Firstrade Review 2024

Is Firstrade regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Is Firstrade safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background of the broker.

How you are protected

Firstrade serves its clients through Firstrade Securities Inc. Firstrade is regulated by the SEC and FINRA, and all customers are covered by the US investor protection scheme, called SIPC.

The SIPC scheme protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. This amount is substantially higher than the amount most investor protection schemes provide.

Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, other investment company shares, and other registered securities. It does not cover instruments, such as unregistered investment contracts, unregistered limited partnerships, fixed annuity contracts, currency, and interests in gold, silver, or other commodity futures contracts or commodity options.

In addition, Firstrade's clearing firm, Apex Clearing Corporation, has an additional insurance policy through a group of London Underwriters to supplement SIPC protection. This additional insurance policy is limited to a combined return to any customer from a Trustee, SIPC and London Underwriters of $37.5 million, including cash of up to $900,000.

Our brokerage experts put together a comprehensive guide on the safety profile of Firstrade.

Background

Firstrade was established in 1985 under the name First Flushing Securities. The longer the track record of a broker, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
The fact that it has been in operation for a long time and is regulated by a top-tier regulator are all great signs for Firstrade's safety.

Find your safe broker

Account base currencies

At Firstrade, the only available base currency is USD.

If you have a personal bank account in a currency other than USD, then you will be charged a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

Firstrade charges no deposit fees.

Are you a US client? If yes, you can use checks, ACH payments, and wire transfers for the deposit. Unfortunately, at the time of our test, credit/debit cards and electronic wallets were not available. We tested the ACH transfer and it took 2 business days.

Due to US regulations, US citizens cannot use credit cards to fund their brokerage accounts. They can only use debit cards, where available.

Here's all you need to know about depositing money at Firstrade and key info on minimum deposit requirements.

A bank transfer can take several business days. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Firstrade withdrawal fees and options

Firstrade charges no withdrawal fees if you use ACH withdrawal. Both domestic and international wire transfers cost $25.

Read this guide with all key info on available withdrawal methods and related fees.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Firstrade? We tested thebank transfer withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

How do you withdraw money from Firstrade?
You can withdraw money from Firstrade by following these steps:

• Log in to the account.
• Go to the "Accounts" menu.
• Select "Deposit/Transfer".
• Choose the withdrawal transfer type and your previously connected external account.
• Enter the amount you wish to withdraw and set the frequency and date of the withdrawal.
• Preview and initiate the withdrawal.

Can you open an account?

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Firstrade is a US broker, but some non-US clients can also open an account. The list of countries from where the broker accepts customers includes Germany, the UK, China, Singapore and Hong Kong, to name a few.

Read this article on how to get your account started with Firstrade.

What is the minimum deposit at Firstrade?

The required Firstrade minimum deposit is $0.

This is true for both U.S. and international clients. However, you will need to transfer a set amount of funds if you trade on margin or prefer investing in portfolios.

Account types

Firstrade offers several account types:

How to open your account

Account opening is fully digital and user-friendly. The online application took us roughly 15 minutes, but verification is a bit slower. It took 3 business days until our account was verified.

Here are the 9 steps of Firstrade's account opening process:

1. Enter your phone number to receive the verification code.
2. Enter your personal information and email address.
3. Choose the account type, state your options and day trading preferences.
4. Provide more personal information and details for account verification, such as your Social Security Number.
5. Enter your personal phone number and choose a security question.
6. Disclose your employment and financial information.
7. Specify your investment profile and trading preferences.
8. Set your funding preferences and connection.
9. Review and submit your application.

It is important to underline that there is a minor difference between US and non-US client applications. If you are a non-US client, you have to upload the agreed Online Service Agreement and the W-8 BEN tax form (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting for Individuals) with a copy of your passport. Firstrade does not disclose any specific limitations regarding international account services.

In our review, we tested the iOS version of Firstrade's in-house developed mobile trading platform. It is also available for Android devices. On the mobile trading platform, you can only trade stocks, ETFs and options, which is limited compared to the web trading platform.

The mobile trading platform is available in the following languages:

• English
• Mandarin
• Cantonese

Look and feel

Firstrade's mobile trading platform is user-friendly and well-designed.

Login and security

Firstrade provides only a one-step login for its mobile platform. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company's list of security changes.

You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

You get relevant results quickly. We liked the integrated third-party analysts' opinions and the news feed.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types on the mobile trading platform:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop limit
• Trailing Stop ($/%)

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Day
• Good Till 90 days
• Pre Market
• After Market
• Day + EXT

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the Firstrade mobile platform.

You can turn on price alerts by going to 'Account' and tapping on 'App Settings'.

Our analysts personally tested Firstrade's mobile app, check out their verdict.

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We tested Firstrade's own trading platform.

The web trading platform is available in the following languages:

• English
• Mandarin
• Cantonese

Look and feel

Firstrade's web trading platform is user-friendly, offers a satisfying user experience and the design is clear and straightforward. On the negative side, its customizability is limited. You can change the order of the tabs in the dashboard (called Investor Home), but other tabs aren't customizable.

Login and security

Firstrade provides only a one-step login. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company’s list of security changes.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

You can search by both company name or asset ticker and the results are relevant.

Placing orders

Firstrade provides many order types.

If you are unfamiliar with some of these terms or want to learn more, read our overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use:

• Day
• Good Till 90 days
• Pre Market
• After Market
• Day + EXT

Alerts and notifications

You can set price alerts and notifications on the Firstrade web trading platform.

You can set these alerts by different criteria:

• $ or % change vs the previous close
• Last trade
• Trading volume

The platform notifies you via your preset email. You can find the alerts under the 'Research & Tools' menu.

Portfolio and fee reports

Firstrade has clear fee reports.

You can find them under the 'Accounts' menu in 'History'.

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This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

Stocks and ETFs

Firstrade covers only the US market.

You can trade stocks on 5 different markets.

• NYSE
• NASDAQ
• AMEX
• OTCBB
• OTC Pink

Funds

Firstrade has a great mutual fund selection.

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

Bonds

Firstrade has an average bond selection.

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

The bonds offered by Firstrade include both government and corporate bonds.

Options

Firstrade covers CBOE and other US options exchanges.

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both TradeStation and Interactive Brokers offer more option markets to trade on.

Crypto

Firstrade clients can trade 38 of the most popular coins, starting with an investment as low as $1.

Interest on uninvested cash

Firstrade pays a 0.5% interest on uninvested USD.

We recommend Firstrade for beginners and investors looking for zero-commission trading, focusing on the US market.

Below you can find links to all aspects of Firstrade in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our Firstrade fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the Firstrade minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your Firstrade account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the Firstrade account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the Firstrade trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the Firstrade customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is Firstrade legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether Firstrade is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is Firstrade good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on Firstrade?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on Firstrade guide

I want to trade options, are they available at Firstrade?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on Firstrade?

What is the minimum account balance at Firstrade?

Check out the current account balance requirements at Firstrade in our What is the minimum account balance at Firstrade article.

Looking for commission and fees data for Firstrade?

We collected them in Firstrade commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from Firstrade?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on Firstrade.