Options trading for not beginners best platform

Best Broker for Beginners. The following online brokers are those that we believe to be the best choices for beginner options traders and traders using small amounts of capital. We have based these recommendations on a combination of research and experience and we strongly suggest you consider using one of these brokers listed below. Choosing a suitable online broker when you are relatively new to options trading is somewhat of a different process to choosing a broker when you have plenty of relevant experience. Equally, choosing a broker to use when you are planning on only making small trades is different to choosing a broker if you are planning on making larger trades. While we recognize that not all beginners will be small traders, and not all small traders will be beginners, we believe that there are certain brokers that are particularly suitable for traders that fall into either of these categories. This is because many of the factors that need to be considered are the same. Offering 90 days free trade commission Training area for learning the basics of Forex Trade with over 50 currency pairs. Ideal for traders trying to keep costs low Platform is easy to use but gets things right "Trader Network" helps build a community. Very competitive commissions & fees Functional trading platform Trade generator that lists potential trades. As well as our recommendations for suitable brokers listed above, we have also provided some information on which factors you should be taking into account when deciding which broker to use. First, we should probably make it clear that there isn't really any such thing as the ЂњrightЂќ broker in a general sense. Options traders all have slightly different sets of circumstances and slightly different requirements and ultimately a lot is down to personal choice.

A broker that is a good choice for one trader may not necessarily be a good choice for another trader. As such, we would never recommend just one single broker to a broad audience, but would rather provide our readers with a range of suggestions and offer advice on how to select the most suitable. This is why we have classified our recommendations into a number of different categories. When choosing a broker you need to think carefully about which aspects of a broker you need to be taking into consideration. For beginners and those looking to make relatively small trades, we believe that the following factors are particularly important and it's these that we suggest you look carefully at when deciding which online options broker to select. Full Service or Discount? Commissions & Fees Minimum Deposit & Minimum Trade Value Customer Support. Full Service or Discount? Traditionally, brokers could easily be placed in one of two categories they were either full service or discount. The advent of online brokers has made it somewhat more difficult to distinguish between the two as there tends to be a lot more flexibility in the services offered. Strictly speaking, a full service broker is one that will provide you with professional advice and guidance in addition to transacting your orders for you while a discount broker will simply carry out your orders as instructed.

For more details on this particular aspect of brokers, please visit Full Service Brokers vs. Discount Brokers. These days a number of brokers can effectively be placed in either, or both, of the categories as they offer a choice of service to their customers. What you must decide is whether you want the additional services that are on offer, such as receiving expert advice on potential trades and investments, or whether you prefer to have a broker that simply acts upon your instructions. It won't surprise you to know that using the additional services is the more expensive option, and you will pay much less in commissions and fees when using discount services. There's an idea floating around that suggests beginners are better off using a full service broker while they are still learning and benefitting from having a professional guide them as necessary. There are certainly benefits in that course of action, however we suggest that even beginner options traders should use a discount service. If a different form of investment was involved, such as investing in stocks and shares using a buy and hold method, then the arguments for using a full service broker would be stronger because there are real benefits in having an expert help you to plan your investments, find suitable investment opportunities, and monitor your portfolio. However, options trading is a unique form of trading and there is so much more involved than simply selecting stocks that are going to go up in value in the long term. In our opinion, it's much better to be hands on from the very beginning, learning how to identify your own trading opportunities, and decide which options trading strategies to use. As such, we would advise beginner traders to stick to discount services primarily for the reasons listed above, but also because of the additional costs involved in using a full service broker. The higher commission charges can really eat into any returns that you make, particularly if you are making fairly small trades, which can make it very difficult to be profitable in the long run. This is also why discount services are better for small traders, whether beginners or not, as the extra costs effectively have a bigger impact when trade values are low. The commissions and fees charged by an online broker are, somewhat obviously, something that any type of options trader needs to take into consideration.

It's particularly important for small traders to use a broker with competitive commission because as we have touched on above high commissions can be a real problem when making low value trades. Bearing in mind that most beginners will typically start out with fairly low value trades too. Beginners options traders also should be looking to keep commission charges as low as possible. You should also be looking for commission and fee structures that are nice and straightforward. Some places have structures that are really convoluted, and this is an added complication that you simply don't need. You need to be aware that a number of options brokers will offer really low headline commission rates, but then have small print stipulating that certain criteria has to be met to get the low rates. Alternatively, they might offer low commissions but then have a load of other fees that get charged to your account. Minimum Deposit & Minimum Trade Value. This is something else that beginner traders and small traders really need to look at before signing up with an online service. Most places will have fixed minimums for how much you need to deposit and how much each trade must be worth.

The minimum amounts can vary quite significantly from one broker to another, and you obviously need to make sure that the figures are suitable for you. Clearly, if you are making small trades you won't want to deposit huge amounts at any one time so you should look for a broker with a relatively low minimum deposit. Equally, you will need a broker that has fairly low minimum trade values to ensure that you can make your trades at a level you are comfortable with. The single most important thing to remember when choosing an online broker is that you should be using a broker that is suitable to you and your requirements. It really is worth spending some time doing your own research and checking out exactly what is on offer because the last thing you want to be doing is constantly changing your broker because things are not working out. We strongly suggest that you take on board the advice we have offered above and also stick to those online options brokers that we have recommended. The Best Options Broker. Latest Update October 28, 2016. The best options trading platform isn’t going to be an afterthought tacked on to an existing suite of products: it should be robust and easy to use. Beginners need enough support to learn the ropes and experienced traders are after low fees and powerful tools. We signed up, assessed the fees, took the tools for a spin, and narrowed it down to three top picks. The one that's best for you depends on what you’re after. Tons of online and in-person support, plus a practice platform that lets you try everything out with “paperMoney.

