TradeStation vs tastytrade 2025
In this head to head comparison of TradeStation vs tastytrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
In this head to head comparison of TradeStation vs tastytrade, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
When comparing TradeStation and tastytrade for investment options, TradeStation tends to have a slight edge thanks to its broader range of offerings. TradeStation allows investors to trade stocks, margin, OTC stocks, mutual funds, options, and futures, earning it a commendable 4.5-star rating for its range of investments, ranking #5 out of 14 brokers according to StockBrokers.com. Tastytrade, while also providing stock, margin, options, and futures trading, distinguishes itself by offering fractional shares and a more extensive crypto selection with 17 coins. However, it lacks options for trading OTC stocks and mutual funds, which contributes to a slightly lower 4-star rating and a #10 ranking in the same report. Both platforms offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts, but neither extends advisor services to their users.
TradeStation shines in areas such as mutual funds and OTC stock trading, appealing to those who value these options in their portfolios. This features set may attract traditional investors who are looking for established investment avenues. The 4.5-star rating indicates a strong capability in providing this diverse range of investments, meeting the needs of a wide variety of investors.
On the other hand, tastytrade appeals to crypto enthusiasts and those interested in fractional shares, a unique feature for those who want to start small or diversify their investments without substantial upfront capital. Its comprehensive crypto offerings make it a preferred choice for users keen on exploring digital currency investments, even though it falls short in mutual funds and OTC stocks. Despite its limitations compared to TradeStation, the platform's 4-star rating confirms it still delivers valuable investment options for a specific audience.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Stock Trading | Yes | Yes |
Margin Trading | Yes | Yes |
Fractional Shares | No | Yes |
OTC Stocks | Yes | No |
Mutual Funds | Yes | No |
Options Trading | Yes | Yes |
Futures Trading | Yes | Yes |
Crypto Trading | No | Yes |
Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 0 | 17 |
Range of Investments |
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Dive deeper: Best Options Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Futures Trading Platforms for 2025: A Beginner-Friendly Guide to an Advanced Market
When evaluating TradeStation and tastytrade for their trading platforms and tools, TradeStation tends to shine a bit brighter. Rated 4.5 stars by experts, TradeStation is renowned for its wealth of features and flexibility, earning it the #3 position among 14 brokers according to StockBrokers.com. On the other hand, tastytrade, while receiving a respectable 4-star rating, falls to the #8 spot. This distinction is partly due to TradeStation's more extensive support for custom studies, superior watch list capacity, and more comprehensive charting features.
Both TradeStation and tastytrade offer Windows desktop downloadable platforms, yet tastytrade also caters to Mac users with its desktop application. While both brokers provide browser-based platforms, TradeStation edges out its competitor with added functionality like paper trading, automated technical analysis on charts, and the ability to set custom date ranges. However, tastytrade offers a more extensive selection of charting tools and technical indicators, broadening its appeal to those who rely heavily on these for trading insights.
Charting on both platforms permits users to adjust open orders directly on stock charts, add notes, index overlays, and display corporate events. Yet, TradeStation takes the lead with 294 technical indicators and 23 drawing tools, compared to tastytrade's 308 indicators and 31 drawing tools. Notably, TradeStation allows more customization options when editing simple moving averages, providing users with 12 fields compared to tastytrade's 7, offering a more tailored trading experience.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
Desktop Platform (Mac) | No | Yes |
Paper Trading | Yes | No |
Watch Lists - Total Fields | 341 | 33 |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 294 | 308 |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 23 | 31 |
Platforms & Tools |
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Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers & Trading Platforms for 2025, Best Paper Trading Apps & Platforms for 2025
When it comes to beginner and investor education, both TradeStation and tastytrade offer various resources, but they cater to different needs. TradeStation provides solid stock and options education, and it supports learning through educational videos and webinars. Additionally, it offers a valuable hands-on experience with paper trading, allowing beginners to practice strategies without risking real money. In contrast, tastytrade excels by offering a wider range of educational content, including stock, ETF, and options education, along with webinars. It also helps users track their learning progress, encouraging a more structured educational journey.
