TradeStation is an online broker-dealer for sophisticated traders and institutions to access advanced crafting and testing trading technology. It isn't great for passive investors or beginners.
Business Insider's personal finance team compared TradeStation to the best online brokerages. We found it to be a great option for day traders who need to access fast order execution and educational resources for futures and options trading.
Pros and Cons
TradeStation Pros
- $0 account minimum
- TradeStation Proprietary APIs
- Various interactive trading platforms (web, desktop, mobile app, simulated)
- Comprehensive futures and options educational resources
TradeStation Cons
- Complex fee structure
- Mutual funds cost $14.95 per trade and bonds cost $14.95 + $5 per bond
- Cryptocurrencies are no longer available
Open an Account
- No account minimums or commissions on stocks, ETFs, options, and futures
- Wide range of interactive trading platforms
- Several investment choices
- Cryptocurrency trading available
- Fee structure can be difficult to understand
- Mutual funds cost $14.95 per trade
- No current promotional offers
Compare TradeStation
Overview
TradeStation is an online broker firm specializing in comprehensive day trading for experienced investors and institutions. Users can leverage the platform's broad market access and competitively priced securities to enhance their investment portfolio.
Its specialized futures and options trading platform, FuturesPlus, gives you access to all major U.S. futures exchanges with no platform fees, fast trade execution, a personalized watchlist, and a mobile app.
It also provides an extensive library of educational resources, including the Options Education Center, TradeStation Master Class, a support forum, and retirement planning.
Investors can build custom trading solutions with TradeStation's proprietary APIs. You need at least $10,000 in your account to unlock this feature.
Pricing plans and fees are a bit complicated, and the market data plans aren't actually free of charge after the first 90 days. TradeStation's fee schedule is transparent, however, and you can always chat with a TradeStation representative for information.
Although TradeStation is best for experienced investors, less-experienced investors interested in active trading may benefit from TradeStation's Master Class series for in-depth demonstrations, technical analysis, and more. This feature includes live sessions with skilled instructors to answer user questions.
Ways to Invest
All TradeStation accounts can be opened as either a cash account or a margin trading account.
TradeStation Brokerage Accounts
TradeStation offers investors individual and joint brokerage accounts to trade commission-free stocks, ETFs, options, and futures.
Customizable trading strategies with TradeStation provide investors with real-time market data, web and mobile trading access, and customizable charting. Additionally, investors can access the FuturesPlus trading platform and Simulated Trading feature.
The Simulated Trading feature gives you a risk-free way of testing out trading strategies before you use them in real time, a strategy known as paper trading. This could benefit less-experienced traders who want to improve their trading game.
You can also open a custodial account on behalf of a child or minor. Parents or guardians can manage a custodial account through TradeStation until the beneficiary is old enough (the age varies by state).
TradeStation Retirement Accounts
TradeStation offers self-direct IRAs (traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE). It also allows rollover IRAs for investors to roll over funds from an existing IRA or old 401(k) plan.
You can trade futures (micro and full-size contracts), stocks, and options in a TradeStation IRA.
TradeStation Entity Account
TradeStation offers a wide selection of entity accounts, such as:
- Trust account: The account owner can designate one or many trustees to manage the assets in the account for the benefit of the beneficiary (the account owner).
- Corporation account: Corporation-owned account managed by an appointed officer(s).
- General partnership: A general partner or multiple partners manage this account while following the written partnership agreement.
- Limited partnership: One or more general partners manage the assets in the account, but one of the partners is limited and owns the passive interests
- Limited liability company (LLC): One or more managing members (plus any other passive members) manage the account's assets.
- Sole proprietorship: A business or individual owns the assets in this account and manages on behalf of a business.
TradeStation Private Brokerage
TradeStation Private Brokerage is a trading account designed for sophisticated investors wanting high-priority customer service, one-on-one human advisor access, and access to the highest-precision data.
With Private Brokerage, you can get any concerns and questions answered with the highest priority, plus automatic urgent classification for any technology bugs.
Other features include tech-supported backtesting through the Concierge team, tick-level data, and platform customization lessons with third-party integration (optional). Exclusive research, institutional-grade reports, and entry into VIP events and industry conferences are also available.
TradeStation Institutional
Institutional Solutions by TradeStation provides businesses with customizable, self-directed trading solutions using advanced analytics, trading tools, and API connections.
It is available to hedge funds, family offices, regulated entities, futures commission merchants, registered investment advisors, commodity trading advisors, and prop traders.
Users can design, test, and automate custom trading strategies, manage accounts, and access advanced order execution (including bracket and complex orders) using real-time market data.
TradeStation Analytics
TradeStation Analytics is a premium platform for investors who want to use advanced tools and features without opening a brokerage account. TradeStation Analytics is a subscription-based service. Subscription plans start at $99 per month.
Some professional-grade tools for active investing include:
- RadarScreen: Market monitoring tool offering custom criteria for up to 1,000 symbols in real time based on more than 180 technical and fundamental indicators.
- Matrix: View the real-time profit potential of trades with a detailed market depth window and order-tracking system unique to TradeStation.
- OptionsStation Pro: Options trading analysis system that helps options traders build, evaluate, and track positions through interactive position graphs, integrated probability cones, and drag-and-drop position management.
- EasyLanguage: Simplified proprietary technology for back-testing trading strategies against TradeStation's historical database. Allows you to design, test, and automate strategies and indicators.
TradeStation Analytics also offers education and training features and customer support online, over the phone, or via email.
TradeStation Fully Paid Stock Lending
TradeStation has a Fully Paid Stock Lending Program for account holders interested in earning incremental income on eligible stocks in their portfolios. You can lend out investable securities that are fully paid (or partially paid with margin) and earn interest daily.
