I'm demoing IB. Is there anyone out there who went from the demo version to the real version that can give me some information? Is the demo version much slower than the real version? I notice the quotes seem to change rather slowly if at all. I'm assuming that the real time version reflects the quotes I see in my other accounts but I'm not sure. At times I see the quotes way different than on Quote.com and Scottrade. Thanks
Don't go by the demo version for much other than to get an idea of how the software is laid out and how to execute trades, etc. There is a great discrepancy between the demo and live account in not only what kind of quotes you can get, but the speed as well. I started with IB for just my options and long term trades, but now do all my trading with them and have relatively few complaints.
Note also that the demo doesn't offer all the available routes for ECN's that available. It limits the number of items per page, the price feed is delayed by at least 15 minutes. What I'd suggest would be to go through the manual and the demo at the same time. In particular, play around with the different methods of order entry (hot keys, mouse, etc). While anyone who is somewhat computer literate can figure out how to place an order on their own, I'd strongly advise spending some time with the manual and the demo to "master" the system. After all, you'll be playing with real money at some time.