Is E*TRADE better than Firstrade? After testing 11 of the best online brokers over three months, E*TRADE (94.28%) is better than Firstrade (78.89%). Founded in 1982 as one of the first online brokerages in the United States, E*TRADE highlights include $0 trades, two excellent mobile apps, and the Power E*TRADE platform, which is great for beginners, active trading, and options trading.
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E*TRADE vs Firstrade 2021
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PROMO OFFER
$0 Commissions for online stock, ETF, and options trades.
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SPECIAL OFFER
Commission-Free Trading on 700+ ETFs
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| Open Account > | Open Account > |
Overall Rating
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| E*TRADE Review | Firstrade Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Fees
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $19.99 | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 | $0.00 |
| Futures (per contract) | $1.50 | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $25.00 | $19.95 |
Margin Rates
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
| Under $24,999.99 | 8.95% | 8.75% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 8.45% | 8.25% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 7.95% | 7.75% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 7.45% | 7.25% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 6.95% | 7.00% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 6.45% | 5.10% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 5.45% | 4.50% |
Account Fees
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $60.00 | $0.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $25.00 | $55.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $75.00 | $75.00 |
| Returned ACH Fee | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Returned Wire Fee | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Stock Certificate Processing Fee | $0.00 | $300.00 |
| Stock Certificate Delivery Fee | $75.00 | $300.00 |
| Paper Statement Fee | $2.00 | $5.00 |
| Paper Confirmation Fee | $0.00 | $3.00 |
| Domestic Wire Fee | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| International Wire Fee | $25.00 | $50.00 |
Investment Options
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Fractional Shares |
No | No |
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OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
|
Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Complex Options Max Legs |
4 | 4 |
|
Futures Trading |
Yes | No |
|
Forex Trading |
No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
|
Mutual Funds (No Load) |
6584 | 11134 |
|
Mutual Funds (Total) |
9087 | 18322 |
|
Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Advisor Services |
Yes | No |
|
International Trading |
No | No |
|
AI Assistant Bot |
No | No |
Order Types
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Order Type - Market |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - Limit |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - Stop |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Contingent |
Yes | No |
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Order Type - MultiContingent |
No | Yes |
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Order Type - OCO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTO |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - OTOCO |
Yes | No |
Trading Platforms
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Desktop Platform (Windows) |
No | No |
|
Desktop Platform (Mac) |
No | No |
|
Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
|
Paper Trading |
Yes | No |
|
Trade Journal |
No | No |
|
Heat Mapping |
No | Yes |
|
Watch Lists - Total Fields |
95 | 47 |
Charting Features
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Indicators / Studies |
119 | 102 |
|
Charting - Drawing Tools |
31 | 8 |
|
Charting - Historical Trades |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Corporate Events |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - Automated Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Save Profiles |
Yes | No |
|
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
6 | 6 |
|
Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
Day Trading
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
No | No |
|
Streaming Time & Sales |
Yes | No |
|
Streaming TV |
Yes | No |
|
Direct Market Routing - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Direct Market Routing - Options |
Yes | No |
|
Ladder Trading |
No | No |
|
Trade Hot Keys |
Yes | No |
|
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Level 2 Quotes - Options |
Yes | No |
|
Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
No | No |
|
Short Locator |
No | No |
|
Order Liquidity Rebates |
No | No |
Mobile Trading Apps
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
iPhone App |
Yes | Yes |
|
Android App |
Yes | Yes |
|
Apple Watch App |
Yes | No |
|
Trading - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
|
Trading - After-Hours |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Conditional Orders |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
|
Trading - Simple Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Complex Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
|
Touch / Face ID |
Yes | Yes |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Alerts |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - After Hours |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | Yes |
|
Heatmapping |
No | No |
|
Stream Live TV |
Yes | No |
|
Barcode Lookup |
Yes | No |
Research Overview
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Mutual Funds |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | Yes |
|
Screener - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - Mutual Funds |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - Options |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - Bonds |
Yes | Yes |
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Misc - Portfolio Builder |
Yes | No |
|
Misc - Portfolio Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
Stock Research
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Stock Research - Reports |
5 | 1 |
|
Stock Research - Earnings |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Insiders |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Metric Comp |
No | Yes |
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Stock Research - SEC Filings |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Social |
Yes | No |
|
Stock Research - Balance Sheet |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - ESG |
No | No |
ETF Research
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
ETFs - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Sector Exposure |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Risk Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Performance Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
Mutual Fund Research
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Prospectus |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Reports |
Yes | No |
|
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - StyleMap |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
Options Trading
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Option Chains - Streaming |
Yes | No |
|
Option Chains - Total Columns |
30 | 8 |
|
Option Chains - Greeks |
5 | 5 |
|
Option Chains - Quick Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
Option Analysis - P&L Charts |
Yes | No |
|
Option Probability Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
Option Probability Analysis Adv |
Yes | No |
|
Option Positions - Greeks |
Yes | No |
|
Option Positions - Adv Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
Option Positions - Rolling |
Yes | Yes |
|
Option Positions - Grouping |
Yes | No |
Beginners
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (ETFs) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (Mutual Funds) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Fixed Income) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Retirement) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Paper Trading |
Yes | No |
|
Videos |
Yes | Yes |
|
Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
25 | 6 |
|
Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Seminars |
Yes | No |
|
Progress Tracking |
No | No |
|
Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
Yes | No |
Banking
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
|
Retail Locations |
30 | 1 |
|
Member FDIC |
Yes | No |
|
Checking Accounts |
Yes | Yes |
|
Savings Accounts |
Yes | No |
|
Credit Cards |
Yes | No |
|
Debit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mortgage Loans |
Yes | No |
|
No Fee Banking |
No | No |
Overall
| Feature | E*TRADE | Firstrade |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| E*TRADE Review | Firstrade Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2021 annual broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 11 brokerages to find the best online broker. Let's compare E*TRADE vs Firstrade.
Is E*TRADE or Firstrade better for beginners?
E*TRADE is better for beginner investors than Firstrade. E*TRADE offers investors access to Paper Trading, Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Fixed Income) and Education (Retirement).
What about E*TRADE vs Firstrade pricing?
E*TRADE and Firstrade have equal fees for trading stocks (equities), $0 per trade. Looking at options, the base fees charged are the same for both brokers, $0. Option contracts are pricier at E*TRADE, costing $0.65 versus $0 at Firstrade. For a complete commissions summary, see our best discount brokers guide.
Does E*TRADE or Firstrade offer a wider range of investment options?
E*TRADE offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Firstrade. E*TRADE offers investors access to Stock Trading, OTCBB / Pink Sheets, Options Trading, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading and Advisor Services. Looking at Mutual Funds, E*TRADE trails Firstrade by 9,235 total mutual funds, with Firstrade offering 18322 and E*TRADE offering 9087.
Which trading platform is better: E*TRADE or Firstrade?
To compare the trading platforms of both E*TRADE and Firstrade, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, E*TRADE offers a better experience. With research, E*TRADE offers superior market research. Finally, we found E*TRADE to provide better mobile trading apps.
Does either broker offer banking?
Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts and Debit Cards are offered by Firstrade while E*TRADE offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.
Overall winner: E*TRADE
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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/19/2021 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. For stock trade rates, advertised pricing is for a standard order size of 500 shares of stock priced at $30 per share. For options orders, an options regulatory fee per contract may apply.
