Interactive Brokers vs Merrill Edge
Interactive Brokers is a good discount broker for experienced, high volume traders. . How does it compare to Merrill Edge? Read our comparison chart below.
Interactive Brokers offers trades starting at just 0.5 cents per share. It also offers a tiered pricing plan that awards high volume traders with even lower rates. There is a $10,000 opening account minimum ($3,000 for clients 25 and younger). There is a monthly activity fee unless required commission minimums are met.
While Merrill Edge (a subsidiary of Bank of America) offers stock trades at $0 commission and options trading at $0 + $0.65 per contract. There is no account minimum, no maintenance fee, and no inactivity fee.
Compare Interactive Brokers with Merrill Edge, side-by-side.
Interactive Brokers | Merrill Edge | |
---|---|---|
Referral Program - $200 Bonus - | $100 Bonus Offer - | |
Benefits and Features | ||
Stock Trading | IBKR Lite: $0 per share (min $0 per order) IBKR Pro - Fixed: $0.0005 per share (min $1.00 per order, max 1.0% of trade value). IBKR Pro - Tiered: Starts at $0.0035 per share for less than 300,000 shares (min $0.35 per order, max 1% of trade value) | |
Options Trading | $0.15-$0.65 per contract ($1 minimum per order) | |
Minimum Deposit | ||
Mutual Fund Trading | $0 for no-transaction-fee funds. For transaction-fee funds, 3% trade value OR $14.95, per transaction, whichever is less, for transaction-fee funds | $0 for no load, no-transaction-fee funds ($39.95 short-term redemption fee if the fund is held less than 90 days) $19.95 for no load, transaction-fee funds |
Commission Free ETFs | ||
Broker Assisted Trades | ||
Inactivity Fee | ||
Maintenance Fee | ||
Banking | ||
Mobile App | ||
Desktop App | ||
Forex Trading | Available for qualified customers | |
Futures Trading | ||
Customer Service | United States: Monday-Friday 8am - 10pm ET; Sunday 1pm - 7pm ET (24/7 Weekday service available in other countries) | |
Locations | More than 2,100 Bank of America locations | |
Online Community | ||
Seminars | ||
Virtual Trading | ||
CreditDonkey® Reviews | ||
Stock Trading | ||
Options Trading | ||
Mutual Fund Trading | ||
Online Platform | ||
Banking | ||
Mobile App | ||
Commissions and Fees | ||
Ease of Use | ||
Research | ||
Pros & Cons | Pros:
| |
Bottom Line | Good discount broker for experienced, high volume traders... | |
Interactive Brokers: Pricing information from published websites as of 10/17/2023. Merrill Edge: Pricing information from published websites as of 10/17/2023. |
Still need help deciding which investing is better? Read the in-depth reviews below. You may also be interested in comparing Interactive Brokers or Robinhood.