VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

View Interactive Brokers View OpenBB Back to Home

Head-to-head

Interactive Brokers vs OpenBB comparison

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

Quick takeaways

Interactive Brokers adds Brokerage, Paper Trading, Advanced Order Types, Smart/Direct Routing, Order Book / Level II, Portfolio, Watchlist, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Scenario & Stress Tests, and Performance Attribution coverage that OpenBB skips.

OpenBB includes Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Custom Dashboards, News, IPO, Dividends, Splits, Interest Rates, GDP, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, Commitment of Traders (COT), Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Data Visualizations, Quant, Financials, Transcripts, ETF Overview, ETF Performance, ETF Holdings, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Regulatory Filings Monitoring, AI, and AI Chat categories that Interactive Brokers omits.

Interactive Brokers 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., and Market depth (Level II) and full order book views via Trader Workstation (TWS)..

OpenBB is known for: REST API and Python client with JSON-serializable endpoints; local API deployment supported., Wide coverage across equities, ETFs, options, fixed income, macroeconomics, news, transcripts, and regulatory filings., and Command-line interface (successor to the legacy OpenBB Terminal) plus Python workflows..

OpenBB keeps a free entry point that Interactive Brokers lacks.

Interactive Brokers ships a mobile app. OpenBB is web/desktop only.

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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OpenBB

openbb.co

Open-source data and analytics platform with a REST API, Python SDK, and an enterprise workspace for custom dashboards and apps. The free Community plan includes unlimited dashboards and 20 AI Copilot queries per day. Pro adds collaboration features, Excel integration, secure deployment (VPC/on-prem), and export options. Infrastructure is SOC 2 Type II certified, with SSO support and a public status page.

Platforms

Web

API

Pricing

Free

Subscription

Quick highlights

REST API and Python client with JSON-serializable endpoints; local API deployment supported.
Wide coverage across equities, ETFs, options, fixed income, macroeconomics, news, transcripts, and regulatory filings.
Command-line interface (successor to the legacy OpenBB Terminal) plus Python workflows.
Workspace dashboards and apps with customizable widgets; unlimited dashboards on the Community tier.
OpenBB Copilot AI chat that integrates dashboard widgets as context and supports attachments (PDF, CSV, XLSX).

Community votes (overall)

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

3 overlaps

Mutual strengths include APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, and Options & Derivatives.

Where they differ

Interactive Brokers

Distinct strengths include:

Order Book / Level II

Portfolio

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.

OpenBB

Distinct strengths include:

Sheets / Excel Add-ins

REST API and Python client with JSON-serializable endpoints; local API deployment supported.
Wide coverage across equities, ETFs, options, fixed income, macroeconomics, news, transcripts, and regulatory filings.
Command-line interface (successor to the legacy OpenBB Terminal) plus Python workflows.
Workspace dashboards and apps with customizable widgets; unlimited dashboards on the Community tier.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Attribute	Interactive Brokers	OpenBB
Categories Which research workflows each platform targets	Shared: APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, Options & Derivatives Unique: Brokerage, Paper Trading, Advanced Order Types, Smart/Direct Routing, Order Book / Level II, Portfolio, Watchlist, Risk Metrics (VaR/ES/Drawdown), Scenario & Stress Tests, Performance Attribution	Shared: APIs & SDKs, Data APIs, Options & Derivatives Unique: Sheets / Excel Add-ins, Custom Dashboards, News, IPO, Dividends, Splits, Interest Rates, GDP, Inflation Rates, Unemployment Rates, Commitment of Traders (COT), Dark Pool & Off-Exchange, Data Visualizations, Quant, Financials, Transcripts, ETF Overview, ETF Performance, ETF Holdings, Analyst Forecasts, Analyst Price Targets, Regulatory Filings Monitoring, AI, AI Chat
Asset types Supported asset classes and universes	Stocks, ETFs, Options, Futures, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Currencies, Commodities, Cryptos	Stocks, ETFs, Options, Futures, Bonds, Commodities, Currencies, Cryptos
Experience levels Who each product is built for	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced	Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Platforms Where you can access the product	Web, Mobile, Desktop, API	Web, API
Pricing High-level pricing models	Other	Free, Subscription
Key features Core capabilities called out by each vendor	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.	Unique REST API and Python client with JSON-serializable endpoints; local API deployment supported. Wide coverage across equities, ETFs, options, fixed income, macroeconomics, news, transcripts, and regulatory filings. Command-line interface (successor to the legacy OpenBB Terminal) plus Python workflows. Workspace dashboards and apps with customizable widgets; unlimited dashboards on the Community tier. OpenBB Copilot AI chat that integrates dashboard widgets as context and supports attachments (PDF, CSV, XLSX). Community plan includes 20 Copilot queries/day; Pro adds Excel Add-in, data export, team roles and sharing, and SSO (Azure/Google).
Tested Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat	Yes	Not yet
Editor pick Featured inside curated shortlists	Highlighted	Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Interactive Brokers and OpenBB both support?

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

Which tool offers a free plan?

OpenBB 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 OpenBB focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Interactive Brokers differentiates itself with 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)., whereas OpenBB stands out for REST API and Python client with JSON-serializable endpoints; local API deployment supported., Wide coverage across equities, ETFs, options, fixed income, macroeconomics, news, transcripts, and regulatory filings., and Command-line interface (successor to the legacy OpenBB Terminal) plus Python workflows..

Keep exploring

Stay on top of related tools

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