Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade 2025
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
When deciding between Interactive Brokers and tastytrade for your investment needs, you’ll find that each platform has its strengths. Interactive Brokers shines in terms of a broader range of investment options, which earns it a 5-star rating and the top position in the StockBrokers.com rankings out of 16 brokers. On the other hand, tastytrade follows with a respectable 4-star rating, placing 10th in the same rankings. Your choice will depend on what matters most to you as an investor, whether it’s the variety of investment products or other factors.
Interactive Brokers offers a comprehensive selection of investment choices, making it ideal for investors who want access to a wide array of opportunities. You can trade stocks, options, futures, forex, and crypto, with 4 coins available for crypto trading. Moreover, Interactive Brokers provides access to fractional shares and OTC stocks, as well as mutual funds, which tastytrade doesn’t offer. This expansive range makes Interactive Brokers a strong contender for those looking to diversify their investment portfolio thoroughly.
In contrast, tastytrade focuses more on options and futures trading. Like Interactive Brokers, it offers stock trading, margin trading, and crypto trading with the same four cryptocurrency options. However, tastytrade does not support investments in OTC stocks or mutual funds or forex trading, potentially limiting its appeal if you’re looking to extend your portfolio into these areas. Both platforms offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts but do not provide advisor services, which may be an important consideration depending on your investment strategy.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Stock Trading | Yes | Yes |
Margin Trading | Yes | Yes |
Fractional Shares | Yes | Yes |
OTC Stocks | Yes | No |
Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
Options Trading | Yes | Yes |
Futures Trading | Yes | Yes |
Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes |
Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 4 | 4 |
Range of Investments |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025
When choosing between Interactive Brokers and tastytrade for trading platforms and tools, the decision often hinges on specific features and user preferences. Interactive Brokers is highly rated, earning a perfect 5-star rating, and is ranked #2 among 16 brokers by StockBrokers.com. Tastytrade, while still a strong contender with a 4-star rating and ranked #8, offers unique features that might appeal to certain traders. Both platforms present solid options with Windows and Mac downloadable platforms, as well as browser-based interfaces. However, Interactive Brokers stands out with its extensive paper trading options and trading journal, features that tastytrade does not provide. Users who value a more feature-rich platform may lean towards Interactive Brokers, especially with its high number of watch list columns and advanced charting capabilities.
Interactive Brokers offers a comprehensive trading experience with an impressive 659 columns for watch lists and 155 technical indicators for charting. It provides 85 drawing tools, along with the ability to add notes, index overlays, and historical trades to charts. This platform allows for flexible chart management, including custom date ranges and automated technical analysis. Despite not offering custom study creation, the broker excels in numerous customization options and conveniences, such as adjusting open orders directly from stock charts. In contrast, tastytrade shines with a high count of 308 technical indicators and the ability to create custom studies for charts, features that may cater to more technically inclined traders looking for specialized charting capabilities.
Tastytrade also brings user-friendly elements, such as the ability to adjust open orders on charts and display corporate events. However, it falls short in terms of drawing tools and lacks paper trading and a trading journal, which could be a downside for those who prioritize practice trading and tracking their trades. While tastytrade covers essential trading functions, its limitations in fields for watch lists and chart flexibility might sway users toward Interactive Brokers. Ultimately, traders need to assess their particular needs, such as the importance of advanced technical analysis tools versus ease of customization, to determine which platform better suits their trading style.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Platform (Mac) | Yes | Yes |
Paper Trading | Yes | No |
Watch Lists - Total Fields | 659 | 33 |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 308 |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 31 |
Platforms & Tools |
|
|
Dive deeper: 7 Best Brokerage Accounts for 2025, Best Paper Trading Platforms for 2025
When it comes to investor education, Interactive Brokers and tastytrade both provide resources in key areas such as stocks, ETFs, and options. However, Interactive Brokers offers a broader range of educational materials, including resources on mutual funds and bonds, areas where tastytrade falls short. Interactive Brokers also provides tools like paper trading, educational videos, and quizzes, alongside webinars and progress tracking, making it a comprehensive platform for beginners keen on gaining in-depth market knowledge.
