Intro and winners
Find below the best futures brokers available in the US, updated for 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 and high interest (up to 4.58% for USD) on cash balances. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- AMP Futures - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. High-quality education tools.
- tastytrade - Low trading fees. Great educational materials. Good research tools.
- TD Ameritrade - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). Superb desktop trading platform. Great customer support.
- Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.
- TradeStation - Great web and mobile trading platform. Low trading fees. High-quality research and education tools.
- E*TRADE - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). User-friendly mobile trading platform. Great research tools.
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 (#) |
|---|---|---|
| NinjaTrader | Low | 7 |
| Optimus Futures | Low | 10 |
| Interactive Brokers | Low | 32 |
| AMP Futures | Low | 10 |
| tastytrade | Low | 8 |
| TD Ameritrade | High | 5 |
| Charles Schwab | High | 8 |
| TradeStation | Average | 11 |
| E*TRADE | Average | 3 |
Popularity of the best futures brokers in the US
Interested in what others think? Here's how many people chose these brokers at BrokerChooser in the last 6 months.
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.
| Broker | US micro e-mini stock index futures | German e-mini stock index futures |
|---|---|---|
| NinjaTrader | $3.5 $0.35 per contract on Free license, $0.25 on Lease license, and $0.09 on Lifetime license | $12.9 $1.29 per contract on Free license, $0.99 on Lease license, and $0.59 on Lifetime license |
| Optimus Futures | $2.5 $0.25-$0.05 per side for micro contracts, and $0.75-$0.10 per side for standard contracts depending on the contracts traded | - Not available |
| Interactive Brokers | $2.5 $0.25 per contract | $8.6 €0.80 per contract with €0.80 min |
| AMP Futures | $1.4 All-in fees for volume-tiered fee structure: $0.49-$0.46 per side depending on the contracts traded | $8.1 All-in fees for volume-tiered fee structure: €1.11-€0.76 per side depending on the contracts traded |
| tastytrade | $8.5 $0.85 per contract | - Not available |
| TD Ameritrade | $22.5 $2.25 fee per contract plus exchange or regulatory fee | - Not available |
| Charles Schwab | $22.5 $2.25 per contract | - Not available |
| TradeStation | $15.0 $1.5 per contract for standard products, $0.5 per contract for micro products | - Not available |
| E*TRADE | $15.0 $1.50 fee per contract | - Not available |
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.
| Broker | Account fee | Inactivity fee |
|---|---|---|
| NinjaTrader | $0 on Free license, $720 annual fee for Lease license, $1099 one-time fee for Lifetime license | $25 per month if you log into the platform, but don't place any round trade |
| Optimus Futures | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
| Interactive Brokers | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
| AMP Futures | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
| tastytrade | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
| TD Ameritrade | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
| Charles Schwab | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
| TradeStation | No account fee | $50 per year if your balance is less than $2,000 or if you make less than 5 trades per year |
| E*TRADE | No account fee | No inactivity fee |
#1 Best futures brokers
NinjaTrader
Recommended for active traders focusing on futures
| 💰 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
| 💰 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
| 💰 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
| 💰 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
tastytrade
Recommended for options and futures traders focusing on us markets
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 💳 Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| 💸 Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| 📖 Read review | For a detailed analysis of tastytrade services, check out our review for 2023 |
#6 Best futures brokers
TD Ameritrade
Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research and a well-equipped desktop trading platform
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 💳 Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| 💸 Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| 📖 Read review | For a detailed analysis of TD Ameritrade services, check out our review for 2023 |
#7 Best futures brokers
Charles Schwab
Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research, low fees and great customer service
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 💳 Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| 💸 Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| 📖 Read review | For a detailed analysis of Charles Schwab services, check out our review for 2023 |
#8 Best futures brokers
TradeStation
Recommended for traders focusing on us markets and buy-and-hold investing
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 💳 Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| 💸 Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| 📖 Read review | For a detailed analysis of TradeStation services, check out our review for 2023 |
#9 Best futures brokers
E*TRADE
Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research and a great mobile trading platform
| 💰 Minimum deposit | $0 |
| 💳 Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| 💸 Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| 📖 Read review | For a detailed analysis of E*TRADE services, check out our review for 2023 |
Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
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Best futures brokers in the US in 2023
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
FAQ
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.
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 and high interest (up to 4.58% for USD) on cash balances. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- AMP Futures - Low trading fees. Great platform and research. High-quality education tools.
- tastytrade - Low trading fees. Great educational materials. Good research tools.
- TD Ameritrade - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). Superb desktop trading platform. Great customer support.
- Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.
- TradeStation - Great web and mobile trading platform. Low trading fees. High-quality research and education tools.
- E*TRADE - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). User-friendly mobile trading platform. Great research tools.
Want to understand futures trading in more detail?
Check out these articles written by our broker and trading experts:
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