Interactive Brokers: The Best Paper Trading Platform for 2020

Interactive Brokers: The Best Paper Trading Platform for 2020

The best way to learn how to trade stocks and options is through practice—with paper trading, that is. However, getting started with Interactive Brokers’ paper trading platform can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never traded before or if you’ve been trading for years and are used to another broker. This guide will walk you through the first steps of setting up an account and opening an account, as well as walking you through what each page of the IB website does and why it’s important.

What Is Interactive Brokers?

In this post, I will be explaining what Interactive Brokers is and how it can help you make money trading stocks without any risk. Interactive brokers is a paper trading platform that allows you to trade stocks in a simulated environment. It was founded back in 1978 and has been growing exponentially ever since. They offer an impressive selection of over 3,000 stocks and ETFs that you can trade as if they were real. Plus, there are no commissions or hidden fees whatsoever! For example, if you buy $1,000 worth of shares in a company and then sell them five days later for $1,500. If this had happened on the actual stock market, you would have made $500 dollars. However with Interactive Brokers your profit would be $0 because there are no commission fees involved with the trades.

How Does IB Differ From Other Online Stock Exchanges?

Online stock exchanges are a dime a dozen, but not all of them offer the same benefits. While some platforms allow you to trade with other investors, others offer paper trading. Interactive Brokers is one of the few that offers both options, which means you can put your skills to the test before risking any real money. Plus, IB’s paper trading platform is free and available for desktop, tablet and mobile devices. Learn more about the benefits of Interactive Brokers and how it compares to other online stock exchanges by reading this blog post! 

Interactive Brokers is an online brokerage company that lets you buy and sell financial instruments without paying commission fees. It’s designed for advanced investors who have experience investing in stocks, ETFs, Forex, commodities and futures contracts. Users can use its innovative Paper Trader feature as part of its practice mode to simulate trading using virtual money. This feature gives would-be investors a chance to develop their own strategies before making actual trades on their own accounts. They also get instant access to charts and live quotes at no cost so they can build their knowledge base from home or on-the-go with ease – which is especially helpful if they don’t have ready access to educational materials in person!

What Are the Advantages of Paper Trading with IB?

When it comes to paper trading, Interactive Brokers is the best platform you can use. It offers a number of great features that make paper trading easier than ever before. IB’s paper trading options are comprehensive and they provide an excellent environment for beginners to learn the ropes in a risk-free manner. Plus, IB has some of the lowest fees in the industry which means more money in your pocket. They offer highly competitive rates on stocks and ETFs. Another advantage of using this brokerage firm is their execution speed – IB provides some of the fastest executions in the business. You’ll get your trades done quickly without paying a fortune or waiting hours for them to go through as with other platforms. They also have robust customer service if you need help with any aspect of your account or securities trade execution.

Advanced Order Types Explained

Advanced order types allow you to have more control over your trades. These may include limit orders, stop orders, and time-based orders. A limit order is an order to buy or sell a stock at a specified price (or better). A stop order is an order to buy or sell a stock when the security trades at or above (for a buy) or below (for a sell) the specified price. A time-based order is an order to trade securities on a specific date, regardless of how that date changes. For example, if you want to execute a short sale on April 5th, but are unsure whether or not the company will be public by then, you can set up a time-based order with Interactive Brokers and tell them which security you want to short before the 5th of April. For all these types of orders, Interactive Brokers offers something called conditional trading where it will let you cancel any open orders before they expire if certain conditions are met. It also provides Level II quotes which gives traders information about market makers who are willing to make markets in stocks without having direct access.

Complete List of Interactive Broker Fees

There are fees associated with using Interactive Brokers, but they’re very competitive. Here’s a breakdown of their fees: 

-A Flat Fee of $0.00 per contract when opening an account and buying shares in stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. -A $0.10 per share transaction fee when selling shares in stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. 

-A $1 per contract fee when trading stocks and ETFs through the paper trading service. -Monthly fees which range from $30 to $225 depending on your level of activity at the time you sign up or upgrade your account.

My Final Thoughts on IB as a Trader and Investor

I’ve been trading stocks with Interactive Brokers since the beginning of this year. I don’t trade a lot and my account size is small, but I can see myself growing into the platform as my knowledge and understanding of the stock market grows. IB has a paper trading platform that lets you practice your execution without risking any money which is really helpful if you’re new to the stock market. Some things that are awesome about IB is their customer service (I’ve had great experiences so far), their commission rates, and access to international markets. One thing that could be improved about IB is their app – it isn’t as well-designed or intuitive as some other brokers’ apps are, but it’s not terrible either.