# DAS Trader vs Interactive Brokers (and where Scalpel fits)

> DAS Trader vs IBKR: yes, DAS Pro runs on an IBKR Pro account from $100 a month. Costs, routing, shorting and hotkeys compared with TWS and Scalpel.

Source: https://scalpeltrade.com/compare/das-trader
By Scalpel Team. Published 2026-09-28, last changed 2026-10-15. 10 min read.

**In short:**

Yes, you can run DAS Trader Pro on an Interactive Brokers account. As of October 15, 2026, DAS sells "For Interactive Brokers" packages from $100 to $200 a month for non-professional traders, and they need an IBKR Pro account (not Lite). Orders go to IBKR through a FIX connection at your normal IBKR Pro commissions, and DAS supplies the market data. So the real question is not DAS or IBKR, but which screen you put on your IBKR account: DAS, IBKR's own free TWS, or a focused tool such as Scalpel.

"DAS Trader vs IBKR" compares two different kinds of thing. DAS Trader Pro is a trading platform: a front end you use through a broker. Interactive Brokers is a broker, and it ships its own free platform, Trader Workstation (TWS). Since DAS can be linked to an IBKR account, many traders end up comparing three setups for the same account: TWS alone, DAS on IBKR, or another front end on IBKR. This page sets out what each costs, what each does better, and who should pick which, including where DAS is plainly the better choice.

## Can you use DAS Trader with Interactive Brokers?

Yes. DAS lists Interactive Brokers among its partner brokers, and IBKR documents the link on its own [DAS Trader connection page](https://www.interactivebrokers.com/docs/third-party-integrations/specific-third-party-connection-details/das-trader/introduction). How it works, from those two sources:

- **You subscribe with DAS first.** On DAS's [subscription page for Interactive Brokers](https://www.dastrader.com/form-sub-ib.html) you pick an IB Live package and pay DAS. The page says non-professional subscribers must have an **IBKR Pro** account, not IBKR Lite.
- **Then you authorize the link.** After paying, you send the authorization to IBKR from DAS's page. IBKR says the link is a manual review on both sides and usually takes 1 to 2 business days once IBKR has the application ([IBKR's DAS FAQ](https://www.interactivebrokers.com/docs/third-party-integrations/specific-third-party-connection-details/das-trader/das-trader-frequently-asked-questions)). Questions about the status go to DAS, not IBKR.
- **Orders go through IBKR, data comes from DAS.** IBKR says DAS connects through an aggregate FIX connection for order placement, at the same rates as trading the IBKR Pro account directly. No IBKR software needs to be installed. The market data in DAS is supplied by DAS, not by IBKR, so your IBKR market data subscriptions do not feed it.
- **Paper and mobile.** IBKR says DAS works with either the paper or the real account, and the subscription includes the DAS mobile apps (IBKR's firm ID in the app is "IBCO").

DAS's non-professional packages for IBKR clients, as listed on that page:

| DAS package | Data included, in DAS's words | Monthly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basic User | Basic Level 1 data for US equities | $100 |
| Standard User | Regional, OPRA or OTC Level 1 | $120 |
| Deluxe User | TotalView, OPRA or OTC Level 2 | $150 |
| Elite User | All books, OTC or OPRA Level 1, imbalance, float, FX | $175 |
| Premium Elite | All books, OTC or OPRA Level 2, imbalance, float, FX | $200 |

Prepaid terms cost the same per month (12 months of Deluxe is $1,800). Professional packages start at $300 a month, a second IBKR account is a $50 add-on, and the page states that all sales are final. Prices checked on October 15, 2026; check DAS's page before you buy, because packages change.

Scalpel is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by DAS Inc. or Interactive Brokers.

## What each one is

**DAS Trader Pro** is a direct-access trading platform from DAS Inc., built and tested for Windows. It is licensed through many brokers and clearing firms (DAS's site lists Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, Wedbush, TradeStation and Clear Street among them), and which features you get can depend on the broker behind it. It trades stocks and options, and it is known for its Level 2 montage, its scriptable hotkeys, direct routes and, at brokers that support it, a locate window for short sellers.

**Interactive Brokers** is the broker: it holds your account, executes and clears your trades, and charges commissions (IBKR Pro Tiered starts at $0.0035 a share, Fixed is $0.005 a share, per [IBKR's stock commission page](https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing/commissions-stocks.php)). Its desktop platform, TWS, is free with the account and covers nearly everything IBKR trades. IB Gateway is the same program without the trading screens, used by API tools.

**Scalpel** is a desktop day-trading cockpit that runs on top of your own IBKR account. It connects through TWS or IB Gateway on the same computer, through IBKR's API. It is built for one style: long-only scalping of US small caps, pre-market first. It costs $299 once.

