Is TradeStation free?

Personally tested

Data-driven

Independent

Is TradeStation free as of December 2024?

TradeStation does charge a commission for real stock trading on US markets, so in this sense it is not a free-to-trade broker. However, it might still be a reasonable choice for some of you, as there are many other aspects other than commissions that are important when you choose a broker. If you wish to stick with TradeStation though, then you will find the fees they charge below. Alternatively, you could check our article detailing the best zero commission brokers and how their apps scored in our test.

We should note that the payment-for-order-flow model, which is used by some zero-commission brokers to generate income (rather than relying on commissions), could potentially create a conflict of interest between you and your broker. This could result in trade execution (like routing your orders to specific market makers) that might be unfavorable for you under certain market conditions, especially when using market orders (as opposed to limit orders, which seem to be less affected).

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Confused about fees? Use this tool to see what the commission fee of a specific stock trade would be at TradeStation. To check and compare fees at other brokers, go to our main Fee calculator page.

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TradeStation

4.4/5

Minimum deposit

Stock fee

Low

Options fee

Average

Inactivity fee

yes

Account opening

1 day

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Overview of TradeStation fees and charges

It's safe to say that TradeStation's fees are low in general. They either don't charge a brokerage fee for things that other brokers do, or they only charge a small amount.

Here's a high-level overview of TradeStation's fees

TradeStation Fees snapshot
Assets	Fee level	Fee terms
US stock fee	Low	$5 per trade for non-US clients. For US clients, commission-free up to the first 10,000 shares per trade.
EURUSD fee	-	FX not available
US mutual fund fees	Average	$14.95 per transaction
Inactivity fee	Low	$10/month – waived if 10 or more trades placed in prior 90 days or $5,000 average end-of-month balance

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TradeStation fees explained

Online brokerages in general charge much lower brokerage fees than traditional brokerages do - this is largely because online brokerages' businesses can be much better scaled: from a purely technical standpoint, it doesn't make that much of a difference for them if they have 100 or 5,000 clients.

This is not to say, however, that they don't charge any fees at all. They make money by charging you various rates for various actions or events. Usually you need to keep an eye on the following three types of fees:

Trading fees - these are brokerage fees that you pay when you actually carry out a trade, like buying an Apple share or an ETF. What you pay is either a commission, a spread or a financing rate. Some brokers apply all of these.

A commission is either fixed or based on the traded volume.
A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
A financing rate or overnight rate is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.

Non-trading fees. These are usually related to some operations you carry out in your account, such as depositing money, withdrawing money, or not trading for an extended period.

We compare TradeStation fees with its closest competitors, tastytrade and Interactive Brokers.

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TradeStation trading fees

TradeStation's trading fees are low, which makes it suitable for you even if you trade often (i.e. several times a week).

Let's break down trading fees according to the different asset classes available at TradeStation.

Trading fees

TradeStation's trading fees are low.

Stock fees and ETF fees

TradeStation has low stock trading fees.

Stock fees of a $2,000 trade
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
US stock Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade, assuming a $50 stock price	$5.0 $5 per trade for non-US clients. For US clients, commission-free up to the first 10,000 shares per trade.	$0.0 Free stock and ETF trading	$1.0 Fixed pricing: $0.005 per share, min. $1, max. 1% of trade value. Free for US clients choosing IBKR Lite plan.
UK stock fee Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade, assuming a $50 stock price	- Not available	- Not available	$3.8 Fixed £3 for trade value less than £6,000, 0.05% of trade value for more than £6,000
German stock Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade	- Not available	- Not available	$3.2 Fixed €3 for trade value less than €6,000, 0.05% of trade value for more than €6,000

Data updated on December 4, 2024

Fund fees

TradeStation fund fees are average.

Fees of a $2,000 fund purchase
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
Mutual fund Estimated commission of a $2,000 US domiciled fund trade	$15.0 $14.95 per transaction	- Not available	$15.0 $14.95 per transaction or 3% of trade value, whichever is lower. There are also more than 18,000 funds with no transaction fee
EU mutual fund Subscription fee of a $2,000 face value European stock fund	- Not available	- Not available	$4.4 0.1% of trade value with €4 min and €29 max

Data updated on December 4, 2024

Bond fees

TradeStation has average bond fees.

Fees of a $10,000 bond trade
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
US Treasury bond Estimated commission of a $10,000 US treasury bond trade	$50.0 $50 per trade	- Not available	$5.0 For the first $1,000,000 face value: 0.002% of trade value with $5 min.
EU/UK government bond Estimated commission of a $10k EU or UK government bond trade	- Not available	- Not available	$10.0 First €10,000 face value: 0.1% of trade value. Above €10,000 face value: 0.025% of trade value.

Data updated on December 4, 2024

Options fees

TradeStation's options fees are average.