” The downside? Higher fees. Rock-bottom pricing, but no research or method support. Unrivaled tools & research with pricing that favors active traders. There are a lot of brokers that are perfectly capable of trading options — nearly all of the big (read: old-school) names have an options platform integrated into their suite of offerings. But for those looking to really dive in, whether as a beginner just starting out or an active trader looking to level up, the best platform won’t be something that’s just tacked on. How We Found the Best Options Broker. To find the brokers that cater specifically to options, we looked at 36 choices and analyzed their products. We prioritized the most important aspects: Cost matters a lot when it comes to trading options. It’s the very nature: part of the appeal of options is that the returns can be major even if you don’t fork over a lot of cash up front, and many traders use options as a cheaper alternative to going long on a high-priced stock. Fees can add up and even wipe out the profits from any profitable trades. Granted, slightly higher fees may be worth it if a broker can provide other perks (say, excellent resources and education for beginners), but we wanted all our picks to have competitive pricing. We also wanted to avoid minimum balance requirements, or a set number of trades per month.

Easy-to-use interfaces are a make-or-break for most platforms. The price of options contracts can swing a lot over the course of a trading day poking around a clunky options chain can literally cost you. Education and resources are important, especially for investors who are getting their feet wet. Sure you’ve got a handle on multi-leg options trades, but do you know when it’s the right time for a bull call spread? What’s an iron butterfly? Not all traders will need hand-holding, but we wanted to find at least one excellent options broker we could recommend to newcomers. Flexibility can be interpreted a few ways. For us, it meant the robustness of the platform (could we research and purchase stocks and ETFs in addition to options?) its flexibility (could we streamline a multi-leg options trade, or did we have to input them all separately?) and whether or not we could customize it to our liking. It was quick work to eliminate the most expensive platforms, as well as the ones that had absolutely no resources or reports. To test ease of use and flexibility, we signed up for accounts and simulated making trades on all the rest. Three brokers rose to the top, and each brings something unique to the table. Our Picks for Best Options Broker.

TD Ameritrade Higher fees on an ultra-easy platform. Plus, tons of support and education. TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerages in the market today, with over 7 million funded customer accounts and over $700 billion in total client assets, and despite its slightly higher prices, it provides the best platform for a beginner trading any product, options or otherwise. For more novice traders, the platform supports the jump from trading stocks with the funds in an IRA to more sophisticated products like options. It’s robust, plus it has the customer service and educational resources to make the transition. There are webinars and hours of on-demand videos that’ll teach you about options strategies and how to literally execute those strategies on the platform. TD Ameritrade is a full-service broker, and that full service (we’re talking 247 customer service and 100 branches for face-to-face consultations) does come with higher fees. Barron’s agrees, awarding it “best platform for novices” five years running. We can anticipate its service only getting better too. In 2016, TD Ameritrade started the process of acquiring Scottrade, another platform known for it’s in-person customer service offerings. In fact, TD Ameritrade is one of the best platforms for all levels of investors, serving up two discrete products: thinkorswim and Trade Architect. Thinksorswim is a desktop platform designed for an all-around trading experience: charts with real-time data, news tickers, 300-plus technical studies, alerts and alarms, heat mapping, options screeners, securities scanner, and more, all accessible in a single click. It’s definitely for seasoned investors — newcomers will likely be overwhelmed — but it’s worth bringing up because a virtual playspace called paperMoney allows even total novices to cut their teeth without risking even a single penny.

We recommend beginners stick to TD Ameritrade’s web-based platform Trade Architect. It is nowhere near as robust as thinkorswim (and has nowhere near as jazzy a name), but it provides everything a new investor would want and it’s ultra-easy to use. It’s not bogged down with all the bells and whistles and live-streaming CNBC. Tabs at the top are simply categorized under jargon-free headings: account overview, watch lists, alarms, idea generators, and heat maps. Unlike thinkorswim, the platform is customizable. If you want more widgets, like say, additional stock tickers or video, they’re there for the adding. If beginner investors use TD Ameritrade’s education library to learn the ropes, practice using paperMoney in thinkorswim, and then easily execute trades with Trade Architect, the slightly higher fee may suddenly seem worth it. OptionsHouse The lowest fees and no minimum balance requirements. OptionsHouse isn’t the most recognizable name in the industry, and that’s probably because this online broker hasn’t pursued an aggressive marketing campaign like some of the other brokers out there (remember E*Trade’s old Super Bowl ads?). The company was founded in 2005 and was established to specifically provide options traders who demanded lower fees from the then burgeoning online brokerage industry. Those low fees are still what makes OptionsHouse so popular. There’s a $0 minimum deposit to join and options trade at $4.95 + $0.50contract (stocks trade at a flat $4.95 fee). This is the lowest price in the industry.

Only TradeKing comes close — matching that $4.95 options base fee, but charging $5 more than OptionsHouse for the exercise fee. The OptionsHouse platform is striking if a bit chaotic — there are buttons, tabs, and menus all over the place. It’s intuitive and there’s a tutorial to walk you through, but to a beginner it might seem more like sitting in front of the controls of an aircraft than is comfortable. Beginners take note: OptionsHouse does have a virtual platform that’s great for practicing. And, the tradeLAB makes dissecting options spreads simple — the green smiley face is good the red frown is no good. What you won’t get for those low fees is method and research: OptionsHouse has about 30 technical studies TD Ameritrade has 300. It’s important to note that E*Trade purchased OptionsHouse for a whopping $725 million in 2016. It is still unclear how any pricing structures or account features and perks will change after the sale is completed, but an OptionsHouse blog post suggests that E*Trade’s tools and services will become available after the platforms merge. Best Tools and Research. optionsXpress A one-stop shop within a major firm, with an options-native platform. OptionsXpress was purchased by Charles Schwab back in 2011 to enhance Schwab’s competitive edge in options trading. The result is a one-stop shop with an options-native platform that’s pretty whiz-bang.

