At times IB commissions reach ridiculous levels ($80+ for an electronic transaction!) but the average for me comes out to $7-10 range.
They're far from cheap though.
Agree. IB is expensive. They are well-known and with reputation, but I'd rather go to small prop firms for cheaper fees and similar service.
I like TD and Etrade myself. And with Etrade if you have enough trading capital they extend the Etrade pro platform for free even if you do less than 30 trades a quarter.
For me both are cheaper than IB and I feel much more secure as well using these two brokers VS IB and I don't pay any platform fees on both of them which is nice.
How does a prop firm provide similar service to a retail broker? Apples and Oranges.
I mean some prop firms provide retail accounts as well, while charging a lower fee.
I'm not familiar with that. What would be an example of a Broker Dealer, that is a prop firm, that offers customer account in the same BD? Sounds like a regulatory nightmare.