Successful day traders practice to develop a strategy and take time to learn what works — and what doesn’t — when trading.
Part of that strategy is choosing a broker that offers a suitable trading platform for frequent trading. Not all brokers are created equal, and not all offer the same level of trading tools. The best day trading platforms should offer adequate tools and ample resources to help you learn and grow as a day trader.
We analyzed 18 brokers and put together a list of the best platforms for day trading to help you figure out which broker might be right for you as you look to capitalize on intraday market movements. From traditional brokers to mobile-first trading apps, here are the best day trading platforms for beginners, trading crypto and more.
With its combination of investment choices, low costs and powerful trading tools, Interactive Brokers stands out as the best day trading platform overall. Trade everything from stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to options, futures, currencies, bonds and crypto, with access to some of the lowest margin rates in the industry. Its desktop platform, Trader Workstation, is available to both IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite users and offers traders the flexibility to customize their trading strategies and pinpoint buying opportunities — event calendars, alerts, watchlists and over 100 order types and algorithms. Other advanced trading tools include IBKR's fundamentals explorer, a multi-leg options strategy builder, a real-time risk navigator and a paper trading account. IBKR also stands out as one of the best forex day trading platforms for its dedicated currency trading tools and access to over 100 currency pairs.
Pros
Commission-free stock and ETF trades
Expansive offering of powerful trading tools and functions
Trade a wide range of assets from over 150 global markets on one platform
Fractional shares
Paper trading with $1 million in virtual currency
Cons
Unreliable live chat support
Cash sweep available to IBKR Pro accounts only, with minimum balance requirements
Recognized for its distinctive, user-friendly platform and no commissions on stocks, ETFs, options or crypto, Robinhood delivers an intuitive trading experience that isn't bogged down by an abundance of complex features. Beginner day traders will find standard market and limit orders, fractional shares and pattern day trade protection. This feature alerts you as you place your second, third and fourth day trades in a five trading day period to help you avoid being flagged as a pattern day trader (PDT). Upgrading to Robinhood Gold unlocks margin investing at 8%, instant deposits up to $50,000, advanced market data and 5% APY on your uninvested cash.
Pros
Commission-free stock, ETF, options and crypto trades
Highly rated, user-friendly platform
Fractional shares
Pattern day trade protection
Earn 5% on your uninvested cash with Robinhood Gold
Cons
Limited advanced tools unless you upgrade to Robinhood Gold
Limited tradable assets
No paper trading
Available asset types
Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency
Account types
Brokerage, IRA, Margin
Annual fee
0%
Minimum deposit
$0
Signup bonus
Get a free stock when you successfully sign up and link your bank account.
Cash sweep APY
1.5%
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$0
Cash sweep APY
1.5%
Signup bonus
Get a free stock when you successfully sign up and link your bank account.
Designed primarily for derivatives trading, tastytrade boasts an impressive collection of trading products and some of the best pricing on options and futures contracts in the industry. Stocks and ETFs are commission-free, options have no closing commissions and its trading platforms are equipped with an impressive array of advanced trading and analysis tools — customizable alerts, a follow feed to see trade activity from other tastytrade users, profit and loss visualizations and a quick roll feature to roll your option position into the future, to name a few.
Pros
Trade options, futures and futures options, along with stocks, ETFs and crypto
Trade 21 cryptos including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and more with eToro's easy-to-use web and mobile trading platforms. Advanced charts with over 100 indicators, a technical analysis indicator with quick-view buy and sell signals and a $100,000 demo account are what make eToro stand out as the best crypto day trading platform.
Pros
Trade 21 cryptos
Paper trading account with $100,000 in virtual currency
Fractional shares
Advanced trading tools and features on an intuitive trading platform
Cons
Limited tradable assets
No live chat feature
Available asset types
Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency
Account types
Brokerage, IRA
Annual fee
0%
Minimum deposit
$0
Signup bonus
FINDER EXCLUSIVE: Get a guaranteed $15 bonus when you sign up and deposit $100
Cash sweep APY
4.9%
Cash sweep insured
FDIC
Cash sweep insurance amount
$5 million
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$0
Cash sweep APY
4.9%
Signup bonus
FINDER EXCLUSIVE: Get a guaranteed $15 bonus when you sign up and deposit $100
Open a new account and transfer up to $20,000 via ACATS to earn a 1.5% cash rewards match or deposit $100 or more to get 7 fractional shares of “Magnificent 7” stocks.
Moomoo's one of the most capable trading apps on the market, offering advanced, customizable charting and free access to pro-grade tools such as analyst ratings, real-time Level 2 market data and short sale analysis. Track market capital flow to help time transactions, view position cost distribution and other technical indicators and use Moomoo's Indicator Sentiment for a quick view of the overall status of all technical indicators. Choose from over 63 indicators and 38 drawing tools or customize technical indicators with over 190 pre-set functions, all on Moomoo's user-friendly mobile app. You'll also find a dedicated desktop trading platform and paper trading so you can practice and test your strategies before going live.
