Interactive Brokers

Quantower platform has a connection to Interactive Brokers and provides trading of futures, options, stocks, ETFs etc.
https://www.quantower.com/blog/connection-to-interactive-brokers-is-ready

The best site for stock trading

In my opinion, they currently are unmatched. Have tried Etrade, TDameritrade, Scottrade.
Out of all the above, IB is number 1. There are a few new players out there that could do some serious damage on the market, but can't make any conclusions yet.

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I have a SIPP with IB

Once you learn the platform via their webinars IB offer a great service.

Best all-round futures broker for small UK professional trader

Overall 8/10 (9/10 if they get rid of 'cancellation charges')

Pros:

Wide selection of products available to trade on global markets

Competitive commissions eg. $4.02 per RT for S&P Emini. You can get slightly little lower (I've seen $3.30 per RT) with some US based discount brokers , but IB still blows away the abysmal $7 per RT offered by MF Global / GNI Touch, or other rip-off brokers. Shop around!!

TWS (Trader Workstation) trading platform is free, and very reliable, not buggy - it has many features if you dig deep, and you can also use a different front end if TWS is not to your taste. It suits me fine.

Free-ish data feed...provided you do a minimum level of activity...though not a 'pure' data feed as IB filters data in 250 ms packets, this is still good enough for the naked eye given the time it takes for a human being to react! During busier periods when activity is high (non farm payroll release) this probably makes the IB data feed more reliable than a pure data feed. You can pay for a different (pure tick by tick) data feed if you prefer, such as eSignal, etc. I don't feel the need, though for backtesting, automated trading you'd want this.

Many front end platforms compatible with IB. Large community base.

Universal account - others have reviewed this feature...

Website has a lot of documentation to explain details, and there are
also regular webinars to explain software, product releases, etc.

Big, profitable company, listed on exchanges, so I feel safer keeping my money with IB than other brokers.

Cons:

High cancellation charges in certain products (eg Eurex futures such as Bund, Bobl), whenever you amend/modify an order - this can double/triple your effective commission charges if you keep changing the price you are working! IB, please get rid of your stupid cancellation charges!!

Modest charting functionality - if you open too many charts it might slow or crash your PC. It's useable - I coped for two years - but I now pay monthly for dedicated charting offered by Sierra Chart and it complements IB TWS nicely.

Account statement is very detailed, but somewhat confusing (for me anyway!). Took me ages to work everything out in a spreadsheet.

TWS platform probably not too 'user friendly' for the inexperienced trader

Customer services had a bad reputation in the past, though I've personally had no problems, they have been helpful and polite. But IB is not into hand holding, so if you are a novice, probably better to look elsewhere and pay higher commissions for the better customer service.

Best Broker for UK Based Futures Traders

I would agree with all the points in DTs review below (damn you beat me to it!) I'll therefore try to add some information that you may find useful if you're considering giving IB a try.

The Universal A/c is particularly useful if you want to trade instruments denominated in different currencies. You simply select a base currency on joining (which you can change at any stage if your an ace FX trader!) then trade any instrument you wish. When you first try to trade a new instrument you must enable the data feed for it through 'Account Management'. This is a simple enough process although some may incur a small monthly fee. Be aware that any profits/losses are accrued in the currency of your traded instrument and if there are losses IB will charge you interest when these are not in your base currency. As DT said the process for paying losses off is a bit 'fiddly', it has to be done through IBs own 'ideal' platform, however I have found Customer Services very helpful here as they will talk you through the procedure whilst you do it online. It is v difficult to actually clear your debt exactly as the price is moving around, but IB will normally waive a few pence/cents if you cant get it spot on.
Esignal users should not miss out on the CME Fee Waiver tie up with IB. Full details on the eSignal/Interactive Data website, but basically if you have a live IB account then sign up, log in in the required manner once a month and your CME Globex fees are waived. This includes CBOT/Nymex/Comex, but for any contract which is both electronic and pit traded, such as Gold GC and Oil CL you must use =1 after the symbol to receive the data.