Everything happens through the desktop platform, Xtend, but all the trading tools are also on the optionsXpress web platform. It’s fully customizable, and it’s easy to find real-time quotes and market data, news and reports, and company background information. The Idea Hub scans the market for volatility, earnings, and income-based strategies and offers new trade ideas. With Walk Limit, you can set a few parameters, and it will scan updated market data and re-create an order you may have made at a higher price in the past. Sign up for the Xpresso newsletter and you’ll get a daily email alerting you to the day’s risks and opportunities. Add to that an impressive library of educational resources, as well as access to all of Charles Schwab’s investment research (and free access to its seminars and meetings at local branches), and a virtual trading platform that helps beginner investors practice all types of trading with $25,000 in fake cash. If you need help from a broker — to calm your first-timer nerves or to walk you through a complex method — they’re ready to help and totally free, too. The standard rates are steep, so we don’t recommend optionsXpress to the casual trader. Make more than 35 trades a quarter and you’ll click into “Active Trader” status and your fees will go down. Trade in volumes and there’s another discount trade contracts under a nickel and there’s another discount. This is all to say the price structure favors the active. And while optionsXpress has a $0 account minimum and does not charge any annual or inactivity fees, if you leave, there is a $60 full outgoing transfer fee. The Best Options Broker at a Glance. Options are contracts that allow an investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset on or before a set date.

Here’s an example: Say you are a buyer looking for a specific vintage car and you end up finding one you just have to have. When you find it, however, you know you won’t have any cash to buy it for another six months. You then negotiate with the owner to give you an option to buy the car in six months for a specific amount. If the owner agrees, you pay him a percentage up front for that option. The same scenario applies in the stock market – just for financial assets instead of vintage cars. If you were trading stocks, you’d be actually buying the car. Or, rather, not buying it since you didn’t have the money. Because options are simply options and not promises, if something happened to that vintage car — say it was sitting in the driveway and a tree fell on it — you wouldn’t have to buy it. You’d still be out the price you paid for the options contract, but at least you wouldn’t have lost all that money on a now-worthless pile of steel. And, if in those same six months something happens that makes the car go up in value, well, hey, you’ve already locked in your price. If you’re new, you should prize learning tools.

If you’re experienced, you’ll need to choose between low cost or amazing tools. No matter what, options trading shouldn’t be an afterthought tacked onto your platform. Best for Beginners. TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade fees might be higher, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Consider your entire investment method. Don’t make your final decision solely based on options trading if it’s not the only kind of trading you’ll be doing. These online brokerage firms all offer a variety of investment opportunities. You may want to take into account their extra perks or the price of their mutual funds, for example. Know your expirations. Options are contracts that expire if they’re not acted on and an expired contract is worthless. Make sure you understand your expirations and set reminders using your broker’s platform, or on your calendar if you’re not trading every day.

We find the best of everything. How? We start with the world. We narrow down our list with expert insight and cut anything that doesn't meet our standards. We hand-test the finalists. Then, we name our top picks. 5 Best Online Broker Platforms For Options Traders. Options trading can be simple, but can quickly get complicated. Online brokers provide customers tools to handle the tons of quotes, statistics and underlying-securities tracking they might need to succeed in trading puts and calls. IBD's 2013 Best Online Brokers Survey found the five options trading platforms that clients rated highest. They were OptionsXpress , TD Ameritrade ( AMTD ), Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) and TradeStation . "Options can be used by a wide variety of investors to target a wide variety of objectives," said Jim Bittman, director of program development and a senior instructor for the Options Institute at the Chicago Board Options Exchange.

Brokerage firms have developed platforms to help options traders of all levels, from novices who buy a call or put to advanced folks who put on multilegged positions. While some platforms are bare-bones, others have a barrage of features such as streaming data, sophisticated analytics and pricing tools. Investors can choose a platform that's Web-based or downloaded as a separate program. A Web-based trading platform is accessed from your broker's website. These are generally less fancy and less customizable. Downloaded platforms tend to use flashier charts and tools. They also tend to give users the ability to customize screens and layouts. OptionsXpress, owned by Schwab, has offerings for clients ranging from beginners to more sophisticated traders. The broker's Web-based platform is not flashy, but is laid out well. It has easy-to-use order-entry interfaces under secondary navigations for single-option orders as well as spreads and covered calls.

The company also has an all-in-one trade ticket that makes entering orders with multiple options faster and easier. Just select the method you want to put on, and the different legs of the trade will be set up for you. OptionsXpress also has tools to help find trade ideas, as well as volatility charts and price calculators. TD Ameritrade also offers a basic, Web-based platform that has something for every level of investor. Order entries for single options, covered calls, spreads and strangles can easily be accessed under a secondary navigation. For single options orders, you can choose an exchange to handle the order or you can have it done automatically. Whether you're putting on a spread, strangle or straddle, you easily get quotes for those trades as a package rather than viewing them in individual legs. For traders who want more advanced features, TD Ameritrade offers the Trade Architect and Thinkorswim platforms. Trade Architect is a Web-based platform catering to active investors, who can select a method and get profit-and-loss graphs to see how the trade can play out. Thinkorswim, which requires a download, is TD Ameritrade's platform for advanced traders. Packed with sophisticated features, investors can monitor the market and place trades in one screen.

Complex strategies can be easily placed, and investors can switch layout views to see implied volatilities and probabilities. Interactive Brokers has two platforms for customers. One is its Web Trader platform, which has just the basics for viewing option chains and entering orders. The company also offers a much more advanced tool for options traders. Interactive Broker's OptionTrader, which is within its Trader Workstation platform, lets users view options chains, including key statistics such as implied volatilities and greeks -- a term that refers to delta, gamma and other measures of options' sensitivity to various factors. Orders for single options or combination orders can easily be entered. Buttons are conveniently placed to reverse a position or hedge it from price risk. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of NASDAQ, Inc. Best Options Trading Brokers and Platforms. NerdWallet offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options and make the best possible decisions. The guidance we offer and info we provide are deeply researched, objective and independent. We spent over 300 hours reviewing the top online brokers before selecting the best for our readers.

