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Our verdict
Our verdict
Consider tastytrade if you want professional-grade derivatives trading platform. Look elsewhere if you're a long-term investor or brand new to trading.
Best for: Experienced stock, options and futures traders.
Pros
Highly customizable trading platform.
Extensive lineup of tradable assets.
Competitive options fee structure.
Helpful educational resources and live programming.
Commission-free trades on stocks and ETFs, and no withdrawal fees.
Available securities
★★★★★
Trade stocks, ETFs, options, futures, cryptocurrencies, commodities and indices.
Customer support
★★★★★
Reach customer support quickly via live chat, email or phone.
Mobile app
★★★★★
Its mobile app receives high marks from both Google and Apple users.
Research and tools
★★★★★
Advanced charting capabilities, discussion boards and TipRanks-powered research.
Reliability
★★★★★
No major outages have been reported.
Bonus
★
Live access to tastytrade programming, available even if you don’t have a tastytrade account.
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read our methodology at the bottom of the page.
tastytrade is best for options and futures traders
With platform tools and features specifically aimed at derivatives trading to help evaluate volatility, risk and profit, the platform is best suited for:
Options traders. Leverage a competitive fee structure and a myriad of trading tools, including curve analysis and quick roll features.
Futures traders. Standard, mini and micro futures are available alongside tools designed to help assess your delta exposure.
Built primarily for options and futures trading, tastytrade has some of the best pricing on options and futures contracts in the industry. Its fee for stock and ETF options is $1 to open and $0 to close. Most brokers charge $0.65 to open and $0.65 to close, for a total of $1.30.
Where tastytrade falls short
It is possible to buy stocks and xchange-traded funds (ETFs) on tastytrade, but it’s a trading platform first and foremost. Everyday investors looking for a user-friendly platform with tools for fundamental analysis or stock-specific news will likely be better off looking elsewhere. Options and futures traders, maybe not.
tastytrade‘ fees
Account minimum
$0
Stock and ETF trade fees
$0
Option on stocks and ETFs trade fees ($10 max per leg)
$1 per contract to open, $0 to close
Options on futures trade fees
$2.50 per contract to open, $0 to close
Options on micro futures trade fees
$1.50 per contract to open, $0 to close
Future trade fees
$1.25/contract to open, $1.25 to close
Micro futures trade fees
$0.85 per contract to open, $0.85 to close
Smalls futures trade fees
$0.85 per contract to open, $0.85 to close
Cryptocurrency trade fees
1% of total crypto purchase and sale up to $10 max
ACH deposits and withdrawals
$0
Account transfer fee
$75
Is tastytrade legit?
Yes, tastytrade is a legitimate brokerage. The company is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and was approved as a broker-dealer by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2016.
Before tastytrade, CEOs Scott Sheridan and Tom Sosnoff cofounded the popular trading platform Thinkorswim. tastytrade launched to the general public in 2007.
tastytrade‘ platform is complex
Here are some of the tools you can use to trade with on tastytrade:
Watchlists
Charts
Quick roll feature
Quick order feature
tastytrade programming
Follow feed
tastytrade‘ app
The web and mobile platforms are slightly powered-down, and perhaps a little more user-friendly, compared to the desktop app. You won’t have the same high-level functionality, but you can access your account and trade. You’ll be able to:
Place trades
Replace/cancel working orders
Roll positions
Close positions
tastytrade‘ desktop app
Initially overwhelming, the platform offers so much data and so many tools that it’s easy to get lost in the beginning. But we found the tastytrade tutorial collection and tastytrade programming to be incredibly helpful for familiarizing ourselves with the platform. Importantly, the platform is highly customizable. We also didn’t notice much lag when toggling through the different tabs and sections. It feels like what you’d expect a professional-grade options and futures trading platform to be.
tastytrade‘ app store reviews
Google Play app reviews
4.6/5 stars based on over 1,290 reviews
Apple App Store app reviews
4.8/5 stars based on over 4,200 reviews
tastytrade‘ customer support
Contact tastytrade customer support in two ways:
Phone
Live chat
Email
How to open an account with tastytrade
Click the “Sign up now” button below and click “Get My Bonus”. Choose I Agree if you accept the terms and conditions.
Enter your email address, username and password. Select “Continue” and then the type of account you’d like to apply for.
Enter your personal information.
Provide information about your trading experience and finances.
Confirm your identity by answering security questions, and then enable two-factor authentication. Select “Continue To Important Documents” when finished.
Review and submit your application.
Once your application is approved, fund your account with an ACH transfer, wire transfer, check or funds transfer from another brokerage account.
You can begin trading on the tastytrade platform.
Make sure the name on your tastytrade account exactly matches the name on your bank account, otherwise you may run into problems when you go to link your account for funding. We ran into this, and had to upload an ID for verification.
Eligibility and required information
At least 18 years old
Valid phone number and residential and email address
The tastytrade platform is considered safe and secure. It uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) v1.2, with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256 data encryption to encrypt data. tastytrade also uses real-time monitoring systems to protect customer data and regularly assesses, audits and fortifies its systems and code. Two-factor authentication is available for additional account security.
FINDER EXCLUSIVE: Guaranteed $15 bonus when you sign up and deposit $100
How we rate trading platforms
★★★★★ 5/5 — Excellent
★★★★★4/5 — Good
★★★★★3/5 — Average
★★★★★2/5 — Subpar
★★★★★1/5 — Poor
We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability. For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate trading platforms.
Matt Miczulski is an investments writer at Finder, where he covers market news and digs into brokerages and investments to help readers make informed financial decisions. His expertise and writing have been featured on CBS, MSN, Best Company and Consolidated Credit, among others. Before joining Finder, Matt covered everything from finance news and banking to debt and travel for FinanceBuzz. He earned a BA in history from William Paterson University.
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