Best Brokers

asset ranking · Primary query: best brokers for futures trading

Best Brokers for Futures TradingUpdated August 2026 · 12 brokers, every figure sourced

Written by
Juan Manuel Gonzalez
Published
Data verified

Quick verdict

Futures is the clearest dividing line in our set: six of the twelve brokers publish a schedule and six do not offer it at all. Among those that do, the published commission runs from $0.85 a contract at Interactive Brokers to $2.25 at Charles Schwab, with Webull at $1.00, tastytrade at $1.25 on options on futures, and E*TRADE at $1.50. Every one of those figures excludes exchange and NFA fees, which are charged on top and are not set by the broker.

The ranking

Safety and regulation 30% · Fees and total cost 30% · Investment selection 25% · Account types and features 15% · Eligibility: Publishes a futures schedule

Verified August 28, 2026

Sub-scores are integers, so the bars carry more information than the order does.

  • Safety and regulation
  • Fees and total cost
  • Investment selection
  • Account types and features

Showing 6 of 6 brokers, sorted by editorial rank.

  1. Rank 1 of 6

    Interactive Brokers

    CRD 36418 · SIPC member

    Lowest per-contract commission

    9.1

    Strong

    • Safety and regulation9
    • Fees and total cost9
    • Investment selection10
    • Account types and features8
    Account minimum
    $0No account minimums
    Futures
    $0.85 per contractUSD-denominated futures and futures options up to 1,000 contracts a month, falling to $0.25 above 20,000. Excludes exchange and regulatory fees
    Broker-assisted
    Not verified
    Account types
    8/12
    Visit Interactive BrokersFull review →

  2. Rank 2 of 6

    Charles Schwab

    CRD 5393 · SIPC member

    8.7

    Strong

    • Safety and regulation9
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection9
    • Account types and features9
    Account minimum
    $0$0 account minimum, $0 opening and maintenance
    Futures
    $2.25 per contractFutures and futures options, per contract per side. Excludes NFA and exchange fees
    Broker-assisted
    $0 + $25 service charge
    Account types
    10/12
    Visit Charles SchwabFull review →

  3. Rank 3 of 6

    E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

    CRD 149777 · SIPC member

    8.2

    Solid

    • Safety and regulation8
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection8
    • Account types and features9
    Account minimum
    Not verified
    Futures
    $1.50 per contract
    Broker-assisted
    Not verified
    Account types
    10/12
    Visit E*TRADE from Morgan StanleyFull review →

  4. Rank 4 of 6

    tastytrade

    CRD 277027 · SIPC member

    7.5

    Solid

    • Safety and regulation8
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection7
    • Account types and features6
    Account minimum
    Not verified
    Futures
    $1.25 per contractOptions on futures. Futures $1.00; micro futures $0.75
    Broker-assisted
    Not verified
    Account types
    7/12
    Visit tastytradeFull review →

  5. Rank 5 of 6

    Webull

    CRD 289063 · SIPC member

    7.1

    Mixed

    • Safety and regulation7
    • Fees and total cost9
    • Investment selection6
    • Account types and features5
    Account minimum
    $0No deposit minimum stated in the fee schedule
    Futures
    $1.00 per contractStandard pricing on CME regular outright futures; micros $0.25. Premium subscribers pay less, and volume tiers reduce it further
    Broker-assisted
    Not verified
    Account types
    5/12
    Visit WebullFull review →

  6. Rank 6 of 6

    TradeStation

    CRD 39473 · SIPC member

    Cheapest micro contracts

    6.9

    Mixed

    • Safety and regulation8
    • Fees and total cost6
    • Investment selection7
    • Account types and features6
    Account minimum
    $2,000Stated as the minimum to open and maintain a margin position; no cash-account opening minimum published
    Futures
    $0.50–$1.75 per contract per sideBy volume tier. Micros $0.25–$0.50 per side
    Broker-assisted
    $25Equities and futures accounts
    Account types
    6/12
    Visit TradeStationFull review →

Positions are computed from published sub-scores at build time. Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley lead; their unrounded totals are 9.10, 8.70, 8.15.

Why these weights

Selection rises to 25% because futures availability and the breadth of contracts offered is the question, and cost stays at 30% because per-contract commissions still differ by more than twofold.

Winners by category

  • Lowest per-contract commission

    Interactive Brokers

    $0.85 a contract up to 1,000 a month, falling to $0.25 above 20,000.

  • Cheapest micro contracts

    TradeStation

    $0.25 to $0.50 per side on micros, the lowest published micro rate in our set.