And to help you find the one that’s best for you, we’ve highlighted their pros, cons and current offers. Who is the best options broker today? The answer depends on whom you ask and what they value. For some investors, the best broker for trading options is the one with the cheapest commissions. Others prioritize trading tools, platform design, research, customer service or all of the above. While most of the brokers on our best-of list below would be a good, all-encompassing choice for many investors, we’ve also highlighted the standout candidates in specific areas that matter most to options traders. Unsure what you’re looking for? See how to choose an options broker for more on what can make or break an options trading experience. Summary: Best online stock brokers for options trading. Best for low-cost. Best options trading platform.

Best for research and education. Best overall for options trading. Our top picks cover all the option trader needs — access to high-quality research, analytical tools, a user-friendly platform — at reasonable prices. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers earn high marks for options investors for their advanced trading platforms, deep bench of research and tools, plus their high-caliber options trading capabilities. TD Ameritrade handily serves option traders no matter where they are on the learning curve. The broker’s thinkorswim platform offers a robust options trading experience for active investors seeking professional-grade tools to identify trading opportunities, analyze potential risks and rewards, test trade strategies and quickly place even the most complex options trades. The broker’s web-based Trade Architect platform is for investors just getting into options or those who don’t require a high-octane platform. Its stripped-down, easy-to-use interface won’t overwhelm newbies. And although Trade Architect isn’t as fully stocked with tools and data as thinkorswim, it’s no slouch, either. Intermediate investors will find advanced features like a marketoptions heat map, screening and tradefinder tools, and streaming news. Get details in our TD Ameritrade review. For cost-conscious, active options traders looking for low costs and a platform with a lot more meat on its bones, Interactive Brokers may be more your style.

Interactive Brokers charges just 70 cents per contract with no base fee ($1 minimum order), plus discounts for larger volumes, if you can manage the $10,000 account minimum. Its Trader Workstation platform (with an options method lab) is considered one of the best and most sophisticated around. But watch other fees to ensure that the lower commissions pay off. Both brokers allow prospective clients to test-drive the goods without putting any real money on the line. TD Ameritrade offers a paperMoney virtual trading account to test out the thinkorswim platform. At Interactive Brokers, once customers open a real account (which has a $10,000 minimum funding requirement), they can set up a paper trading account that offers them hands-on practice using IB’s Trader Workstation platform and tools. Best brokers for low-cost options trading. These brokers offer competitively priced options trading commissions and have eliminated or dramatically capped minimum trading fees. In early 2017 most of the mainstream online brokers slashed commissions to levels once reserved for their deep-discount peers. That doesn’t mean that they’re the best deal in town for every investor. For active options traders, eOption earns five stars from NerdWallet for its low options trade commissions. The company charges a fixed $3 base plus 15 cents per contract. Another plus: eOption is known for having some of the lowest margin rates available.

Although eOption charges a $50 annual inactivity fee on accounts that have placed fewer than two trades in the past 12 months or have less than $10,000 in credit or debit balances, the minimum trade workaround isn’t onerous, even for infrequent traders. Charles Schwab’s trade commission of $4.95 base rate plus 65 cents per contract puts it within spitting distance of deep-discount peers. Schwab recently fully took over the old OptionsXpress and incorporated that broker’s options experience into its own platform, with both web-based and mobile functionality. Commissions aren’t the only costs associated with trading options. Platform, data and other fees can quickly cancel out what you save on commissions. See our full reviews of Charles Schwab and eOption for details on what they offer. For those simply looking for a cheap way to execute options trades, Charles Schwab and eOption get the job done. Best options trading platforms. These brokers offer some of the most powerful trading platforms available for a reasonable price. Judging a broker’s trading platform by the number of features it offers is like buying a car based solely on what you read in the dealer brochure. While all investors have their must-have features, what’s more important is how the platform feels when it’s in their hands. The trading platforms at Ally Invest and TradeStation offer a wide variety of analytical tools, provide stable and speedy trade execution, and allow investors to customize the tools and design to best suit their needs. Unlike TradeStation, Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) is technically a deep discount broker as reflected in its commissions (options traders pay a $4.95 base plus 65 cents per contract with only one base charge per spread), $0 account minimum and free access to research and data. Frequent traders (those who place 30 or more trades per quarter or who carry a balance of $100,000 or more) pay a discounted $3.95 base and 50 cents per contract.

But don’t be fooled by the lower prices: Customers get a lot of platform power for free. Ally is suitable for newer options investors. The browser-based platform resembles the offerings of its pricier competitors and comes with free options trading tools for screening and advanced charting. Navigation is easy and streamlined. Customers can create a custom dashboard with movable modules with the data and features they want to use. The setup extends to what users see across all devices, including mobile and tablet. TradeStation is best left to more experienced, tech-savvy investors who want to experience options trading using the same tools as pro traders. The broker provides all the tools needed to design, test-drive, monitor, automate and speedily execute the most complex trades via direct-market access (no pesky middleman to slow down the process). Its OptionsStation Pro platform is fully integrated into TradeStation’s regular trading platform. An added bonus is the broker’s active investor forums, where traders discuss ideas, ask questions and get help. Access to all of TradeStation’s bells and whistles used to come at a steep $99.95 monthly platform fee for those who didn’t meet account balance or trading activity minimums. But in March 2017 TradeStation eliminated the service fee, lowered its trade commissions for stocks and options and tossed in free real-time market data and free access to its market-monitoring and portfolio-level back-testing tools.

