CenterPoint Securitiesvs.tastytrade

Head-to-head comparison across ratings, fees, asset coverage, and platform breadth.

CenterPoint Securities

4.1 / 5

Best-in-class short-locate inventory for active day traders and short sellers. Now a Clear Street division with ~8,000 ETB names, an in-house HTB desk sourcing 100M+ shares/month, 40+ DMA routes, and no PFOF. $30K minimum; not for beginners or buy-and-hold.

Last reviewed May 13, 2026Data may be outdated — verify rates before acting

tastytrade

4.4 / 5

The #1 retail options broker in 2026. Industry-leading $1-to-open / $0-to-close pricing capped at $10/leg, purpose-built derivatives platform, and integrated Tastylive education. Avoid if you hold meaningful idle cash, want OTC, or are a buy-and-hold investor.

Last reviewed May 13, 2026Data may be outdated — verify rates before acting

Sub-rating overlap

Each broker scored 0–5 across the same 8 dimensions.

Detailed comparison

Green cells mark the winner on each metric. Tie rows are uncoloured.

Metric	CenterPoint	tastytrade	Winner
OverallEditorial score	4.10 / 5	4.40 / 5	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsCommissions & fees	4.00	4.60	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsPlatforms & tools	4.50	4.70	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsMobile app	2.00	4.20	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsResearch	3.00	3.50	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsEducation	2.50	5.00	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsCustomer service	4.30	4.00	CenterPoint
Sub-ratingsRange of investments	2.50	3.50	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsActive trading	5.00	5.00	Tie
PricingLowest margin rate	8.00%	8.00%	Tie
PricingDefault cash sweep yield	—	0.01%	tastytrade
PricingPFOF on equities	Does not accept	Accepts	CenterPoint

Where they differ on asset coverage

Asset class	CenterPoint	tastytrade
US stocks (NYSE/Nasdaq/AMEX)	Yes
OTC / Pink Sheets	Yes
Listed options (single + multi-leg)	Yes
US Treasuries / bonds	No	Limited
Futures	No
Crypto (direct)	No	Yes
International stocks	Limited	No
IRAs (limited)	Limited
24-hour overnight equity trading	No
Hard-to-borrow short locates	Yes
US stocks (NYSE/Nasdaq)		Yes
OTC / Pink Sheets / penny stocks		No
Equity options (single + multi-leg)		Yes
Index options (SPX/NDX/RUT/XSP/VIX + Cboe Bitcoin/Mini Bitcoin US ETF Index)		Yes
Futures (equity index, energy, metals, currency, rates, ag, livestock, crypto, volatility, micros)		Yes
Options on futures		Yes
IPOs		No
24/5 overnight equity trading		Yes

CenterPoint strengths

Best-in-class short-locate inventory: ~8,000 ETB names + in-house securities-lending desk sourcing 100M+ HTB shares/month from 45+ counterparties
Equity-tier locate discounts: 15% ($50K), 20% ($100K), 25% ($250K), 30% ($1M+); $15/day in free locates included
No PFOF; transparent route table with rebates up to +$0.0020/share on lit exchanges
40+ routing destinations: direct exchanges, market-maker wheels, dark pools, midpoint, algos (TWAP/VWAP suite), short-sale specialized (SAGEAE), OTC-specific (OTCP, OTCX)
DAS Trader Pro engine (CenterPoint Pro) with multi-monitor, Level 2 mosaic, fully programmable hotkeys, 60+ technical studies
CenterPoint Edge perks bundle: Trade Ideas, Benzinga Pro, TrendSpider, Dilution Tracker, TraderSync (~$6,000/yr value)

tastytrade strengths

$1 to open / $0 to close, capped at $10/leg — unmatched at 15+ contracts; $0.50 round-trip per contract at scale
Industry-best options workflow: Curve mode with draggable strike legs, drag-and-drop chain to build verticals/condors/butterflies
Futures + options on futures with micros at $0.85/contract; CME Direct multi-leg integration (2025)
23 cryptocurrencies via Zero Hash + stablecoin account funding (USDC/USDT/PYUSD/RLUSD; first major US broker, July 2025)
Tastylive: 8+ hours of live original options programming every weekday, free
Open API: public REST + WebSocket (DXLink/dxFeed), official JS SDK + community Python SDK

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