Charles Schwab vs Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers comes out ahead of Charles Schwab on 2 of the 6 things that decide this, going by what each company publishes and what independent review sites report. The one that matters for you may be one the leader loses.
The verdict
Interactive Brokers takes it, 2–0 on rounds.
On the published figures and the independent review sites, Interactive Brokers takes 2 of 6 rounds. Treat that as a starting point and check the current figures on both pages, because prices and plans move.
Choose Charles Schwab if…
- • You have a reason to pick Charles Schwab that is not on this list
Choose Interactive Brokers if…
- • You want Interactive Brokers's edge on what borrowing on margin costs and what customers say on trustpilot
Round by round
- Round 1What borrowing on margin costsInteractive Brokers winsCharles Schwab5/10
10.625%
margin rate on a $50,000 balance
- 11.825%, against 5.12%
Source: investingintheweb.com ↗
Interactive Brokers8/105.380%
IBKR Pro USD margin; the same rate applies at $50,000 and $100,000 since both fall in the 0–100,000 tier
- IBKR Pro margin rate; tiered, so the same rate applies at 50,000 and 100,000 dollars
Source: interactivebrokers.com ↗
Interactive Brokers wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 2What customers say on TrustpilotInteractive Brokers winsCharles Schwab5/10
1.5 out of 5
TrustScore from 782 reviews on Trustpilot
- 1.5 out of 5, against 3.1 out of 5
Source: trustpilot.com ↗
Interactive Brokers8/103.1 out of 5
TrustScore from 5,511 reviews on Trustpilot
Source: trustpilot.com ↗
Interactive Brokers wins this round on independent review-site data, not on its own claims.
- Round 3What an options contract costsTie
Nothing to separate them here.
- Round 4What StockBrokers.com scored itTieCharles Schwab7/10
Not stated
schwab.com does not state a StockBrokers.com '5 out of 5 stars' rating. Checked homepage, awards page, compare-us, trading, thinkorswim, and why-schwab pages — all cite StockBrokers.com 2026 Annual Aw
- StockBrokers.com rating
Source: stockbrokers.com ↗
Nothing to separate them here.
- Round 5What a stock trade costsTie
Nothing to separate them here.
- Round 6What it takes to open an accountTie
Nothing to separate them here.
Side by side
- margin rate on a 50,000 dollar balance
- StockBrokers.com rating
- IBKR Pro margin rate; tiered, so the same rate applies at 50,000 and 100,000 dollars
- per options contract
- 65 cents, against 0 cents
- 1.5 out of 5, against 3.9 out of 5
- 782 reviews, against 14,081 reviews
- 11.825%, against 5.20%
- 65 cents, against 0 cents
- 3.1 out of 5, against 3.9 out of 5
- 5,511 reviews, against 14,081 reviews