Educational tools and platform tutorials are plentiful, which is a plus: Because of the sophisticated nature of the platform, it may require some time to become familiar with all that it offers. See more in our TradeStation review. Best research and options trading education. Both offer extensive research and data for free, as well as live classes and webinars for beginning and advanced options traders. If you’re new to options trading or want to expand your trading strategies, a broker that devotes its resources to research and customer education is a must. Because Schwab and Fidelity each have offices across the country in addition to their online options education libraries, they’re able to offer in-person guidance and free seminars on how to trade options, as well as one-on-one guidance on using the tools each platform offers. Fidelity’s constantly refreshed library draws from more than 20 providers, including Recognia, Ned Davis, S&P Capital IQ and McLean Capital Management. The full suite is available to customers when they sign into the broker’s web-based platform. And you don’t have to stop digging when you’re away from your computer: Fidelity has a strong mobile app that lets customers access the company’s full suite of research through a mobile browser. Charles Schwab’s options trading capabilities and lineup of trading data and research got a big boost as the company integrated its purchase of OptionsXpress. In October Schwab re-launched its online platform under the StreetSmart name, with both web-based and mobile functionality, though for now only former OptionsXpress clients have access to the new platform. In the first quarter of 2018, Schwab will begin rolling out the new platform to all clients.

While the platform name is changing, Schwab still provides a fully realized suite of offerings for options traders, including trade assessment tools, customizable screeners, access to Schwab analyst options-market commentary, live online webinars and pre-recorded seminars. Best brokers for beginner options investors. These brokers provide ideal conditions (educational resources, user-friendly platforms, customer support and low minimums) for investors just learning the options trading ropes. TD Ameritrade — one of our top overall brokers — ranked highest in this category, too. But since there are many types of beginners with many different preferences, instead of highlighting the category champions we’ve focused on brokers that are excellent candidates in three key areas: Low minimum opening balance requirements. Ally Invest, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge: If you’re not yet ready to devote a lot of your capital to options trading, you don’t want to tie up much in an account to meet the minimum. Many of the brokers on our list require no money to open an account. However, industry regulations require that traders maintain a $2,000 minimum to trade options. Strong customer support. Scottrade and TD Ameritrade: On-call help is particularly handy when starting out.

One way to test a broker’s level of service is to contact the company with any questions you have about its option trading offerings before you even open an account. Scottrade is known for its standout customer service and huge physical presence of 500 branches. So is TD Ameritrade, with around-the-clock phone and email support and 100 branches where clients can attend seminars and meet with investment associates. At the end of 2017, TD’s acquisition of Scottrade will be complete, increasing each broker’s ability to serve clients. User-friendly platforms. Ally, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade: There’s nothing better than test-driving a broker’s platform before you commit. Check to see if the broker you’re considering offers paper trading (virtual trading on a platform that mimics the real deal) or contact customer service to see if they will set you up with a demo account. As for brokers discussed in this review, Ally Invest’s browser-based platform is intuitive and easy to customize. And both Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade have multiple platforms customers can use to start learning the ropes, then graduate to more sophisticated tools and trades if desired. Best options trading brokers: summary. Updated June 30, 2017. Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising arrangements with certain broker-dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker-dealers andor submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account.

At times, we may receive incentives (such as an increase in the flat fee) depending on how many users click on links to the broker-dealer and complete a qualifying action. Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading. NerdWallet offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options and make the best possible decisions. The guidance we offer and info we provide are deeply researched, objective and independent. We spent over 300 hours reviewing the top online brokers before selecting the best for our readers. And to help you find the one that’s best for you, we’ve highlighted their pros, cons and current offers. If you’re an active trader looking to try your hand at beating the market, you probably have a good idea of what you want in a brokerage: low costs, premium research, innovative method tools and a comprehensive trading platform. Below, we’ve selected the best online brokers in a variety of categories so you can choose one based on your personal priorities. One note before you begin: Pattern day traders — as defined by the SEC — must have at least $25,000 in equity in their accounts and be approved for margin trading, regardless of whether their broker’s account minimum is lower. » New to this world? Learn the basics with our guide to how day trading works. Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading. Interactive Brokers: Best overall & for low margin rates TD Ameritrade: Best overall & for trading platform Charles Schwab: Best for trading platform Ally Invest: Best for options trading TradeStation: Best for options trading EOption: Best for low margin rates.

Summary: Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading. Best trading platform. Best for options trading. Best for lowest margin rates. The best online brokers for day trading. These brokers are our best overall picks because of their competitive pricing and strong trading platforms and tools. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers have that powerful combination that every trader wants: Low commissions paired with advanced trading tools and platforms. Interactive Brokers may have an edge with traders who prefer per-share pricing and can meet the $10,000 account minimum and $10 monthly commission minimum — both of which docked the broker slightly in our star ratings. TD Ameritrade offers a very competitive flat rate and no minimum balance requirement. Both brokerages offer a very extensive investment selection, including futures options and forex trading, while Interactive Brokers also offers precious metals.

The best trading platforms. These brokers offer some of the most powerful trading platforms available, with no minimums or fees. Both top picks, TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers, have strong trading platforms. But TD Ameritrade also excels here, as does Charles Schwab . TD Ameritrade offers what may be the best trading platform available, thinkorswim , along with Trade Architect , a second platform designed for simplicity. Charles Schwab also offers two excellent platforms: Streetsmart. com, a Web platform suitable for beginners, and StreetSmart Edge, a more advanced option with elevated charting functionality. Both brokers make all of their tools and platforms available to all customers with no trade activity or balance minimums (taking into account Schwab’s easily avoidable $1,000 account minimum). The best online brokers for options trading. These brokers offer the strongest tools for options traders. Ally Invest and TradeStation are both superior brokers for options traders, though their appeal depends largely on trade activity and platform needs. TradeStation is for seriously committed traders: The company’s platform — which is outstanding — comes with a $99.95 monthly fee, waived only for those who in the previous month carried a $100,000 account balance or traded at least 5,000 shares, 50 options contracts or 10 round-turn futuresfutures option contracts.