## DAS Trader vs IBKR TWS vs Scalpel: the comparison table

| | DAS Trader Pro on IBKR | IBKR TWS alone | Scalpel on IBKR |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly platform cost | $100 to $200 non-pro (DAS's IB packages) | $0 | $0 ($299 once) |
| Market data | Included in the DAS package, supplied by DAS | IBKR subscriptions, billed by IBKR | The same IBKR subscriptions as TWS |
| Broker | IBKR Pro (also many other brokers) | IBKR, Pro or Lite | IBKR, Pro or Lite |
| Hotkeys | Scriptable: routes, prices, size formulas | Built-in hotkeys tied to order presets | Fixed actions you rebind: four buy presets, scale-outs, breakeven, trail, cancel, flatten |
| Level 2 | DAS montage; TotalView on Deluxe and up | Market Depth and BookTrader windows | DAS-style montage built from IBKR SMART depth |
| Routing choice | Direct routes at DAS brokers; on an IBKR link, check with DAS which destinations are enabled | SMART, or pick an exchange as the destination | IBKR SMART only, no route setting |
| Shorting and locates | Yes; locate window at brokers that support it | Yes, against IBKR's own borrow inventory | No: long only by design |
| Pre-market stops | Several stop types; check how each exits in the limit-only sessions | Plain stops cannot protect pre-market; stop-limits can be jumped | App-monitored stop that exits with a limit 5 cents under the last trade |
| Sizing by risk | Possible with a hotkey script | Not from a hotkey | Built in: Risk (Cents), Risk (ATR), Risk (Low) presets |
| Platform OS | Windows, plus mobile apps | Windows, Mac and Linux, plus IBKR's mobile app | Windows 10 and 11, and Macs with Apple silicon |
| Learning curve | Steep: scripting and setup | Steep: a very large program | Narrow: one style, keys work out of the box |
| Price model | Monthly subscription, sales final | Free with the account | One payment, lifetime license, 7-day refund |

A few notes behind the table:

- **Level 2 is not the same feed everywhere.** DAS's Deluxe package carries Nasdaq TotalView from DAS's own servers. Scalpel's montage is built from IBKR's SMART depth, so each row is a venue (NSDQ, ARCA, EDGX), not the firm behind the order; [reading the players from venues](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/read-the-players) explains what you can and cannot infer from that. Which IBKR subscriptions you need for depth in TWS or Scalpel is covered in [IBKR Level 2: which subscription and how to read it](https://scalpeltrade.com/blog/ibkr-level-2).
- **Pre-market is limit-only.** Before 09:30 ET and after 16:00 ET, US exchanges accept [limit orders](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/glossary#limit-order) only. That applies to every platform, which is why any pre-market stop must exit with a limit order to be accepted at all ([pre-market stops](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/premarket-stops)).
- **IBKR Lite works with TWS and Scalpel, not with DAS.** If you are on Lite, DAS means switching to Pro first.

## Where DAS Trader is the better choice

Be clear on this before you buy anything: for several kinds of trader, DAS is the right tool and Scalpel is not.

- **You short.** Many day traders rely on short selling, and Scalpel cannot do it at all: every sell is capped to the shares you hold ([why Scalpel is long only](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/long-only)). DAS shorts, and at brokers in its network that offer it, has a locate window for hard-to-borrow names. Whether those locate tools work on an IBKR link is a question for DAS; on IBKR, borrow comes from IBKR's own inventory.
- **You want direct routing.** Picking ARCA or EDGX yourself, or hitting one specific venue: DAS is built around that, through direct-access brokers. Scalpel sends every order with IBKR's SMART router and has no route setting.
- **You script your hotkeys.** DAS hotkeys are small scripts: set a route, price off the bid or ask, compute size from a dollar risk and a stop, send. If you want to build your own logic key by key, DAS gives you a language. Scalpel's keys are fixed actions you can rebind, not a scripting system.
- **You trade options, or with another broker.** DAS covers options and works with many brokers. Scalpel trades US stocks only, through IBKR only.
- **You learned on DAS.** If your process, or a course you follow, is built on DAS and its hotkeys, the monthly fee may simply be the cost of not relearning.

## Where TWS alone is enough

If cost is the deciding factor, start with TWS. It is free, it does everything IBKR offers (shorting, options, futures, directed routing, bracket orders held at the broker), and a non-professional Level 2 setup on IBKR costs far less than a DAS package. As of October 15, 2026, [IBKR's market data page](https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/pricing/market-data-pricing.php) lists the US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle at $10 a month (waived in a month with $30 of commissions), the US Equity and Options Add-On Streaming Bundle at $4.50, and NASDAQ TotalView-OpenView at $16.50, all non-professional prices.

The cost of TWS is setup time. Hotkeys depend on order presets you configure per window, size is set in shares rather than risk, and the layout takes work. [TWS hotkeys for day trading](https://scalpeltrade.com/blog/tws-hotkeys-day-trading) walks through a working set, and the [complete IBKR day trading setup](https://scalpeltrade.com/blog/day-trading-interactive-brokers) covers the account, data and order types.

