Vested vs Interactive Brokers: 2026 comparison for Indian residents
Vested and IBKR sit at opposite ends of the cost-vs-convenience spectrum. The right pick depends on how much you're investing per trade and how much tax-paperwork friction you'll accept.
Last reviewed: June 2026 · Source: 4-way long-form review
Editorial disclosure: Information is compiled from publicly available sources, the platforms’ own pricing pages, and our own platform reviews. It is not verified by the brokers themselves. Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia; we’ve aimed to keep this comparison factually neutral, but pricing, features, and policies can change — verify any decision-critical detail with the broker directly.
At a glance · Broker comparison for Indian residents
Vested
Founded 2018 · Bengaluru
Interactive Brokers
Founded 1978 · Greenwich
| Brokerage | |
| 0.25% per trade | $0.35 min/order (Tiered) or $1 min/order (Fixed) |
| FX markup | |
| ~75–100 paise per USD | ~1–5 paise per USD |
| Account minimum | |
| $1 (fractional buys) | $0 (was $10k before 2021) |
| Fractional shares | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Tax docs | |
| INR P&L statement, Schedule FA helper, capital gains breakdown — all India-friendly formats. | US-style 1099 forms — 1099-DIV for dividends, 1099-B for sales. You convert USD figures to INR and prepare Schedule FA yourself. |
| ACATS from US employer brokers | |
| Supported via DriveWealth — Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, Morgan Stanley RSUs can be transferred in. | Technically supported by IBKR LLC; IBKR India accounts (the entity available to Indian residents) cannot receive ACATS from US employer brokers. |
Best fit for
Investors new to US markets who want a paved-road onboarding
Best fit for
Investors deploying Rs 25 lakh+ per year where FX savings compound meaningfully
Information compiled from public sources · NOT verified by the brokers · Last reviewed: June 2026
vested.blog/compare/vested-vs-ibkr
How Vested and Interactive Brokers compare
Vested is an Indian SEBI-registered platform built for ease — INR-format reports, Schedule FA helper, India-business-hours support, and 0.25%-of-trade commission. IBKR is a direct US broker with near-interbank FX and the widest asset universe — but you handle US-format tax forms yourself, and the per-order minimum ($0.35 on Tiered, $1 on Fixed) makes small or frequent trades meaningfully more expensive than Vested. The two solve different problems for different investor patterns.
Spec-by-spec
| Dimension | Vested | Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage | 0.25% per trade for equities and ETFs. | Tiered plan: $0.0035 per share, minimum $0.35 per order. Fixed plan: $0.005 per share, minimum $1 per order. On a single large trade, the per-share rate is near-zero. But the per-order minimum matters for small or frequent trades: on Tiered, the $0.35 minimum equals Vested's 0.25% commission at a $140 trade — below that, Vested is cheaper. On Fixed plan, the crossover is at $400. So weekly $50–$100 buys cost meaningfully more on IBKR than on the Indian-aware platforms. |
| FX markup | FX markup on the inbound LRS leg is typically 75–100 paise above the live interbank rate; outbound repatriation also carries an FX markup. | FX conversion happens internally at near-interbank rates. The same near-interbank treatment applies to outbound repatriation. |
| Account minimum | $1 (fractional buys) | $0 (was $10k before 2021) |
| Fractional shares | Yes | Yes |
| Asset universe | Full NYSE/NASDAQ universe — all listed US stocks and ETFs including small- and mid-caps. No options, no OTC pink-sheet stocks, no international exchanges. | Everything — NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, OTC, plus 80+ international exchanges. Options, futures (margin permission required), bonds, mutual funds. |
| RSU / ESPP support | Inbound ACATS supported via DriveWealth. RSUs at Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, and Morgan Stanley can be transferred in. | ACATS-in is technically supported by Interactive Brokers LLC, but IBKR India accounts (the entity Indian residents can open) cannot receive ACATS from US employer brokers. |
| Tax docs | INR P&L statement, Schedule FA helper, capital gains breakdown — all India-friendly formats. | US-style 1099 forms — 1099-DIV for dividends, 1099-B for sales. You convert USD figures to INR and prepare Schedule FA yourself. |
| W-8BEN handling | Handled at signup; 3-year renewal automated. | Upload yourself at onboarding; renewal reminders come from IBKR. Slightly more work than the Indian-aware platforms. |
| Customer support | India-based, in-app chat, English/Hindi, IST hours. | US-based, email + chat. Strong on technical broker issues; weaker on India-specific tax questions. Hours overlap awkwardly with IST. |
| Account safety | Shares held at DriveWealth (FINRA-regulated, US clearing broker); SIPC insurance up to $500k per account. | SIPC up to $500k per account plus proprietary excess insurance through Lloyd's of London taking total coverage to $30M. |
| ACATS-in | Supported via DriveWealth — Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, Morgan Stanley RSUs can be transferred in. | Technically supported by IBKR LLC; IBKR India accounts (the entity available to Indian residents) cannot receive ACATS from US employer brokers. |
| Repatriation | 3–7 business days; FX markup applies on the outbound leg as well as the inbound leg. | 2–5 business days; FX conversion happens internally at near-interbank rates. |
| US partner broker | VF Securities, Inc. (introducing); DriveWealth (clearing & custody) | Interactive Brokers LLC (direct — no Indian intermediary) |
| Regulation | SEBI-registered in India; underlying broker is FINRA/SIPC member in the US | FINRA/SIPC-regulated in the US; public company (NASDAQ: IBKR) |
Which one fits you?
