menu

arrow_drop_up arrow_drop_down Select Brokers

    ×
StockBrokers.com is committed to the highest ethical standards and reviews services independently. Advertiser Disclosure

TD Ameritrade vs Lightspeed 2019

StockBrokers.com | November 12th, 2019

  1. Home
  2. Compare
  3. TD Ameritrade vs Lightspeed Review

Is Lightspeed better than TD Ameritrade? Based on over 4,000 data points from our 2019 annual broker review, TD Ameritrade (86.98%) is better than Lightspeed (51.8%).

TD Ameritrade

Best for Overall and Beginners - Open Account
Exclusive Offer: Get up to $600 and trade commission-free with TD Ameritrade.

Rated our #1 online broker in 2019, TD Ameritrade charges $0 per trade and offers the largest variety of trading tools through its desktop-based thinkorswim and Mobile Trader platforms. It also ranks #1, alongside its Best in Class rating, for numerous other categories including Beginners, Trading Platforms and Tools, Customer Service, and Education, among others.Read full review.

Lightspeed

2.5 Stars Overall
Lightspeed is a direct-access, online discount brokerage that focuses on serving active and professional traders through its in-house and third-party trading platforms. Casual traders beware though, not trading enough will mean getting stuck paying high monthly platform fees. Read full review.

Overall Rating

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Overall 4.5 2.5
TD Ameritrade Review Lightspeed Review

Trading Fees

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Minimum Deposit $0.00 $10,000.00
Stock Trade Fee (per trade) $0.00 $4.50
ETF Trade Fee $0.00 $4.50
Options Base Fee $0.00 $0.00
Options Per Contract Fee $0.65 $0.60
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $49.99 N/A
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $44.99 $25.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature TD Ameritrade
Open Account 		Lightspeed
Under $24,999.99 10.25% 8.50%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 10.00% 8.50%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 9.00% 7.50%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 8.75% 7.50%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 8.50% 6.75%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 8.50% 6.25%
Above $1,000,000.00 7.75% 6.00%
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $35.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $95.00
Returned ACH Fee $25.00 $30.00
Returned Wire Fee $25.00 $30.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee $0.00 $75.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee $500.00 $50.00
Paper Statement Fee $0.00 $5.00
Paper Confirmation Fee $0.00 $2.00
Domestic Wire Fee $25.00 $20.00
International Wire Fee $25.00 $50.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3

Investment Options

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 4 4
Futures Trading
 Yes Yes
Forex Trading
 Yes No
Commission-Free ETFs 571 0
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 5185 0
Mutual Funds (Total)
 12418 0
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes No
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes No
Advisor Services
 Yes No
International Trading
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Order Type - Market
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Contingent
 Yes Yes
Order Type - MultiContingent
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OCO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTOCO
 Yes Yes
Offering of Investments 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes Yes
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 Yes Yes
Trade Journal
 Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 514 141
Two-Factor Authentication Login
 Yes Yes
Heat Mapping
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 5 3
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 411 20
Charting - Drawing Tools
 22 8
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes Yes
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes No
Charting - Automated Analysis
 Yes No
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 9 4
Charting - Custom Studies
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 5 3
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes Yes
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields
 Yes No
Streaming Time & Sales
 Yes Yes
Streaming TV
 Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Options
 Yes Yes
Ladder Trading
 Yes No
Trade Hot Keys
 Yes Yes
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Level 2 Quotes - Options
 Yes Yes
Trade Ideas - Backtesting
 Yes No
Short Locator
 No Yes
Order Liquidity Rebates
 No Yes
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 Yes No
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes No
Trading - Conditional Orders
 Yes No
Trading - Mutual Funds
 No No
Trading - Simple Options
 Yes No
Trading - Complex Options
 Yes No
Trading - Option Rolling
 Yes No
Touch / Face ID
 Yes No
Winner check_circle

Mobile App Features

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Watch List Syncing
Yes No
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes No
Charting - After Hours
 Yes No
Charting - Drawing
 Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes No
Customizable Homescreen
 No No
Heatmapping
 No No
Stream Live TV
 Yes No
Barcode Lookup
 Yes No
Mobile Trading 4.5 1.5
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Research - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Research - ETFs
 Yes No
Research - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB
 Yes No
Research - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Screener - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs
 Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Screener - Options
 Yes No
Screener - Bonds
 Yes No
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes No
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Stock Research - Reports
 7 0
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes No
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings
 Yes No
Stock Research - Social
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Balance Sheet
 Yes No
Stock Research - Cash Flows
 Yes No
Stock Research - News
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG
 No No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes No
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes No
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes No
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes No
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 Yes No
ETFs - Reports
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 No No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 33 60
Option Chains - Greeks
5 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes No
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 Yes No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes No
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 5 3
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes No
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Has Education - Retirement
 Yes No
Paper Trading
 Yes Yes
Videos
 Yes Yes
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 500 1
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes Yes
Live Seminars
 Yes No
Progress Tracking
 Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes No
Investor Magazine
 Yes No
Education 5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
Retail Locations
 364 0
Member FDIC
 No No
Checking Accounts
 Yes No
Savings Accounts
 No No
Credit Cards
 Yes No
Debit Cards
 Yes No
Mortgage Loans
 No No
No Fee Banking
 Yes No
Banking 3 0.5
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature TD Ameritrade Lightspeed
TD Ameritrade Review Lightspeed Review
Overall 4.5 2.5
Winner check_circle

The StockBrokers.com annual broker review assesses more than a dozen different brokers over six months, surfacing the best online stock brokers. This review compares Lightspeed vs TD Ameritrade. Is Lightspeed or TD Ameritrade a better online broker?

First, we will make a comparison of the stock and option trading fees for trading with both brokers. Lightspeed charges $4.50 per stock trade which is $4.50 more than TD Ameritrade which charges customers $0 per trade. For options trading, both Lightspeed and TD Ameritrade charge the same base fee of $0. Lightspeed's per contract rate of $0.60 is less than TD Ameritrade which charges $0.65. Note that some brokers charge a per-share fee instead of a flat-fee commission. For a full breakdown of commissions, read our online broker reviews.

For our next comparison of these two brokers, being able to trade the way you want is a must. TD Ameritrade offers clients Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds, Forex Trading and Futures Trading while Lightspeed offers Stock Trading, Options Trading and Futures Trading. When it comes to mutual funds, Lightspeed trails TD Ameritrade by 12,418 total mutual funds, with TD Ameritrade offering 12418 and Lightspeed offering 0.

Last but not least, by breaking down important features, tools, etc that each broker offers, we can really help to separate the two. Lightspeed and TD Ameritrade both offer virtual trading. For mobile trading, Lightspeed and TD Ameritrade both have a iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Furthermore, some investors like to bank online, and multiple brokerages provide these services to clients. Checking Accounts, Debit Cards and Credit Cards are offered by TD Ameritrade while Lightspeed offers none of these.

Overall, between Lightspeed and TD Ameritrade, TD Ameritrade is the winner.

Lightspeed Review
TD Ameritrade Review

Related Comparisons


TD Ameritrade vs. Charles Schwab Lightspeed vs. Cobra Trading TD Ameritrade vs. E*TRADE TD Ameritrade vs. Fidelity Lightspeed vs. Interactive Brokers Lightspeed vs. SpeedTrader Lightspeed vs. TradeStation TD Ameritrade vs. Merrill Edge

All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 02/18/2019 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.

TD Ameritrade, Inc. and StockBrokers.com are separate, unaffiliated companies and are not responsible for each other’s services and products. View terms.

arrow_drop_upBack to top
×