## Where Scalpel fits

Scalpel is a DAS alternative for one kind of trader: long-only, scalping US small caps, mostly in the pre-market, on an IBKR account they already have. It takes the parts of a DAS-style desk that style needs and builds them on IBKR's data:

- **A DAS-style montage per desk.** Up to six desks, each with Level 2, the time and sales tape, a chart and an order panel for one symbol.
- **Sizing by risk on the key.** Four buy presets, `Shift+1` to `Shift+4` by default, sized by shares, dollars or risk. A $500 Risk (Cents) preset with a 30 cent stop buys 1,666 shares of ABCD, worked out at the instant you press ([fixed dollar risk](https://scalpeltrade.com/guides/trade-fixed-dollar-risk)).
- **Pre-market stops that can exit.** A working stop, a catastrophe net and a take-profit, dragged on the chart and watched by the app. When price trades through the stop, Scalpel sends a sell limit 5 cents under the last trade, flagged for extended hours. These are not orders resting at IBKR: they only work while Scalpel runs with a live feed, and no fill is guaranteed.
- **Scanner and intel on free sources.** A momentum scanner on IBKR's own market scanner (pre-market included), plus borrow, dilution and catalyst reads from SEC EDGAR, FINRA, Nasdaq and your IBKR news.
- **SIM and LIVE.** Practice against the live book with IBKR commissions, then switch to real orders without a restart.

*Screenshot: One Scalpel desk: the desk header, the intel strip, the quote, the Level 2 montage with the tape on its right, the chart, the order bar, and orders and positions. Demo data.*

What it gives up, by design: no shorting, no options, no route choice, no hotkey scripting, and stops that live in the app rather than at the broker. It also needs TWS or IB Gateway running on the same machine, where DAS needs no IBKR software at all.

## What a year costs: a worked example

Take a non-professional trader who wants live US quotes plus Nasdaq depth, on an IBKR Pro account, before commissions:

| Setup | First year | Each year after |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DAS Deluxe User on IBKR | $1,800 | $1,800 |
| TWS with IBKR data ($10 + $4.50 + $16.50 a month) | Up to $372 | Up to $372 |
| Scalpel with the same IBKR data | Up to $671 ($299 + $372) | Up to $372 |

"Up to" because IBKR waives the $10 bundle in any month with $30 of commissions. Commissions are IBKR's in all three cases. The packages are not identical: DAS's Deluxe also carries OPRA or OTC Level 2, and the IBKR bundles carry more than this trader needs. Prices checked on October 15, 2026.

![Bar chart of a year's platform and data cost: DAS Deluxe on IBKR $1,800 every year, TWS with IBKR data up to $372, and Scalpel up to $671 in the first year and up to $372 after](https://scalpeltrade.com/images/compare/das-trader/year-cost.webp)

*A year of platform and data for a non-professional trader with live US quotes and Nasdaq depth, before commissions. The TWS and Scalpel bars are upper limits, because IBKR waives the $10 bundle in any month with $30 of commissions.*

## Who should pick which

- **Pick DAS Trader Pro** if you short, need locates, want direct routes, write your own hotkey scripts, trade options from the same screen, or already know DAS from a course. On IBKR, it means IBKR Pro and a monthly package; with another broker, compare that broker's DAS pricing and locate costs.
- **Stay on TWS alone** if you trade many asset classes, want bracket orders held at the broker, need Linux or an Intel Mac, or want to spend nothing beyond IBKR's data fees. It takes more setup, but nothing else on this page is cheaper.
- **Pick Scalpel** if you trade long only, mostly small caps in the pre-market, already have an IBKR account, and want a keyboard-first desk with risk sizing and pre-market stops for a one-time $299 ([pricing](https://scalpeltrade.com/pricing)). If you are not sure, its 7-day refund and SIM mode let you test it on the live book first.

Whichever you pick, this style of trading is hard. Most people who try fast small-cap scalping lose money, whatever the platform.

*Trading carries a significant risk of loss. Nothing here is financial advice.*

## Questions

**Can I use DAS Trader with Interactive Brokers?**

Yes. As of October 15, 2026, DAS sells Interactive Brokers packages from $100 to $200 a month for non-professional users. You need an IBKR Pro account, and orders go to IBKR through a FIX connection at your normal IBKR Pro commissions.

**How much does DAS Trader cost with IBKR?**

DAS's non-professional IBKR packages are $100, $120, $150, $175 and $200 a month, depending on the data included, as checked on October 15, 2026. Professional packages start at $300. Commissions are charged by IBKR on top.

**Do I need IBKR market data to use DAS Trader?**

Not for DAS itself. IBKR says the market data in DAS is supplied by DAS, not IBKR. You only need IBKR subscriptions for the data you use in TWS or other IBKR-connected tools.

**Does DAS Trader work with IBKR Lite?**

DAS's subscription page says non-professional users must have an IBKR Pro account, not Lite. TWS and API tools such as Scalpel work with either.

**Is TWS as good as DAS for day trading?**

TWS can do the same jobs and costs nothing, but it takes more setup: hotkeys depend on order presets and the layout needs work. DAS is faster to work with for many scalpers, at a monthly fee.

**Is there a cheaper DAS Trader alternative for IBKR?**

TWS itself is free. Scalpel is $299 once and gives a DAS-style montage, risk-sized hotkeys and pre-market stops on IBKR data, but it is long only, uses SMART routing only and does not trade options.