The Bullish Bears break down a list of the best trading companies and brokers. Our list highlights each company and links to detailed reviews. We also include reviews of 100+ online brokers, tools, scanners, apps, and news sites. Just click any of the links under our menu to the left on a desktop or at the top of the page on mobile to read our reviews.
List of the Best Online Trading Companies
- Best overall trading company: TradeStation
- Best for swing trading and options: TD Ameritrade
- Best for international trading: Interactive Brokers
- Best for high-speed executions: LightSpeed Trader
- Best for ease of use day trading: SpeedTrader
- Best for short locates: Centerpoint Securities
- Best for futures trading: NinjaTrader
- Best offshore broker: CMEG
- Best for long-term investing: Fidelity
- Best for ease of use trading: eTrade
- Headquarters: 8050 SW 10th St Suite 2000, Plantation, FL 33324
- Employees: 1153+
- Revenue: $200-$500 million
- Founded: 1982
- Phone Number: (954) 652-7000
- Website
Not every aspect of their platform is top of the line. However, most areas are sufficient. It’s common for most traders to use one trading company to trade and another for charting because many online brokers have poor charting platforms.
This are great because you don’t need to get another charting service with them. Fees are another important factor to consider. They aren’t the lowest or the highest, which puts them in the middle and on par with other brokers.
Another issue with many brokers is that they typically specialize in certain trading styles, which creates trading limitations. TradeStation is a solid broker for many different trading styles, such as day trading, swing trading, options, and futures trading. So, their platform allows you to stay with one broker for your trading needs.
- Headquarters: 200 S. 108th Ave, Omaha, NE 68154
- Employees: 8,939+
- Revenue: $4-$6 billion
- Founded: 1971
- Phone Number: (323) 963-0603
- Website
Their charting and real-time data are unmatched. They offer custom stock scanners, many indicators, news, text and email alerts, and webinars. On top of all that, their customer service is unmatched. One of our favorite aspects is their simulated trading platform. It is hands down the best one that we’ve come across.
With it, you have access to everything listed above. Also, you can trade just as you would using real money without losing money. As a new trader, that’s incredibly necessary.
To get real-time data, you need to open and fund an account; however, you don’t need to put a lot of money into the account. Real-time data in a simulated account allows you to trade like you’re doing it live.
- Headquarters: 2 Pickwick Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830
- Employees: 2900+
- Revenue: $3-$4 billion
- Founded: 1978
- Phone Number: 1 (877) 442-2757
- Website
This platform is for the more serious traders as they require an account minimum of $2,000 and $10,000. However, their commission fees are inexpensive.
Their charting software isn’t as streamlined at TOS, so it can take some getting used to. However, they also offer a great paper trading feature. We recommend all new traders start in a simulated account before going live.
They allow their hotkeys to be edited, meaning you can set them to your specifications. Hotkeys are great if you’re day trading. You can capitalize on those super quick moves. IB is a super fast platform with very low latency.
They also have a mobile app. It’s clean, easy to use, and has fast trade executions. They don’t have as many indicators on the mobile app, but you don’t want to weigh down your charts.
One of the biggest assets is their shorting ability. Their ability to locate shares to short is unmatched. They have a shorting tool that displays the number of shares available to short on stocks in real time.
- Headquarters: 181 West Madison Street, Suite 2950, Chicago, IL 60602
- Employees: 105+
- Revenue: $210+ million annually
- Founded: 2006
- Phone Number: (1-888-577-3123)
- Website
Their fully customizable platform is similar to that of Interactive Brokers and Das Trader. However, it looks modernized and is easier to set up. Typically, most day traders use another charting platform when using a day trading broker. However, LightSpeed has pretty good charts, so you don’t need another charting tool.
Their level of customer service is top-tier. One of the drawbacks of this company is their fees. They are among the highest in the industry. However, this is the price traders pay to be with a top-notch day trading company. They mostly target day trading and aren’t great for trading options and futures.
- Headquarters: 2875 Route 35. Suite 5C-2. Katonah, NY 10536
- Employees: <25
- Revenue: $5-$15 million annually
- Founded: 1999
- Phone Number: 1 (800) 874-3039
- Website
Their usual minimum is $30,000, but they have started accepting accounts with only 5k, which is awesome. This platform is recommended only for extremely active traders, and they are one of the best stock trading companies for shorting stocks.
They offer three platform types: Pro, ActiveWeb, and their mobile app. They also run on the Das Trader platform. Each platform offers its unique tools available.
Their platform caters to hedge funds and other large stock trading companies. So you can decide how your trade is routed. They are close to LightSpeed overall as a platform, but we aren’t huge fans of Das Trader, one of their platform integrations. Their in-house platforms are solid. However, they look a bit old-fashioned and not as up-to-date as LightSpeed. Also, they charge a software fee, and you can’t trade Forex or Futures.
- Headquarters: 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd #270, Del Mar, CA 92014
- Employees: 250+
- Revenue: $1 million-$5 million annually
- Founded: 2012
- Phone Number: 1-844-811-0118
- Website
They also allow you to customize the way your orders are routed. This is a great feature if you place high-volume orders. You’re in control of how quickly your trades fill. CenterPoint prefers large-volume orders. Their prices and commissions reflect that.
They have many trading platforms from which to choose. They aren’t free, however. You will be paying monthly to use their software. However, with their platforms, you can access many tools and their fantastic shorting library. They are one of the top trading platforms for shorting. One of the drawbacks is their fees. They are some of the highest in the industry.
7. NinjaTrader
- Headquarters: 222 North LaSalle Street Suite 1450 Chicago, IL 60601 USA
- Employees: 172+
- Revenue: $15-$55 million annually
- Founded: 2003
- Phone Number: 1 (800) 496-1683
- Website