In contrast, tastytrade focuses more on options education, offering webinars and progress tracking to help learners stay on top of their game. While Interactive Brokers enjoys an impressive customer education rating of 5 stars and is ranked #3 out of 16 brokers by StockBrokers.com, tastytrade holds a respected 4-star rating, ranking #10 in the same list. Ultimately, Interactive Brokers offers a more rounded experience for investors seeking extensive educational resources, whereas tastytrade might appeal to those with a specific interest in options trading.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes |
Education (ETFs) | Yes | Yes |
Education (Options) | Yes | Yes |
Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes | No |
Education (Bonds) | Yes | No |
Paper Trading | Yes | No |
Videos | Yes | No |
Webinars | Yes | Yes |
Education |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025
When evaluating the stock trading app capabilities of Interactive Brokers and tastytrade, Interactive Brokers tends to emerge as the more comprehensive choice. Both platforms offer apps for iPhone and Android, and facilitate mobile options trading and after-hours charting. However, Interactive Brokers goes a step further with additional features like an Apple Watch app, mobile after-hours stock trading, streaming live TV, videos on demand, and stock alerts, which are absent in tastytrade's offerings. Additionally, Interactive Brokers shines in the technical analysis department with 97 technical studies, while tastytrade offers none.
Still, tastytrade holds its ground with an impressive 4.5-star rating for its stock trading app, slightly trailing behind Interactive Brokers' stellar 5-star score. Both apps allow users to create and customize watch lists and view charts in landscape mode with multiple time frames. However, Interactive Brokers' comprehensive range of features and its ability to cater to a broader array of trader needs seem to contribute to its higher ranking of #2 out of 16 brokers, as compared to tastytrade's #10 position according to StockBrokers.com.
In summary, while both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade offer commendable mobile trading experiences, Interactive Brokers' app seemingly offers more versatility and advanced features preferred by a wide range of traders. tastytrade, with its solid rating and straightforward approach, remains a competitive choice for traders less reliant on advanced analytical functionalities.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
iPhone App | Yes | Yes |
Android App | Yes | Yes |
Apple Watch App | Yes | No |
Stock Alerts | Yes | No |
Charting - After-Hours | Yes | Yes |
Charting - Technical Studies | 97 | 0 |
Mobile Trading Apps |
|
|
Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025
When comparing Interactive Brokers and tastytrade, Interactive Brokers emerges as the more cost-effective choice for investors focused on minimizing fees. Both platforms require no minimum deposit and charge $0 for
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 |
Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $60.00 |
Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025
When comparing Interactive Brokers and tastytrade for day trading, several key differences become apparent. Interactive Brokers provides a more comprehensive toolset for day traders, offering features like streaming time and sales for stocks, direct market routing, trading hotkeys, and access to level 2 quotes. These capabilities can be crucial for traders who require quick access to real-time data and the ability to enter trades quickly. Additionally, Interactive Brokers supports both basic and advanced strategy backtesting, catering to traders interested in refining their trading strategies before risking capital. Lastly, Interactive Brokers offers order liquidity rebates, which might appeal to those considering the cost-effectiveness of their trading activity.
On the other hand, tastytrade has its strengths as well, such as offering streaming live TV and ladder trading. However, tastytrade falls short in areas crucial for some day traders, such as lacking streaming time and sales data, trading hotkeys, level 2 quotes, and backtesting capabilities. While both brokers provide a short locator tool to view the availability of shares to short, the differences in other features might make Interactive Brokers a more attractive choice for those focused on day trading strategies. Ultimately, the choice between these two brokers will depend on which tools and features align best with a trader's specific needs.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No |
Streaming TV | Yes | Yes |
Direct Market Routing - Stocks | Yes | No |
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | No |
Short Locator | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms for 2025
Interactive Brokers and tastytrade offer quite different capabilities when it comes to market research. While both platforms provide stock and ETFs research, Interactive Brokers goes the extra mile with mutual funds, Pink Sheets, and bonds research, areas where tastytrade falls short. Interactive Brokers truly excels by offering additional features like portfolio allocation insights by asset class and leveraging social media sentiment data for stock research. Additionally, Interactive Brokers stands out by providing ESG research and a variety of downloadable PDF research reports, tools that tastytrade lacks entirely. Overall, Interactive Brokers offers a more comprehensive suite of market research tools, earning a 5-star rating compared to tastytrade's 1.5 stars, according to StockBrokers.com.
When it comes to downloadable content, Interactive Brokers offers reports for stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, providing 15 downloadable PDF research reports for stocks alone. tastytrade, however, does not offer any downloadable PDF reports in these categories, which limits its appeal to investors who value in-depth document-based research. Moreover, Interactive Brokers offers screeners for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and bonds, allowing investors to refine their trade ideas with ease. tastytrade does not offer any screener tools, which could be a downside for those looking to explore and identify investment opportunities.
