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
	SPECIAL OFFER Referral Program - $200 Bonus - Learn More Read Interactive Brokers Review	SPECIAL OFFER $100 Bonus Offer - Learn More
	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)	$0 per trade
Options Trading	$0.15-$0.65 per contract ($1 minimum per order)	$0 + $0.65 per contract
Annual Fee	None
Cryptocurrency Trading	0.12% to 0.18% of trade value ($1.75 minimum per order)
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0
Mutual Fund Trading	$0 for no-transaction-fee funds. For transaction-fee funds, 3% trade value OR $14.95, per transaction, whichever is less	$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	150+
Broker Assisted Trades	$30	$29.95
Inactivity Fee	$0	None
Maintenance Fee	$0	$0
Banking	No	Through Bank of America
Mobile App	Yes	Yes
Desktop App	Yes	Yes
Forex Trading	Available for qualified customers	No
Futures Trading	Yes	No
Customer Service	United States: Monday-Friday 8am - 10pm ET; Sunday 1pm - 7pm ET (24/7 Weekday service available in other countries)	24/7
Locations	No	More than 2,100 Bank of America locations
Online Community	Yes	No
Seminars	Yes	Yes
Trading Platform	Desktop, Web Trading, Mobile Apps
Virtual Trading	Yes	No
	CreditDonkey® Reviews
Stock Trading
Options Trading
Mutual Fund Trading
Online Platform
Banking
Mobile App
Commissions and Fees
Ease of Use
Research
Pros & Cons	Pros: Large number of investments, including options, futures, and forex Customize trading platform Tools and opportunities for research Cons: Platform can be too much for a beginner to understand Complicated pricing structure
Bottom Line	Good discount broker for experienced, high volume traders... Read full review
	Referral Program - $200 Bonus	$100 Bonus Offer $150 Bonus Offer $250 Bonus Offer
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Interactive Brokers: Pricing information from published websites as of 10/17/2023. Merrill Edge: Pricing information from published websites as of 08/01/2024.

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.

Articles on Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers offers a robust trading platform that experienced traders favor due to its competitive fee structure and extensive range of trading options.