VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View Firefly III View Interactive Brokers Back to Home

Head-to-head

Firefly III vs Interactive Brokers comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Firefly III adds Webhooks, and Other coverage that Interactive Brokers skips.

Interactive Brokers includes Brokerage, Paper Trading, Advanced Order Types, Smart/Direct Routing, Order Book / Level II, Data APIs, Watchlist, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Scenario & Stress Tests, Performance Attribution, and Options & Derivatives categories that Firefly III omits.

Firefly III highlights: Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license)., Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting., and Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification..

Interactive Brokers is known for: Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies., More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing., and Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS)..

Firefly III has a free tier, while Interactive Brokers requires a paid plan.

Interactive Brokers offers mobile access, which Firefly III skips.

Firefly III

firefly-iii.org

An open-source, self-hosted personal finance manager licensed under AGPLv3. Offers full double-entry bookkeeping, REST APIs, and optional event webhooks. Exchange-rate conversion is available from v6.2 onward as an opt-in feature. Bank connections are handled separately through the Firefly Data Importer app.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license).
Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting.
Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification.
Event webhooks for transaction create/update/delete, enabled through environment configuration.
Separate Data Importer tool supports CSV and CAMT.053, with optional bank integrations via Salt Edge, GoCardless, and SimpleFIN.

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Interactive Brokers

interactivebrokers.co.uk

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

A global, multi-asset direct-access broker with coverage across 160 markets in 36 countries and 28 currencies. Crypto trading and some services vary by region (IBKR Crypto is powered by Paxos or Zero Hash where supported). Client APIs include the Client Portal Web API and TWS API; retail users authenticate via the local Client Portal Gateway, while OAuth2 applies to approved web integrations.

Platforms

Web

Mobile

Desktop

API

Pricing

Other

Quick highlights

Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies.
More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing.
Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS).
Advanced options analytics with Greeks, implied volatility curves, and a 3D volatility surface viewer.
Risk Navigator for real-time portfolio risk, Value-at-Risk, and what-if scenario analysis.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

2 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Portfolio, and APIs & SDKs.

Where they differ

Firefly III

Distinct strengths include:

Webhooks

Other

Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license).
Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting.
Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification.
Event webhooks for transaction create/update/delete, enabled through environment configuration.

Interactive Brokers

Distinct strengths include:

Order Book / Level II

Data APIs

Watchlist

Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown)

Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies.
More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing.
Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS).
Advanced options analytics with Greeks, implied volatility curves, and a 3D volatility surface viewer.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Firefly III	Interactive Brokers
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: Portfolio, APIs & SDKs Unique: Webhooks, Other	Shared: Portfolio, APIs & SDKs Unique: Brokerage, Paper Trading, Advanced Order Types, Smart/Direct Routing, Order Book / Level II, Data APIs, Watchlist, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Scenario & Stress Tests, Performance Attribution, Options & Derivatives
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Other	Stocks, ETFs, Options, Futures, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Currencies, Commodities, Cryptos
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, API	Web, Mobile, Desktop, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Free	Other
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	Unique Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license). Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting. Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification. Event webhooks for transaction create/update/delete, enabled through environment configuration. Separate Data Importer tool supports CSV and CAMT.053, with optional bank integrations via Salt Edge, GoCardless, and SimpleFIN. CSV export available for accounts, budgets, categories, tags, recurring transactions, subscriptions, piggy banks, rules, and more.	Unique Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies. More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing. Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS). Advanced options analytics with Greeks, implied volatility curves, and a 3D volatility surface viewer. Risk Navigator for real-time portfolio risk, Value-at-Risk, and what-if scenario analysis. Portfolio Rebalancer tool to realign or target allocation weights across accounts.
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Not yet	Yes
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Standard listing	Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Firefly III and Interactive Brokers both support?

Both platforms cover Portfolio, and APIs & SDKs workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Which tool offers a free plan?

Firefly III offers a free entry point, while Interactive Brokers requires a paid subscription. Review the pricing table to see how the paid tiers compare.

Which tool has mobile access?

Interactive Brokers ships a dedicated mobile experience, while Firefly III focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Firefly III differentiates itself with Self-hosted open-source personal finance manager (AGPLv3 license)., Supports double-entry bookkeeping with budgets, categories, tags, and detailed reporting., and Comprehensive REST API (JSON) with OAuth2 and Personal Access Tokens, plus a full OpenAPI specification., whereas Interactive Brokers stands out for Single universal account providing access to around 160 markets across 36 countries and 28 currencies., More than 100 order types and algos, including Bracket, OCO, and OCA, with either SMART routing or direct exchange routing., and Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS)..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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