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Firstrade vs tastytrade 2025

StockBrokers.com

Written by StockBrokers.com

July 03, 2025

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

Firstrade
4/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.00
tastytrade
4/5 Stars Overall
  • Minimum Deposit: $0.00
  • Stock Trades: $0.00
  • Options (Per Contract): $0.50 info

Range of investments

When comparing Firstrade and tastytrade, one thing becomes clear: both platforms offer a variety of investment options, yet Firstrade edges out tastytrade slightly when it comes to the overall range of investment opportunities. Firstrade receives a higher user rating of 4.5 stars, compared to tastytrade's 4 stars, for the range of investments available. StockBrokers.com ranks Firstrade at number 6 and tastytrade at number 10 out of 14 brokers, showcasing Firstrade's broader selection.

Both Firstrade and tastytrade provide users with the ability to trade stocks, margin, fractional shares, and options. However, Firstrade sets itself apart by offering access to OTC stocks and mutual funds, which tastytrade does not offer. On the other hand, tastytrade provides opportunities to delve into futures and cryptocurrency, with access to 17 different coins, whereas Firstrade does not offer these options. Both platforms support traditional and Roth IRA accounts but lack advisor services, which could be worth considering based on individual investor needs.

Ultimately, the best choice between Firstrade and tastytrade will depend on your specific investment interests. If you're looking for a broader range of stock market opportunities, Firstrade may be the way to go, thanks to its inclusion of OTC stocks and mutual funds. If futures and cryptocurrency are more aligned with your goals, tastytrade offers unique opportunities in these areas that Firstrade cannot match. Both brokers provide a sound platform for traditional stock and options trading, ensuring versatile choices for modern investors.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
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 No Yes
Crypto Trading info No Yes
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 0 17
Range of Investments 4.5/5 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

When considering the overall efficacy of trading platforms and tools, tastytrade takes the lead over Firstrade with a more versatile and comprehensive suite of features. tastytrade earns a commendable four-star rating and ranks eighth among 14 brokers, while Firstrade garners a three-star score and places eleventh. This positions tastytrade as a more appealing choice for investors who prioritize diverse charting capabilities and advanced trading functionalities.

tastytrade stands out with its downloadable trading platforms for both Windows and Mac, while Firstrade sticks to a browser-based option. Investors using tastytrade can benefit from extensive charting tools, including over 308 technical indicators and 31 drawing tools, in contrast to Firstrade's 102 indicators and 8 drawing tools. Additionally, tastytrade offers the ability to add notes, show historical trades, and display corporate events on charts, which are not available when using Firstrade. Furthermore, with tastytrade, you can save multiple chart profiles and create custom studies, making it more suitable for traders who value customization and detailed analytics.

While both platforms lack features like paper trading and automated technical analysis, tastytrade's ability to let users directly adjust open orders on stock charts offers more flexibility in day-to-day trading activities. Also, their watch lists are robust, with Firstrade providing 50 fields compared to tastytrade's 33. However, despite Firstrade's edge in watch list capacity, tastytrade's overall advanced chart and trading capabilities make it the preferable choice for many traders looking for a comprehensive trading experience.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
tastytrade logotastytrade
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Desktop Trading Platform info No Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac) info No Yes
Paper Trading info No No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 50 33
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 102 308
Charting - Drawing Tools info 8 31
Platforms & Tools 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

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

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Beginners and education

When it comes to educating beginners, both Firstrade and tastytrade offer stock and options education, but tastytrade takes a slight edge by also providing resources on ETFs. For those looking to broaden their understanding through mutual funds or bonds education, unfortunately, neither platform offers these resources. While Firstrade excels with educational videos, tastytrade skips this but makes up for it with the capability to track learning progress. Both platforms offer webinars, though neither provides educational quizzes or paper trading options to practice new skills in a risk-free environment.

