Interactive Brokers Commission fixed vs Tiered API Fees

Hi,

Is it true to say when trading US equities, on tiered conmission structure you are not charged the 0.0075 per share API fee (if your trades are executed through the API) but you are charged the sliding scale comm rates plus all other attributable fees.

When trading Us Equities but have selected to trade under the fixed commission structure, you are charged 0.0075 API fee per share plus a flat 0.005 per share, and that is all.

Can you pls correct me where I have it wrong pls

 

Maybe these are the words you're missing....

• Please note that directed API orders cannot use the Tiered fee structure. Smart-routed API orders can use either the Tiered or Fixed structure.

(From the small print on http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=commission&p=stocks2)

 

Hi Tim, thanks for the reply. Appreciated.

I will chose fixed commission. What I want to know is if I buy say 1000 AAPL through the API under the fixed commission structure will my total net trading costs be ( 1000 x 0.005 ) + (1000 x 0.0075) = $12.50. Are there any additional fees?

 

For fixed structure API orders, you also don't get the rebates?

 

It depends on routing, you might be charged the ECN fee (have no idea if IB includes this fee to their commissions). However $12.50 seems to be a lot, because I know at least 1 brokerage company (Just2Trade) that won't charge you for using API and their fixed fee is twice lower. So for that transaction you'd pay 1000*0.0025 = $2.5 which is 5 times less than IB.

 

Under the fixed commission structure:

If your API order is SMART routed, it will be:​

1000 x 0.005 = $5.00​

If your API is routed directly to an ECN, it will be:

1000 x 0.0075 = $7.50​

Under the tiered commission structure (assuming you have traded less than 300,000 shares this month and you remove liquidity from ARCA ECN):

If your API order is SMART routed, it will be:

(1000 x (0.0035 + 0.003 + 0.0002)) * (1 + 0.000175 + 0.00056) = ~$6.70
​

If your API order is routed directly to ARCA, it will be:

1000 x 0.0075 = $7.50
​

Note that if you are selling shares, there are additional SEC and FINRA fees.

I think you were incorrectly adding 0.0075 to your commission for directed API orders when in fact it replaces the 0.005 SMART commission.

 

You do not get any rebates with the fixed commission structure.

 

If you are using the fixed commission structure, the ECN fee is built into the per share fee so there is no extra ECN fee. You do pay ECN fees (or get rebates) using the tiered commission structure.

 

Thank you all for your help and input.

 

I just created a ticket regarding this with IB and a rep told me the contrary. Of course I am pretty sure you are right and he is wrong...