Neither platform is universally better. Both are legitimate long-term homes for an Indian resident’s US portfolio. The right pick depends on your stage, what you already hold, and how much paperwork you’ll handle.
Pick Vested if
- •You're making small or frequent trades — weekly $50–$100 SIP-style buys, or any single trade under ~$140; the IBKR per-order minimum dominates at that size and the Indian-aware percentage commission is cheaper
- •You want a Schedule FA helper, INR P&L statements, and India-business-hours support out of the box
- •Onboarding speed matters — you want to be trading within 24–48 hours rather than waiting 5–10 business days
Pick Interactive Brokers if
- •You're deploying Rs 25 lakh+ per year in larger trade sizes where FX savings compound and the per-order minimum is negligible
- •You need access beyond US — London ETFs, Tokyo, Hong Kong, or options/futures
- •You're comfortable converting USD figures to INR and preparing Schedule FA yourself, or you have a CA who is
Honest trade-offs
Every platform optimizes for some users and not others. Here are the real constraints to factor in — not flaws, just design choices.
Vested — constraints to factor in
- ·FX markup is higher than IBKR in absolute paise terms
- ·No OTC (pink-sheet) stocks or international exchange access
- ·No options or futures
Interactive Brokers — constraints to factor in
- ·Onboarding is rigorous — 5–10 business days, detailed financial questionnaire
- ·No India-format tax docs or Schedule FA helper — you prepare ITR materials yourself
- ·Cannot receive ACATS from US employer brokers on the IBKR India account
- ·Per-order minimum ($0.35 Tiered / $1 Fixed) makes small or frequent trades expensive — for SIP-style $50–$100 weekly buys, the Indian-aware platforms (0.15–0.25% of trade value) are cheaper
FAQ
- Is Vested better than Interactive Brokers?
- Neither platform is universally better. Vested SEBI-registered Indian platform with India-friendly tax docs and a clean full-universe US-investing product. Interactive Brokers Direct US broker with the lowest FX cost and the widest asset universe — designed for serious, self-directed investors. The right pick depends on how much you’re deploying per year, whether you hold RSUs at a US employer broker, and how much tax-paperwork friction you’ll handle.
- What's the FX cost difference between Vested and Interactive Brokers?
- Vested: ~75–100 paise per USD. Interactive Brokers: ~1–5 paise per USD. On a Rs 10 lakh remittance, the difference compounds — over a multi-year horizon it can be meaningful for larger deployments, and trivial for smaller ones.
- Can I transfer my US employer RSUs to Vested or Interactive Brokers?
- Vested: Supported via DriveWealth — Fidelity, E*TRADE, Schwab, Morgan Stanley RSUs can be transferred in. Interactive Brokers: Technically supported by IBKR LLC; IBKR India accounts (the entity available to Indian residents) cannot receive ACATS from US employer brokers.
- Are both brokers regulated and safe?
- Yes. Vested: Shares held at DriveWealth (FINRA-regulated, US clearing broker); SIPC insurance up to $500k per account. Interactive Brokers: SIPC up to $500k per account plus proprietary excess insurance through Lloyd's of London taking total coverage to $30M. For most Indian retail accounts under $500k, the standard SIPC coverage is plenty.
- Do both platforms handle Schedule FA reporting?
- Vested: INR P&L statement, Schedule FA helper, capital gains breakdown — all India-friendly formats. Interactive Brokers: US-style 1099 forms — 1099-DIV for dividends, 1099-B for sales. You convert USD figures to INR and prepare Schedule FA yourself. For our complete walkthrough of Schedule FA disclosure, see the Schedule FA guide.
Other broker comparisons
A note on freshness. Pricing, features, and policies on all four platforms change. We re-review on a quarterly cadence; the last full review was June 2026. If you spot an inaccuracy or a materially-changed fact, please flag it — accuracy here matters more to us than pretending the data is settled.
This page is editorial. It is not investment advice. Vested.blog is the editorial publication of Rovia. The comparison above is drawn from our 4-way long-form review, which discloses the relationship and contains the underlying methodology.