The commission is the smaller half of the cost

Every futures schedule here is quoted before exchange fees, clearing fees and the NFA assessment, all of which are charged on top and none of which the broker sets. On a micro contract those pass-through costs can exceed the broker's own commission, which makes a comparison of headline commissions alone misleading in exactly the way a stock commission comparison is not.

Ask any broker for an all-in cost per contract on the specific product you intend to trade, rather than the commission. The difference between firms on the commission line is smaller than it looks once the rest is added.

Half of the market does not offer futures at all

Fidelity, Vanguard, Merrill Edge, Robinhood, Public and eToro publish no futures schedule among the firms we score. For Vanguard and Merrill that reflects a long-term investing focus; for the app-first platforms it reflects a narrower product set generally.

If futures matter to you, this is a shorter shortlist than any commission table suggests, and the choice is made before price enters it.

Why each broker sits where it does

The figures that matter for futures trading, and the arithmetic that produced each position under this page’s weights. The same brokers rank differently elsewhere on this site because a different question is being asked; the sub-scores do not change, the weights do.

1.Interactive Brokers

9.1/10

INTERACTIVE BROKERS LLC · CRD 36418 · SIPC member

Futures
$0.85 per contract
To open
$0

Leads this ranking on 9.1/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 8/10 on account types and features adds 1.2 at 15%.

On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-47257), FINRA member, SIPC member, and part of a US-listed group. No headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Interactive Brokers

2.Charles Schwab

8.7/10

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. · CRD 5393 · SIPC member

Futures
$2.25 per contract
Broker-assisted
$0 + $25 service charge
To open
$0

Ranks 2nd on 8.7/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 9/10 on account types and features adds 1.4 at 15%.

On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-16514) with one of the lowest CRD numbers in our set, indicating long registration history. SIPC member. No headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Charles Schwab

3.E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

8.2/10

MORGAN STANLEY · CRD 149777 · SIPC member

Futures
$1.50 per contract

Ranks 3rd on 8.2/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 9/10 on account types and features adds 1.4 at 15%.

On safety and regulation: Accounts sit with an active SEC-registered Morgan Stanley broker-dealer (8-68191) that is a SIPC member. Marked one point below the long-single-entity firms because BrokerCheck lists the original E*TRADE Securities LLC registration as inactive, so clients have been through an entity migration.

Every fee, source and sub-score for E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

4.tastytrade

7.5/10

TASTYTRADE, INC. · CRD 277027 · SIPC member

Futures
$1.25 per contract

Ranks 4th on 7.5/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 6/10 on account types and features adds 0.9 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.

On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-69649), FINRA member and SIPC member. Scored below the incumbents on operating history — its CRD number places registration in the mid-2010s — with no enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.

Every fee, source and sub-score for tastytrade

5.Webull

7.1/10

WEBULL FINANCIAL LLC · CRD 289063 · SIPC member

Futures
$1.00 per contract
To open
$0

Ranks 5th on 7.1/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.8 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 on US-listed stocks, ETFs and standard options contracts, with regulatory fees itemised transparently. Held off a 10 by the $75 outgoing transfer fee, which is a real switching cost.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Webull

6.TradeStation

6.9/10

TRADESTATION SECURITIES, INC. · CRD 39473 · SIPC member

Futures
$0.50–$1.75 per contract per side
Broker-assisted
$25
To open
$2,000

Ranks 6th on 6.9/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 6/10 on account types and features adds 0.9 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.

On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-48711) and SIPC member with a registration history predating the newer app-first firms. No enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.

Every fee, source and sub-score for TradeStation

Every sub-score and why

The arithmetic behind every position on this page: each sub-score, the weight it carries here, and what it contributes to the total. If you disagree with a weight, these let you recompute the ranking yourself — that is the point of publishing them. The written reason behind each integer is on that broker’s review.

Interactive Brokers9 / 9 / 10 / 89.1/10Strong
Safety and regulation9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Fees and total cost9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Investment selection10/10 × 25% = 2.5
Account types and features8/10 × 15% = 1.2

Total 9.1/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Interactive Brokers review, with every fee and source
Charles Schwab9 / 8 / 9 / 98.7/10Strong
Safety and regulation9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Fees and total cost8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Investment selection9/10 × 25% = 2.3
Account types and features9/10 × 15% = 1.4

Total 8.7/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Charles Schwab review, with every fee and source
E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley8 / 8 / 8 / 98.2/10Solid
Safety and regulation8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Fees and total cost8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Investment selection8/10 × 25% = 2.0
Account types and features9/10 × 15% = 1.4

Total 8.2/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley review, with every fee and source
tastytrade8 / 8 / 7 / 67.5/10Solid
Safety and regulation8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Fees and total cost8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Investment selection7/10 × 25% = 1.8
Account types and features6/10 × 15% = 0.9

