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Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade Comparison Review

Read this side by side comparison of Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade to learn about their fees, popularity, security, trading platforms and mobile apps. All the important data in the tables below.

Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade: Popularity

QueryInteractive BrokersTD Ameritrade
Number of users (approximate)913K12m+
Website traffic (estimated)4.11m25.2m
# results on web37.7m7.3m
Search volume Google60K673K
Twitter followers228K141K
FB followers148K375K
How popular on mainstream media?MediumHigh
Negative media?MediumMedium
Notable awardsBest Online Broker, Best for International Traders, 5-Star Rating for Outstanding Value, Online Share Trading – Casual InvestorBest Broker for Stock Trading Platform and Research

As far as the number of existing clients go, TD Ameritrade is the clear winner. A bigger brand highly featured in the mainstream media with over 12 miilion active accounts.

Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade: User Rating

QueryInteractive BrokersTD Ameritrade
# users rated on user platforms605 on TrustPilot, 0 on SiteJabber69 on TrustPilot, 17 on SiteJabber
Percentage of positive reviews out of user reviews62%20%
Common complimentsReliable broker, many features, and access to most international markets.Easy to use platform, great interface, good tools.
Common complaintsNot great for non US residents. Looks outdated.Bad customer service, long wait to speak to support
Positive feedback on Twitter?Great platform with a lot of features.Great features and powerful tools.
Negative feedback on Twitter?Slow responding customer support.Complaints about the thinkorswim platform.
App rating (summary)An average rating of 3.55 / 5 from 8K reviewsOver 45K ratings and 4.5 / 5 score on Apple store

Interactive Brokers has a bigger percentage of positive reviews compare to TD Ameritrade (62% vs 20%) and a lot more reviews on Trustpilot. So, in this category, the winner is Interactive Brokers.

Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade: Background Information

QueryInteractive BrokersTD Ameritrade
Company public/privatePublicPublic
Revenue Data539m for Q2 2020$1.48 billion on Q2 of 2020
CEO and bioMilan Galik – served as Senior Vice President, Software Development of IBG LLC from October 2003 to October 2014.
Steve Boyle, He is a professional member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that worked previously for Banknorth and Barnett Banks.
Number of employees1,6439,183
Notable investors (private companies)NoneNone

Considering the big difference in the numbers of customers, it came to no surprise that the revenue data will reflect the same differences. TD Ameritrade boost numbers three times more than its competitor, for the same period of 2020.

Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade: Security

QueryInteractive BrokersTD Ameritrade
HTTPS CertificateYesYes
2FA ?YesYes
Device monitoring?YesYes
New device extra security?YesYes

Both brokers are public companies so you know that the security is taken very seriously. Keeping its customers, assets but also the company’s overall image safe from hackers and intruders.

Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade: Fees & Offering

QueryInteractive BrokersTD Ameritrade
Account minimumNoneNone
Account fixed feesNoneNone
Fractional shares?YesNo
Margin costsVariesVaries
ETF buying feesNoneNone
Stock buying feesNoneNone
Option buying feesVaries$0.65 per contract
Short selling fees0.002%* Face Value (0.2 bps)None
Futures buying fees$0.85 per contract$2.25 fee per contract
Future options buying fees$0.85 per contract$2.25 fee per contract
Cryptocurrency fees$10 per contractNot available yet
Fixed income feesVaries$1 per bond or CD on secondary transactions
Mutual funds feesNone$49.99 per trade for no-load mutual funds and $0 for load mutual funds.

Interactive Brokers is the best firm when it comes to the invest tools diversity. Two of the highly appreciated investing avenues for the younger generation are available here: fractional shares and cryptocurrencies. Neither of the two are on the trading platform of TD Ameritrade, and that’s why the winner is Interactive Brokers.

Interactive Brokers vs TD Ameritrade: Trading App

QueryInteractive BrokersTD Ameritrade
Android app # installs500K+1m+
Android app # reviews4K+7K
iPhone app # reviews74447.6K
Android app rating3.6 / 53.4 / 5
iPhone app rating3.5 / 54.5 / 5
Common compliments on appQuick access, easy to use and lots of functionalities.Easy to understand and operate, lots of useful functions
Common complaints on appLogin problems and bugs.Laggy, buggy platform
Weighted average app rating3.55 / 54 / 5

Surprisingly, the appetite for innovation and new technologies, is not translated in the mobile trading app of Interactive Brokers. It seems they don’t actively focus on the app and, because of that, TD Ameritrade has to be declared the winner in this category. The numbers say so.

Final conclusions:

Interactive Brokers and TD Ameritrade are both well known players in the market and you can go with either one and be safe. But we have to choose Interactive Brokers as the winner of this comparison because of the wide range of investment possibilities that are available.

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