Looking at educational quality, tastytrade receives a commendable 4-star rating, compared to Firstrade's 3.5-star reputation. Tastytrade is also ranked higher for education by StockBrokers.com, coming in 9th out of 14 brokers, while Firstrade ranks 12th. For investors at the onset of their journey who value structured learning paths, tastytrade's learning progress tracking could be a crucial advantage. However, Firstrade’s strong video offerings might appeal to those who prefer visual learning.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
tastytrade logotastytrade
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info No Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info No No
Education (Fixed Income) info No No
Paper Trading info No No
Videos info Yes No
Webinars info Yes Yes
Education 3.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025

Stock trading apps

When it comes to user satisfaction for stock trading apps, both Firstrade and tastytrade come highly rated with a solid 4.5 stars each. According to StockBrokers.com, Firstrade edges ahead slightly, securing the #9 spot out of 14 brokers, while tastytrade follows closely at #10. This suggests that both apps are reliable and offer valuable features for traders, but Firstrade might have a slight edge in overall ranking.

Both Firstrade and tastytrade provide iPhone and Android apps, ensuring accessibility across major mobile platforms. However, neither offers an Apple Watch app nor streaming live TV or video on demand, indicating similar limitations in these areas. Both apps support mobile options trading and give users the ability to create and customize watch lists. Streaming quotes are available on both platforms, providing real-time data for active traders.

In terms of additional features, Firstrade offers more technical studies for charting, boasting 81 compared to tastytrade's none. While Firstrade does not offer after-hours charting, a feature available on tastytrade, it compensates with stock alerts—a feature tastytrade does not provide. Overall, both platforms support multiple chart time frames and viewing charts in landscape mode, catering to different user needs and preferences.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
tastytrade logotastytrade
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info No No
Stock Alerts info Yes No
Charting - After-Hours info No Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 81 0
Mobile Trading Apps 4.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars

Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025

Fees

When looking to open an account with either Firstrade or tastytrade, investors will find that both platforms offer attractive, fee-free structures for stock trading. Neither broker requires a minimum deposit to get started, making them accessible for newbies and experienced traders alike. However, when it comes to certain fees, Firstrade and tastytrade have notable differences. Firstrade excels in offering zero-cost options contracts, whereas tastytrade charges $0.50 per contract. For margin balances under various tiers, tastytrade tends to offer lower interest rates than Firstrade. Overall, Firstrade may be advantageous for those focusing on options trading without the extra charges, while tastytrade could be a more cost-effective option for those utilizing margin trading.

Both Firstrade and tastytrade do not charge IRA annual fees, providing a low-cost way to invest for retirement. However, potential account closures come with different costs: Firstrade charges nothing for IRA closure, whereas tastytrade imposes a $60 fee. This could be a consideration for those who might see a need to close their IRA accounts in the future. In terms of account transfers via Automated Customer Account Transfer (ACAT), both brokers charge $75 for a full transfer, but Firstrade slightly edges out with a $55 fee for partial transfers, compared to tastytrade's $75.

For options trading, Firstrade stands out by not charging any fees for exercise and assignment, making it an appealing choice for options traders who are cost-sensitive. On the other hand, tastytrade charges $5 each for options exercise and assignment, which could add up depending on trading frequency. These differences underscore the importance of considering not just upfront costs but also potential fees when options are a part of your portfolio strategy. With these insights, you can better assess which platform aligns more closely with your personal trading needs and financial goals.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
tastytrade logotastytrade
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Options (Per Contract) info $0.00 $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

When considering Firstrade and tastytrade for day trading, each platform presents unique features and limitations. Firstrade lacks streaming time and sales data, live TV, direct market routing, ladder trading, trading hotkeys, level 2 quotes, strategy backtesting, and a short locator tool. In contrast, tastytrade offers some additional resources for day traders, notably streaming live TV and ladder trading, which might benefit those who prefer visual tools and more dynamic methods for tracking market trends and performing trades.

Both platforms, however, share some limitations. Neither Firstrade nor tastytrade provides direct market routing for stocks, trading hotkeys for quick trade entry, level 2 quotes, or basic or advanced strategy backtesting. Additionally, there's no offer of order liquidity rebates on either platform, and neither includes streaming time and sales for stocks. Despite these mutual limitations, tastytrade introduces a short locator tool, offering real-time availability of short-able shares, a marked difference that could influence a trader looking for comprehensive short-selling capabilities.