(Note: In March 2017 the company eliminated monthly service fees for its desktop, mobile and web-trading apps for non-professional subscribers on the per-trade pricing plan.) Active but low-volume options investors will probably prefer TradeStation’s per-shareper-contract commission schedule ($1 per option contract, no base or ticket charge, with a minimum one contract market or limit order). Options traders at Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) pay a $4.95 base plus 65 cents per contract with only one base charge per spread. They also get access to a powerful platform with no additional charge, including free options trading tools for screening and advanced charting. Navigation is intuitive, and customers can create a custom dashboard that includes the data and features they want to use. The setup extends to all devices, including mobile and tablet. The online brokers with the lowest margin rates. Traders who utilize margin should prioritize a broker’s margin rates in their search. Our top choice for best online broker wins here, too — in fact, no one comes close to Interactive Brokers when it comes to margin rates, so if that’s your No. 1 priority, you’ll likely find your home there. The broker charges a blended rate based on account balance, but features a calculator on its website to help investors quickly do the math. As noted above, Interactive Brokers does impose monthly trade minimums. EOption has a lower minimum deposit requirement and more reasonable trade requirements, charging a $50 inactivity fee only on accounts that haven’t traded at least twice in the past 12 months or have less than $10,000 in credit or debit balances. (Keep in mind that margin trading maintenance and margin call rules can vary based on how much you borrow and what you’re buying.

) Both brokers charge very competitive commissions for stock and options trades. Best platforms for day trading: summary. Interactive Brokers. Low margin rates. min. $1, max. 0.5% of trade value. Ally Invest. base + $0.65 per contract. EOption. Learn more about day trading before diving in. Day trading is buying and selling stocks within a short time frame, often inside a day.

The goal is to capitalize on stocks with rapid and frequent price fluctuations. Day traders often buy a stock they expect to rise in price, or short-sell a stock they expect to fall. Day trading isn’t for the faint of heart — it magnifies all the inherent risks of investing — and should be used as a secondary method, after you’ve invested for long-term goals like retirement. To learn more, read our primer on day trading. How much money do you need to day trade? The SEC requires that pattern day traders maintain at least $25,000 in equity in their accounts. Under the SEC rules, you’re a pattern day trader if you day-trade four or more times within five business days and the day trades represent more than 6% of your total trading activity in that same five-day period. Day trading, defined by the SEC, is buying and selling or short-selling and buying the same security on the same day. In our view, that means you should have an awful lot of money to engage in day trading, because that $25,000 should represent just a small piece of your overall investment portfolio — the bulk of which should be invested for the long term. What’s the safest way to day trade? Our guide to how to day trade gets into advice for minimizing risk, but as a quick synopsis: Rule No. 1 is only put up money you wouldn’t mind parting with. In other words, treat day trading like gambling, not long-term investing. Beyond that, be sure to do your research before you jump in, and establish an exit plan.

It’s easy to make rash decisions when your positions start going bad, so setting rational strategies in advance can help curtail emotional reactions. How do you learn how to day trade? Practice. Many brokers offer virtual trading accounts that essentially let you test the waters with Monopoly money. It’s a great way to get started without the risk. We’ve put together a list of virtual trading platforms, along with more information about how these work. We highly recommend testing out your trades on a virtual platform before putting your money on the line. What securities are best suited for day trading? Most day traders trade stocks, though you can day trade bonds, currencies or commodities, too. Generally, you want to look for securities that are: Highly liquid, with large trade volume. Relatively volatile.

You want frequent price changes, which allows you to make a profit quickly. Known to you. An understanding of the stock’s price history, and how it reacts to various events — earnings reports, economic shifts — is key. Many day traders trade only a few specific stocks, developing expertise in those companies and narrowing their focus. Newsworthy. Coverage of a stock will trigger people to buy or sell it. As a day trader, you’ll want to follow the news to find trade ideas. » Don’t think day trading is for you? Here are other suggestions for how to invest. Updated Sept. 22, 2017. Arielle O'Shea. Arielle is a personal finance writer at NerdWallet. Her work has been featured by Esquire, Money, USA Today, Forbes and The Associated Press.

Read more. Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising arrangements with certain broker-dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker-dealers andor submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account. At times, we may receive incentives (such as an increase in the flat fee) depending on how many users click on links to the broker-dealer and complete a qualifying action. Best Options Brokers for 2017. Like many people, I was intimidated by options when I first started investing almost 10 years ago. They seemed complicated, because they are. It soon became obvious, however, that locking in the ability to buy or sell securities at a set price would be a powerful way to tap into good investment ideas I might not otherwise be able to afford. Through the years, I’ve discovered that all of the best options brokers share a few things in common: low fees, no account minimums, and a user-friendly interface. In this article, I’m going to walk you through the three best options brokers out there, and how they’ll be able to help you with your own investment method. If you’re just getting started in options, TD Ameritrade offers the most educational resources to help you make smart decisions early on. If you already have a firm handle on your investment method and want to maximize your profits, there’s no cheaper online options broker than OptionsHouse. If you’re an active trader that’s looking to stay on top of daily trading volume trends or hourly changes in a stock’s chart, OptionsXpress is going to give you the most effective tools to do it. Each of these brokers caters to a different type of investor, but they all share a focus on low fees, no account minimums, and a user-friendly interface. The Simple Dollar’s Top Picks for the Best Options Brokers. Best for Beginners: TD Ameritrade Lowest Fees for Experienced Traders: Optionshouse Best Tools for Active Traders: OptionsXpress. What to Look for in an Options Broker.