Pros
Commission-free stock, ETF and options trades
Paper trading with $1 million in virtual currency
Advanced trading tools and features on an intuitive trading platform
Earn 5.1% APY on your uninvested cash with no balance requirements
Cons
No fractional shares
No crypto
Available asset types
Stocks, Options, ETFs
Account types
Brokerage
Minimum deposit
$0
Signup bonus
Choose a 1.5% match or 7 free fractional shares when you open a new account and meet funding requirements
Cash sweep APY
5.10%
Cash sweep insured
FDIC
Cash sweep insurance amount
$500,000
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$0
Cash sweep APY
5.10%
Signup bonus
Choose a 1.5% match or 7 free fractional shares when you open a new account and meet funding requirements
Suitable for day trading stocks, ETFs, crypto, futures and options, TradeStation stands out for its trading simulator, where traders can back-test trading strategies and practice advanced tactics without the risk of losing real money. Practice trading stocks, options and futures, with unlimited simulated dollars and access to real-time market data. Plus, access TradeStation's trading simulator on desktop, web and mobile devices, so you can practice your trading on your platform of choice.
Pros
Paper trading with unlimited virtual funds
Trade stocks, options, futures, ETFs, crypto and more
With its acquisition of TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab now boasts the popular Thinkorswim trading platform, making it a standout broker for day trading. Available for web, desktop and mobile, the powerful Thinkorswim trading platform offers highly customizable charts with over 400 technical studies and 20 drawings, live news, scanner tools, screeners and watchlists and complex trading instruments — such as multi-leg options. In-platform gadgets like Trade Flash displays third-party analyst up/downgrades, block trades, trade imbalances, trading floor events and more, and a paper trading account with $100,000 of virtual currency is available to practice and refine your trading strategies.
Pros
Powerful Thinkorswim trading platform for web, desktop and mobile
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Methodology: How we choose the best day trading platforms
Finder’s investments experts review 18 brokers available on the market to narrow down the best platforms for day trading.
We analyze each broker based on 147 key metrics we collect directly from brokers and assess each provider’s performance based on eight different categories, weighing each metric based on the expertise and insights of Finder’s investment experts. We then score and rank each provider depending on how it performs
See how we weigh the overall rating
Investment options
Trading platforms
Trading costs
Account fees
Account types
Customer support
Mobile app reviews
Features
15%
37%
7%
8%
0%
5%
8%
20%
We update our best picks as products change, disappear or emerge in the market. We also regularly review and revise our selections to ensure our best provider lists reflect the most competitive available.
What is day trading?
Day trading is a trading strategy that involves buying and selling the same security within the same trading day. Using various techniques, primarily technical analysis, day traders aim to profit from short-term fluctuations in a security’s price. Day traders typically close their positions before the end of the trading day and never hold a security overnight.
How to choose the best day trading platform
Choosing the best day trading platform isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Along with costs and investment options, you’ll want to know how the broker’s platforms perform. Insightful trading tools and an intuitive platform can help you make the most of your trades.
Factors you should consider when choosing the best day trading platform include:
Costs and fees. Most brokers on the market today are free to sign up, free to use and offer commission-free stock and ETF trading. However, many brokers still charge for options trading and charge miscellaneous fees for various account activities. For example, some brokers charge a fee to transfer your account to another broker.
Investment options. A key part of choosing a day trading app is determining which securities you want to trade. While the big brokers like Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab and Interactive Brokers offer the most traditional investment options, mobile-first trading apps are starting to step up their game when it comes to asset offerings. Most of the big brokers still don’t offer access to crypto. Choose a platform that offers tradable assets that align with your strategy and goals.
Platform availability. Mobile trading apps are growing in popularity for several reasons: time spent on mobile devices is increasing; mobile apps tend to offer a better user-experience; and mobile trading apps are increasingly becoming more powerful and are starting to include many of the same features you’d find on browser and, sometimes, desktop versions of the trading platform.
Reliability, security and customer reviews. Review the app’s security features, regulatory status and history of outages. Consider the number of reviews and how existing and previous users rate the app and platform.
Is day trading a good idea?
Despite the enticing and hyped-up claims of making millions day trading, in reality, most people lose money. A study published in 2019 of 1,551 Brazilian day traders that traded for nearly a year showed that 97% lost money.(1)
The risk of losing money is incredibly high, so it’s important to not commit money you can’t afford to lose.
Frequently asked questions
What platform do most day traders use?
Day traders typically choose platforms that offer fast trade execution speeds, low trading costs and a trading platform that they can customize to their trading strategy and needs.
Can I make $1,000 a day, day trading?
While it’s possible to make $1,000 daily with day trading, a day trader’s income depends on their specific trading strategies and the amount of capital available. However, day trading is very risky, and there’s no guarantee you’ll make any money.
Is day trading really that profitable?
There’s no guarantee day trading will be profitable, and most of the time, it probably won’t be. A study by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, for instance, found that roughly 70% of forex traders lose money every quarter and 100% of their money in less than 12 months.
Matt Miczulski is an investments editor at Finder. With over 450 bylines, Matt dissects and reviews brokers and investing platforms to expose perks and pain points, explores investment products and concepts and covers market news, making investing more accessible and helping readers to make informed financial decisions.
Before joining Finder in 2021, Matt covered everything from finance news and banking to debt and travel for FinanceBuzz. His expertise and analysis on investing and other financial topics has been featured on CBS, MSN, Best Company and Consolidated Credit, among others. Matt holds a BA in history from William Paterson University.
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