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

Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms for 2025

Market Research

In the realm of market research offerings, Firstrade emerges as a significantly more comprehensive option compared to tastytrade. Catering to a wide array of investor needs, Firstrade provides an impressive variety of research capabilities across numerous financial instruments, including stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, Pink Sheets/OTCBB, and bonds. In stark contrast, tastytrade's research resources are comparatively limited, with insights mainly concentrated on stocks and ETFs, omitting critical areas like mutual funds and bonds. Moreover, Firstrade's additional resources such as portfolio allocation insights, social media sentiment data, and ESG research further bolster its position as a leading choice for market research.

Firstrade's capabilities extend into providing downloadable PDF research reports, which are accessible for stocks and ETFs, adding layers of valuable data for informed decision-making. Its tools include screeners for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and bonds, granting investors a flexible and thorough way to explore trade ideas. On the other hand, tastytrade does not offer downloadable PDF reports nor screeners across these categories, limiting investors' ability to conduct intricate research and analysis within their platform.

Reflective of these marked differences, user ratings and analyst rankings underline Firstrade's superior market research capabilities—earning an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars and a respective #6 rank out of 14 brokers by StockBrokers.com. Contrary to this, tastytrade garners a notably lower rating of 1.5 stars and ranks #13, highlighting the disparity in market research resources between these two online brokers.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
tastytrade logotastytrade
Research - Stocks info Yes Yes
Screener - Stocks info Yes No
Research - ETFs info Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs info Yes No
Research - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Research - Fixed Income info Yes No
Screener - Fixed Income info Yes No
Research 4.5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars

Banking

When comparing the banking capabilities of Firstrade and tastytrade, it's clear that Firstrade provides more options for those interested in specific banking features. Firstrade offers checking accounts and debit cards, which tastytrade does not. Furthermore, Firstrade offers certificates of deposit (CDs) to its users, another feature not available with tastytrade. Neither Firstrade nor tastytrade provides savings accounts, credit cards, or mortgage loans, making them similar in these respects. Overall, Firstrade might be a better choice for someone looking to integrate certain banking services with their brokerage account.

Feature Firstrade logoFirstrade
tastytrade logotastytrade
Checking Accounts info Yes No
Savings Accounts info No No
Debit Cards info Yes No
Credit Cards info No No
Mortgage Loans info No 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 Firstrade is better than tastytrade. Firstrade finished with an overall score of 81.8%, while tastytrade finished with a score of 80.1%.

With steady innovation and a growing feature set, Firstrade is quickly climbing the ranks to earn its place among the best online brokers. Firstrade’s $0 contract fee, no exercise/assignment fees, and top-tier options trade ticket make it one of the most cost-effective and well-designed platforms for options trading.

FAQs

Can you trade cryptocurrency with Firstrade or tastytrade?

Firstrade does not offer crypto trading, whereas tastytrade provides access to trading 17 different cryptocurrency coins, making it a more diverse option for crypto enthusiasts.

Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2025

Does Firstrade or tastytrade offer IRAs?

Firstrade and tastytrade both offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts with no annual fees, but while Firstrade charges no closure fee when closing IRA accounts, tastytrade imposes a $60.00 closure fee.

