Options broker online

Best Option Brokers.

Choosing which broker to use when trading options is without doubt one of the single most important decisions you will ever need to make in your trading career. Using a good broker can save you money, increase your profitability, save you time, help you find trading opportunities, and it will generally improve your overall trading experience.

The following is a list of the overall best online brokers that we recommend. If you are looking to sign up with a broker now, then we would advise that you take a look at any of the below online brokers. For advice on choosing an options broker, plus further recommendations in specific categories, please see read on.

Competitive Commission Structure Easy to Use Platform for Traders Allows for a Fully Customizable Experience.

Competitive Fees Interaction with a Community of Traders Educational Resources for Beginners.

One of the Best For Trading Features Top of the Line Trading Platform Extensive Customization Available.

You'll see from the above table that we provide reviews of the brokers that we recommend. For a list of all our reviews, plus information on exactly how we go about reviewing brokers, please visit this page. These reviews can help you make a decision about which of our recommendations is the right one for you.

Despite the importance of choosing a broker carefully, many traders sign up with any old broker and simply join the first one they come across or the one that offers the best sign up incentive. Not putting any thought into what broker to use is a big mistake because, this really is a decision that is well worth spending some time on.

If you are lucky enough to know an experienced trader that you trust then asking them which broker they use is a good way to find a decent broker, but that isn't a course of action that is available to everyone. Alternatively, you could try out a range of different brokers, compare them, and decide which one is best for you. However, this would be pretty time consuming.

About This Section.

We have produced this section specifically to help you choose a broker. As well as the list of our top rated online brokers above, we have also produced a number of other lists. Each one of these contains a number of recommended online brokers that are particularly suitable for a specific purpose.

You can see each of the broker categories that we cover linked over to the right. We have also provided some brief details about each category further down this page.

Full Service Brokers vs. Discount Brokers.

The first page in our section on the best options brokers is a comparison between the two main types of brokers: full service brokers and discount brokers. The distinction between the two is quite important to understand, as the services offered by the two is substantially different.

In very basic terms, a full service broker will provide clients with advice and guidance in addition to executing orders as instructed while a discount broker will simply carry out orders on behalf on their clients. Both types have their advantages, and we explain more on the following page: Full Service Brokers vs Discount Brokers.

Best Brokers For Beginner & Small Traders.

When you first begin trading, the chances are that you will be starting out with a relatively small amount of capital, and indeed you may be planning to only ever make small trades. Beginners and those trading with a low budget should be looking for fairly specific attributes before signing up with a broker. An appropriate commission structure and low minimums for both the size of your deposits and value of your trades is essential. Any sign up incentives being offered could also be significant too.

If you are a beginner when it comes to options trading we suggest taking a look at what we have found to be the best brokers for people just getting started.

Best Brokers For Stock Options.

As you probably know, contracts can be based on a variety of different underlying securities which give you many choices. Probably the most commonly traded are stock options; those contracts where the underlying security are stocks in publically listed companies.

It isn't particularly difficult to find brokers that are suitable for trading stock options, but it's still important to choose your broker wisely. If you are planning on trading mostly stock options, then please visit the following page for relevant recommendations. These all do an excellent job when it comes to trading stock options.

Best Brokers For Forex Options.

Forex options are contracts where the underlying security is foreign currencies. These are also very commonly traded, so finding an broker where you can trade forex options is not too much of a challenge.

However, there are certain brokers that particularly stand out and that we believe are worthy of our recommendation. It's very important to find a forex broker that can meet your needs. For a complete list of these recommended brokers and more details on what you should be looking for when deciding where to sign up, please visit the following page.

Best Brokers For Binary Options.

Binary options are a unique form of contract that work a little differently to most others (please see our page on Binary Options for more details) and they are ignored by many traders as they often perceived to be a bit more complicated than the more standard type of option.

In fact, the basic principle of binary options is relatively straightforward and trading binary options is becoming increasingly more popular among traders. Not all brokers will deal with binary options, but for a list of recommended brokers that do please visit the following page.

Best Brokers For OTC Options.

