ChoiceTrade Review
The StockBrokers.com best online brokers 2019 review (9th annual) took six months to complete and produced over 30,000 words of research. Here's how we tested.
Although founded in 2000, ChoiceTrade is a brand few traders have heard of. After examining the web-based offering, it’s clear why the broker has not become a household name.
I first headed to ChoiceTrade’s “About Us” page and was greeted with bland, broad, templated text describing how the broker focuses on technology and powerful solutions for traders. There was no information about the founder or the company itself. Instead, the content includes a stock photo image of a Wall Street sign.
This was just the start, as the deeper I explored ChoiceTrade’s website, the more questions I had.
Review Summary
Founded in 2000, ChoiceTrade is an online broker that advertises unlimited free stock trades for $5 per month. Unfortunately, numerous restrictions apply and, overall, ChoiceTrade provides customers a terrible all-around online investing experience not worth the hassle.
Benefits
- Customers can place unlimited free stock trades for $5 per month (restrictions apply, see below “Commissions & Fees”).
Considerations
- Web-based ChoiceTrader is the worst brokerage trading platform I have ever tested.
- The research offered is barebones compared to competitors such as Fidelity
Commissions & Fees
ChoiceTrade offers $0 stock trades and $10 capped options trades with numerous catches that require reading the fine print.
Benefits
- Unlimited free stock trades for $5 per month if the stock is over $1 per share, traded on the NASDAQ or NYSE, a market or limit order is used, and you are not trading after hours.
- Options trades for $5 + $.15 per contract.
Considerations
- After-hours trades cost an additional $.005 per share.
- While ChoiceTrade advertises $10 capped options trades, it is actually a separate pricing plan that effects all options trades made. Orders are not simply $5 + $.15 per contract with a $10 cap.
- Miscellaneous account fees are far higher than the industry average.
Further Reading
Fees Comparison
| Feature | ChoiceTrade |
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $5.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.15 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $30.00 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | 0 |
Platforms & Tools
ChoiceTrade’s default web-based platform, ChoiceTrader, is extremely difficult to use, outdated, and is worth avoiding at all costs. While our testing focused on ChoiceTrader, if I were to use ChoiceTrade, I would pay the additional monthly fee to use one of three third-party platforms offered (prices start at $14.95/mo).
Benefits
- Basic automated technical analysis offered for stock charts (RoboAnalyst tool).
Considerations
- Watch lists only include four viewable fields, and the main watch list is buggy.
- No drawing tools available for stock charts.
- ChoiceTrader is a poorly designed platform that is extremely difficult to navigate and use.
Gallery
Further Reading
Tools Comparison
| Feature | ChoiceTrade |
|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes |
| Watch Lists - Total Fields | 4 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 0 |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 20 |
| Option Chains - Total Columns | 11 |
| Streaming TV | No |
| Paper Trading | Yes |
| Platforms & Tools |
Research
Beyond pulling basic stock quotes and conducting elementary research such as viewing a balance sheet or income statement, Choicetrade has little to offer.
Benefits
- None.
Considerations
- No ETFs research offered beyond basic quotes.
- No mutual funds research offered.
- No screeners offered.
Gallery
Research Comparison
| Feature | ChoiceTrade |
|---|---|
| Research - Stocks | Yes |
| Stock Research - Reports | 0 |
| Research - ETFs | Yes |
| Research - Mutual Funds | No |
| Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB | Yes |
| Research - Fixed Income | Yes |
| Research - Futures | No |
| Research - Forex | No |
| Research |
Customer Service
To score Customer Service, StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research group Confero to conduct phone tests from locations throughout the United States. For our 2019 Broker Review, 300 customer service tests were conducted over ten weeks.
Results
- Average Connection Time: <1 minute
- Average Net Promoter Score: 6.5 / 10
- Average Professionalism Score: 5.6 / 10
- Overall Score: 6.7 / 10
- Ranking: 15 th (16 brokers)
- View Infographic
Mobile Trading
ChoiceTrade offers a mobile app for its customers that supports only the bare-bones basics for investing on the go.
Benefits
- Both iOS and Android apps offered.
Considerations
- Core basic trading for stocks and options only.
- No alerts.
- No real-time streaming data.
Gallery
Further Reading:
Mobile Apps Comparison
| Feature | ChoiceTrade |
|---|---|
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Apple Watch App | No |
| Watch List Syncing | Yes |
| Stock Alerts - Basic Fields | No |
| Charting - After Hours | Yes |
| Mobile Trading |
Offering of Investments
Beyond providing a platform on which to trade stocks and options online, ChoiceTrade has little to offer.
Benefits
- Stock and options trading offered.
Considerations
- No mutual funds trading offered.
- No bonds trading offered.
- No two-factor authentication login option (secure logins).
Further Reading
Offering Comparison
| Feature | ChoiceTrade |
|---|---|
| Stock Trading | Yes |
| OTCBB / Pink Sheets | Yes |
| Options Trading | Yes |
| Complex Options Max Legs | 4 |
| Options Exercising (Web) | No |
| Options Exercising (Phone) | Yes |
| Bonds (US Treasury) | No |
| Bonds (Corporate) | No |
| Bonds (Municipal) | No |
| Futures Trading | No |
| Forex Trading | No |
| Mutual Funds (No Load) | 0 |
| Mutual Funds (Total) | 0 |
| DRIPs | No |
| Advisor Services | No |
| Offering of Investments |
Final Thoughts
Because ChoiceTrade has been in operation since 2000 and because of its focus on discounted stocks as well as options trades, I was optimistic my testing would uncover a winner.
Unfortunately, what I found were dozens of reasons explaining why the broker has had little success and remains elusive to the online investor world.
Instead of ChoiceTrade, investors seeking $0 stock trades should consider Firstrade, Robinhood, or Merrill Edge.
2019 Review Methodology
For the StockBrokers.com ninth annual best online brokers review published in February 2019, a total of 4,544 data points were collected over six months and used to score brokers. This makes StockBrokers.com home to the largest independent database on the web covering the online broker industry.
Participation is required to be included. Each broker completed an in-depth data profile and provided executive time (live in person or over the web) 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.
About the author: Blain Reinkensmeyer As Head of Research at StockBrokers.com, Blain Reinkensmeyer has 18 years of trading experience with over 1,000 trades placed during that time. Referenced as a leading expert on the US online brokerage industry, Blain has been quoted in The New York Times, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among others.
