Tradier Brokerage Review

Tradier Brokerage is somewhat unusual among the brokers in our annual review: clearly aimed at the advanced trader, but one who is not interested in cryptocurrencies or futures trading. To get the most out of being a Tradier Brokerage client, investors must also be willing to pay for a premium platform.

Top Takeaways for 2022

Here are our top findings on Tradier Brokerage for 2022:

1. Tradier will appeal to a subset of advanced traders. It offers no cryptocurrencies, no futures, and no forex. Fractional shares are only available for RIAs. And clients can choose their platform from a wide range, but will have to pay for it (though the broker's web-based platform is free).
2. Tradier might be an appealing choice for advanced traders, especially those who are looking to use their own programming skills for their trading or those looking for a specific trading platform. Additionally, Tradier allows account opening in 120 countries outside the U.S., which is rare among U.S. brokers.
3. Tradier is not the place for beginner or intermediate traders, those looking for futures trading or access to cryptos or fractional shares. Beginner traders or investors should look to our top-ranked brokers for beginners. Advanced traders looking for similar functionality with more options and less cost should check out industry leader Interactive Brokers.

Overall Summary

Offering of investments

As noted, offerings are narrow. This is clearly a broker for traders only interested in stocks, ETFs and options. Those looking for futures or crypto should check out Interactive Brokers or TD Ameritrade.

Cryptocurrency: Tradier does not currently offer any cryptocurrencies.

Retirement services: While Tradier does offer IRAs, they carry annual fees. While for most larger IRAs it won’t make a difference, there is a $30 annual fee.

Commissions and fees

Tradier Brokerage has no commissions on stock or ETF trades. While most brokers are charging $0.65 for options trades, Tradier charges $0.35, or $0 with a $10 monthly subscription.

Other fees: As noted, IRAs have an annual fee of $30 and a closure fee of $60. Mutual fund trades cost $30. There are some additional fees: $10 for a broker-assisted trade and $9 for options exercise or assignment.

Use of Tradier’s proprietary TradeHawk platform, which most advanced traders will want, starts at $10 per month. Given the target audience, I can’t imagine having a Tradier account without factoring this in.

Mobile trading apps

The mobile app is straightforward but trails the competition in terms of functionality, especially given that the company aims at the advanced trader. Logging in is a pain, charts are just OK and tools are basic.

Ease of use: The mobile app is easy to use, but not as straightforward as those of top competitors. Building multi-leg trades is simple and quick. Logging in is tedious, however, especially compared to the many mobile apps out there that allow touch login.

Watchlists: The watchlist on mobile is more functional than that on the website. It links to the charts, which then have Level 1 data and a trade tab.

Charting: Charting on mobile is not as advanced as many of its competitors. You can change the time frame and toggle between line and candlestick, but you can’t zoom or scroll. There are no indicators to add. And most frustrating is the fact that the chart is right up off the right side of the screen, making it hard to see the current data.

Trading tools: Option chains on mobile offer the very basics, and calls and puts are listed separately. You can build mult-leg options trades easily — the best feature of the app.

Other trading platforms and tools

The real value in Tradier Brokerage is its API and ability to link out to a variety of trading platforms. The functionality of these platforms is excellent, but there are monthly fees charged to use them. This makes Tradier great for advanced traders who are willing to pay for the platform of their choice.

Platforms overview: The web-based trading is simple but effective for stocks and ETFs. Multi-leg strategies are easy to set up and trade. Some of the platforms available to link to, including Tradier’s own TradeHawk, have excellent tools and functionality. As they carry additional fees, however (as noted, a TradeHawk subscription starts at $10 per month), we do not cover them as part of the basic account. Investors will want to factor in these costs, because the basic web trading is unlikely to suffice.

Watchlists: Adding stocks to the watchlist is done through the quote feature on the homepage. The watchlist also doesn’t link to the research page and the other functionality doesn’t work as well as it should.

Charting: Charting on the website is excellent. It is provided by TradingView. Having it housed under research and not accessible though the watchlist is odd and makes for a less-than-seamless experience.

Trading tools: Trading tools on the website are simple but effective for stock, ETF and option trading. The trade ticket allows for building a wide variety of multi-leg strategies.

Options trading: Basic options trading is easy, as is building multi-leg strategies. But there are no risk graphs. The option chains are not customizable, other than changing the number of strikes.

Futures trading: Tradier does not offer futures trading.

Research

Tradier Brokerage’s research, like its charting, is provided by TradingView. The research page on the web trading application includes an overview of the stock, a listing of the financials, a “timeline” of news and a technical analysis “meter” for different time periods.

Stock research: There is basic fundamental analysis as well as technical analysis. It is unclear what factors the technical analysis is based on — this could include a host of things.

Market commentary: Tradier offers its own OptionsBrewTV with some market commentary. It can be found through the login page.

Education

There are some educational videos offered through OptionBrewTV, but nothing beyond that. This is an area where Tradier really could make a difference. They do partner with education firms in offering their API, but basic education is needed more than ever in the industry. Other platforms targeting advanced traders and investors, like Interactive Brokers, are doing a good job with this; and some brokers, like Fidelity, have education embedded in their mobile apps as well.

Customer service

To score Customer Service, StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research firm Confero to conduct phone tests from locations throughout the United States. For our 2022 Broker Review, 159 customer service tests were conducted over six weeks. Here are the results for Tradier.

• Average Connection Time: <1 minute
• Average Net Promoter Score: 6.6 / 10
• Average Professionalism Score: 6.9 / 10
• Overall Score: 7.2 / 10
• Ranking: 8th of 13 brokers

Final thoughts

Tradier Brokerage targets a very specific audience: advanced, active stock, ETF and option traders who don’t mind paying for the platform of their choice beyond the broker's web-based platform. If you fall into this category, Tradier could be a solid choice. But if you don’t, as an individual investor or trader, you’ll want to look for a broker that offers the tools and instruments you are looking for (see our guide to best trading platforms).

About Tradier Brokerage

Tradier, Inc., is a cloud-based financial services provider and brokerage API company. The company’s platform services providers, advisors, developers and individual investors. It was founded in 2012 in North Carolina.

2022 Review Methodology

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For the StockBrokers.com 12th Annual Review published in January 2022, a total of 3,075 data points were collected over three months and used to score 15 top brokers. This makes StockBrokers.com home to the largest independent database on the web covering the online broker industry.

As part of our annual review process, all brokers had 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.

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Tradier fees and features data

The data collection efforts at StockBrokers.com are unmatched in the industry. The following tables show a deeper dive into the offerings available at this broker. You can also compare its offerings side-by-side with those of other brokers using our Comparison Tool.

In addition to meticulous annual data collection by our in-house analyst, every broker that participates in our review is afforded the opportunity to complete an in-depth data profile. We then audit each data point to ensure its accuracy.

Trading fees

Account fees

Margin rates

Investment options

Order types

Beginners

Stock trading apps

Stock app features

Stock app charting

Trading platforms overview

Trading platform stock chart features

Day trading features

Investment research overview

Stock research features

ETF research features

Mutual fund research features

Options trading overview

Banking features

Customer service options

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