Tastyworks Review 2020

Tastyworks has low trading fees and there is no inactivity fee. On the other hand, you have to pay a withdrawal fee.

How we ranked fees

We ranked Tastyworks' fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

To get things rolling, let's go over some lingo related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees, and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Tastyworks for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing, commissions are the most important fees.

We also compared Tastyworks's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, Degiro and Interactive Brokers. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Tastyworks alternatives.

To have a clear overview of Tastyworks, let's start with the trading fees.

Tastyworks trading fees

Tastyworks trading fees are low. 

Tastyworks charges $1 per contract for stock options and $2.50 per contract for options on futures for opening a position. Closing a position on options is free of charge. For futures, it charges $1.25 per contract for both opening and closing a trade. Finally, stock trading incurs no commission.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Unlike its competitors, Tastyworks charges no stock and ETF commission.

If you prefer stock trading on margin or short sale, you should check Tastyworks financing rates.

A financing rate, or margin rate, is charged when you trade on margin or short a stock. This basically means that you borrow money or stocks from your broker to trade. For this borrowed money/stock you have to pay an interest. This is the financing rate. It can be a significant proportion of your trading costs.

Tastyworks' financing rates are volume-tiered. It involves a base rate, and a premium or discount depending on the financed amount. The base rate is set at Tastyworks' discretion; at the time of our review, the base rate was 7%.

The financing rates above are also applied to options and futures trading.

Options fees

Tastyworks options fees are low. They are very similar to its main competitors' pricing.

Futures fees

Tastyworks futures fees are generally low. However, they are still higher than futures fees at Degiro or IB.

Non-trading fees

Tastyworks has average non-trading fees. It doesn't charge you a general account fee, an inactivity fee, a custody fee, or a deposit fee. On the flip side, Tastyworks' withdrawal fee is quite high: it is $25 for US bank accounts and $45 for non-US bank accounts. ACH withdrawal is free.

The complete list of non-trading fees can be found on Tastyworks’ pricing page.

Tastyworks account opening is user-friendly, fast and fully digital. You can open your account without a required minimum deposit.

Can you open an account?

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Tastyworks accepts customers from many countries. You can find the list of eligible countries here. They include almost all EU countries, most South and Central American countries, as well as India, Indonesia, New Zealand and Turkey, among others.

What is the minimum deposit at Tastyworks?

The required Tastyworks minimum deposit is $0 for cash accounts. For margin accounts, you need to deposit a minimum of $2,000.

Account types

Tastyworks offers two account types for individuals: cash and margin accounts. With a margin account, you can use leverage, which means that you can borrow money from the broker to trade.

Retirement accounts are available for US citizens. You can choose among traditional, self-employed (SEP), roth or beneficiary (inherited) IRAs.

You can also open a joint account, where you will share ownership with another person. 

Finally, Tastyworks also offers corporate and trust accounts for legally established US entities.

In our Tastyworks review, we tested the individual margin account, dubbed "The Works".

How to open your account

Tastyworks account opening is fast and fully digital. For regulatory reasons, US brokers cannot open your account instantly, but Tastyworks account opening is still one of the fastest among US brokers, taking 1-3 days. At the time of our review, our account was approved after 1 day.

Tastyworks account application takes 10-15 minutes and is fairly straightforward. You need to provide the following information:

• account type
• personal information
• employer information (name, address, phone number)
• financial knowledge
• name of your primary bank
• digital copies of your ID and proof of address

Tastyworks' deposit and withdrawal functions could be better. Although there is no deposit fee and the process is user-friendly, you can use only bank transfer; and the fee for bank transfer withdrawals is high.

Deposit fees and options

Tastyworks deposit is free of charge. However, non-US citizens can only use bank transfer, known as wire transfer in US banking lingo.

If you are from the US, you can also use

• ACH (automated clearing house)
• check

We tested the non-US wire transfer, and it took 3 business days.

According to tastyworks' website, ACH transfers take 4 business days. However, you can connect some of the US banks to tastyworks, and make instant transfers with them.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Tastyworks withdrawal fees and options

Tastyworks withdrawal costs $45 for non-US clients and $25 for US clients. Withdrawing money can be done the same way as making deposits, i.e. only via wire transfer for non-US citizens, plus ACH and check for US citizens. 