Total 7.5/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full tastytrade review, with every fee and source
Webull7 / 9 / 6 / 57.1/10Mixed
Safety and regulation7/10 × 30% = 2.1
Fees and total cost9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Investment selection6/10 × 25% = 1.5
Account types and features5/10 × 15% = 0.8

Total 7.1/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Webull review, with every fee and source
TradeStation8 / 6 / 7 / 66.9/10Mixed
Safety and regulation8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Fees and total cost6/10 × 30% = 1.8
Investment selection7/10 × 25% = 1.8
Account types and features6/10 × 15% = 0.9

Total 6.9/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full TradeStation review, with every fee and source

How we evaluated

Safety and regulation30%
Evidence: FINRA BrokerCheck entity record — legal name, CRD number, SEC file number and registration status — SIPC membership, and public enforcement actions from the regulator or SRO that brought them.
Fees and total cost30%
Evidence: The firm's own published commission and fee schedule, read in full.
Investment selection25%
Evidence: The asset classes named on the firm's own published pricing or product pages.
Account types and features15%
Evidence: The account types named in the firm's own published account lineup.

Five further pillars — access and eligibility, platform and usability, research and education, customer service, execution quality — carry no weight in any ranking, because none of them can yet be settled from a document a reader can open. What each would require is set out in the methodology.

Researched but excluded

  • SoFi Invest (SOFI SECURITIES LLC, CRD 151717) — Legal entity confirmed via FINRA, but the fee page returned HTTP 403 when we attempted to read it. Re-attempted on 30 August 2026 against the published fee schedule PDF and the SoFi support articles: both returned 403 as well. Secondary summaries of SoFi’s pricing are available and we are not using them — we will not score a firm from anything but its own document.
Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

Which US brokers offer futures trading?
Of the twelve brokers we score, six publish a futures schedule: Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Webull, tastytrade and TradeStation. Fidelity, Vanguard, Merrill Edge, Robinhood, Public and eToro do not.
What is the cheapest broker for futures?
On published commission alone, Interactive Brokers at $0.85 a contract for up to 1,000 contracts a month, falling to $0.25 above 20,000. Every figure excludes exchange, clearing and NFA fees, which are charged on top at every broker and can exceed the commission on micro contracts.

Sources

  1. [1]Interactive Brokers — Stocks, ETFs, warrants and structured products commissionsRead August 28, 2026
  2. [2]Interactive Brokers — Options commissionsRead August 30, 2026
  3. [3]FINRA BrokerCheck — Interactive Brokers LLCRead August 28, 2026
  4. [4]Interactive Brokers — Other feesRead August 30, 2026
  5. [5]Interactive Brokers — Mutual fund commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  6. [6]Interactive Brokers — Bond commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  7. [7]Interactive Brokers — Futures commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  8. [8]Interactive Brokers — Cryptocurrency commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  9. [9]Interactive Brokers — Margin ratesRead August 31, 2026
  10. [10]Interactive Brokers — Spot currency commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  11. [11]Charles Schwab — Pricing and account feesRead August 28, 2026
  12. [12]FINRA BrokerCheck — Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  13. [13]Charles Schwab — Pricing Guide for Individual Investors (April 2026)Read August 30, 2026
  14. [14]Charles Schwab — Margin rates and requirementsRead August 31, 2026
  15. [15]E*TRADE — Pricing and ratesRead August 28, 2026
  16. [16]FINRA BrokerCheck — Morgan Stanley / E*TRADE Securities LLCRead August 28, 2026
  17. [17]tastytrade — Pricing and commissionsRead August 28, 2026
  18. [18]FINRA BrokerCheck — tastytrade, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  19. [19]tastytrade — Commissions and fees (last updated 30 July 2026)Read August 30, 2026
  20. [20]Webull — Pricing and feesRead August 28, 2026
  21. [21]FINRA BrokerCheck — Webull Financial LLCRead August 28, 2026
  22. [22]TradeStation — PricingRead August 28, 2026
  23. [23]FINRA BrokerCheck — TradeStation Securities, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  24. [24]TradeStation — Service feesRead August 30, 2026
  25. [25]TradeStation — Margin ratesRead August 30, 2026

Affiliate disclosure

We currently have no affiliate or commercial relationship with any broker on this site, and every outbound link is a plain link. If that changes, it will be disclosed here and on the broker's row. Read the full disclosure.

Risk warning

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Nothing on this site is personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a solicitation. Figures are read from public sources on the dates shown and can change without notice — verify anything you intend to act on with the provider directly. Read the full risk disclosure.