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Best Day Trading Platforms for 2023
A day trade is when you buy shares of a stock, then sell the same shares before the market closes. Because day traders place far more trades than the average investor, keeping costs low is almost as important as acting in the right direction and at the right time.
Day traders demand specialized tools that provide them the information they want and the ability to act on it quickly. Having placed thousands and thousands of trades, we know firsthand that it’s crucial to choose a reliable day trading platform stocked with the trading tools you need, and every trader has their own unique demands. That’s why we go into such detail in our broker reviews.
For our 2023 Review, we tested and scored 17 online brokers. To find the best day trading platform, we focused on both web and desktop platforms and assessed each platform across dozens of features along with their design and user appeal. Naturally, we also evaluated trading costs, including commissions and order execution.
What is day trading?
Day trading is a strategy in which a trader buys and sells stocks throughout the trading day. The goal is to end each trading session with a net profit after commissions. Day traders primarily trade during the opening 60 minutes (9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Eastern) and closing 30 minutes (3:30 - 4 p.m. Eastern) of each market session, which is when price volatility is highest.
Regulators require day traders to maintain higher levels of equity in their accounts than other investors. Once you trade (buying and selling the same security) four or more times within five business days, brokers are required to designate you a “pattern day trader.”
Pattern day traders need a minimum of $25,000 in equity before they can day trade, and can’t trade more than their “day trading buying power,” which is four times the maintenance margin as of the prior close. Firms can also impose stricter requirements.
Best Day Trading Platforms 2023
Here's a breakdown of the best online brokers for day trading.
Other brokers tested
In addition to our top five trading platforms for day trading in 2023, we reviewed 12 others: Ally Invest, Charles Schwab, eToro, E*TRADE, Firstrade, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, Merrill Edge, SoFi Invest, Tradier, Robinhood, Vanguard and Webull. To dive deeper, read our reviews.
Day trading platforms comparison
Popular day trading platform tools include ladder trading, Level 2 quotes, trade hot keys, direct market routing, stock alerts, streaming time and sales, customizable watch lists, and backtesting, among many others.
Below you can find a trading platform comparison table of common tools and features. For a full comparison of 150+ features, use our comparison tool.
What broker do most day traders use?
Which platform is best for day trading options?
Most brokers charge commissions and/or per-contract fees on options trades. If you day trade options, those commissions can pile up quickly. Firstrade, Robinhood and Webull don’t charge for trading and exercising options. We found Webull’s desktop platform to be very friendly to beginners. Knowledgeable larger position traders should try tastytrade, a broker that caters to options traders. Though tastytrade is not free, the platform is far more sophisticated than those of the free brokers.
What app do most day traders use?
Every day trader has unique needs. That’s why we highlight the strengths and weaknesses of many brokers. For example, TD Ameritrade allows you to choose between basic apps and special ones tailor-made for active traders on the go. Tastytrade's mobile app is a dream for trading stocks you already know, but its research is limited when compared side-by-side with other high-quality brokers.
Can you day trade on multiple platforms?
Yes. It is not uncommon for day traders to have multiple brokerage accounts and use several trading platforms simultaneously. Common reasons why traders use multiple platforms include having a backup in case of an outage, running dedicated trading strategies, or accessing specific trading tools and research not available elsewhere.
What are the risks of day trading?
Because day trading involves actively buying and selling stocks throughout the day using margin (borrowed capital), it is inherently risky. Like poker, losing streaks can cause traders to take undisciplined risks, magnifying losses. Some day trading software — for example, a trading journal — can help identify your strengths and weaknesses, provided you’re diligent in entering your trades. For more on that strategy, see the guide to best trading journals on our sister site, StockTrader.com.
Can you start day trading with $500?
Yes, but we think it’s a bad idea. Trading is volatile and your capital is unlikely to survive what might simply be a normal string of losses. You might conclude you’re a bad trader or the market is too choppy to make money when the market is acting normally.