Dive deeper: Best IRA Accounts for 2025

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Compare

0 of 5
Overall Rating Firstrade tastytrade
Overall 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 4.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 4.5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars
Customer Service 3.5/5 Stars 4.0/5 Stars
Education 3.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Firstrade Review tastytrade Review
Broker Screenshots Firstrade tastytrade
Broker Gallery (click to expand)
Trading Fees Firstrade tastytrade
Minimum Deposit info $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades info $0.00 $0.00
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) info $0.00 N/A
Mutual Fund Trade Fee info $0 N/A info
Options (Per Contract) info $0.00 $0.50 info
Futures (Per Contract) info (Not offered) $1.00 info
Broker Assisted Trade Fee info $19.95 $0
Margin Rates Firstrade tastytrade
Margin Rate Under $25,000 info 13.75% 11%
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 info 13.50% 10.5%
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 info 13.00% 10%
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 info 12.50% 9.5%
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 info 12.50% 9%
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 info 12.50% 8.5%
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 info 12.50% 8%
Account Fees Firstrade tastytrade
IRA Annual Fee info $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee info $0.00 $60.00
Account Transfer Out (Partial) info $55.00 $75.00
Account Transfer Out (Full) info $75.00 $75.00
Options Exercise Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Options Assignment Fee info $0.00 $5.00
Investment Options Firstrade 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 No Yes
Forex Trading info No No
Crypto Trading info No Yes
Crypto Trading - Total Coins info 0 17
Fixed Income (Treasurys) info Yes No 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 No No
International Countries (Stocks) info 0 0
Order Types Firstrade 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 Firstrade tastytrade
Education (Stocks) info Yes Yes
Education (ETFs) info No Yes
Education (Options) info Yes Yes
Education (Mutual Funds) info No No
Education (Fixed Income) info No No
Education (Retirement) info Yes No
Retirement Calculator info Yes No
Investor Dictionary info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info No No
Videos info Yes No
Webinars info Yes Yes
Progress Tracking info No Yes
Interactive Learning - Quizzes info No No
Stock Trading Apps Firstrade tastytrade
iPhone App info Yes Yes
Android App info Yes Yes
Apple Watch App info No 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 Firstrade tastytrade
Market Movers (Top Gainers) info Yes Yes
Stream Live TV info No No
Videos on Demand info No No
Stock Alerts info Yes No
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 Firstrade tastytrade
Charting - After-Hours info No Yes
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally info Yes Yes
Charting - Multiple Time Frames info Yes Yes
Charting - Technical Studies info 81 0
Charting - Study Customizations info Yes No
Charting - Stock Comparisons info No No
Trading Platforms Firstrade tastytrade
Active Trading Platform info N/A tastytrade
Desktop Trading Platform info No Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac) info No Yes
Web Trading Platform info Yes Yes
Paper Trading info No No
Trade Journal info No No
Watch Lists - Total Fields info 50 33
Stock Chart Features Firstrade tastytrade
Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart info No Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies info 102 308
Charting - Drawing Tools info 8 31
Charting - Notes info No Yes
Charting - Historical Trades info No Yes
Charting - Corporate Events info No Yes
Charting - Custom Date Range info No No
Charting - Custom Time Bars info No No
Charting - Automated Analysis info No No
Charting - Save Profiles info No Yes
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis info Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations info 6 7
Charting - Custom Studies info No Yes
Day Trading Firstrade tastytrade
Streaming Time & Sales info No No
Streaming TV info No Yes
Direct Market Routing - Equities info No No
Ladder Trading info No Yes
Trade Hot Keys info No No
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks info No No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting info No No
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv info No No
Short Locator info No Yes
Order Liquidity Rebates info No No
Research Overview Firstrade 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 No
Screener - ETFs info Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds info Yes No
Screener - Fixed Income info Yes No
Portfolio Asset Allocation info Yes Yes
Stock Research Firstrade tastytrade
Stock Research - PDF Reports info 1 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 Firstrade 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 Firstrade 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 Firstrade tastytrade
Option Chains - Total Greeks info 5 5
Option Analysis - P&L Charts info Yes Yes
Banking Firstrade tastytrade
Bank (Member FDIC) info No No
Checking Accounts info Yes No
Savings Accounts info No No
Credit Cards info No No
Debit Cards info Yes No
Mortgage Loans info No No
Customer Service Firstrade tastytrade
Phone Support (Prospect Customers) info Yes Yes
Phone Support (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
Email Support info Yes Yes
Live Chat (Prospect Customers) info Yes Yes
Live Chat (Current Customers) info Yes Yes
24/7 Support info No No
Overall Firstrade tastytrade
Overall 4/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Range of Investments 4.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Platforms & Tools 3/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Mobile Trading Apps 4.5/5 Stars 4.5/5 Stars
Research 4.5/5 Stars 1.5/5 Stars
Education 3.5/5 Stars 4/5 Stars
Ease of Use 4/5 Stars 5/5 Stars
Winner check_circle
Review Firstrade Review tastytrade Review
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