In TWS for the Lite folks there is no level 1 or level 2 data, you have to pay for that (as of now, thinking that might change). You do get the real time quotes though.
I'm forced into using PRO because I have an entity account. Most of my trading is done MOC which I'm paying a per share commission. I can trade MOC anywhere now for free. Just moved a large chunk money to Fidelity. Likely move out all of it in early 2020.
I looked into it, they really don't want to release it to their retail traders. I don't recall the details, but there was a lot of hoops to jump through. Better off buying 3rd party data from IQ Feed or some other source.
IB Pro supports institutional accounts, better margin rates, better order execution, API and advanced order types. Until IB Lite is on par with IB Pro, I'll continue to pay commissions. Which one is best is really going to depend on the type of trading you do.
IQFeed is very reliable. If I was starting over I'd look more into Polygon.io. I wouldn't bother too much with free data sources.
Does anyone with a Lite account know if the API built into TWS works? I trade mostly through Multicharts via API/gateway (which, as I understand, isn't supported). But if the TWS api link works, it'd save me a good chunk on commissions.