Best Online Broker Trade Platforms 2011

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In our search for finding the best trade platform 2011 the StockBrokers.com staff decided to put the most emphasis on ease of use and charting capabilities. The top stock broker platforms lie below.

ETRADE

ETRADE Review

Trade for free your first 60 days (up to 500 free trades) with any newly funded account of atleast $2,000 (Learn more).
Rated the #1 Online Broker by SmartMoney for three straight years**

Stock Trades*	Options Base*	Options Contract*	Minimum Deposit
$9.99	$9.99	$0.75	$500.00

thinkorswim

thinkorswim Review

Rated #1 in the Barron's Review of Online Brokers 2009 & 2010**.
Receive up to 3 complimentary mutual funds trades per month (Learn more).

Stock Trades*	Options Base*	Options Contract*	Minimum Deposit
$9.95	$9.95	$1.50	$3,500.00

optionsXpress

optionsXpress Review

Have received at least 4 stars in the Barron's Review of Online Brokers the last 9 years.
Receive $100 when you fund a new optionsXpress account with $500 (Learn More).

Stock Trades*	Options Base*	Options Contract*	Minimum Deposit
$8.95	$0.00	$1.50	$0.00

MB Trading

MB Trading Review

Top Rated 4.5 out of 5 Stars in the Barron's 2010 Review of Online Brokers**
One of few online brokers offering flat per contract options trades with no base fees.

Stock Trades*	Options Base*	Options Contract*	Minimum Deposit
$4.95	$0.00	$0.95	$1,000.00

The matchup between E*TRADE's Power E*TRADE Pro and thinkorswim (by TD Ameritrade) was very close. In the end the thinkorswim platform was more feature rich but also had the steepest learning curve of the three. Power E*TRADE Pro edged thinkorswim for the #1 spot by being the most user friendly overall.

Ease of Use:
1. Power E*TRADE Pro
2. optionsXpress Xtend
3. thinkorswim (by TD Amertirade)

All three platforms offer a vast amount of functionality and resources for their investors. From real-time streaming quotes to the ability to watch CNBC live both the E*TRADE and thinkorswim platforms deliver a fantastic experience. optionsXpress with its Xtend platform also offers its users real-time streaming quotes but does lack the CNBC capability. All three platforms are desktop based software.

For charting capabilities thinkorswim had the largest offering of studies available (think MACD, RSI, Moving Averages, Volume, etc.) with Power E*TRADE Pro coming in second and optionsXpress in a distant third. Visually our personal preference put E*Trade in the top spot but thinkorswim and optionsXpress did not disappoint by any means.

Best Charting Capabilities:
1. thinkorswim (by TD Ameritrade)
2. Power E*TRADE Pro
3. optionsXpress Xtend

Overall for the average investor any of these three platforms will more than handle the needs of charting, research, and day to day operations. And if you are not at home then simply take your portfolio with you through one of these top rated mobile trading apps.

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