In terms of ratings, tastytrade holds a slight advantage with a 4-star rating for education compared to TradeStation's 3 stars. Furthermore, in rankings by StockBrokers.com, tastytrade placed ninth out of 14 brokers, whereas TradeStation ranked 13th. This suggests that while both platforms have their strengths, tastytrade may offer a more comprehensive educational experience for beginners seeking to broaden their investment knowledge.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes |
Education (ETFs) | No | Yes |
Education (Options) | Yes | Yes |
Education (Mutual Funds) | No | No |
Education (Bonds) | No | No |
Paper Trading | Yes | No |
Videos | Yes | No |
Webinars | Yes | Yes |
Education |
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Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Platforms for Beginners of 2025
When choosing between TradeStation and tastytrade for stock trading on mobile apps, both platforms provide strong features, but there are key differences to consider. TradeStation and tastytrade both offer apps for iPhone and Android, supporting mobile options trading and after-hours charting. However, TradeStation receives an edge with the availability of stock alerts and a greater number of technical studies for charting, offering 45 studies compared to none for tastytrade. Despite these differences in features, both platforms hold a user rating of 4.5 stars for their stock trading apps.
TradeStation's strengths lie in its advanced technical capabilities and customization options. While the app does not support landscape mode for charts, it does allow users to customize watch list columns, manage after-hours trading, and utilize 45 technical studies. Savvy traders may appreciate these features for deeper insights and tailored experiences, contributing to its StockBrokers.com ranking of #8 among 14 brokers.
Conversely, tastytrade focuses on user-friendly navigation with the ability to view charts in landscape mode, an option not available with TradeStation. Though it lacks stock alerts and extensive technical studies, tastytrade still offers essential functionalities such as streaming quotes, mobile options trading, and personalized watch lists. Ranked #10 by StockBrokers.com, tastytrade offers simplicity and reliability, appealing to traders who prefer a straightforward approach.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
iPhone App | Yes | Yes |
Android App | Yes | Yes |
Apple Watch App | No | No |
Stock Alerts | Yes | No |
Charting - After-Hours | Yes | Yes |
Charting - Technical Studies | 45 | 0 |
Mobile Trading Apps |
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Dive deeper: Best Stock Trading Apps for 2025
When deciding between TradeStation and tastytrade, investors will find distinct differences in fees and charges that may influence their choice. Both platforms require no minimum deposit and offer commission-free regular stock trades, making them accessible to a broad audience. However, tastytrade generally provides more cost-effective options trading at $0.50 per contract, compared to TradeStation’s $0.60. Additionally, tastytrade offers more competitive rates on margin balances, which could lead to significant savings for investors using margin accounts.
When it comes to account-specific fees, tastytrade remains appealing with no IRA annual fees, whereas TradeStation imposes a $35 annual charge. Interestingly though, tastytrade charges a slightly higher IRA closure fee of $60 compared to TradeStation’s $50. For account transfers, tastytrade continues its advantage with lower fees of $75 for both partial and full ACAT transfers, while TradeStation charges a more substantial $125 across the board.
Investors focused on options trading will also note differences in fees related to options exercise and assignment. TradeStation charges $14.95 for options exercises and $5.95 for assignments, while tastytrade offers more affordable rates at $5 for both services. These variances highlight the importance of assessing individual trading habits to determine which broker is more cost-effective. Overall, tastytrade tends to foster savings for active traders, particularly those keen on options or employing margin, with its lower fee structure compared to TradeStation.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Options (Per Contract) | $0.60 | $0.50 |
Options Exercise Fee | $14.95 | $5.00 |
Options Assignment Fee | $5.95 | $5.00 |
IRA Annual Fee | $35.00 | $0.00 |
IRA Closure Fee | $50.00 | $60.00 |
Dive deeper: Best Free Trading Platforms for 2025
When comparing TradeStation and tastytrade for day trading, there are clear distinctions to consider. TradeStation shines with its advanced trading functionalities, offering tools crucial for active traders. It includes streaming time and sales for stocks, direct market routing, trading hotkeys, level 2 quotes, and both basic and advanced strategy backtesting. These features are essential for traders looking to execute precise and informed trades within the fast-paced environment of day trading. Additionally, TradeStation provides a short locator tool to view real-time share availability and order liquidity rebates, which can be advantageous for high-frequency traders.
