Merrill Edgevs.tastytrade

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

Merrill Edge

3.8 / 5

Best for Bank of America customers with $100K+ combined balances who want IRA, banking, credit card, and brokerage under one login. Outside that fit, Fidelity, Schwab, or IBKR are stronger pure-trading platforms.

Last reviewed May 13, 2026Data may be outdated — verify rates before acting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Last reviewed May 13, 2026Data may be outdated — verify rates before acting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	Merrill	tastytrade	Winner
OverallEditorial score	3.80 / 5	4.40 / 5	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsCommissions & fees	3.80	4.60	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsPlatforms & tools	3.80	4.70	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsMobile app	3.50	4.20	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsResearch	5.00	3.50	Merrill
Sub-ratingsEducation	4.00	5.00	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsCustomer service	4.00	4.00	Tie
Sub-ratingsRange of investments	3.00	3.50	tastytrade
Sub-ratingsActive trading	3.30	5.00	tastytrade
PricingLowest margin rate	4.50%	8.00%	Merrill
PricingDefault cash sweep yield	0.01%	0.01%	Tie
PricingPFOF on equities	Does not accept	Accepts	Merrill

Where they differ on asset coverage

Asset class	Merrill	tastytrade
US stocks (NYSE/Nasdaq/AMEX)	Yes
OTC / penny stocks	No
Options (Levels 1–5)	Yes
Mutual funds	Yes	No
US Treasuries	Yes
Corporate / muni bonds, CDs	Yes
Futures	No
Crypto (direct)	No	Yes
International stocks	Limited	No
24-hour overnight equity trading	No
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
US Treasuries / bonds		Limited
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

Merrill strengths

BofA Preferred Rewards (renaming to BofA Rewards May 26, 2026) — 75% credit card bonus at Platinum Honors ($100K+)
Does NOT accept PFOF on equities — 99.15% of orders at-or-better than NBBO, $42.50 avg price improvement per 1,000 shares
BofA Global Research — institutional-grade reports on thousands of equities
Full IRA lineup with $0 fees; strong banking + brokerage + credit card integration
3,800+ Bank of America branches with in-person service; 24/7 phone and chat
$0 stocks/ETFs, $0 Treasuries, $1/bond ($250 max)

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

Full Merrill Edge review →Full tastytrade review →