You’re also likely to have your broker put on the brakes anyway. If you don’t have at least a $25,000 balance and margin approval, you can only place four day trades over a period of five business days before your account becomes restricted.
Is day trading illegal?
In the U.S., day trading is legal. To day trade, once you’re classified as a "pattern day trader," you must have at least a $25,000 minimum account equity to day trade. On the positive side, you gain access to 4:1 margin intraday and 2:1 margin for holding open positions overnight.
Is day trading worth it?
In today's market, hedge funds running sophisticated algorithms make it very difficult to day trade profitably. Most day traders are also severely undercapitalized and get suckered into paying for expensive chat room memberships, educational courses, and newsletter subscriptions on social media. Here's a breakdown of what I learned from day trading.
What is the best platform for day trading?
Interactive Brokers is the best day trading platform in our analysis, thanks to its comprehensive tools, access to global markets and highly customizable user experience. There’s little that Trader Workstation, Interactive Brokers’ formidable desktop platform, can’t do. Nonprofessionals who might appreciate an easier-to-navigate platform will find TD Ameritrade an excellent choice. Options-focused traders should try out tastytrade for its detailed, highly visible analytics and overall responsiveness. Crypto traders will be wowed by TradeStation’s web-based crypto platform.
What is the fastest trading platform?
The fastest trading platform is likely to be found among TradeStation, tastytrade, TD Ameritrade thinkorswim, Interactive Brokers' Trader Workstation (TWS), and Webull because they are desktop-based. With a desktop trading platform, the base code runs locally on your computer, maximizing speed. That said, web-based trading platforms built with modern code can match desktop platforms in overall speed. Software aside, like esports, the most common bottleneck for any trading platform is the internet connection.
2023 Overall Ranking
Here are the Overall rankings for the 17 online brokers who participated in our 2023 Review, sorted by Overall ranking.
Methodology
For the StockBrokers.com 13th Annual Review published in January 2023, a total of 3,332 data points were collected over three months and used to score 17 top brokers. This makes StockBrokers.com home to the largest independent database on the web covering the online broker industry.
In order to assess the overall day trading experience, we test across a wide range of Apple, Windows, and Android devices and/or operating systems. All of our testing uses current operating systems and high-quality devices.
Our research team rigorously tests the most important features sought by day traders, such as trading costs — including order execution quality — and factors such as ladder trading, stock alerts, streaming time and sales and customizable watch lists, among others. In total, we evaluate more than 200 variables for each broker.
As part of our annual review process, all brokers were given the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones and complete an in-depth data profile, which we hand-checked for accuracy. Brokers also were offered the opportunity to provide executive time for an annual update meeting.
Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test.
Read Next
Explore our other online trading guides:
About the Editorial Team
Sam Levine, CFA, CMT
Sam Levine is a longtime writer, investor and educator with nearly three decades of experience in the investing industry. His specialty is making even the most complicated investing concepts easy to understand for beginning and intermediate investors. He holds two of the most widely recognized certifications in the investment management industry, the Chartered Financial Analyst and the Chartered Market Technician designations. Previously, he was a contributing editor at BetterInvesting Magazine and a contributor to The Penny Hoarder and other media outlets.
Blain Reinkensmeyer
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.
Carolyn Kimball
Carolyn Kimball is managing editor for Reink Media and the lead editor for the StockBrokers.com Annual Review. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.
Steven Hatzakis
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
TD Ameritrade, Inc. and StockBrokers.com are separate, unaffiliated companies and are not responsible for each other’s services and products.
1 Fidelity Sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal. Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. Before trading options, please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request.
TD Ameritrade
Fidelity
Merrill Edge
E*TRADE
TradeStation
Interactive Brokers
Charles Schwab
eToro
E*TRADE
Merrill Edge
Charles Schwab
https://count.schwab.com/1/d/c.gif?aqet=imp&img=true&adv=CharlesSchwab&ag=UM&ch=Native&pl=354808537 
Firstrade
Webull
Ally Invest
Robinhood
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Tradier
eToro
Vanguard
Sofi Invest