On the other hand, tastytrade offers its own set of unique features. While it lacks some of the advanced trading tools found in TradeStation, such as direct market routing and trading hotkeys, it does offer streaming live TV, which can keep traders informed with real-time news. Both platforms support ladder trading and provide a short locator tool, ensuring traders have a basic foundation for executing trades. However, for those who prioritize a comprehensive suite of trading tools and strategy backtesting, TradeStation may be the more suitable choice.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No |
Streaming TV | No | Yes |
Direct Market Routing - Stocks | Yes | No |
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | No |
Short Locator | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Day Trading Platforms for 2025
When evaluating the market research capabilities of TradeStation and tastytrade, investors should note that while both platforms provide stock and ETFs research, they lack support for mutual funds and bonds. TradeStation slightly edges out tastytrade in terms of features, earning a 2-star rating compared to tastytrade's 1.5 stars. StockBrokers.com ranks TradeStation at #11 and tastytrade at #13 out of 14 brokers for market research, indicating that neither platform stands out significantly in this area.
Both TradeStation and tastytrade allow users to assess portfolio allocations by asset class, a useful feature for maintaining balanced investment portfolios. However, neither platform offers specialized research like ESG data or social media sentiment analysis for stocks, limiting their market research depth. Additionally, downloadable PDF research reports for stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds are unavailable on both platforms, which could be seen as a drawback for investors who value detailed written analyses.
One of the key differences lies in TradeStation's inclusion of a stock screener for trade ideas, a feature absent in tastytrade. This tool can be advantageous for investors looking to explore various stock opportunities. While both platforms provide basic research tools, those seeking more comprehensive research options might consider other brokers with higher ratings in market research capabilities. Ultimately, while TradeStation offers a slightly broader range of research tools than tastytrade, both platforms have room for improvement in meeting diverse investor needs.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes |
Screener - Stocks | Yes | No |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Screener - ETFs | No | No |
Research - Mutual Funds | No | No |
Screener - Mutual Funds | No | No |
Research - Bonds | No | No |
Screener - Bonds | No | No |
Research |
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When comparing the banking capabilities of online brokers TradeStation and tastytrade, neither offers traditional banking services such as checking accounts, savings accounts, debit cards, credit cards, mortgage loans, or certificates of deposit (CDs). This means that users looking for banking features will not find them with either TradeStation or tastytrade. These platforms are exclusively geared toward investing and trading, so if banking options are a requirement, you may need to consider additional financial institutions for those needs.
Feature |
|
|
---|---|---|
Checking Accounts | No | No |
Savings Accounts | No | No |
Debit Cards | No | No |
Credit Cards | No | No |
Mortgage Loans | No | No |
CDs | No | No |
Dive deeper: Best Brokerage Checking Accounts for 2025
After opening live accounts and testing 14 of the best online brokers, our research and live account testing finds that TradeStation is better than tastytrade. TradeStation finished with an overall score of 80.2%, while tastytrade finished with a score of 80.1%.
TradeStation supports casual traders through its web-based platform and active traders through its desktop platform. We like the web-based platform and mobile app, but the flagship desktop platform could use a refresh.
When comparing online brokers, tastytrade stands out for cryptocurrency enthusiasts by offering crypto trading with access to 17 different coins, whereas TradeStation does not currently provide any crypto trading options.
Dive deeper: Best Online Brokers for Crypto Trading in 2025
Both TradeStation and tastytrade offer traditional and Roth IRA accounts, but while tastytrade provides these with no annual fee, TradeStation charges $35 annually. Additionally, closing an IRA account will incur a $50 fee with TradeStation compared to a $60 fee with tastytrade.