I have managed my own investments for a decade and use Merrill Edge as my primary trading platform because it’s linked up with all my other accounts. However, as a traditional broker, it’s pretty darn clunky when it comes to researching options. In all honesty, the only reason I stick with Merrill is because I have multiple accounts and enough money invested with them that they grant me some pretty nice perks to keep my business. For those just starting off with options, those with a small account, or those who are very active and need a responsive interface of high quality, an old-school broker like Merrill that has simply bolted on an options trading platform probably isn’t going to be ideal for you. The good news is that there are a host of brokers out there that cater almost exclusively to options traders. The best have the following things in common: An options-specific platform: If you want to be serious about options, you’re going to want a broker that is too. A traditional broker focused mainly on stocks or ETFs can typically be clunky when it comes to researching options, or use a fee structure that doesn’t make active options trading cost effective. The good news is that there are a host of brokers out there that cater almost exclusively to options traders. And that’s because they were built primarily as a platform for options first and foremost – even if some were eventually bought by a larger company, or added tools for other kinds of traders down the road. Low fees: Minimizing risk also goes hand-in-hand with minimizing cost. It’s important to acknowledge that even a modest amount of fees will quite literally take the place of other profitable trades you could be making. Whether you’re trading options in the hopes of big profits or just using them for a defensive method, cost matters a great deal.

Low account minimums: Many traders of modest means use options as a cheaper alternative to going long with a high-priced stock. If you have to have a minimum of $100,000 in your account or trade 50 times a month to get cost-effective access to those options, what’s the point? Most options traders can easily get by with a limit of $1,000 or so, but a lack of minimums at all is more preferable. Intuitive interface : The given price on an options contract can fluctuate significantly across the trading day. If you have to fumble around with poorly formatted options chains, it can cost you. Education : Speaking of multi-leg options trades, when is it right to do a bull call spread? And what the heck is an “iron condor?” A good broker will provide resources to teach you more about the sophisticated option trading strategies you may not be familiar with out of the gate. Flexibility: If, like me, your favorite option is a covered call, that means you need to research and purchase plain old stocks and ETFs, too. And you’re not going to want to use another broker to do it. Nobody likes the hassle and cost of having multiple platforms to do multiple things. The Best Options Brokers.

Cost Structure. Options: $9.99 flat rate, plus 75 cents per contract. Stocks and ETFs: $9.99 flat rate, though select ETFs are commission-free. Futures: $2.25 per contract Minimum Balance: $0. If you’re looking to explore options without sacrificing some of the investment options you’re used to, like low-cost ETFs, then TD Ameritrade strikes the perfect balance between worlds – and offers plenty of tips and tricks to help you learn how to trade options effectively, including webinars and an archive of educational videos to explain specific strategies. There’s no element of financial planning you can’t find through TD Ameritrade, which makes it a great one-stop shop, as well as a great entry into options for those more familiar with traditional stocks and bonds. TD Ameritrade may be a discount brokerage, but it is still one of the largest trading platforms in the world with almost $740 billion assets and almost 7 million client accounts. It has won new business in recent years mostly by catering to rookie traders, winning accolades for its accessibility, including five consecutive awards as the best platform for novices as ranked by respected investing magazine Barron’s . TD Ameritrade also recently acquired Scottrade with the deal expected to close by fall of 2017. With Scottrade’s numerous customer service awards and brick-and-mortar stores, TD Ameritrade just amped up its market share of investors of all kinds. Easy-to-Execute Options Trades. When I first started dabbling in options, simply learning the lingo was hard enough. What the heck is a bull call spread? How can I be sure I’m making a covered call on my existing stocks and not accidentally selling shares I want to keep? Thankfully, TD Ameritrade cuts out the guesswork with easy-to-understand options trading tabs.

Simply click on the “spread” tab if you want a spread, or click on the “single order” tab if you just want one leg. There’s also clickable links at the ready explaining the strategies on the order page, so you won’t have to find the answers to any last-minute questions elsewhere before placing your trade. Full-Service Platform. You can make stock trades for $9.99 on the platform, and trade from over 100 commission-free ETFs. There’s also the capability to trade futures and even forex if you really want to get sophisticated, or an avenue to buy annuities if you’re thinking about income in retirement. The fees are admittedly sometimes higher than some other providers – about 10% higher than the typical discount broker, and more than 50% higher than the best discount broker you’ll read about next. But those fees fund customer service resources that are available 247, so you’re getting something for that extra money. TD Ameritrade also has over 100 branches across 33 states for in-person consultation if you need it. Educational Resources. As stated, the robust customer service and physical branches are great resources for newbies to options trading. But there’s also plenty of online resources for the self-starter, including both options screeners to help you identify new ideas, as well as hours of webinars and on-demand video to teach you about options strategies. Most importantly, you’ll also be able to learn how to execute those strategies within the TD Ameritrade platform.

Reading a blog post is one thing, but seeing someone click through a trade is by far the best way to learn the ropes. Lowest Fees for Experienced Traders. If you’re looking for the most economical options-specific trading platform, OptionsHouse is the way to go. Whether you’re trading options or stocks or futures, it’s hard to beat its pricing – especially when coupled with its no minimum balance requirements. In summer 2016, OptionsHouse was acquired by megabroker E*Trade Financial. That should tell you two things – first, that E*Trade clearly understood it had to get with the times on options, and secondly that OptionsHouse was one of the most attractive platforms out there at the time. E*Trade could eventually integrate more with OptionsHouse to bolster its existing tools and research, and I’m interested to see how things progress in this partnership. But regardless of better tools down the road, one important thing to know about the present is that there will be no change to the existing low-cost structure that has made OptionsHouse so popular. That means you can depend on the low-cost platform that has made OptionsHouse such a hit with experienced traders who might not need the additional educational resources provided by other higher-cost brokerages, like TD Ameritrade. A single-leg options contract is $5.45 all-in. That is the lowest rate I could find anywhere right now. But the low prices also extend to futures and stock trades as well, allowing you to manage your entire portfolio in a very cost-effective way. There’s also no minimum balance, making it really easy for even small-time traders to get started.

