Interactive Brokers Inactivity Fee: Removed in 2021
Interactive Brokers charges no inactivity fee on the standard account. The charge was removed in 2021, so a dormant IBKR account is not billed a monthly minimum for failing to trade (as of August 2026). Older guides quoting a $10 or $20 monthly activity minimum describe a structure that no longer applies.
Reviewed by Yaniv Barshaf, CPA · Fees verified August 2026 · Our methodology
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What changed, and why the old figure persists
Interactive Brokers historically ran a monthly activity minimum: if commission generated in a month fell below a threshold, the difference was charged as a maintenance fee. That structure was removed from the standard account in 2021, but it is quoted widely enough in older material that the question keeps being asked. Today a standard IBKR account can sit without trading and without being billed for the privilege. For a buy-and-hold investor this removed what had been the main argument against opening an account there, since low-frequency trading was precisely the behaviour the old fee penalised.
What Interactive Brokers charges instead
IBKR's costs are concentrated in dealing, and its standout number is currency conversion at 0.03% with a $2 minimum per conversion — the lowest rate in this comparison by a wide margin, against 0.15% at Trading 212, 0.25% at DEGIRO and 0.99% on Freetrade Basic. Commission is tiered by market: UK shares 0.05% of trade value with a £3 minimum, European shares 0.05% with a €3 minimum, and US shares from $0.005 per share with a $1 minimum on Fixed pricing. There is no percentage platform or custody fee. Withdrawals allow one free per calendar month, with charges beyond that.
Which brokers still bill dormant accounts
Most of the market charges nothing. Trading 212, Freetrade, InvestEngine, Revolut, Robinhood, Webull, DEGIRO and Capital.com all publish zero inactivity fees, and eToro removed its charge in 2026. Three still charge, and the terms vary sharply. AvaTrade is the strictest: $50 per quarter after just three months idle, plus a further $100 a year in administration once an account passes twelve months. Plus500 charges up to $10 a month after three months without a login, reset by logging in. XTB charges EUR 10 a month, but only after 365 days with no trade and no deposit in the previous 90 days, with ISA accounts and accounts holding open positions exempt (as of August 2026).
The bottom line
The IBKR inactivity fee has been gone since 2021, which removes the main historic objection for low-frequency investors. Its 0.03% currency conversion is the strongest reason to choose it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Interactive Brokers charge an inactivity fee?
No. The inactivity fee was removed from the standard account in 2021, so dormant accounts are not billed a monthly minimum (as of August 2026).
Is there still an activity minimum at IBKR?
Not on the standard account. The old structure charged the shortfall when monthly commission fell below a threshold; that was removed in 2021.
What does Interactive Brokers charge instead?
0.03% currency conversion with a $2 minimum, tiered commission by market, one free withdrawal per calendar month, and no percentage platform or custody fee (as of August 2026).