Is Zacks Trade free?

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Is Zacks Trade free as of November 2024?

Zacks Trade 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 Zacks Trade 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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Zacks Trade

4.3/5

Minimum deposit

$250

Stock fee

Low

Options fee

Low

Inactivity fee

yes

Account opening

>3 days

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Overview of Zacks Trade fees and charges

It's safe to say that Zacks Trade'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 Zacks Trade's fees

Zacks Trade Fees snapshot
Assets	Fee level	Fee terms
US stock fee	Low	$0.01 per share commission for stocks priced above $1, or 1% of trade value for stocks priced below $1. The minimum fee is $1.
EURUSD fee	-	FX not available
US mutual fund fees	High	$27.50 per transaction
Inactivity fee	High	$15 per month (for accounts under $25,000 with less than $15 in commission fees each month), but waived for account balances above $25,000

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Zacks Trade 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 Zacks Trade fees with its closest competitors, TradeStation and Firstrade.

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Zacks Trade trading fees

Zacks Trade'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 Zacks Trade.

Trading fees

Zacks Trade's trading fees are low.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Zacks Trade has low stock trading fees.

Stock fees of a $2,000 trade
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
US stock Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade, assuming a $50 stock price	$1.0 $0.01 per share commission for stocks priced above $1, or 1% of trade value for stocks priced below $1. The minimum fee is $1.	$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 $0 per trade
UK stock fee Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade, assuming a $50 stock price	$15.0 0.3% of trade value with a £12 minimum	- Not available	- Not available
German stock Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade	$13.0 0.3% of trade value with a €12 minimum	- Not available	- Not available

Data updated on November 29, 2024

Fund fees

Zacks Trade fund fees are high.

Fees of a $2,000 fund purchase
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
Mutual fund Estimated commission of a $2,000 US domiciled fund trade	$27.5 $27.50 per transaction	$15.0 $14.95 per transaction	$0.0 $0 per trade
EU mutual fund Subscription fee of a $2,000 face value European stock fund	-	- Not available	- Not available

Data updated on November 29, 2024

Bond fees

Zacks Trade has low bond fees.

Fees of a $10,000 bond trade
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
US Treasury bond Estimated commission of a $10,000 US treasury bond trade	$5.5 Up to $1 million face value: 0.025% * face value + $3 per bond. Remaining face value: 0.005% * face value + $3 per bond	$50.0 $50 per trade	$0.0 Net Yield Basis for treasury, corporate, municipal, agencies, secondary CDs and zero bonds and $30 min for primary CD. Net Yield Basis means Firstrade acts as principal whereby the bonds will be subject to a markup or markdown.
EU/UK government bond Estimated commission of a $10k EU or UK government bond trade	$27.8 EURONEXT bonds: 0.3% of trade value EUR with a €12 minimum	- Not available	- Not available

Data updated on November 29, 2024

Options fees

Zacks Trade's options fees are low.

Options fees for 10 contracts
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
US stock options Estimated commission for opening 10 contracts	$7.8 $1 for first contract + $0.75 for each additional contract	$11.0 For US clients, $0.6 contract per contract, for non-US clients $5 flat fee plus $0.6 per contract	$0.0 $0 per trade
US stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	$7.8 $1 for first contract + $0.75 for each additional contract	$15.0 For US clients: $1 per contract; for non-US clients: $5 flat fee plus $1 per contract	$0.0 $0 per trade
UK stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	- Not available	- Not available	- Not available
German stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	- Not available	- Not available	- Not available

Data updated on November 29, 2024

Currency conversion fee

Zacks Trade will charge a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account. The fee is charged as the following: Currency conversion charges range typically between $2.0 and $2.5.

Margin rates

Zacks Trade margin rates are low.

Zacks Trade margin rates
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
USD margin rate	8.8% Interest on margin rates is based on tiers (8.83% up to 100k)	12.8% For positions less than $50,000: 12.75% per year	11.5% Base rate + tiered markup. Markup is 0-25k: +1.75%.
EUR margin rate	7.9% Interest on Margin Loans: IB rate + 3%	- Not available	- Not available

Data updated on November 29, 2024

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Zacks Trade non-trading fees

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

Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at Zacks Trade 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 Zacks Trade stacks up in terms of non-trading fees
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
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 Free withdrawal (one per month). Subsequent withdrawals in the same month are subject to fees.	$0 $0 for ACH withdrawals and $25 for US wire withdrawals	$0 Free withdrawal for ACH, but wire transfers cost $25
Deposit fee	$0 Free deposit (but $250 minimum initial deposit for new accounts is required)	$0 Free deposit	$0 Free deposit
Inactivity fee Fee applied if a customer does not trade for a certain length of time	Yes $15 per month (for accounts under $25,000 with less than $15 in commission fees each month), but waived for account balances above $25,000	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
Account fee Monthly account fee	No No account fee	No No account fee	No No account fee

Data updated on November 29, 2024

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Zacks Trade

4.3/5

Minimum deposit

$250

Stock fee

Low

Options fee

Low

Inactivity fee

yes

Account opening

>3 days

Visit Zacks Trade

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Zacks Trade deposit fee

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

Zacks Trade deposit methods
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
Bank transfer Bank transfer is available for deposit	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card Credit/debit cards are available for deposit	No	No	No
Electronic wallets Electronic wallets are available for deposit	No	No	No
Deposit fee	$0 Free deposit (but $250 minimum initial deposit for new accounts is required)	$0 Free deposit	$0 Free deposit

Data updated on November 29, 2024

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Zacks Trade withdrawal fee

Zacks Trade generally doesn't charge a withdrawal fee.

Zacks Trade withdrawal fees and options compared
	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
Bank transfer Bank transfer is available for deposit	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card Credit/debit cards are available for deposit	No	No	No
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 Free withdrawal (one per month). Subsequent withdrawals in the same month are subject to fees.	$0 $0 for ACH withdrawals and $25 for US wire withdrawals	$0 Free withdrawal for ACH, but wire transfers cost $25

Data updated on November 29, 2024

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Zacks Trade inactivity fee

Zacks Trade does apply an inactivity fee and it is $15 per month (for accounts under $25,000 with less than $15 in commission fees each month), but waived for account balances above $25,000. Keep this in mind to avoid getting charged after a longer idle period. The fact that Zacks Trade charges an inactivity fee makes it less ideal for you if you are a buy-and-hold investor.

The inactivity fee charged by Zacks Trade is high.

	Zacks Trade Zacks Trade	TradeStation TradeStation	Firstrade Firstrade
Inactivity fee Fee applied if a customer does not trade for a certain length of time	Yes $15 per month (for accounts under $25,000 with less than $15 in commission fees each month), but waived for account balances above $25,000	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
Inactivity fee Fee applied if a customer does not trade for a certain length of time	$15 per month (for accounts under $25,000 with less than $15 in commission fees each month), but waived for account balances above $25,000	$10/month – waived if 10 or more trades placed in prior 90 days or $5,000 average end-of-month balance	No inactivity fee

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