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Charles Schwab vs tastytrade 2025

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

September 17, 2025

In this head to head comparison of Charles Schwab vs tastytrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.

Charles Schwab
visit.jpg
5/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.65
tastytrade
4/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.50 info

Range of investments

Bottom line: Charles Schwab offers a wider range of investments and services than tastytrade, earning 5 stars for Range of Investments and ranking #2 out of 14 brokers by StockBrokers.com (tastytrade: 4 stars, #10). Both brokers cover core needs like stocks, options, futures, forex, margin, fractional shares, and IRAs, but Schwab adds mutual funds, OTC stocks, and advisor services. Tastytrade stands out for crypto access with 17 coins, while Schwab does not offer crypto.

Investment options compared: Both Schwab and tastytrade let you trade stocks, options, futures, forex, on margin, and in fractional shares. Schwab supports OTC stocks and thousands of mutual funds; tastytrade does not. For crypto, tastytrade offers trading in 17 coins, whereas Schwab offers none. Both provide Traditional and Roth IRA accounts. Only Schwab includes advisor services for guided help.

Who each fits best: Choose Charles Schwab if you want the broadest menu—especially mutual funds, OTC stocks, and access to advisors—along with top-tier range ratings. Choose tastytrade if you prioritize active trading with stocks, options, and futures and want built-in crypto trading across 17 coins.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Stock Trading info Yes Yes
Account Feature - Margin Trading info Yes Yes
Fractional Shares (Stocks) info Yes Yes info
OTC Stocks info Yes No
Mutual Funds info Yes No
Options Trading info Yes Yes
Futures Trading info Yes Yes
Crypto Trading info No Yes
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 0 17
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025: A Beginner-Friendly Guide to an Advanced Market

Trading platforms and tools

If you’re choosing between Charles Schwab and tastytrade for trading platforms and tools, Schwab takes the lead for depth and flexibility. It earns 5 stars and ranks #1 of 14 brokers at StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade scores 4 stars and ranks #8. Both can handle everyday trading on desktop and web, but Schwab better suits traders who want the widest set of settings, data fields, and built-in analysis; tastytrade works well if you prefer a cleaner setup with plenty of chart drawing tools.

Platform access is a draw: both offer downloadable Windows and Mac apps plus a browser platform. Schwab adds paper trading, while tastytrade does not. Each includes a trading journal and lets you adjust open orders right on a chart. Watch lists are where Schwab pulls away, offering up to 580 columns versus 33 at tastytrade, which can matter if you track lots of metrics or run screeners. Both support saving multiple chart layouts and creating custom studies.

For charting, both show notes, historical trades, corporate events, and custom date ranges, and both let you tweak studies. Schwab packs in 374 technical indicators versus 308 for tastytrade and supports automated chart pattern recognition; tastytrade lacks automated patterns but offers more drawing tools (31 vs 24). When editing a simple SMA study, Schwab provides 35 fields to fine-tune compared with 7 at tastytrade. In short, Schwab delivers more analysis features, while tastytrade covers the essentials with a focus on hands-on drawing.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac) info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 580 33
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 374 308
Charting - Drawing Tools info 24 31
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers & Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Paper Trading Apps & Platforms for 2025

Featured Offers


5/5 Stars

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Beginners and education

In the Charles Schwab vs tastytrade education matchup, both brokers teach stocks, ETFs, and options, offer educational videos and webinars, and let you track learning progress. Charles Schwab goes further with mutual funds and bonds education, plus quizzes and built-in paper trading. tastytrade does not offer mutual funds or bonds education, quizzes, or paper trading.

For beginner investors who want a wider course catalog and a way to practice before risking money, Charles Schwab is the stronger pick. Ratings reflect that: Charles Schwab earns 5 stars for education and ranks #1 out of 14 brokers at StockBrokers.com. tastytrade earns 4 stars and ranks #9, making it appealing for options-focused learners who prefer videos and webinars.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info Yes Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info Yes No
Education (Fixed Income) info Yes No
Paper Trading info Yes No
Videos info Yes Yes
Webinars info Yes Yes
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025

Stock trading apps

For most stock traders on mobile, Charles Schwab comes out ahead. Schwab’s app is rated 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 14 brokers by StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade earns 4.5 stars and ranks #10. Both deliver the basics—iPhone and Android apps, streaming quotes, options trading, alerts, and customizable watchlists—but Schwab adds more charting tools, built-in video content, live TV, and Apple Watch support.

