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tastytrade review

An options-first schedule: $1 to open, nothing to close, capped at $10 per leg.

Written by
Juan Manuel Gonzalez
Published
Data verified

In summary

tastytrade, Inc. is an active SEC-registered broker-dealer and SIPC member. Its published commission model is unusual and specific: stocks and ETFs are free, equity and index options cost $1 per contract to open and $0 to close, with a $10 cap per leg on equity options. Futures are $1 per contract and micro futures $0.75.

Editorial score, based on our methodology

How this is calculated
Score composition, out of 10Safety and regulation contributes 2.4 of 7.4. Fees and total cost contributes 2.4 of 7.4. Investment selection contributes 1.5 of 7.4. Account types and features contributes 1.1 of 7.4. The full breakdown is in the table below.
  • Safety2.4
  • Cost2.4
  • Selection1.5
  • Accounts1.1
  • Headroom2.6
How the total is built · Segment width = sub-score × weight. Widths sum to the total.

Legal entity and regulation

Read from FINRA BrokerCheck on August 28, 2026. Check it yourself — the reference number below is all you need.

Legal name
TASTYTRADE, INC.
CRD
277027
SEC
8-69649
Registration status
ACTIVE
Regulators
SEC, FINRA, CFTC
Investor protection
SIPC member — up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash

Published fees

9 of 14 fields verified

Read from tastytrade’s own published schedule. Fields we could not find on the pages we read are marked not verified — we do not fill them with estimates, and a blank would read as zero.

tastytrade published fee schedule
US stocks and ETFs$0Opening and closing
Options base commission$0
Options per contract$1.00 to open, $0 to closeEquity options capped at $10 per leg. Index options $1 to open, $0 to close
Account minimumNot verified
Mutual fundsNot offered
BondsNot verified
Futures$1.25 per contractOptions on futures. Futures $1.00; micro futures $0.75
Crypto1% per total purchase0.75% for BTC and ETH
Account service feeNone published
Inactivity feeNone published
Outgoing transfer fee$75Outgoing ACAT transfers, full or partial
Broker-assisted tradeNot verified
Margin rate8.00%–11.00%Tiered by debit balance against a 10.00% base rate stated as of 1 January 2025
Currency conversionNot verified

Where these costs sit

Against every other broker we publish that has a verified figure for the same field. Brokers whose figure we could not verify are left out rather than plotted at zero.

$0cheapest$1most expensive
Options, per contract · 12 brokers with a verified figure

What you can hold

  • US stocksOffered
  • ETFsOffered
  • OptionsOffered
  • Mutual fundsNot offered
  • BondsNot verified
  • FuturesOffered
  • Spot currenciesNot offered
  • CryptoOffered
  • International listingsNot offered
  • Fractional sharesNot offered
  • OTC equitiesNot offered

Account types

  • Individual taxable offered
  • Joint offered
  • Traditional IRA offered
  • Roth IRA offered
  • Rollover IRA offered
  • SEP / SIMPLE IRA not offered
  • Custodial not offered
  • Trust offered
  • Solo 401(k) not offered
  • HSA not offered
  • Margin offered
  • Managed portfolio not offered

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • $10 per leg cap on equity options makes large multi-leg orders unusually cheap
  • Nothing charged to close an options position
  • Micro futures at $0.75 per contract and options on micro futures at $0.75
  • BTC and ETH at 0.75% against a 1% standard crypto rate

Limitations

  • $1.00 to open a single equity option contract is expensive relative to per-contract pricing at the cheapest firms
  • No mutual funds
  • No custodial, SEP or solo 401(k) accounts identified

Check these yourself

  • Exchange, clearing and regulatory fees apply on top of commissions on everything except crypto orders
  • The $10 cap is per leg, not per order — model a four-leg spread before assuming the cap protects you

How tastytrade scores

Under our default weights. Individual rankings re-weight these same sub-scores, which is why tastytrade sits in different positions on different pages.

  • Safety and regulationweight 30%
    8/10
  • Fees and total costweight 30%
    8/10
  • Investment selectionweight 22%
    7/10
  • Account types and featuresweight 18%
    6/10
Sub-scores by pillar · Each pillar scored 0–10 from published evidence
Safety and regulation8/10 · weighted 30%
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.
Fees and total cost8/10 · weighted 30%
Free equity trades and a $10 per leg cap that makes large multi-leg options orders unusually cheap, with nothing charged to close a position. Scored below the flat-zero firms because a single equity option contract costs $1 to open, against $0.04 at the cheapest firm in our set, and — read on 30 August 2026 — closing the account costs $75 on the way out.
Investment selection7/10 · weighted 22%
Stocks, ETFs, equity and index options, futures, options on futures and crypto are all published, including micro futures. No mutual funds, which rules out a common long-term building block.
Account types and features6/10 · weighted 18%
Taxable, joint, IRA variants, trust and margin. No custodial, SEP, solo 401(k) or HSA identified.

Not scored

  • Access and eligibility — Not scored in v1.0. Requires per-country eligibility confirmed against each firm's own onboarding terms, which we have not completed.
  • Platform and usability — Not scored in v1.0. Requires hands-on use of a funded account, which we have not done.
  • Research and education — Not scored in v1.0. Requires logged-in access to the research suite, which we have not had.
  • Customer service — Not scored in v1.0. Requires timed contact tests across channels, which we have not run.
  • Execution quality — Not scored in v1.0. Requires analysis of Rule 605/606 order-execution reports, which is scheduled for a later release.

Sources

  1. [1]tastytrade — Pricing and commissionsRead August 28, 2026
  2. [2]FINRA BrokerCheck — tastytrade, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  3. [3]tastytrade — Commissions and fees (last updated 30 July 2026)Read August 30, 2026

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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.