OTC options are those contracts that aren't listed on a public trading exchange but are instead traded over the counter. Those options tend to be highly customized contracts that have complicated terms that include many of the exotic options that exist. Because OTC options are not traded on the public exchanges they are not generally as accessible to the public and are more typically traded between large financial institutions.

Many traders do like to trade OTC options though, in which case it's important to use a broker that is suitable for the purpose. Please visit the following page for recommended brokers in this category.

Best Brokers For Active Traders.

Traders that use active trading styles, such as the day trading style, typically make a large number of transactions on a daily basis. As such, one of the most important attributes that active traders need to look for when choosing a broker is a commission structure that is very competitive and ideally provides for a discount when making a lot of trades.

However this isn't the only consideration that active traders need to take into account and choosing a broker purely based on the commissions charged is rarely a good idea. For more advice on this, along with recommendations of suitable services, please visit the following page.

Best Brokers For Auto Trading.

An increasingly popular way to try and profit from options is by using auto trading services which basically involve a trader signing up with an organization that will find opportunities for trading and then automatically place the relevant orders with the trader’s broker. There are a number of services around and although they aren't necessarily the ideal way to trade, they can potentially be profitable.

One of the biggest problems facing traders that wish to use auto trading services is that not all brokers allow it. For a list of the top places that do, please visit the following page.

Brokers with Best Trading Platforms.

The quality of the trading platform is something that many traders overlook when choosing an online broker, but it really is something that is very important for anyone that is trading options. A decent platform should be well designed with a user-friendly interface as brokers that make it easy to place orders will generally enhance your overall trading experience.

This isn't something that should be ignored if you are going to be spending any sustained length of time trading options each day. For a list of recommended brokers that meet these criteria, please visit the following page.

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Best Brokers for Stock Options.

The brokers we have listed below are all excellent choices for any trader looking for an online broker to trade stock options at. We can strongly recommend these brokers based on a combination of our extensive research and our own personal experiences.

Stock options were the very first type of options traded on the exchanges and they remain the most commonly traded type of option. Despite there now being a wide range of financial instruments that options can be based on, there are still many traders that stick only to trading stock options.

Ideal for traders trying to keep costs low Platform is easy to use but gets things right "Trader Network" helps build a community.

Some of the lowest rates for stock trading Very easy to use trading platform Allows for a fully customizable experience.

Some of the best tools and features available No download necessary for trading platform No minimum deposit required to open account.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with this strategy and sticking to what you know best is often the best course of action. If you plan on exclusively trading stock options, then you will need to use a suitable broker. The ones we have listed above are, in our opinion, the ones you should consider.

For more advice on choosing an online broker, please see below.

Advice on Choosing a Stock Options Broker.

There are many places on the internet that recommend options brokers, and some of these places will label a single broker as the best there is. Any recommendation is ultimately down to a matter of opinion, to some extent at least, and we understand why some experts prefer to promote a single broker: particularly if they have had a lot of experience with that particular broker.

However, it's our opinion that it's not possible to determine what the single best online options broker is as some attributes of a broker will be important to some traders, while others may be looking for other qualities. For example, a particularly active trader would probably have different requirements from a broker than someone looking to use auto trading services.

This is why we have created a number of different categories of brokers and made suitable recommendations for each of those categories. On this page we focus on the best options brokers for traders that mostly trade stock options: making recommendations and also providing some additional advice to help you choose the right broker. Our advice covers the following points.

Cheapest is Not Always Best Put Your Money to Use Good Service Matters Consider Multiple Brokers.

Cheapest is Not Always Best.

One of the first things a lot of traders look for when deciding which online broker to sign up with is the costs involved, primarily the commission charge per trade. The costs are certainly a very important consideration, but they shouldn’t necessarily be the only consideration. The cheapest broker is unlikely to be the best broker as ultimately you do tend to get what you pay for.

If you are comparing two brokers and one offers everything you want from a broker but is a bit more expensive than the other one, which lacks some of what you want, then the extra cost is almost certainly going to be worth it.

You should also be sure to look a little deeper than simply the headline commission rate that a broker advertises. There may be terms and conditions you have to comply with to get the advertised rate, such as a minimum number of trades or having a certain level of funds in your account at all times. You may also find that only certain types of orders qualify for the advertised commission rate, and other orders may be more expensive. You really need to check these sorts of things out when you are selecting your online options broker.