App coverage and trading access: Schwab and tastytrade both offer iPhone and Android apps. Schwab also supports Apple Watch; tastytrade does not. Schwab enables mobile after-hours stock trading; the tastytrade status was not specified in the data. Both apps support mobile options trading, streaming quotes, stock alerts, custom watchlists, editable watchlist columns, landscape charts, after-hours charting, and multiple time frames.

Charts and research on the go: Schwab provides 373 technical studies in its mobile charts and lets you compare symbols on the same chart. Tastytrade offers no technical studies and no on-chart symbol comparisons, making its charting simpler. Schwab also includes streaming live TV and videos on demand inside the app, while tastytrade does not offer those media features.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info Yes No
Stock Alerts info Yes Yes
Charting - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 373 0
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025

Fees

When comparing Charles Schwab and tastytrade, potential investors encounter several key differences in fees. Both platforms offer a minimum deposit requirement of zero dollars and charge no fees for standard stock trades, which can make them highly appealing to beginners or those seeking to minimize costs initially. However, for those interested in options trading, tastytrade edges out slightly with a lower fee of $0.50 per contract compared to Charles Schwab's $0.65. On the other hand, Charles Schwab presents a significant advantage with zero fees for IRA accounts management, including no charges for IRA closure, whereas tastytrade imposes a $60 fee for closing an IRA account.

Regarding margin accounts, the difference becomes even more pronounced as tastytrade offers lower interest rates across varying balance tiers. For balances below $25,000, tastytrade charges 11%, while Charles Schwab applies a 12.58% rate. As the margin balances increase, tastytrade remains cheaper, charging 10.5% for balances between $25,000 and $49,999 and 10% for balances between $50,000 and $99,999; meanwhile, Charles Schwab charges 12.08% and 11.13%, respectively. Investors interested in margin trading might find tastytrade's lower rates more attractive.

Additional cost considerations include fees for account transfers and options specifically. Charles Schwab charges nothing for partial account transfers and $50 for full transfers, whereas tastytrade imposes a $75 fee for both. Plus, while Charles Schwab doesn't charge for options exercises or assignments, tastytrade applies a $5 fee for each. Overall, the choice between these two platforms can significantly depend on the specific services a trader values most, be it more economical margin trading with tastytrade or cost-effective account management with Charles Schwab.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Options (Per Contract) info $0.65 $0.50 info
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $5.00
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $60.00

Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025

Day Trading

For stock day trading, Charles Schwab offers more real-time tools than tastytrade. Schwab includes streaming time and sales, streaming live TV, direct market routing, ladder trading, keyboard hotkeys for quick order entry, Level 2 quotes, and both basic and advanced strategy backtesting. It also provides a short locator to check borrowable shares. Neither broker pays order liquidity (maker/taker) rebates.

tastytrade covers some needs—ladder trading, streaming live TV, advanced backtesting, and a short locator—but it does not offer streaming time and sales, direct routing, Level 2 data, trading hotkeys, or basic backtesting. If you want deeper market visibility and faster order control for active day trading, Charles Schwab is the stronger fit, while tastytrade can work if you don’t need those extra stock-trading tools.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Streaming Time & Sales info Yes No
Streaming TV info Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Equities info Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info Yes Yes
Short Locator info Yes Yes

Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms of 2025 for Beginners and Active Traders

Market Research

In the Charles Schwab vs tastytrade market research matchup, Charles Schwab is the clear winner. Schwab earns 5 out of 5 stars and ranks #1 of 14 brokers on StockBrokers.com, while tastytrade scores 1.5 stars and ranks #13. Choose Schwab if you want broad coverage, downloadable analyst reports, and extras like social sentiment and ESG research. Tastytrade fits traders who rely on screeners and a trading-first workflow, but it doesn’t match Schwab’s depth of research content.

Both brokers offer stock and ETF research and let you view portfolio allocation by asset class. Only Charles Schwab adds research for mutual funds, pink sheets/OTCBB, and bonds; tastytrade does not provide research for those areas. Schwab also includes stock research using social media sentiment data and ESG coverage, which tastytrade lacks. On reports, Schwab supplies seven downloadable PDF reports for stocks and provides PDF reports for ETFs; tastytrade offers zero stock PDFs and no ETF PDFs. Neither broker offers downloadable mutual fund reports.