The user interface for wire transfer withdrawal is customer-friendly and easy to use.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Tastyworks? We tested the bank transfer withdrawal, and it took more than 3 business days.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from Tastyworks?

• Select the account to withdraw from
• Link your bank account
• Set the transaction date/frequency
• Enter the amount to be withdrawn
• Confirm the withdrawal

Compare to other brokers

The Tastyworks web platform is great for experienced traders, especially if you focus on options trading. However, it takes time to figure out how its functions work, and its customizability is limited.

Tastyworks uses its own trading platform. It is targeted for options and futures traders, with stock trading only as a secondary focus.

The platform is available only in English.

Look and feel

Login and security

Tastyworks now provides a two-step login, which allows extra security.

This two-step login is only for the following actions within the account:

• Email changes
• Password changes
• Forgot password functionality
• Money movements (initiated from within your tastyworks profile)

Search functions

The platform's search functions are OK. They are fast and the results are relevant, but it's not always clear which exchange the assets are listed on. Furthermore, it's not possible to filter results by asset classes.

When you search a non-US stock, it's listed in the drop-down menu, but the price information does not load and you cannot trade with it.

Placing orders

Tastyworks' order management has great functions but it is a bit complicated. It is primarily designed for options trading but can also be used for stock trading. You will find three different order panels, two for options trading and one for stock trading.

The stock trading panel is of mid-range quality, offering four order types:

• market
• limit
• stop limit
• stop market

To get a better understanding of these terms, read this overview of order types.

There are also various order time limits you can use: Good Till Cancelled (GTC) and Good Till Date (GTD).

For options trading, you can choose between two views: the standard option chain, called 'Table', and a unique visual trading interface, called 'Curve'.

Under both views, you can use many predefined strategies:

• Vertical
• Strangle
• Straddle
• Option
• Iron condor
• Covered stock
• Butterfly
• Jade lizard
• Calendar

It looks very complicated at first, but it's a very functional platform once you get the hang of it. For example, it has a list of predefined option strategies, so opening an iron condor takes only two clicks.

You can also drag and drop the different option orders and easily edit the default parameters. We think this is one of the biggest selling points of the platform.

Alerts and notifications

It is easy to set up price alerts and order notifications. You can set up alerts for each asset for price and IV level. You can also set up email and push notifications, as well as text messages if you are in the US.

There is a great watchlist called the 'Grid'. You can have an overview of a wide range of assets in one place. All selected stocks have a well organized mini-infographic with some fundamental data. This is also tailored for options trading, as the most visible data points are implied volatility ranks.

Portfolio and fee reports

The portfolio report is well structured. Its default setting is options-focused as it shows delta and theta values. However, the columns of the table can be easily customized.

The fee report is also clear. Both the portfolio and fee report can be exported to a CSV file.

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Tastyworks's mobile platform is very similar to its web platform. It is well organized but feels complicated. It lacks price alerts and a two-step login.

The Tastyworks mobile platform is very similar to the web platform and shares its major functions.

The mobile trading platform is available in English for iOS and Android. We tested it on iOS.

Look and feel

The Tastyworks mobile trading platform is user-friendly and it has a neat and modern design.

Login and security

Tastyworks now provides two-step login for the same features as on web trading platform. It's an additional layer of security.

You can log in using biometric authentication.

Search functions

The platform's search functions are OK. Similarly to the web platform, you can search based on the ticker of the asset you are looking for, but you cannot set up filters for asset types.

Placing orders

The trading function is a bit different from the web platform but it is intuitive. You can choose among table, curve or stock modes. This makes stock trading easier to manage.

You can select the same order types and terms as on the web platform.

Alerts and notifications

You cannot set price alerts and order notifications on the Tastyworks mobile platform. This is a major drawback.

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The desktop platform is very similar to the web trading platform and has extra features such as good customizability. On the other hand, it likewise lacks two-step login, and it is not well suited for beginners.

You can download the desktop trading platform for OSX, Windows and Linux. It is only available in English.

Look and feel

The Tastyworks desktop trading platform is OK. Similarly to the web platform, it is quite complicated and it takes some time to figure out where things are. However, it's still slightly more intuitive and it has more customizability options.

Login and security

Tastyworks provides two-step login for the same features as on web trading platform.

Search functions

The platform's search functions are OK. Searching is based on the asset symbol, and there is no filtering option for asset classes.

