Interactive Brokers review: entities, US stock fees and protection

Overview

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a broker group headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, in the United States. It offers stocks, ETFs, options, futures, bonds, mutual funds and currencies on one account. The pages we read show the footer of Interactive Brokers LLC, which says it is a member of NYSE, FINRA and SIPC and is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. FINRA’s BrokerCheck register lists the company with SEC number 8-47257 (CRD 36418). All facts in this review were checked on 18 October 2026.

Which company holds your account

The site footer names nine IBKR companies: Interactive Brokers LLC (United States), Interactive Brokers Canada (CIRO), Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited (FCA 208159), Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited (Central Bank of Ireland, C423427), Interactive Brokers Australia (ASIC, AFSL 453554), Interactive Brokers Hong Kong (Securities and Futures Commission), Interactive Brokers India (SEBI, INZ000217730), Interactive Brokers Securities Japan (Kanto Local Finance Bureau, No. 187) and Interactive Brokers Singapore (MAS, CMS100917).

None of the pages we read says which of these companies opens the account of someone living in Africa, Latin America or the Middle East, so check the company named in your account agreement before you fund it.

IBKR publishes a list of 222 countries and territories where an account can be opened. Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Peru are on it; Nigeria and Venezuela are not.

Products and markets

The stock price list names trading venues in the United States (NYSE, Nasdaq), Canada (TSX), Brazil (B3), the United Kingdom (London Stock Exchange), Germany (Xetra), Euronext, Saudi Arabia (Tadawul), the United Arab Emirates (ADX and DFM) and Hong Kong. You can buy fractional shares of eligible US, Canadian and European stocks. We found no South African, Nigerian, Egyptian or Moroccan exchange on the price list.

Costs

IBKR Pro is the plan the site marks as “Available Globally”. For US stocks and ETFs it has two price structures:

• Fixed: USD 0.005 per share, at least USD 1.00 and at most 1% of the trade value per order. The price list adds regulatory fees.
• Tiered: from USD 0.0035 per share (minimum USD 0.35), falling as monthly volume grows, plus exchange, clearing and regulatory fees.

IBKR Lite, with no commission on US-listed stocks and ETFs, is for US residents (the stocks page also names Singapore).

When a trade needs another currency, IBKR’s automatic conversion “will typically add or subtract (at its discretion) 0.03%” to the exchange rate, with no separate commission. Converting yourself through its currency market costs 0.20 basis points of the amount (0.002%), with a minimum of USD 2.00 per order.

There is no account minimum, no inactivity fee and no custody fee from IBKR, although third parties may charge custody fees.

Protection

Securities accounts at Interactive Brokers LLC are covered by SIPC up to USD 500,000, of which up to USD 250,000 in cash. IBKR also holds an extra insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London that adds up to USD 30 million per account, with an overall limit of USD 150 million. This cover protects against the failure of the broker, not against falling prices. Interactive Brokers Ireland is a member of the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme and Interactive Brokers Canada of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund; the footer does not give their limits.

Deposits and withdrawals

The funding page depends on your country and currency. For Mexico in pesos it offers a local transfer via SPEI; IBKR’s first deposit each month is free and later ones cost MXN 100. For South Africa (rand) and the UAE (dirhams) it offers a bank transfer and a transfer from a Wise balance. Your bank may charge for transfers.

IBKR allows two free withdrawals per calendar month. After that, each bank transfer costs, for example, USD 10, AED 18, ZAR 200 or MXN 100. The site does not name SPEI for withdrawals.

What we could not confirm

• Which IBKR company serves readers in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
• A founding year: the site only says IBKR began its 49th year as a broker in January 2026.
• Islamic (swap-free) accounts: not mentioned on the pages we read.
• The licence numbers of the UK, Irish, Hong Kong and Singapore companies in the regulators’ own registers (we could not open them); they come from IBKR’s footer.
• BrokerCheck shows 120 disclosures for Interactive Brokers LLC (92 regulatory events and 28 arbitrations); we did not read the details.

We have not tested this platform with our own account yet; this review will be updated when we do.