For idea generation, both platforms include stock and ETF screeners. Charles Schwab also offers a mutual fund screener, while tastytrade does not. Each provides a bond screener, though only Schwab pairs it with dedicated bond research. If you want in-depth research across asset classes, pick Charles Schwab; if you prefer a lean, trade-oriented setup with basic screeners, consider tastytrade.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Screener - Stocks info Yes Yes
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Research - Fixed Income info Yes No
Screener - Fixed Income info Yes Yes
Research 5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars

Banking

When looking at the banking services offered by Charles Schwab and tastytrade, Schwab clearly provides a more comprehensive suite of options. Charles Schwab offers customers checking and savings accounts, a versatile combination for managing day-to-day expenses and long-term financial goals. In contrast, tastytrade does not provide these basic banking services. Schwab also issues debit and credit cards, things that offer convenience and flexibility in transactions, whereas tastytrade offers neither. For those interested in longer-term savings, Charles Schwab provides Certificates of Deposit (CDs), adding another layer to your savings strategy. Mortgage loans are available with Schwab, giving you an opportunity to manage larger financial investments through them. tastytrade, however, does not extend these banking options, focusing instead on trading services. This comparison highlights Charles Schwab's comprehensive banking capabilities compared to tastytrade's trading-specific offerings.

Feature Charles Schwab logoCharles Schwab
tastytrade logotastytrade
Checking Accounts info Yes No
Savings Accounts info Yes No
Debit Cards info Yes No
Credit Cards info Yes No
Mortgage Loans info Yes No
Brokerage CDs info Yes No

Dive deeper: Best Brokerage Checking Accounts for 2025

Winner

After opening live accounts and testing 14 of the best online brokers, our research and live account testing finds that Charles Schwab is better than tastytrade. Charles Schwab finished with an overall score of 99.2%, while tastytrade finished with a score of 80.1%.

With the addition of TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim platforms and the enhancement of several features, Schwab is now a vigorous competitor with thought-provoking research and commentary and a client experience to fit any preference.

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Charles Schwab or tastytrade?

When comparing online brokers, Charles Schwab does not offer crypto trading, whereas tastytrade provides access to 17 different cryptocurrencies, making it a more versatile option for crypto enthusiasts.

Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2025

Does Charles Schwab or tastytrade offer IRAs?

Both Charles Schwab and tastytrade offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts with no annual fees, but while Charles Schwab charges $0.00 as a closure fee for IRA accounts, tastytrade imposes a $60.00 fee.