You'll accrue daily interest on the shares loaned into your account monthly. All security loans are backed by U.S. dollar collateral on your behalf. You can un-enroll in the Fully Paid Stock Lending program at any time.
Before you sign up, understand there are tax implications for lending out investable securities. Loan income is generally taxed as ordinary income. Moreover, lent-out shares are not insured by SIPC.
To be eligible for the program, you must have a minimum account balance of $25,000 or one full year of trading experience. To enroll, visit TradeStation's Client Center.
Fees
TradeStation doesn't require a minimum to start investing. Web, mobile, and desktop platforms are all free to open. It offers $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs, stock options (+0.60 per contract), futures, micro futures, and futures options cost $1.50 per contract per side.
TradeStation previously offered free market data plans, but now market data costs a minimum of $40 per month (waived for users billed $40 or more in futures commissions the previous month).
Futures traders will get access to a 90-day grace period for free market data packages. After that, investors are charged for the level 1 data package and the market depth data package for $40 a month. Investors can also opt into additional data packages for varying prices.
To avoid receiving a $10 monthly inactivity fee, you must have a $5,000 average end-of-month equity balance or have at least made 10 trades in the last 90 days.
Mutual funds charge $14.95 per trade. To open a margin account, you need a balance of at least $2,000, and interest rates go up to 13.50%. Corporate and municipal bonds cost $14.95 + an additional $5 per bond. US Treasury Securities are $50 per trade.
Each standard IRA includes an annual service fee of $35, and IRAs holding crypto assets charge a $100 annual administration fee.
Trustworthiness
TradeStation has received a B+ rating from the Better Business Bureau because of government actions against the business. The BBB assigns its ratings using a grade scale of A+ to F (with F being the lowest rating). TradeStration's B+ rating indicates it's a well-trusted business. Both government actions filed against it — explained below — have been settled.
On February 7, 2024, The SEC filed charges against TradeStation Crypto for allegedly selling unregistered crypto asset lending products. TradeStation agreed to pay a $3 million penalty and fine settlement.
On July 27, 2022, the SEC charged TradeStation with not developing a required theft protection program. TradeStation paid $425,000 to settle the charges.
Alternatives
Here are similar day-trading platforms to TradeStation.
tastytrade
$0 ($2,000 for margin accounts)
$0 for stocks and ETFs (options start at $1 per contract and capped at $10 per leg)
- No account minimum to open an account
- Low-cost options and futures contracts
- Transparent fee structure
- Doesn’t offer mutual funds, forex, IPOs, OTC trading
- Only offers small selection of cryptocurrencies for trading
- Not suitable for beginners
- A large selection of options and futures trading
- No account minimum to open an account
- Only offers 25 cryptocurrencies for trading
- No robo-advisor or human-advisor access
- $0 for stocks and ETFs (options start at $1 per contract and capped at $10 per leg)
TradeStation and tastytrade are robust options and futures trading platforms best suited for sophisticated traders seeking fast trade execution and competitively priced securities.
TradeStation no longer supports cryptocurrencies, making tastytrade the best option for investors looking to diversify with alternative digital assets.
If you're primarily an options trader, TradeStation is a better choice as contracts are cheaper ($0.60 per contract vs. tastytrade's $1.00 per contract). TradeStation is also the only option for those interested in purchasing mutual funds, as tastytrade doesn't offer those.
Tastytrade doesn't offer institutional or private client services, so TradeStation is the best choice for businesses and high-net-worth investors.
Interactive Brokers
$0 ($100 Interactive Advisors automated accounts)
$0 for IBKR Lite; $0 IBKR Pro (per-share commissions apply)
- Low commissions and fees
- International trading opportunities
- Competitive trading platforms and tools
- Several account types available
- Thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds
- Cryptocurrency investing available for bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, and litecoin
- Less active traders pay more for IBKR Pro
- Website can be tricky to navigate
Interactive Brokers is one of the best online brokerages for advanced, active investors who trade securities frequently and value access to market analysis and trading platforms.
Interactive Brokers- Promotion: None at this time.
Interactive Brokers and TradeStation are evenly matched regarding investment opportunities, technical trading abilities, and sophisticated trading tools and features. Both are good options for experienced investors and institutions.
That said, Interactive Brokers offers a more comprehensive trading experience with larger order types, access to global markets, fractional shares, forex trading, and passive investing strategies suitable for beginners and intermediate investors. Moreover, Interactive Brokers is your only option if you want to trade cryptocurrency.
Why You Should Trust Us
TradeStation was reviewed using Business Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms. It was compared and examined based on pricing, account tools, multiple asset classes, and overall customer experience. We assign platform ratings from 1 to 5.
Business Insider's Overall TradeStation Rating
| Feature | Rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 4.00 |
| Investment selection | 4.00 |
| Access | 4.50 |
| Ethics | 4.00 |
| Customer support | 4.50 |
| Overall score | 4.17 |
FAQs
What is TradeStation, and what does it offer to traders?
TradeStation is a comprehensive online brokerage platform for sophisticated traders and institutions seeking advanced trading capabilities and dashboard flexibility. It offers traders access to robust trading software, high-performing charting tools, and back-testing capabilities.
How does TradeStation's trading platform stand out?
TradeStation's trading platform stands out for its powerful analytical tools, high-speed order execution, and complex trading strategies.
What are the costs associated with using TradeStation?
The costs associated with using TradeStation include commission-free stocks and ETFs, $0.60 per options contract, and $14.95 per mutual fund trade.
Is TradeStation suitable for beginner traders?
No, TradeStation is not suitable for beginners. It caters to sophisticated investors seeking advanced charting tools and analytics. If you're just starting out, a less complex platform with simpler features will be better.
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