Tiered Pro pricing falls to $0.0005/share + venue fees with volume; ~120 order types and IB SmartRouting across 90+ market centers.
Best brokers for
Active traders
Active traders need professional-grade order types, fast routing, deep platforms, and low per-share or per-contract pricing at volume. Mobile parity with desktop is a plus.
thinkorswim with ~400 studies, thinkScript, paperMoney, Strategy Roller, OnDemand back-testing, and the Schwab Trader API — all free with any brokerage account.
Power E*TRADE platform with Level II, conditional orders, custom strategies, and the Power E*TRADE API.
Open API with REST + WebSocket endpoints, official SDKs, drag-to-build complex orders, beta-weighted portfolio Greeks, and 308 technical indicators with 31 drawing tools. Built ground-up for active derivatives traders.
Direct routing, Matrix DOM ladder, RadarScreen real-time scanning, and per-share pricing for high-volume traders.
Free Level II, Webull Desktop with custom layouts and fast routing, plus $0 commissions across stocks and options.
DAS Trader Pro with fully programmable hotkeys, 40+ direct routes, multi-leg algos (TWAP/VWAP with 2/5/15/30/60-minute durations), and a live trade desk. Per-share commissions drop to $0.0010 above 10M shares/month. Tied with IBKR Pro for DMA breadth; edges on dark-pool and market-maker-wheel variety.
Direct market access to 100+ venues via DAS Trader Pro, sub-millisecond execution from NY/NJ colocation, full hotkey support, DAS Script automation, multi-monitor pro platforms, and sub-minute human phone response. Built ground-up for high-volume day traders who need real routing — not a $0 PFOF app.
Free real-time NASDAQ TotalView Level 2, 63 technical indicators, 0.03-second quote refresh, 90+ hotkeys, and customizable workspaces — comparable depth to Webull Desktop and approachable next to TradeStation/IBKR TWS, all at $0.
DAS Trader Pro with 100+ hotkeys, OCO/bracket orders, multi-screen layouts, integrated short-locate window, and direct routing to 30+ ECNs/dark pools. Per-share pricing as low as $0.0009 above 25M shares/month is competitive with Cobra and CenterPoint.
Rankings reflect our editorial assessment. Visit each broker’s full review for the underlying methodology and freshness date.