Breakdown of Costs and Fees per Brokerage

by chaney3

Just trying to get y’all the best price / Fee structure for your needs.

Brokerage Stock ETF Options Futures
TD Ameritrade $0 $0 $0.65/Contract $2.25/Contract
Interactive Brokers $0.0035/Share $0.0035/Share $0.25 to $0.65/Contract $0.85/Contract
Robinhood $0 $0 $0/Contract N/A
WeBull $0 $0 N/A N/A
Charles Schwab $0 $0 to $4.95/Trade $4.95 + $0.65/Contract $1.50/Contract
E-Trade $0 $4.95 $4.95 + $0.50/Contract $1.50/Contract per side

All of these brokerages have incredibly complex pricing structures so if you generally specialize in a certain contract or trade with a specific purpose you may be better suited to a different company. Below is my personal opinion about the following companies as I have at least some experience with each of them.

TD Ameritrade: TDA has a great user interface and powerful tools and analytics. TOS is exponentially more refined than their web platform. I keep $9 in my TDA account currently just to stream CNBC from the mobile app for free. If you only trade stock or options this may now be a viable platform, but if you trade any other kind of instrument their fee structure can still get in the way.

Interactive Brokers: IBKR is my personal favorite. Tools and analytics like you’ve never seen before come standard. The customer support is great but most of all, their fee structure is tiered, meaning for big volume pushers it can be an even better price. If you trade more complicated financial instruments or contracts, this is the one for you and at the best price.

Robinhood: Absolute garbage. Go ahead, down vote you HFT Fodder. All your orders get shafted and half the time your just trading with stub quotes. Terrible customer service. execution on everything is garbage. Robinhood is what made me move to WeBull.

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WeBull: If you want a buttery smooth mobile experience, then look no further. This app is the bees knees when it comes to exclusively mobile stock traders. I still have funds in this account because if I need to trade while on the go, this is the best way to do it. That being said, you will be severely limited with the types of instruments you can trade, although they are working on releasing options within the next year. WeBull may be a reasonable contender once it grows to offer more.

Charles Schwab: what a non polarizing experience. I don’t hate it, and I don’t love it. It’s just there. There are still cheaper alternatives with better tools.

E-Trade: Want to save a few bucks? then GTFO, E-Trade hates it when their clients get to keep their money. Contracts on SPX cost a penny more per contract.

Additionally, if you trade on margin, you need to check those rates. Not surprisingly if you play with big boy dollars IBKR has the best rates. WeBull has rates for intraday trades with up to 4x leverage, but has variable interest rates for shorted shares dependent on the risk associated with the share recalculated daily. TDA charges a whopping 10.25% on margin of less than 10k. I couldn’t even find the cost to borrow for some brokers.

The bottom line is that how you invest could significantly change what broker works best for you, but the industry is shaking up due to commission free startups, payment for order flow and changing regulatory standards. These fee structures are all likely to change quite a bit over the next few months so keep updated and make sure to call your broker every now and then to negotiate your fees, even if you’re comfortable with what you currently pay because all this pressure is great for retail traders!

 

 

 

Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.

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