Dive deeper: Best IRA Accounts for 2025
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0 of 5Overall Rating | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
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Platforms & Tools |
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Mobile Trading Apps |
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Research |
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Customer Service |
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Education |
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Ease of Use |
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Winner | check_circle | ||
Review | TradeStation Review | tastytrade Review |
Broker Screenshots | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
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Trading Platform & Tools Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Research Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Mobile Trading Apps Gallery (click to expand) | |||
Education Gallery (click to expand) |
Trading Fees | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 | |
Penny Stock Fees (OTC) | $0.01 | N/A | |
Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | N/A | |
Options (Per Contract) | $0.60 | $0.50 | |
Futures (Per Contract) | $1.50 | $1.00 | |
Broker Assisted Trade Fee | $25 | $0 |
Margin Rates | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Margin Rate Under $25,000 | 13.0% | 11% | |
Margin Rate $25,000 to $49,999.99 | 13.0% | 10.5% | |
Margin Rate $50,000 to $99,999.99 | 12.5% | 10% | |
Margin Rate $100,000 to $249,999.99 | 12.0% | 9.5% | |
Margin Rate $250,000 to $499,999.99 | 12.0% | 9% | |
Margin Rate $500,000 to $999,999.99 | 7.5% | 8.5% | |
Margin Rate Above $1,000,000 | 7.5% | 8% |
Account Fees | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
IRA Annual Fee | $35.00 | $0.00 | |
IRA Closure Fee | $50.00 | $60.00 | |
Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $125.00 | $75.00 | |
Account Transfer Out (Full) | $125.00 | $75.00 | |
Options Exercise Fee | $14.95 | $5.00 | |
Options Assignment Fee | $5.95 | $5.00 |
Investment Options | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Stock Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Margin Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Fractional Shares | No | Yes | |
OTC Stocks | Yes | No | |
Options Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Complex Options Max Legs | 4 | 4 | |
Futures Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Forex Trading | No | No | |
Crypto Trading | No | Yes | |
Crypto Trading - Total Coins | 0 | 17 | |
Mutual Funds (No Load) | 800 | 0 | |
Mutual Funds (Total) | 4000 | 0 | |
Bonds (US Treasury) | Yes | No | |
Bonds (Corporate) | Yes | No | |
Bonds (Municipal) | Yes | No | |
Traditional IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
Roth IRAs | Yes | Yes | |
Advisor Services | No | No | |
International Countries (Stocks) | 0 | 0 |
Order Types | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Order Type - Market | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Limit | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - After Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Stop | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Trailing Stop | Yes | No | |
Order Type - OCO | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - OTO | Yes | Yes | |
Order Type - Broker Assisted | Yes | Yes |
Beginners | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Education (Stocks) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (ETFs) | No | Yes | |
Education (Options) | Yes | Yes | |
Education (Mutual Funds) | No | No | |
Education (Bonds) | No | No | |
Education (Retirement) | No | No | |
Retirement Calculator | No | No | |
Investor Dictionary | No | Yes | |
Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
Videos | Yes | No | |
Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
Progress Tracking | No | Yes | |
Interactive Learning - Quizzes | No | No |
Stock Trading Apps | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
iPhone App | Yes | Yes | |
Android App | Yes | Yes | |
Apple Watch App | No | No | |
Trading - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - Simple Options | Yes | Yes | |
Trading - Complex Options | Yes | Yes | |
Order Ticket RT Quotes | Yes | Yes | |
Order Ticket SRT Quotes | Yes | Yes |
Stock App Features | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Market Movers (Top Gainers) | Yes | Yes | |
Stream Live TV | No | No | |
Videos on Demand | No | No | |
Stock Alerts | Yes | No | |
Option Chains Viewable | Yes | Yes | |
Watch List (Real-time) | Yes | Yes | |
Watch List (Streaming) | Yes | Yes | |
Watch Lists - Create & Manage | Yes | Yes | |
Watch Lists - Column Customization | Yes | Yes |
Stock App Charting | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Charting - After-Hours | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Can Turn Horizontally | No | Yes | |
Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Technical Studies | 45 | 0 | |
Charting - Study Customizations | Yes | No | |
Charting - Stock Comparisons | No | No |
Trading Platforms | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Active Trading Platform | TradeStation 10 | tastytrade | |
Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
Desktop Platform (Mac) | No | Yes | |
