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Firstrade app Review 2024

Your expert
Adam N.
Fact checked by
Updated
Jun 2024
Personally tested
Data-driven
Independent

Firstrade app

As more and more traders and investors use their smartphones for trading, it is increasingly important that brokers offer easy-to-use apps that can deliver the same services as desktop platforms.

In this article we'll check whether Firstrade's mobile app ticks all the boxes.

Overall, we rate the user-friendliness of the app as better than average.

Firstrade mobile app vs. similar brokers
Mobile app rating (5 is the best)
4.5 stars 4.8 stars 4.3 stars
User-friendliness
Great Great Great
2-step authentication
No Yes Yes
Biometric authentication
Yes Yes Yes

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We're going to take a closer look at search functions, price alerts and order types, so all the little details that determine whether a trading app is user-friendly or downright cumbersome. If you want to read our full review, including fees, deposit options and other platforms (like web and desktop) then skip to the Firstrade review.

Firstrade app

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Overall score
4.4/5
Minimum deposit
$0
Stock fee
Low
Options fee
Low
Inactivity fee
no
Account opening
1-3 days

Our main checklist for the Firstrade app

Let's start with the search functions. Although most brokers do OK in this area, there are some bad apples out there. For example, if you start typing 'Emerging markets', will the software find all the Emerging markets ETFs for you, even if their name doesn't start with 'emerging'? If you only ever traded US stocks and start typing 'Apple', will the AI show you the Apple stock or the obscure Irish stock Applegreen?

Firstrade got the green light, meaning its search functions are reasonably good.

Firstrade checklist
Search functions
Great Mid-range Great
2-step authentication
No Yes Yes
Biometric authentication
Yes Yes Yes
Price alerts in the app
Yes Yes No
Confirmation after successful trade
Yes Yes Yes

We hear horror stories almost every month about accounts being emptied out by hackers - the easiest thing you can do to prevent these attacks is to make your account secure by enabling 2-step authentication. That is, if your broker offers this service. We think it is a must. As Firstrade doesn't have this functionality, you might want to consider having a look at another trading platform.

Firstrade app search functions

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Checklist for nice-to-have features

For some people it might be a deal-breaker if you can't set up a trailing stop limit - we totally get that. Others couldn't care less and also don't get excited if the app is available in 25 languages. Anyway, here is our checklist of minor, nice-to-have features:

Firstrade has these order types available in its app: Market, Limit, Stop, Stop limit, Trailing Stop ($/%).

At Firstrade you can use the following order terms & expiry in the app: Day, Good Till 90 days, Pre Market, After Market, Day + EXT.

The Firstrade mobile app currently supports the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese.

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The BC Award-winning brokers

Still unsure about your broker selection? Click here to see which free stock trading apps are the best.

Or you could take a peek at the best trading platform awards we gave to brokers serving European clients.

If you're not in the US or the EU you'll find this award the most interesting.

Let us know what you think in the comments section.

If you would like a tailored recommendation you can use our broker finder tool, or you can learn more about investing your money.

Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.

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Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

author
Adam Nasli
Author of this article
I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.
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