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Interactive Brokers vs tastytrade 2025

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

February 20, 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.

Interactive Brokers
5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.65
tastytrade
4/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.50 info

Range of investments

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Stock Trading info Yes Yes
Margin Trading info Yes Yes
Fractional Shares info Yes Yes info
OTC Stocks info Yes No
Mutual Funds info Yes No
Options Trading info Yes Yes
Futures Trading info Yes Yes
Crypto Trading info Yes info Yes
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 4 info 4
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025

Trading platforms and tools

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac) info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 659 33
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 155 308
Charting - Drawing Tools info 85 31
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: 7 Best Brokerage Accounts for 2025, Best Paper Trading Platforms for 2025

Featured Offers


5/5 Stars

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Beginners and education

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info Yes Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info Yes No
Education (Bonds) info Yes No
Paper Trading info Yes No
Videos info Yes No
Webinars info Yes Yes
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025

Stock trading apps

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info Yes No
Stock Alerts info Yes No
Charting - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 97 0
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025

Fees

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Options (Per Contract) info $0.65 $0.50 info
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $5.00
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $60.00

Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025

Day Trading

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Streaming Time & Sales info Yes No
Streaming TV info Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Stocks info Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info Yes No
Short Locator info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms for 2025

Market Research

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Screener - Stocks info Yes No
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs info Yes No
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Research - Bonds info Yes No
Screener - Bonds info Yes No
Research 5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars

Banking

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 Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
tastytrade logotastytrade
Checking Accounts info No No
Savings Accounts info No No
Debit Cards info No No
Credit Cards info No No
Mortgage Loans info No No
CDs info Yes No

Dive deeper: Best Bank Accounts for Trading Stocks for 2025

Winner

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.

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers or tastytrade?

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

Does Interactive Brokers or tastytrade offer IRAs?

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

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Compare

0 of 5
Overall Rating Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Overall 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars
Customer Service 4/5 Stars 4.0/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease Of Use 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
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 info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) info $0.01 N/A
Mutual Fund Trade Fee info $14.95 info N/A info
Options (Per Contract) info $0.65 $0.50 info
Futures (Per Contract) info $0.85 $1.25
Broker Assisted Trade Fee info Varies $0
Margin Rates Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Margin Rate Under $25,000 info 7.33% info 11%
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 info 7.33% info 10.5%
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 info 7.33% info 10%
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 info 7.33% info 9.5%
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 info 7.33% info 9%
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 info 7.33% info 8.5%
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 info 7.33% info 8%
Account Fees Interactive Brokers tastytrade
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $60.00
Account Transfer Out (Partial) info $0.00 $75.00
Account Transfer Out (Full) info $0.00 $75.00
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Investment Options Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Stock Trading info Yes Yes
Margin Trading info Yes Yes
Fractional Shares info Yes Yes info
OTC Stocks info Yes No
Options Trading info Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs info 6 4
Futures Trading info Yes Yes
Forex Trading info Yes No
Crypto Trading info Yes info Yes
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 4 info 4
Mutual Funds (No Load) info 10988 0
Mutual Funds (Total) info 11456 0
Bonds (US Treasury) info Yes No info
Bonds (Corporate) info Yes No
Bonds (Municipal) info Yes No
Traditional IRAs info Yes Yes
Roth IRAs info Yes Yes
Advisor Services info No No
International Countries (Stocks) info 34 0
Order Types Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Order Type - Market info Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit info Yes Yes
Order Type - After Hours info Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop info Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop info Yes No
Order Type - OCO info Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO info Yes Yes
Order Type - Broker Assisted info Yes Yes
Beginners Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info Yes Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info Yes No
Education (Bonds) info Yes No
Education (Retirement) info Yes No
Retirement Calculator info Yes No
Investor Dictionary info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Videos info Yes No
Webinars info Yes Yes
Webinars (Archived) info Yes Yes
Progress Tracking info Yes Yes
Interactive Learning - Quizzes info Yes No
Stock Trading Apps Interactive Brokers tastytrade
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info Yes No
Trading - Stocks info Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Trading - Simple Options info Yes Yes
Trading - Complex Options info Yes Yes
Order Ticket RT Quotes info Yes Yes
Order Ticket SRT Quotes info Yes Yes
Stock App Features Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Market Movers (Top Gainers) info Yes Yes
Stream Live TV info Yes No
Videos on Demand info Yes No
Stock Alerts info Yes No
Option Chains Viewable info Yes Yes
Watch List (Real-time) info Yes Yes
Watch List (Streaming) info Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Create & Manage info Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Column Customization info Yes Yes
Stock App Charting Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Charting - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally info Yes Yes
Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 97 0
Charting - Study Customizations info Yes No
Charting - Stock Comparisons info No No
Trading Platforms Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Active Trading Platform info Trader Workstation (TWS) tastytrade
Desktop Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac) info Yes Yes
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Trade Journal info Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 659 33
Stock Chart Features Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart info Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 155 308
Charting - Drawing Tools info 85 31
Charting - Notes info Yes Yes
Charting - Index Overlays info Yes Yes
Charting - Historical Trades info Yes Yes
Charting - Corporate Events info Yes Yes
Charting - Custom Date Range info Yes No
Charting - Custom Time Bars info Yes No
Charting - Automated Analysis info Yes No
Charting - Save Profiles info Yes Yes
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis info Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations info 6 7
Charting - Custom Studies info No Yes
Day Trading Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Streaming Time & Sales info Yes No
Streaming TV info Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Stocks info Yes No
Ladder Trading info Yes Yes
Trade Hotkeys info Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info Yes No
Short Locator info Yes Yes
Order Liquidity Rebates info Yes No
Research Overview Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB info Yes No
Research - Bonds info Yes No
Screener - Stocks info Yes No
Screener - ETFs info Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Bonds info Yes No
Misc - Portfolio Allocation info Yes Yes
Stock Research Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Stock Research - PDF Reports info 15 info 0
Stock Research - Earnings info Yes No
Stock Research - Insiders info Yes No
Stock Research - Social info Yes No
Stock Research - News info Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG info Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings info Yes No
ETF Research Interactive Brokers tastytrade
ETFs - Strategy Overview info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Net Assets info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings info Yes No
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings info Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure info Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis info Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings info Yes No
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap info Yes No
ETFs - PDF Reports info Yes No
Mutual Fund Research Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Performance Chart info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Prospectus info Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap info Yes No
Options Trading Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Option Chains - Basic View info Yes Yes
Option Chains - Strategy View info Yes Yes
Option Chains - Streaming info Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns info 40 20
Option Chains - Greeks info 5 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis info Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts info Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis info Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis Adv info Yes Yes
Option Positions - Greeks info Yes Yes
Option Positions - Greeks Streaming info Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis info Yes Yes
Option Positions - Rolling info Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping info Yes Yes
Banking Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Bank (Member FDIC) info No No
Checking Accounts info No No
Savings Accounts info No No
Credit Cards info No No
Debit Cards info No No
Mortgage Loans info No No
Customer Service Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Phone Support (Prospect Customers) info Yes Yes
Phone Support (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
Email Support info Yes Yes
Live Chat (Prospect Customers) info No Yes
Live Chat (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
24/7 Support info No No
Overall Interactive Brokers tastytrade
Overall 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease Of Use 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Interactive Brokers Review tastytrade Review
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