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Top 5 Futures brokers in 2023
- NinjaTrader is the best futures broker in the US in 2023. - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. Quality educational materials.
- Optimus Futures - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. Fast customer service.
- Interactive Brokers - Low trading fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- AMP Futures - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. High-quality education tools.
- tastyworks - Low trading fees. Great educational materials. Good research tools.
How did BrokerChooser pick the best futures brokers?
- We checked whether the broker is regulated by a trusted regulator,
- Compared fees (with a special focus on futures fees),
- Checked desktop platform capabilities,
- Opened an account and tested the platform (charting, features, usability) with real money.
Save hours of research!
Our expert team has done all the work for you, and reviewed brokers based on BrokerChooser's unique methodology.
BrokerChooser evaluates 9 key areas for all brokers including fees, safety, ease of account opening, education, and trading platforms. We check more than 500 criteria for each broker and finetune our methodology every year based on our own and our users' experiences. We have more than 100 brokers reviewed on our site and our team of analysts examines more than 50,000 data points overall.
Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
Key features of the best futures brokers
While many online futures brokers and futures trading platforms offer an excellent service, the ones in our toplist go the extra mile.
| Broker | Futures fee class | Futures markets | Minimum deposit | Account activated in | Withdrawal fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NinjaTrader | Low | 7 | $400 | >3 days | $40 |
| Optimus Futures | Low | 10 | $500 | >3 days | $30 |
| Interactive Brokers | Low | 32 | $0 | 1-3 days | $0 |
| AMP Futures | Low | 10 | $100 | 1-3 days | $30 |
| tastyworks | Low | 8 | $0 | 1 day | $0 |
Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
Trading fees at the best futures brokers
How much you have to pay for a trade in spreads, commissions and other trading costs is a key broker selection criteria. We calculated a benchmark fee for the most important futures trading costs, which you can see in the table below. This is the total of how much you have to pay in spreads, commissions and other costs for trading 10 futures contracts.
| NinjaTrader | Optimus Futures | Interactive Brokers | AMP Futures | tastyworks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US micro e-mini stock index futures | $3.5 | $2.5 | $2.5 | $1.4 | $8.5 |
| German e-mini stock index futures | $12.9 | - | $7.9 | $7.4 | - |
| UK stock index futures | $12.9 | $7.5 | $19.2 | $9.8 | - |
If you are unsure how brokerage fees work, check out this article on the various fees, charges and costs.
Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
Non-trading fees at the top futures brokers
Non-trading fees are charges not directly related to a given trade and typically include the account maintenance fee, deposit/withdrawal fees, and the inactivity fee.
| NinjaTrader | Optimus Futures | Interactive Brokers | AMP Futures | tastyworks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account fee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Inactivity fee | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Withdrawal fee | $40 | $30 | $0 | $30 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
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Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
What is futures trading?
Futures is a collective term used for futures contracts. Futures contracts are standardised legal agreements of a transaction between a contract buyer and a contract seller over securities, commodities (for example crude oil), or any financial instruments, at a predetermined price and time (in the future). In such an agreement, the two parties basically lock a set price and a date to exchange an asset. When you trade futures contracts, bear in mind that these products it carry an obligation. After the futures contract expires, the buyer must receive the assets at the pre-agreed time and price, and the seller has to contribute the desired assets. Futures are derivative products, just like CFDs, or options. A derivative is a contract that derives its value from the underlying asset (a share, for example).
What makes a good broker for trading futures? Most importantly, they need to offer fair futures fees. To size them up in this regard, we checked the costs of trading stock index contracts. Second, they should offer access to a variety of exchanges (like the CME, CBOT, NYMEX, etc). A great desktop platform that makes technical analysis easy also weighs heavily. Last, but not least, we prefer brokers with a great overall service quality and score, in other words brokers that charge very low or no withdrawal fees, have a great customer service and score high in the safety ranking. Margins on futures products are typically high, therefore traders who want low margins should choose one of the best CFD brokes.
#1 Best futures brokers
NinjaTrader
Recommended for active traders focusing on futures
| NinjaTrader snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $400 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of NinjaTrader services, check out our review for 2023 |
#2 Best futures brokers
Optimus Futures
Recommended for day traders focusing on futures and technical trading
| Optimus Futures snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $500 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Optimus Futures services, check out our review for 2023 |
#3 Best futures brokers
Interactive Brokers
Recommended for traders looking for broad market access and a professional trading environment
| Interactive Brokers snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Interactive Brokers services, check out our review for 2023 |
#4 Best futures brokers
AMP Futures
Recommended for active traders focusing on futures
| AMP Futures snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $100 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of AMP Futures services, check out our review for 2023 |
#5 Best futures brokers
tastyworks
Recommended for options and futures traders focusing on us markets
| tastyworks snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of tastyworks services, check out our review for 2023 |
Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
FAQ
Can futures trading be profitable?
Yes, futures trading can be profitable and investors may make handsome profits when trading these products. Nevertheless, futures are very risky instruments, especially because they are leveraged products. Leverage means that investors trade with money borrowed from their broker in addition to their own funds. This allows you to invest a much larger amount of money but potential losses are also considerably bigger. Futures are by no means a guarantee for getting rich overnight.
Are futures good for beginners?
Futures are complicated financial instruments, so in this sense they are not good for beginners. Futures are especially risky because they are leveraged products. Leverage in this case means that you trade with your own money and the funds your broker lends you. While you can open much larger positions this way, potentially locking in heftier profits, you also stand to lose a lot. Futures are widely used by experienced traders with a deep undertsanding of financial markets and investment strategies. The margin of futures products is typically high, proper risk management cannot be applied with small accounts, therefore futures are not recommended for beginners.
Which broker is best for futures trading?
These are the top futures brokers in 2023:
- NinjaTrader - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. Quality educational materials.
- Optimus Futures - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. Fast customer service.
- Interactive Brokers - Low trading fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- AMP Futures - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. High-quality education tools.
- tastyworks - Low trading fees. Great educational materials. Good research tools.
Want to understand futures trading in more detail?
Check out these articles written by our broker and trading experts:
