Broker review
TradeStation review
Volume-tiered options and futures pricing, with a $10 monthly inactivity fee if you go quiet.
- Written by
- Juan Manuel Gonzalez
- Published
- Data verified
In summary
TradeStation Securities, Inc. is an active SEC-registered broker-dealer and SIPC member. Share commissions are $0, but options are priced per side on a volume tier from $0.80 down to $0.50 for single-leg orders, futures from $1.75 down to $0.50 per side, and the firm publishes a $10 monthly inactivity fee that is waived on minimum activity.
Editorial score, based on our methodology
How this is calculated- Safety2.4
- Cost1.8
- Selection1.5
- Accounts1.1
- Headroom3.2
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
- TRADESTATION SECURITIES, INC.
- CRD
- 39473
- SEC
- 8-48711
- 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 verifiedRead from TradeStation’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.
| US stocks and ETFs | $0 per shareDirect routing adds $0.0032–$0.0048 per share by volume tier |
|---|---|
| Options base commission | $0 |
| Options per contract | $0.50–$0.80 per contract per sideSingle-leg, by volume tier. Multi-leg $0.25–$0.40 per contract per side |
| Account minimum | $2,000Stated as the minimum to open and maintain a margin position; no cash-account opening minimum published |
| Mutual funds | Not offered |
| Bonds | Not verified |
| Futures | $0.50–$1.75 per contract per sideBy volume tier. Micros $0.25–$0.50 per side |
| Crypto | Not verified |
| Account service fee | Not verified |
| Inactivity fee | $10 per monthWaived if the account meets minimum activity |
| Outgoing transfer fee | $125Outgoing account transfer, equities accounts. The largest exit charge in our set |
| Broker-assisted trade | $25Equities and futures accounts |
| Margin rate | 4.25%–11.75%Tiered by debit balance |
| Currency conversion | Not 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.
What you can hold
- US stocksOffered
- ETFsOffered
- OptionsOffered
- Mutual fundsNot offered
- BondsNot verified
- FuturesOffered
- Spot currenciesNot offered
- CryptoNot verified
- International listingsNot offered
- Fractional sharesNot offered
- OTC equitiesNot offered
Account types
- Individual taxable offered
- Joint offered
- Traditional IRA offered
- Roth IRA offered
- Rollover IRA not 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
- $0 per-share commissions on stocks and ETFs
- Multi-leg options at $0.25–$0.40 per contract per side is competitive for spread traders at volume
- Micro futures from $0.25 per side at the top tier
- Long registration history relative to the app-first cohort
Limitations
- $10 monthly inactivity fee unless the account meets minimum activity
- Options and futures pricing is per side, so a round trip costs twice the quoted rate
- The desktop platform with RadarScreen is $99.99 a month for non-professionals
- No mutual funds
Check these yourself
- Direct routing adds $0.0032–$0.0048 per share on top of the $0 headline
- $2,000 is published as the minimum to open and maintain a margin position
How TradeStation scores
Under our default weights. Individual rankings re-weight these same sub-scores, which is why TradeStation sits in different positions on different pages.
- Safety and regulationweight 30%8/10
- Fees and total costweight 30%6/10
- Investment selectionweight 22%7/10
- Account types and featuresweight 18%6/10
- Safety and regulation8/10 · weighted 30%
- 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.
- Fees and total cost6/10 · weighted 30%
- Lowest score among the firms we publish. Share commissions are $0, but options and futures are priced per side on volume tiers that start above the flat-fee competitors, a $10 monthly inactivity fee applies unless waived, and the desktop platform with RadarScreen costs $99.99 a month for non-professionals.
- Investment selection7/10 · weighted 22%
- Stocks, ETFs, options and a deep futures range including micros. No mutual funds. Crypto and bond availability not confirmed from the pricing page we read.
- Account types and features6/10 · weighted 18%
- Taxable, joint, traditional and Roth IRAs, 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]TradeStation — PricingRead August 28, 2026
- [2]FINRA BrokerCheck — TradeStation Securities, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
- [3]TradeStation — Service feesRead August 30, 2026
- [4]TradeStation — Margin ratesRead August 30, 2026
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