Placing orders

You can place orders in the same way as on the web platform.

Alerts and notifications

You can set price alerts and order notifications on the desktop trading platform in the same way as on the web platform.

Portfolio and fee reports

You can access clear portfolio and fee reports on the desktop platform as well.

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At Tastyworks, you can trade US stocks, ETFs, options and some futures.

Tastyworks offers stocks, options, ETFs and futures. It only covers US markets. We found little information on the exact number of tradable products. 

Overall, Tastyworks's market and product range is narrower than that of its competitors. 

Social trading

Tastyworks offers a social trading service. You can follow and copy the trades of Tastyworks's team members. These guys are really active, so you will never struggle with not having any trading ideas.

Tastyworks's research tools include trading ideas, a great charting tool on the desktop platform, and a high-quality news flow. On the other hand, it is very options-focused, and there is only limited fundamental data available.

Trading ideas

Fundamental data

There are useful indicators for options, like the greeks, implied volatility, Tastyworks’s proprietary IV rank, or the correlation matrix with stocks and indices.

You will find only very basic fundamental data for stocks, like P/E or dividend yields.

Charting

Tastyworks has a very complex and great charting tool on its desktop platform. You can use over 100 technical indicators, and the chart is interactive.

News feed

Tastyworks provides news through its educational platform, Tastytrade. Here you have access to a wide range of very useful options and futures trading content, as well as to live news coverage. 

The Tastytrade team runs a live trading show during trading hours each weekday. This is pretty awesome.

Compare research pros and cons

Tastyworks's customer support is great; you can reach them via email and phone, and they will give you relevant answers. On the negative side, there is no 24/7 availability or live chat.

You can contact Tastyworks via:

• telephone
• email

Tastyworks's phone support was fast and we got relevant answers. The only downside is that they are available to contact only on weekdays between 7am-5pm (GMT-6). 

Via email, we got relevant answers within minutes of sending our questions. Tastyworks's email support is available 24/5. 

Overall, we found that customer support is excellent: they give fast and relevant answers. However, we missed live chat.

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Tastyworks has superb educational materials on options trading on its Tastytrade platform. On the other hand, there is no demo account.

At Tastyworks, you can learn in the following ways:

• platform tutorial videos
• general educational videos
• webinars
• quality educational articles

Tastyworks's educational material is available through its educational platform, Tastytrade. Here, you can build up your options trading knowledge from scratch. Their videos have really good quality and are also enjoyable - a big plus when you are consuming financial content.

Alongside videos, you can also read high-quality articles and attend webinars on the nitty-gritty of trading with Tastyworks products. 

The platform is free to use, and if you register, you get access to additional market insight and research content. 

The only issue with Tastyworks's education functions is the lack of a demo account. As their platform is complicated, this would be a great tool for practice.

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Tastyworks is regulated by FINRA, a top-tier US regulator, which provides a high level of investor protection. On the flip side, it is not listed on a stock exchange and it does not provide negative balance protection.

Is Tastyworks regulated?

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

Is Tastyworks safe?

To be certain, we highly advise that you check two facts:

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

How you are protected

All customers of Tastyworks belong to one US legal entity, which is regulated by FINRA.

This matters because this way you are eligible for the US investor protection amount via SIPC, the protection fund. This is a big plus. It protects you against the loss of cash or securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash.

A non-US citizen with Tastyworks is treated in the same way as a US resident in case something goes wrong. The $500,000/$250,000 amount is substantially higher than what is offered by most European investor protection schemes.

Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual fund and 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.

On the downside, Tastyworks does not provide negative balance protection.

Background

Tastyworks was established in 2017. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully weathered previous financial crises. By this standard, Tastyworks is still quite young.

Find your safe broker

Tastyworks is an excellent broker for options trading, but it is a bit complicated if you want to trade stocks only.  

Tastyworks is a US broker, therefore its investor protection scheme is excellent. Trading fees are low, with free stock and average options trading fees. Its trading platform is aimed at experienced options traders, and can be intimidating for beginners. However, its educational and research tools are great for learning. Deposit and withdrawal processes could be better, and a demo account would also be great for practice purposes.

As there is no minimum deposit, no inactivity fee or monthly fee, and the account opening process is seamless, you should feel free to try it.

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