Interactive Brokers Lite Review

IB is already one of the most affordable stock brokers around, and yet the launch of Interactive Brokers Lite may prove even cheaper still. IB has been a favorite for professional stock traders for years thanks to its per-share pricing, but the new product is meant to attract casual traders who also wish to participate in the stock markets. 

Interactive Brokers Lite

Interactive Brokers Lite has been labeled IBKR Lite, while the other professional service is known as IBKR Pro. Here, you will learn what makes IBKR Lite so attractive that everyone is already talking about it. 

Interactive Brokers zero fee

If you have ever attempted to buy stocks from a broker, you already know that commissions are a major hindrance. The problem is that most brokers charge a flat fee between $100 and $200 for every trade. This can become a huge cost if you make multiple trades and especially when your trades are not very big. IB became popular because charges were only charged based on the shares you traded. Nevertheless, casual traders were still looking for further discounts, hence Interactive Brokers Lite.

On IBKR Lite, all these costs are completely taken off the table so that trading is free. Even though trading is free, traders still have full access to the financial markets just like those on IBKR Pro. What’s more, there is no limit to the number of trades one can make without any commissions, so you can pretty much forget about trade costs when using Interactive Brokers Lite. However, should you choose to trade international markets, you will be charged for those trades on a per-share basis.

IBKR Lite - Interactive Brokers Lite Review

There are also no charges for leaving your account inactive for a long time. In fact, you earn interest on any cash you leave on your trading account just like you would in a bank. Finally, IBKR Lite does not have an account opening minimum balance like IBKR Pro, and this makes it possible for everyone to open an account with Interactive Brokers regardless of their trading capital. 

Interactive Brokers pro vs. lite

A natural question to ask oneself is why you would ever need to use IBKR Pro when IBKR Lite is completely free. Well, the first reason is that IBKR Lite clients can only trade US stocks and ETFs for free. Interactive Brokers offers stocks from all over the world, but these will still be charged on IBKR Lite except for those in US markets. 

ibkr pro lite - Interactive Brokers Lite Review

Add to that, IBKR Lite clients don’t have access to IB’s platform Traders Workstation (TWS). TWS is the main trading platform from IB that offers a multitude of trading tools to its clients, but it won’t be available to IBKR Lite clients. Instead, only the desktop client portal and mobile apps will be available. This places IBKR Lite clients at a slight disadvantage since many tools won’t be available. 

Is Interactive Brokers Lite worth it?

Everyone has a different reason for investing in the stock market, so it’s very difficult to answer this question for everyone. That being said, IBKR Lite is one of a few brokers who don’t charge their clients for making trades on the stock market. That makes this perhaps the best option for everyone interested in investing. 

Leave a Comment