Options fees for 10 contracts
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
US stock options Estimated commission for opening 10 contracts	$11.0 For US clients, $0.6 contract per contract, for non-US clients $5 flat fee plus $0.6 per contract	$5.0 $1 per contract (maximum $10), benchmark fee is halved because closing is free	$6.5 Less than 10,000 contracts per month and for a 10 contract trade: $0.65 per contract with a $1 minimum fee
US stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	$15.0 For US clients: $1 per contract; for non-US clients: $5 flat fee plus $1 per contract	$5.0 $1 for opening a contract, benchmark fee is halved because closing is free	$6.5 Less than 10,000 contract per month and for a 10 contracts trade: $0.65 per contract with $1 min
UK stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	- Not available	- Not available	$21.3 £1.7 per contract with £1.7 min
German stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	- Not available	- Not available	$18.4 €1.7 per contract with €1.7 min

Data updated on December 4, 2024

Futures fees

TradeStation's futures fees are low.

Stock index futures fees for 10 contracts
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
US micro e-mini stock index futures Estimated commission for 10 contracts	$5.0 $1.5 per contract for standard products, $0.5 per contract for micro products	$8.5 $0.85 per contract	$2.5 $0.25 per contract
UK stock index futures Estimated commission for 10 contracts	- Not available	- Not available	$21.3 £1.7 per contract with £1.7 min
German e-mini stock index futures Estimated commission for 10 contracts	- Not available	- Not available	$8.6 €0.80 per contract with €0.80 min

Data updated on December 4, 2024

Margin rates

TradeStation margin rates are high.

TradeStation margin rates
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
USD margin rate	12.8% For positions less than $50,000: 12.75% per year	11.0% There are tiers. if balance is less than $25k: base rate +1%	6.1% Tiered margin rate. Lowest tier has a rate of 6.08% at IBKR PRO (7.08% at IBKR Lite)
EUR margin rate	- Not available	- Not available	4.9% Tiered margin rate. Lowest tier has a rate of 4.904% at IBKR PRO (5.904% at IBKR Lite)

Data updated on December 4, 2024

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TradeStation non-trading fees

When it comes to non-trading fees, TradeStation is a rather cheap broker.

Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at TradeStation that are not related to buying or selling assets. This can be a withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee or account fee.

A high-level overview of how TradeStation stacks up in terms of non-trading fees
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
Withdrawal fee Fee for withdrawing money from the broker account. It is zero if you can withdraw money for free via any method, e.g. credit/debit card or bank transfer.	$0 $0 for ACH withdrawals and $25 for US wire withdrawals	$0 Free for ACH withdrawal, $25 for US withdrawal by wire and $45 for non-US wire withdrawal	$0 One free per month, after that $10
Deposit fee	$0 Free deposit	$0 Free deposit	$0 Free deposit
Inactivity fee Fee applied if a customer does not trade for a certain length of time	Yes $10/month – waived if 10 or more trades placed in prior 90 days or $5,000 average end-of-month balance	No No inactivity fee	No No inactivity fee
Account fee Monthly account fee	No No account fee	No No account fee	No No account fee

Data updated on December 4, 2024

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TradeStation

4.4/5

Minimum deposit

Stock fee

Low

Options fee

Average

Inactivity fee

yes

Account opening

1 day

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TradeStation deposit fee

Usually, brokers don't charge anything for deposits, and TradeStation is no different.

TradeStation deposit methods
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
Bank transfer Bank transfer is available for deposit	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card Credit/debit cards are available for deposit	No	No	No IBKR debit cards are available for US customers
Electronic wallets Electronic wallets are available for deposit	No	No	No
Deposit fee	$0 Free deposit	$0 Free deposit	$0 Free deposit

Data updated on December 4, 2024

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TradeStation withdrawal fee

TradeStation generally doesn't charge a withdrawal fee.

TradeStation withdrawal fees and options compared
	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
Bank transfer Bank transfer is available for deposit	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card Credit/debit cards are available for deposit	No	No	No IBKR debit cards are available for US customers
Electronic wallets Electronic wallets are available for deposit	No	No	No
Withdrawal fee for bank transfer Fee for withdrawing money from the broker account. It is zero if you can withdraw money for free via any method, e.g. credit/debit card or bank transfer.	$0 $0 for ACH withdrawals and $25 for US wire withdrawals	$0 Free for ACH withdrawal, $25 for US withdrawal by wire and $45 for non-US wire withdrawal	$0 One free per month, after that $10

Data updated on December 4, 2024

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TradeStation inactivity fee

TradeStation does apply an inactivity fee and it is $10/month – waived if 10 or more trades placed in prior 90 days or $5,000 average end-of-month balance. Keep this in mind to avoid getting charged after a longer idle period. The fact that TradeStation charges an inactivity fee makes it less ideal for you if you are a buy-and-hold investor.

The inactivity fee charged by TradeStation is low.

	TradeStation TradeStation	tastytrade tastytrade	Interactive Brokers Interactive Brokers
Inactivity fee Fee applied if a customer does not trade for a certain length of time	Yes $10/month – waived if 10 or more trades placed in prior 90 days or $5,000 average end-of-month balance	No No inactivity fee	No No inactivity fee
Inactivity fee Fee applied if a customer does not trade for a certain length of time	$10/month – waived if 10 or more trades placed in prior 90 days or $5,000 average end-of-month balance	No inactivity fee	No inactivity fee

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