significant tax liabilities for you. Individuals who want to actively participate in the stock market have several options: they can trade as individuals or sole proprietors, qualify for trader status, or trade through a business entity such as an LLC.

Learn More Now ›

Do you need 25k to day trade? ›

A day trade is when a trader buys and sells, or sells and buys, the same security on the same day. The $25,000 minimum equity requirement refers to the minimum amount of capital that a day trader must have in their account in order to engage in day trading activities.

Why is day trading not worth it? ›

It's Very Costly. Every time you buy or sell a stock, there are commissions (i.e. brokerage fees) and taxes involved. Because of the high-frequency of trades being placed, these numbers add up very quickly — to the point where it can eat into a significant portion of your profits (or even turn a profit into a loss).

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How much tax do day traders pay? ›

Are day traders taxed differently?

Gross Annual Income	Long-Term Tax Rate	Short-term/Regular Tax Rate
$9,326 to $37,950	0%	15%
$37,951 to $91,900	15%	25%
$91,901 to $191,650	15%	28%
$191,651 to $416,700	15%	33%

3 more rows

Oct 21, 2023

Do professional traders use Interactive Brokers? ›

"Because Interactive Brokers' core clientele are professional traders and institutional investors (e.g., hedge funds), it is crucial to provide the lowest commissions schedule available. In our rigorous assessment, there is no question Interactive Brokers delivers."

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What is the minimum deposit for Interactive Brokers day trading? ›

In order to day trade, the account must have at least 25,000 USD in Net Liquidation Value, where Net Liquidation Value includes cash, stocks, options, and futures P+L.

Does Interactive Brokers report to IRS? ›

For US Persons, IBKR issues 1099 forms in a consolidated format. Most 1099 forms will appear on one statement rather than as separate forms. Information reported on the Consolidated Form 1099 is also reported to the IRS and should be reported on your federal tax return.

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What is the best broker to day trade? ›

Summary of the best trading platforms:

Interactive Brokers.
SoFi Active Investing.
E*TRADE.
TradeStation.
ZacksTrade.
Firstrade.
Ally Invest.
Webull.

More items...

Apr 17, 2024

Learn More Now ›

Do day traders need brokers? ›

If you're a day trader or a prospective one, you'll definitely want a brokerage that fits your needs. Unlike buy-and-hold investors — who access the market infrequently — day traders need to optimize for low costs, as well as utilize tools such as trading platforms and solid fundamental research.

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Do day traders use Robinhood? ›

Day trading on Robinhood works in the same way as it does on other brokerages. Using the different order types that Robinhood offers, day traders can execute all of the typical types of day trades within the same trading session.

Show Me More ›

Does Charles Schwab allow day trading? ›

Can I Use a Margin Account for Day Trading on Charles Schwab? Yes, you can use a margin account for day trading on Charles Schwab.