Interactive Brokers is ranked #4 out of 16 brokers for market research on StockBrokers.com, underscoring its strong reputation for providing excellent research capabilities. In contrast, tastytrade is ranked #13, highlighting its limited offerings in this area. For investors who prioritize market research as a crucial component of their trading strategy, Interactive Brokers clearly offers a more substantial and diverse research experience than tastytrade.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes |
Screener - Stocks | Yes | No |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Screener - ETFs | Yes | No |
Research - Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
Screener - Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
Research - Bonds | Yes | No |
Screener - Bonds | Yes | No |
Research |
|
|
When it comes to banking capabilities, both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade are similar in many areas. Neither platform offers checking or savings accounts, and you won't find debit or credit cards at either service. Additionally, neither Interactive Brokers nor tastytrade provide mortgage loans, so features commonly associated with traditional banks are missing. However, a notable difference is that Interactive Brokers offers Certificates of Deposit (CDs), while tastytrade does not. This could be a crucial point for users considering these platforms and looking for specific financial products, such as CDs, that can protect their cash with FDIC insurance.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Checking Accounts | No | No |
Savings Accounts | No | No |
Debit Cards | No | No |
Credit Cards | No | No |
Mortgage Loans | No | No |
CDs | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Bank Accounts for Trading Stocks for 2025
After opening live accounts and testing 16 of the best online brokers, our research and live account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than tastytrade. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall score of 96.9%, while tastytrade finished with a score of 80.1%.
Interactive Brokers is a go-to choice for professionals because of its institutional-grade desktop trading platform, high-quality trade executions and rock-bottom margin rates.
Both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade offer crypto trading, providing access to 4 coins each, making them equally matched in cryptocurrency offerings for traders.
Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2025
Both Interactive Brokers and tastytrade offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts without any annual fee; however, while Interactive Brokers has no closure fee for IRA accounts, tastytrade charges a $60.00 fee upon closing.
Dive deeper: Best IRA Accounts for 2025
Select Brokers
↓×Compare
0 of 5Overall Rating | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Overall |
|
| |
Range of Investments |
|
| |
Platforms & Tools |
|
| |
Mobile Trading Apps |
|
| |
Research |
|
| |
Customer Service |
|
| |
Education |
|
| |
Ease Of Use |
|
| |
Winner | check_circle | ||
Review | Interactive Brokers Review | tastytrade Review |
Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Trading Platform & Tools Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Research Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Education Gallery (click to expand) |
Trading Fees | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) | $0.01 | N/A | |
Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | N/A | |
Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.50 | |
Futures (Per Contract) | $0.85 | $1.25 | |
Broker Assisted Trade Fee | Varies | $0 |
Margin Rates | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Margin Rate Under $25,000 | 7.33% | 11% | |
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 | 7.33% | 10.5% | |
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 | 7.33% | 10% | |
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 | 7.33% | 9.5% | |
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 | 7.33% | 9% | |
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 | 7.33% | 8.5% | |
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 | 7.33% | 8% |
Account Fees | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $60.00 | |
Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $0.00 | $75.00 | |
Account Transfer Out (Full) | $0.00 | $75.00 | |
Options Exercise Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 | |
Options Assignment Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
Investment Options | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Stock Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Margin Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Fractional Shares | Yes | Yes | |
OTC Stocks | Yes | No | |
Options Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Complex Options Max Legs | 6 | 4 | |
Futures Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Forex Trading | Yes | No | |
Crypto Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 4 | 4 | |
Mutual Funds (No Load) | 10988 | 0 | |
Mutual Funds (Total) | 11456 | 0 | |
Bonds (US Treasury) | Yes | No | |
Bonds (Corporate) | Yes | No | |
Bonds (Municipal) | Yes | No | |
Traditional IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
Roth IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
Advisor Services | No | No | |
International Countries (Stocks) | 34 | 0 |
Order Types | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Order Type - Market | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Limit | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - After Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Stop | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes | No | |
Order Type - OCO | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - OTO | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Broker Assisted | Yes | Yes |
Beginners | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (ETFs) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Options) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Mutual Funds) | Yes | No | |
Education (Bonds) | Yes | No | |