It should also be noted that commission charges aren't the only costs that you might incur while using a broker. Some brokers add fees for a whole range of different things: such as annual account fees or fees for withdrawing funds. Some might even charge you a fee if your account is dormant for any length of time. If you aren't careful, these fees can potentially add up to quite a significant sum. So you should make sure you know exactly what the deal is before going ahead and signing up with a broker.

Put Your Money to Use.

This might seem pretty obvious, as any trader or investor should recognize the importance of putting their money to good use at all times. However, in this context we are making a specific point. It isn't necessarily one of huge significance, but it is nonetheless something that is worthy of consideration.

Some online brokers will pay you interest on any funds in your brokerage account that you don’t have tied up in a trade. A lot of traders do tend to have some unused capital in their account most of the time and a little bit of extra return is always welcome, so it's worth checking to see if a broker does offer these interest payments.

Good Service Matters.

Good customer service is frequently completely overlooked by traders when they are choosing an online broker, but it really shouldn’t be. While the level of customer service you receive is unlikely to have a direct impact on your success as a trader, good customer service can certainly make your life easier.

If you stick to reputable options brokers then you probably won’t encounter too much in the way of problems, but chances are you will have the occasional issue to deal with or question that you want answered. The best online services, such as those that we recommend, will provide quality customer service and be on hand to assist in you such instances. When you are looking at different options, you might want to take a look at whether there are alternative ways to contact customer service that suit your requirements.

Consider Multiple Brokers.

It often doesn’t even occur to traders to use more than one broker, but it can be a good idea in some circumstances. Admittedly it's rarely an ideal solution, because there are obvious advantages to doing all of your trading with just the one broker, but it's not something that should be ruled out.

If you can’t find a single broker that offers you everything that you need, then it may well be worth considering splitting your activity between two different brokers. Remember, though, a lot of brokers require minimum deposits so this is something you might need to take into account if you are splitting your capital across two accounts.

The key to finding a good online options broker is basically just to do your research. You should have a clear idea about what is important to you and what it is you are looking for, so it really is as simple as checking out some different brokers and determining which one is the best fit for you. Of course, there are a huge amount of brokers on the web and it wouldn’t be practical to research them all.

This is one of the reasons why we have provided our readers with recommendations of services that we believe are of a particularly high quality. We are confident that you will find a broker that is suitable for you among those that we recommend.

Best Option Brokers.

Who is the Best Option Broker?

Cheapest Options Broker.

Best Options Trading Platform.

Finding the "cheapest options broker" and finding the "best options broker" are two totally different searches. Every major online discount stock broker that I know now allows you to trade stock options, but don't think for a minute that all option brokers are the same. Based on my 20+ years of trading stocks and call and put options, here are a few of the things you should consider before you fill out your first online option broker application and write a check to fund it.

Option Broker Reputation.

Believe it or not, brokerage firms DO go out of business and they WILL take your money with them. Recently there have been several brokerages (especially forex brokers such as MF Global) that have suddenly closed and hundreds of millions of dollars in customer accounts are missing.

As with anything you hear, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Before you open a stock and option brokerage account, make sure the broker has been in business for a few years and that you have talked to people that really have an account there. If you think you have found the cheapest options broker but you have never heard of them before and you don't know anyone that uses them, then stay away!

Option Commission.

Once you are comfortable that the brokerage firm that you are considering is a credible, then take a look at their commission structure. Finding the cheapest option broker is not that easy. Here are a few tricks that the brokers play when you are looking at their stock and options commission structures:

Brokers often have several different commission structures depending on the size of your account and the number of trades you will make per month or per quarter. So please make sure you are looking at the commission structure that matches your account size or trading frequency. Brokers commission changes based on the number of contacts you will be trading with each order so consider the size of your trade. Will you be trading 2 contracts, 20 contracts or 200 contracts with each trade? Make sure you are looking at their standard commissions and not just the "introductory" commission rates as there are lots of special broker offers out there and sometimes the offers are only good for the first 30 or 60 days. Finally, what other fees are there? Statement fees? Fees to get your money out? Check writing fees? Make sure you know the whole fee structure!