Dive deeper: Best IRA Accounts for 2025

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Compare

0 of 5
Overall Rating Charles Schwab tastytrade
Overall 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars
Customer Service 4.5/5 Stars 4.0/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Charles Schwab Review tastytrade Review
Broker Screenshots Charles Schwab tastytrade
Broker Gallery (click to expand)
Trading Fees Charles Schwab tastytrade
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) info $6.95 N/A
Mutual Fund Trade Fee info Varies N/A info
Options (Per Contract) info $0.65 $0.50 info
Futures (Per Contract) info $2.25 $1.00 info
Broker Assisted Trade Fee info $25 $0
Margin Rates Charles Schwab tastytrade
Margin Rate Under $25,000 info 12.58% 11%
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 info 12.08% 10.5%
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 info 11.13% 10%
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 info 11.08% 9.5%
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 info 10.83% 9%
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 info Varies info 8.5%
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 info Varies info 8%
Account Fees Charles Schwab tastytrade
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $60.00
Account Transfer Out (Partial) info $0.00 $75.00
Account Transfer Out (Full) info $50.00 $75.00
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Investment Options Charles Schwab tastytrade
Stock Trading info Yes Yes
Account Feature - Margin Trading info Yes Yes
Fractional Shares (Stocks) info Yes Yes info
OTC Stocks info Yes No
Options Trading info Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs info 4 4
Futures Trading info Yes Yes
Forex Trading info Yes Yes
Crypto Trading info No Yes
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 0 17
Fixed Income (Treasurys) info Yes Yes info
Fixed Income (Corporate Bonds) info Yes No
Fixed Income (Municipal Bonds) info Yes No
Traditional IRAs info Yes Yes
Roth IRAs info Yes Yes
Advisor Services info Yes No
International Countries (Stocks) info 12 0
Order Types Charles Schwab tastytrade
Order Type - Market info Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit info Yes Yes
Order Type - After Hours info Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop info Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop info Yes No
Order Type - OCO info Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO info Yes Yes
Order Type - Broker Assisted info Yes Yes
Beginners Charles Schwab tastytrade
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info Yes Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info Yes No
Education (Fixed Income) info Yes No
Education (Retirement) info Yes Yes
Retirement Calculator info Yes No
Investor Dictionary info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Videos info Yes Yes
Webinars info Yes Yes
Progress Tracking info Yes Yes
Interactive Learning - Quizzes info Yes No
Stock Trading Apps Charles Schwab tastytrade
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info Yes No
Trading - Stocks info Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Trading - Simple Options info Yes Yes
Trading - Complex Options info Yes Yes
Order Ticket RT Quotes info Yes Yes
Order Ticket SRT Quotes info Yes Yes
Stock App Features Charles Schwab tastytrade
Market Movers (Top Gainers) info Yes Yes
Stream Live TV info Yes No
Videos on Demand info Yes No
Stock Alerts info Yes Yes
Option Chains Viewable info Yes Yes
Watch List (Real-time) info Yes Yes
Watch List (Streaming) info Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Create & Manage info Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Column Customization info Yes Yes
Stock App Charting Charles Schwab tastytrade
Charting - After-Hours info Yes Yes
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally info Yes Yes
Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 373 0
Charting - Study Customizations info Yes No
Charting - Stock Comparisons info Yes No
Trading Platforms Charles Schwab tastytrade
Active Trading Platform info thinkorswim info tastytrade
Desktop Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac) info Yes Yes
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info Yes No
Trade Journal info Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 580 33
Stock Chart Features Charles Schwab tastytrade
Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart info Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 374 308
Charting - Drawing Tools info 24 31
Charting - Notes info Yes Yes
Charting - Historical Trades info Yes Yes
Charting - Corporate Events info Yes Yes
Charting - Custom Date Range info Yes Yes
Charting - Custom Time Bars info Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis info Yes No
Charting - Save Profiles info Yes Yes
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis info Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations info 35 7
Charting - Custom Studies info Yes Yes
Day Trading Charles Schwab tastytrade
Streaming Time & Sales info Yes No
Streaming TV info Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Equities info Yes No
Ladder Trading info Yes Yes
Trade Hot Keys info Yes No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info Yes No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info Yes Yes
Short Locator info Yes Yes
Order Liquidity Rebates info No No
Research Overview Charles Schwab tastytrade
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB info Yes No
Research - Fixed Income info Yes No
Screener - Stocks info Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs info Yes Yes
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Fixed Income info Yes Yes
Portfolio Asset Allocation info Yes Yes
Stock Research Charles Schwab tastytrade
Stock Research - PDF Reports info 7 0
Stock Research - Earnings info Yes No
Stock Research - Insiders info Yes No
Stock Research - Social info Yes No
Stock Research - News info Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG info Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings info Yes No
ETF Research Charles Schwab tastytrade
ETFs - Investment Objective info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Total Assets info Yes No
ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings info Yes No
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings info Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure info Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis info Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings info Yes No
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap info Yes No
ETFs - PDF Reports info Yes No
Mutual Fund Research Charles Schwab tastytrade
Mutual Funds - Investment Objective info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Performance Chart info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Prospectus info Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation info Yes No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap info Yes No
Options Trading Charles Schwab tastytrade
Option Chains - Total Greeks info 5 5
Option Analysis - P&L Charts info Yes Yes
Banking Charles Schwab tastytrade
Bank (Member FDIC) info Yes No
Checking Accounts info Yes No
Savings Accounts info Yes No
Credit Cards info Yes No
Debit Cards info Yes No
Mortgage Loans info Yes No
Customer Service Charles Schwab tastytrade
Phone Support (Prospective Customers) info Yes Yes
Phone Support (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
Email Support info Yes Yes
Live Chat (Prospective Customers) info No Yes
Live Chat (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
24/7 Support info Yes No
Overall Charles Schwab tastytrade
Overall 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars
Education 5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 5/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Charles Schwab Review tastytrade Review
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