Education (Retirement) | Yes | No | |
Retirement Calculator | Yes | No | |
Investor Dictionary | Yes | Yes | |
Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
Videos | Yes | No | |
Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
Progress Tracking | Yes | Yes | |
Interactive Learning - Quizzes | Yes | No |
Stock Trading Apps | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
Android App | Yes | Yes | |
Apple Watch App | Yes | No | |
Trading - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - Simple Options | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - Complex Options | Yes | Yes | |
Order Ticket RT Quotes | Yes | Yes | |
Order Ticket SRT Quotes | Yes | Yes |
Stock App Features | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Market Movers (Top Gainers) | Yes | Yes | |
Stream Live TV | Yes | No | |
Videos on Demand | Yes | No | |
Stock Alerts | Yes | No | |
Option Chains Viewable | Yes | Yes | |
Watch List (Real-time) | Yes | Yes | |
Watch List (Streaming) | Yes | Yes | |
Watch Lists - Create & Manage | Yes | Yes | |
Watch Lists - Column Customization | Yes | Yes |
Stock App Charting | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Charting - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Technical Studies | 97 | 0 | |
Charting - Study Customizations | Yes | No | |
Charting - Stock Comparisons | No | No |
Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Active Trading Platform | Trader Workstation (TWS) | tastytrade | |
Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
Desktop Platform (Mac) | Yes | Yes | |
Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
Trade Journal | Yes | No | |
Watch Lists - Total Fields | 659 | 33 |
Stock Chart Features | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 308 | |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 85 | 31 | |
Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Historical Trades | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Corporate Events | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Custom Date Range | Yes | No | |
Charting - Custom Time Bars | Yes | No | |
Charting - Automated Analysis | Yes | No | |
Charting - Save Profiles | Yes | Yes | |
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis | Yes | No | |
Charting - Study Customizations | 6 | 7 | |
Charting - Custom Studies | No | Yes |
Day Trading | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No | |
Streaming TV | Yes | Yes | |
Direct Market Routing - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Ladder Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Trade Hotkeys | Yes | No | |
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No | |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | No | |
Short Locator | Yes | Yes | |
Order Liquidity Rebates | Yes | No |
Research Overview | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
Research - Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB | Yes | No | |
Research - Bonds | Yes | No | |
Screener - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Screener - ETFs | Yes | No | |
Screener - Mutual Funds | Yes | No | |
Screener - Bonds | Yes | No | |
Misc - Portfolio Allocation | Yes | Yes |
Stock Research | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Stock Research - PDF Reports | 15 | 0 | |
Stock Research - Earnings | Yes | No | |
Stock Research - Insiders | Yes | No | |
Stock Research - Social | Yes | No | |
Stock Research - News | Yes | Yes | |
Stock Research - ESG | Yes | No | |
Stock Research - SEC Filings | Yes | No |
ETF Research | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
ETFs - Strategy Overview | Yes | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date | Yes | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio | Yes | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Net Assets | Yes | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Sector Exposure | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Risk Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
ETFs - Ratings | Yes | No | |
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap | Yes | No | |
ETFs - PDF Reports | Yes | No |
Mutual Fund Research | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Performance Chart | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Prospectus | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - StyleMap | Yes | No |
Options Trading | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Option Chains - Basic View | Yes | Yes | |
Option Chains - Strategy View | Yes | Yes | |
Option Chains - Streaming | Yes | Yes | |
Option Chains - Total Columns | 40 | 20 | |
Option Chains - Greeks | 5 | 5 | |
Option Chains - Quick Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Option Analysis - P&L Charts | Yes | Yes | |
Option Probability Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Option Probability Analysis Adv | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Greeks | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Greeks Streaming | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Adv Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Rolling | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Grouping | Yes | Yes |
Banking | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Bank (Member FDIC) | No | No | |
Checking Accounts | No | No | |
Savings Accounts | No | No | |
Credit Cards | No | No | |
Debit Cards | No | No | |
Mortgage Loans | No | No |
Customer Service | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Phone Support (Prospect Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Phone Support (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Email Support | Yes | Yes | |
Live Chat (Prospect Customers) | No | Yes | |
Live Chat (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
24/7 Support | No | No |
Overall | Interactive Brokers | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Overall |
|
| |
Range of Investments |
|
| |
Platforms & Tools |
|
| |
Mobile Trading Apps |
|
| |
Research |
|
| |
Education |
|
| |
Ease Of Use |
|
| |
Winner | check_circle | ||
Review | Interactive Brokers Review | tastytrade Review |