ETRADE's Option Commissions.

While these are the full commission rates ETrade quotes on their website, they are negotiable. The more money you have, the longer you have had the account, and the more trading history you have the more likely you can get a reduction. I called ETrade recently and asked them to match another brokerage firms commissions and they did within 24 hours. These brokerages know that it is very expensive to acquire a customer and it is much easier to maintain a customer.

Scottrade Option Commissions.

TradeKing Commissions.

Ease of Use of the Best Option Brokers Platform.

You might think that buying options on one platform is the same as buying options on another platform. Therefore, why should you pay someone $12 to make the trade when someone else will do it for $7? There are many other factors to consider when opening that option brokers account besides just the commission.

I am pretty web savvy and I have used many different platforms and trust me -- all options broker platforms are NOT the same. I have been burned so many times because I can't submit an order quickly, or I waste precious seconds trying to find the exact ticker symbol or the number of contracts I own. Option prices often move so quickly that seconds can mean a difference of a dime or more in price. And since each option contract covers 100 shares each dime costs you $10. And since you often trade 5 or 10 contracts at a time, a few seconds can easily cost you $50 or $100! So trying to save a few dollars in commission can be penny wise and pound foolish!

What I see happening with option brokers platforms now is that some are designed for the beginner option trader and some are designed for the experienced option trader. Since you are reading this article, you probably don't have an option brokerage account, so please keep reading and open the best option brokerage account for you.

One think I know for sure is that all brokers are not the same. Each brokerage firm has a different platform and so the ease of placing orders is different. And trust me, when you are just getting started it is very frustrating to see an option price that you want and when you place your trade you get filled at 10 or 20 cents away from where you thought you were getting filled. Or sometimes your order doesn't get filled at all. The speed of the order execution is very important since option prices often move quickly. Some brokers now offer a guaranteed order fill time or your trade is commission free. I like it when a firm backs up their promises like this--it usually means they believe in their product!

Current Marketing Promotion.

Finally, beyond price and ease of use, the other thing to consider before you open an option brokerage account is their current marketing promotion. How would you like to get your first 20 trades free? Would you like a $500 cash bonus just for opening an account and placing a few trades? Of course you would!

Here are the most popular option brokers and their most recent promotional offers:

Etrade--$2,000 minimum--Trade free for 60 days and get up to $500 CASH! Scottrade--$500 minimum--$7 trades -- No account fees TD Ameritrade--$2,000 minimum--Trade free for 60 days and get up to $600 CASH Get 100 Commission-Free Trades at OptionsHouse Think or Swim--$2,000 minimum--Trade free for 60 days and get up $600 CASH FirstTrade TradeKing.

My Review of these option brokers:

ETRADE or TradeKing are good starter platforms. The commissions are reasonable and the order executions are excellent. TradeKing has Zecco's special option trading tools, so it's a great entry level platform for the beginning option trader. ETRADE has a downloadable app for your desktop computer which makes the HTML site look antiquated. Try ETRADE PowerTrader; I highly recommend it. Scottrade might have slightly lower commissions than ETRADE, but I find its platform outdated, slow, and just plain unattractive. If saving $2 on a trade is important to you, or if you want your platform available in Chinese, then you might be OK with Scottrade. The commission is lower than ETRADE's and other larger platforms, but that is about all that I see going for it. The TD Ameritrade brokerage platform is simple and easy to use and has excellent research tools. However, I just prefer ETRADE's navigation and reporting more. Maybe it's because I have used ETRADE's platform longer but something just seems off with the TDA platform. The commissions are similar, but ETRADE seems to be ahead of the curve by also offering access to 6 global equities markets in case you want to trade a Canadian, European, or Asian stock. The ThinkorSwim platform is by far the best platform if you want to do the complicated option spreads or other multi-legged trades. HOWEVER, if you are a beginner and are buying a few calls and puts, then ThinkorSwim is NOT for you as you will be totally confused by the order types and all of the information that is presented to you.

Here are the top 10 option concepts you should understand before making your first real trade:

Options Resources and Links.

Options trade on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and the prices are reported by the Option Pricing Reporting Authority (OPRA):