Web Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
Paper Trading | Yes | No | |
Trade Journal | No | No | |
Watch Lists - Total Fields | 341 | 33 |
Stock Chart Features | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Charting - Adjust Trades on Chart | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Indicators / Studies | 294 | 308 | |
Charting - Drawing Tools | 23 | 31 | |
Charting - Notes | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Index Overlays | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Historical Trades | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Corporate Events | Yes | Yes | |
Charting - Custom Date Range | Yes | No | |
Charting - Custom Time Bars | Yes | No | |
Charting - Automated Analysis | Yes | No | |
Charting - Save Profiles | Yes | Yes | |
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis | Yes | No | |
Charting - Study Customizations | 12 | 7 | |
Charting - Custom Studies | Yes | Yes |
Day Trading | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Streaming Time & Sales | Yes | No | |
Streaming TV | No | Yes | |
Direct Market Routing - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Ladder Trading | Yes | Yes | |
Trade Hotkeys | Yes | No | |
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting | Yes | No | |
Trade Ideas - Backtesting Adv | Yes | No | |
Short Locator | Yes | Yes | |
Order Liquidity Rebates | Yes | No |
Research Overview | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Research - Stocks | Yes | Yes | |
Research - ETFs | Yes | Yes | |
Research - Mutual Funds | No | No | |
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB | Yes | No | |
Research - Bonds | No | No | |
Screener - Stocks | Yes | No | |
Screener - ETFs | No | No | |
Screener - Mutual Funds | No | No | |
Screener - Bonds | No | No | |
Misc - Portfolio Allocation | Yes | Yes |
Stock Research | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Stock Research - PDF Reports | 0 | 0 | |
Stock Research - Earnings | No | No | |
Stock Research - Insiders | No | No | |
Stock Research - Social | No | No | |
Stock Research - News | Yes | Yes | |
Stock Research - ESG | No | No | |
Stock Research - SEC Filings | No | No |
ETF Research | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
ETFs - Strategy Overview | No | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Inception Date | No | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Expense Ratio | No | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Net Assets | No | No | |
ETF Fund Facts - Total Holdings | No | No | |
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings | No | No | |
ETFs - Sector Exposure | No | No | |
ETFs - Risk Analysis | No | Yes | |
ETFs - Ratings | No | No | |
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap | No | No | |
ETFs - PDF Reports | No | No |
Mutual Fund Research | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Performance Chart | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Performance Analysis | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Prospectus | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings | Yes | No | |
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation | No | No | |
Mutual Funds - StyleMap | No | No |
Options Trading | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Option Chains - Basic View | Yes | Yes | |
Option Chains - Strategy View | Yes | Yes | |
Option Chains - Streaming | Yes | Yes | |
Option Chains - Total Columns | 29 | 20 | |
Option Chains - Greeks | 5 | 5 | |
Option Chains - Quick Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Option Analysis - P&L Charts | Yes | Yes | |
Option Probability Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Option Probability Analysis Adv | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Greeks | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Greeks Streaming | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Adv Analysis | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Rolling | Yes | Yes | |
Option Positions - Grouping | Yes | Yes |
Banking | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Bank (Member FDIC) | No | No | |
Checking Accounts | No | No | |
Savings Accounts | No | No | |
Credit Cards | No | No | |
Debit Cards | No | No | |
Mortgage Loans | No | No |
Customer Service | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
---|---|---|---|
Phone Support (Prospect Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Phone Support (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Email Support | Yes | Yes | |
Live Chat (Prospect Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
Live Chat (Current Customers) | Yes | Yes | |
24/7 Support | No | No |
Overall | TradeStation | tastytrade | |
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Overall |
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Range of Investments |
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Platforms & Tools |
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Mobile Trading Apps |
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Research |
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Education |
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Ease of Use |
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Winner | check_circle | ||
Review | TradeStation Review | tastytrade Review |