Interactive Brokers Fee Calculator (US Stocks)
Use this calculator to estimate commission, exchange/clearing pass-through, and common regulatory charges for a single stock order.
Estimates only. Actual IBKR fees vary by venue, product, country, routing, rebates, and rule updates.
How this IBKR fee calculator works
Interactive Brokers has one of the most competitive fee schedules in the industry, but the final cost of a trade can still be confusing. Your total cost usually includes a broker commission plus exchange, clearing, and regulatory charges. This tool gives you a practical estimate so you can quickly answer one question: “How much does this trade really cost me?”
For active traders, this matters a lot. A strategy that looks profitable before fees can become mediocre after costs. Even long-term investors can benefit from knowing the all-in cost, especially when scaling in with frequent smaller orders.
Fixed vs Tiered pricing at IBKR
Fixed pricing
Under fixed pricing, commission is simple: a single per-share amount with a minimum and a maximum cap tied to order value. In many situations, exchange and clearing charges are bundled into the fixed commission. This is easier to model, but not always the cheapest route.
- Typical stock commission estimate used here: $0.005/share
- Minimum commission estimate: $1.00/order
- Maximum commission cap estimate: 1% of trade value
Tiered pricing
Tiered pricing is usually preferred by higher-volume traders. The broker commission can be lower, but exchange/clearing fees are passed through, and your final total depends on route and market center economics. This calculator uses a volume-sensitive commission estimate and lets you customize per-share pass-through.
- Estimated base tier: $0.0035/share (lower at higher monthly volume)
- Minimum commission estimate: $0.35/order
- Maximum commission cap estimate: 1% of trade value
- Customizable exchange/clearing estimate for better realism
Inputs explained
Trade size and notional
Shares × price gives your trade value (notional). Fees are then measured in dollars and in basis points (bps). Basis points are useful because they let you compare costs across different trade sizes.
Order side (buy vs sell)
In US equities, certain regulatory fees generally apply on sells, not buys. The calculator adds SEC and FINRA TAF estimates on sell orders.
Monthly volume
With tiered pricing, per-share commission can drop as your monthly volume increases. This calculator applies a simple stepped model:
- Up to 300,000 shares/month: 0.0035/share
- 300,001 to 3,000,000 shares/month: 0.0020/share
- 3,000,001 to 20,000,000 shares/month: 0.0015/share
- Above 20,000,000 shares/month: 0.0010/share
Why basis points matter
A $2.50 fee may feel small, but on a $500 trade it is 50 bps (0.50%), which is huge. On a $50,000 trade it is only 0.5 bps. The same dollar fee can have a completely different performance impact depending on order size. This is why professional traders track fee drag in bps rather than only dollars.
Ways to reduce your IBKR trading costs
- Batch small orders when possible to avoid repeatedly hitting minimum commissions.
- Compare fixed and tiered for your real order size and monthly volume profile.
- Limit overtrading in low-edge setups; unnecessary turnover can erase alpha.
- Track all-in execution cost, not just headline commission.
- Revisit assumptions quarterly as fee schedules and regulatory rates can change.
Limitations of this calculator
This page is intentionally practical, not exhaustive. Actual IBKR costs can vary by exchange, destination, rebate eligibility, product type, account location, and current fee schedules. Options, futures, bonds, and international stocks follow different structures. Use this as a planning tool and verify against official broker disclosures for final decisions.
Quick FAQ
Is this an official Interactive Brokers calculator?
No. It is an independent educational estimator designed for quick planning.
Can I use this for non-US stocks?
You can adapt it, but defaults are tuned for US-stock style fee logic. Update the assumptions before relying on results.
Does this include spread and slippage?
No. Spread and slippage are execution costs and can be larger than explicit fees. Model them separately for realistic backtests.
What’s the most important output?
The “total cost in bps” is usually the best single metric for comparing strategy efficiency across position sizes.