IB has a reputation for poor CS yet I have always found it pretty good. It is useful to remember when talking to them that you may be conversing with someone in a different timezone to your own, which can lead to much confusion if you're refering to the timing of a trade!! I have also used 'Tech Support' both telephone and online, where they have always been knowledgable and helpful. If you are UK based and want to talk to the London office then you'll find the telephone number on the Interactive Brokers thread here on Trade2Win, they often answer questions here too.

IB s website may not be the best, but if you're prepared to put in a bit of time the tabs near the top of the home page contain huge amounts of information and will answer most questions.

IB has recently reduced some of it's commissions. ES/YM/NQ are now $4 a round turn, pretty competitive imo. Margin requirements are somewhat higher than many of the other US discount brokers. This may put some people off, whilst others may argue that it is a good thing!!

TWS (Trader Work Station) is not the most intuitive piece of software but just like the website if you take the trouble to learn it's features you may be pleasantly surprised. A good starting point is the TWS Guide, if you type this into the search bar on the IB home page then a comprehensive document is available to help you get started. In addition to this IB runs a number of Webinars every month to help in specific aspects of TWS. These can be found from the Education Tab,-Webinars. You dont need to wait for the next one as there are recordings of old ones available which you can play and repeat at your leisure.
TWS has a number of sub applications which are worth investigation. Spot Forex traders may like the look of 'FXTrader', if you prefer trading direct from a chart then there is 'ChartTrader'. If you prefer an order entry ladder type system then 'BookTrader' is available, but currently one click ordering is suspended due to a patent dispute with TT.
Through IBs API then other front ends such as Ninja/Zeroline can be used but my experience suggests TWS may have what you need, you just need to delve!!
TWS has some basic scanners, but also the ability to write your own parameters. I haven't tried but Stock traders may find this particularly useful.
Any of these facilities can be tested in a paper trading account, but remember you must ask for a 'paper' account otherwise they will only open a live account for you.

In summary I would say serious traders should give them a try, but minimum $10000 to open an account.

I would have given them a 9/10 but the loss of 'BookTrader's one click ordering is a particular disappointment to me so we'll call it 8!

Hope you found something useful!!

Executions, commissions and forex spreads unbeatable

I think IB have probably the best retail forex operation because I haven't seen better spreads, but I think they probably rely on this reputation and don't bother to give decent customer service or useable access to historical data. I have to use a 3rd party datafeed to get historical data for NinjaTrader.

Progress

After the below incident I spoke with the MD and he has given me the confidence that IB is committed to providing the best customer service.

I have been a client of IB for several years now. Their customer service is well known for being poor and if there is a problem their motto seems to be "the customer is always wrong".
Yesterday I was called a liar on these boards by one of their reps after I reported a conversation I had just had with one of their trade enquiry guys.
IB has received thousands of dollars from me in commissions and the least I would expect was some modicum of respect. The rep in question has done his company a great disservice and leaves my confidence and trust in them severely diminished.

This said the fills for stocks and futures has always been very good and with the correct front end the TWS can be used as a lethal weapon.

Interactive Brokers

Account opening procedure a bit longwinded as you have to answer a load of questions to ensure you understand that IB aren't liable for anything that could possibly go wrong with your cash! But it can all be done inside a day, and the transfer of funds takes another couple after that.

Good Points :
- Trading software is very flexible, even if a little unfriendly. If you're technically minded, you can write your own front-end and make it look much nicer.
- Commissions are very low indeed.
- Excellent execution times, leading to virtually no slippage.
- Everybody uses them, so you can usually get an answer to any questions, even though their own support people wont be able to help
- Excellent product range, all the major exchanges and instruments are covered.
- Can plug their price feed into Sierra for instant cheap charts.

Not So Good :
- Laughable "support". Forget the helpline and head to their bulletin board!
- It costs to close a position over the phone if things go wrong technically (but you can place auto-stops with orders so that may not be an issue)

Overall, a happy customer :)