We all know how great IB's execution and fee structure are, but how are their data (nasdaq level II) speed and reliability? BOLT
The mechanism to bring the data to the screens has been upgraded a few months back and feedback (on this site and from clients) has been excellent. I can't speak for level II as I don't use it or believe it is worth much and others will have to comment on that.
I don't recommended their L2 data, because too expensive and not very usefull in their environnement of TWS. The data of L1 are quickly delivered at the TWS, sometimes faster than the most data providers.
The Level I is SOMETIMES faster than RealTick, but not usually. My biggest complaint is that IB level 1 is not accurate. I see it off by several cents every day. Sometimes 2,3 or 4 updates that I see on RealTick are simply skipped on IB, and then they both update on the 5th one, for example. Wouldnt rely on it. They also have limits on how many data feeds you can have. 40 last time I checked, could be different now. peace axeman
Nasdaq Level II is $40 at myTrack (or included in the $95 platinum plan), plus the $10 exchange fee. It is $79 at IB, including the $10 exchange fee. It is included in the $99, $189, or $395 packages at eSignal, plus the $10 exchange fee.
I'm not sure what you mean. You can use any quote provider you like while still using TWS (or anyone else) to execute your orders. ESignal and others also provide the ability to use their user interface to generate orders and direct them to TWS.