If you’re trading hundreds or thousands of options contracts each month, there may be a few premium services that charge lower commissions thanks to a volume discount, but for the majority of options traders, this will be the absolute cheapest option available. A custom trading interface provides real-time market data and speedy execution to make sure you are making the most of what the market gives you. The design is clean, and there’s tons of information at your fingertips without cluttering up your screen. The platform is very intuitive, but if you do have a question, you’ll quickly find answers in the robust tutorials for new users. The interface also has been seamlessly ported for mobile devices, with iconic investment magazine Barron’s giving OptionsHouse a perfect 5.0 score on its mobile experience in its 2016 broker rankings. User-Friendly Risk Management. The OptionsHouse tradeLAB tool offers one of the most user-friendly tools I’ve seen to dissect options spreads. There is a green smiley face besides the statistical probability of making a profit, and a red frowny face showing your probability of a loss – so no need to decipher any weird calculations here. You’ll also get other important information at a glance, any upcoming earnings reports or dividend distribution dates, in addition to expiration. Figuring out the potential performance of your options over time can be tricky, and OptionsHouse takes a lot of headaches out of the process with tradeLAB. Best for Active Traders. Options: $12.95 flat rate, $1.25 per contract in lots of 10 or more Stocks and ETFs: $8.95, though select Schwab ETFs are commission-free Futures: $3.50 per contract Minimum Balance: $0. I mentioned the potential of better tools at OptionsHouse down the road because five years ago we saw a case study in how a big broker can really turn up the juice on a smaller options platform. And the result is the current OptionsXpress platform, which is unrivaled in its tools and research. If you’re an active trader, tools are like food and water to you.

While casual or beginner traders looking months down the road may not need to stay on top of daily trading volume trends or hourly changes in a stock’s chart, active options traders can’t live without that info – and OptionsXpress knows this. OptionsXpress was purchased by Charles Schwab in 2011 as a way to improve the legacy broker’s offerings for traders. Since then, the marriage has resulted in the best of both worlds – the slick, professional feel of a big-time firm, along with the agility of an options-native platform. The icing on the cake for OptionsXpress is the ability to trade stocks, ETFs, and even futures alongside options, giving active traders a one-stop shop to make the most of their investing ideas. From its attractive charting interface and its Idea Hub that helps you browse market trends, to its exclusive automatic execution tool, Walk Limit, which helps you place orders at the best price, Options Xpress has the best toys in the space. Everything down to the trade tickets are easy to understand at a glance. To help you keep growing as a trader, there are also weekly webinars, an archive of on-demand educational videos, and regular email updates via its daily Options Xpresso email blasts to keep you focused on market risks and opportunities. There’s even an interface to help you practice trading without investing any real money, as a way to test your options trades in real time without any financial risk. I could go on, but you get the idea – there are plenty of tools for investors of every method and style, whether you’re playing a long-term trade or moving quickly in and out of positions. Free Broker Assistance. Any time you need help, licensed options brokers are available to help you at no-additional cost.

That can provide much-needed peace of mind for rookies, or help unwind a complex method for seasoned traders who may find themselves in a bind. You can even get advice on futures and ETFs if you want. Between this access and the tools, there’s literally no method you can’t handle with OptionsXpress. Active Trader Discounts. Standard options rates are admittedly a bit pricey using OptionsXpress, but active investors who book at least 35 trades per quarter will qualify for a volume discount of as little as $1.25 per contract when booked in groups of 10 or more. There’s also a discount for contracts trading for less than 5 cents, with so-called “penny options” costing a $4.95 flat rate, or 50 cents in lots of 10 or more. That makes it much more cost-effective to bid on way out-of-the-money options. You won’t be able to top OptionsHouse on pricing, of course, but you will certainly save over most of the competitors out there if you trade in lots of 10 or more. A Word On Options Expiration and Alerts. Options can be very profitable if done right, but I’d like to use this space for a public service announcement: Options are contracts that must be acted on, or they expire worthless. That means making sure you have a good grasp of your specific option expirations, and that may mean finding out how to set reminders or alerts via your broker. It is not uncommon for less vigilant or inexperienced options investors to just throw up their hands and eat a bad trade. But, remember: sometimes it’s financially advantageous to close an option position early, or to close an option at a smaller loss than allowing it to execute. Let’s say you spent $100 to for an options contract that gives you the right to buy 1000 shares of XYZ Corp.

at $10 a share, and the contract expires in two months. Your hope is that shares will rise to $12 so you can buy 1000 shares at $10 per your option contract and then immediately sell them at $12 for a $2,000 gain. Unfortunately, some bad news in a week or two pushes XYZ down to $8 a share – meaning you’re deeply “out of the money” and buying at $10 would result in a $2,000 loss instead. Again, the great thing about options is that you don’t have to buy those shares at $10 if you don’t want to, and can just let the contract expire. You’re out $100, but that’s better than a $2,000 loss. However, you could also sell that options contract to someone else instead of waiting until expiration. They probably will give you a fraction of what you paid since the options are pretty unattractive, maybe only $5 or $10. But hey, it’s better than zero. Your personal method and specific trades are up to you, but all options traders run into scenarios like this eventually and many just throw up their hands and give up. Believe me, over time that extra $5 or $10 you salvage from seemingly worthless options will add up particularly if you’re an active trader. To this end, I highly recommend emails, text alerts, or calendar reminders to let you know when your options are set to expire. Whatever your broker, spend some time exploring the tools they provide to help, and find a system that works for you.

TD Ameritrade, OptionsHouse, and OptionsXpress are the best options brokers currently available, because they all meet the criteria for cost-effectiveness, quality research tools, and having a smooth user interface. While TD Ameritrade isn’t the cheapest broker to place individual options trades through, it’s reasonably priced and has a $0 minimum balance, robust customer service, and educational resources that are extremely helpful for beginning options traders to get started. If you’re looking for the best platform for active traders, I highly recommend the slick interface of OptionsXpress. If you are more interested in cost-effectiveness over tools, go with OptionsHouse.