From my past experience, my favorite broker is Thinkorswim on TD Ameritrade. The platform comes with useful trading tools, the site is user-friendly, they offer 24/7 customer service, and there’s no minimum deposit to open your account. The second one is Interactive Broker, IB. For more information, you can find them by Google. I don’t receive any compensation from those Brokers – I just like them.
TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers Trading Terms Comparison Chart
TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers Trading Terms Comparison Chart
| What does the broker offer for his clients? | TD Ameritrade | Interactive Brokers |
| Short sales | + | + |
| OTCBB and penny stock, fractional shares | + | + |
| Forex | + |
|
| Commodity futures | + | + |
| Bonds | + | + |
| Cryptocurrency |
|
|
| ETF without commission |
| 96 |
| No fee for inaction, for closing an account | + | + |
| Virtual trading | + TOS account with Thinkorswim paper money delay (strategy testing, pattern testing, etc.) | + |
| Mobile trading | TD Ameritrade customers and TOS account owners have access to 3 applications in which: – live broadcasts of financial news and Forex trading, – Level II quotes, – direct access routing, – data on prices for 20 years; – A huge amount of technical research | IB clients with an IBKR Lite account can use the broker’s mobile application with charting tools. Package Includes: – several technical indicators, – schedules; -high-level functions: closing orders, price management algorithm; 5 year pricing data |
| Trading Platform | Thinkorswim (TOS) | Trader Workstation (TWS) |
Interactive Brokers vs. TD Ameritrade Range of Offerings
| Asset | Interactive Brokers | TD Ameritrade |
|---|---|---|
| Short Sales | Yes | Yes |
| No-Load, No-Fee Mutual Funds | 4,445 | 1,955 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | 96 | All |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Futures/Commodities | Yes | Yes |
| Future Options | Yes | Yes |
| Complex Options | Yes | Yes |
| Robo Advisory | Yes | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency | Yes (Bitcoin futures) | Yes (Bitcoin futures) |
| International Exchanges | Yes | Yes |
| Forex | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes | Yes |
| OTCBB and Penny Stocks | Yes | Yes |