What is the SpeedTrader minimum deposit?

$2,500 for Active Web or Mobile; $10,000 to use SpeedTrader Pro (the DAS Trader Pro platform). The legacy $25K PDT minimum for day-trading margin accounts was eliminated by FINRA effective June 4, 2026, but SpeedTrader may keep its house minimum during transition. Day-trade options trading requires $15K maintenance; uncovered option writing requires $100K.

Does SpeedTrader accept PFOF?

No — SpeedTrader does not accept payment for order flow. Orders route via 30+ ECN/exchange/dark-pool venues with rebates and charges passed through. Note: SpeedTrader has been censured by FINRA separately for Rule 606 and best-execution failures (routing ~100M shares/year to broker-dealers engaged in net trading activity), so the PFOF stance is not the same as best execution.

How do SpeedTrader short locates work?

Twelve third-party locate venues are accessible from inside DAS Trader Pro by clicking the "S" icon on the Level 2 montage. Response time is seconds. Locate fees are quoted in-platform per stock and vary daily. Pre-borrow and intraday reuse are supported. Overnight short-borrow uses a formula = closing price (rounded up to next $1) × shares (rounded up to next 100) × annual rate ÷ 365 — rates exceed 300% APR on hot small caps.

What pricing model should I pick?

Per-trade is simpler: $6.95 below $25K balance, falling to $2.49 above 3,000 trades/month. Per-share is cheaper for high-volume traders: $0.0044 below 1M shares/month down to $0.0009 above 25M. You must choose at account opening and cannot switch later. Rate-tier changes require email/call request and take 1–2 business days, max one per month.

Does SpeedTrader offer IRAs?

No. SpeedTrader does not offer Traditional, Roth, Rollover, SEP, or SIMPLE IRAs — atypical for a US retail broker. US News attributes this to "a high-risk day-trading platform." For retirement accounts, use Fidelity, Schwab, or IBKR.

What were the FINRA fines about?

Two material 2024 actions: (1) a $165,000 AWC settlement for failing to supervise potentially manipulative trading (Nov 2017 – Jan 2020), inadequate market-access controls under Exchange Act §15c3-5, and AML program deficiencies — mostly involving direct-market-access to ~570 customers including China-based day traders. (2) A separate FINRA censure for Rule 606 / best-execution failures. SpeedTrader was also fined $595K in 2015 for similar supervisory deficiencies. FINRA BrokerCheck lists 16 regulatory events against Mint Global Markets.

Is SpeedTrader good for beginners?

No. The minimum deposit, monthly platform/data fees, complex pricing-model choice, lack of mobile-first design, and multiple regulatory events all push beginners toward Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood, or Webull. SpeedTrader is for experienced day traders who specifically need DAS Trader Pro plus integrated locates.

SpeedTrader review

3.7 / 5

Last reviewed May 13, 2026

Visit SpeedTrader

Direct-access broker built for active day traders who need DAS Trader Pro, ECN order routing, integrated short locates, and OTC/penny stock access. Strong on short-locate workflow; weak on transparency, mobile, and reputation given multiple FINRA enforcement actions.

DAS Trader Pro
12 short-locate venues
No PFOF
Deep OTC/Pink coverage
Per-share or per-trade

At a glance

Founded: 1999
Minimum deposit: $2,500 (Active Web/Mobile); $10,000 (SpeedTrader Pro / DAS)
Regulators: SEC · FINRA · SIPC

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

DAS Trader Pro white-labeled as SpeedTrader Pro — full Level 2 montage, 100+ hotkeys, integrated short-locate window, native multi-account support
12 third-party short-locate venues with in-platform "S" icon request workflow on the Level 2 montage
Deep OTC / Pink Sheet / OTCQX / OTCQB support with dedicated routing (OTCX Link, SPDRO, ARCAU, OTCB, DKMX)
Per-share pricing as low as $0.0009/share above 25M shares/month; per-trade pricing down to $2.49 above 3,000 trades/month
No PFOF; ECN rebates and charges passed through transparently; 30+ direct routes
4:1 intraday buying power, 2:1 overnight on Reg-NMS listed stocks
Excess SIPC via Axos Clearing / Lloyd's of London: $99.5M coverage above standard SIPC ($100M aggregate)
Account types: individual, joint, corporate, LLC, partnership, trust, investment club, foreign corporate
14-day free demo trial of SpeedTrader Pro (DAS) available on request
Customer service well-regarded for active-trader workflow questions

Weaknesses

Multiple FINRA enforcement actions: $165K AWC in February 2024 for market-access supervision + AML deficiencies; separate censure for best-execution and Rule 606 routing failures; $595K fine in 2015 for similar issues. FINRA BrokerCheck lists 16 regulatory events.
No IRAs offered — atypical for a US retail broker
No cash accounts — margin and options only
No crypto, futures, forex, fractional shares, or international stocks
Mutual funds and bonds are broker-assisted only — no online execution
No native published margin-rate schedule (rates negotiated) — transparency concern
Per-trade and per-share clients must choose pricing model at account opening — cannot switch later
Platform fees: $99/mo for DAS-based SpeedTrader Pro (waived above $499/mo commissions); $35/mo for Active Web; $30/mo for Mobile (NOT waived)
Mobile app universally rated weak vs. desktop; some sources report no Android support
Sub-$25K accounts cannot day-trade until SpeedTrader implements the new FINRA Intraday Margin Level framework (effective June 4, 2026)
High maintenance minimums: $15K for software access; $15K for options; $100K for uncovered options writing

Best for

Sub-ratings

Commissions & fees: 3.5
Platforms & tools: 4.3
Mobile app: 2.5
Research: 2.5
Education: 2.5
Customer service: 4.0
Range of investments: 2.8
Active trading: 4.7

Pricing & fees

Full fee schedule

Category	Item	Price	Notes
Stocks & ETFs	Per-trade pricing < $25K balance	$6.95 / trade	—
Stocks & ETFs	Per-trade pricing > 3,000 trades/month	$2.49 / trade	—
Stocks & ETFs	Per-share < 1M shares/month	$0.0044 / share	$1.99 minimum per trade
Stocks & ETFs	Per-share > 25M shares/month	$0.0009 / share	Competitive at scale with Cobra and CenterPoint
Stocks & ETFs	OTC routing rebate (sub-$1)	–$0.0001 to –$0.0004 / share	OTCX Link, SPDRO routes
Options	Options < 500 contracts/month	$0.40 / contract	—
Options	Options 10,000+ contracts/month	$0.25 / contract	—
Options	Option exercise / assignment	$30	—

PFOF: Does not accept payment for order flow on equities; does not accept PFOF on options. SpeedTrader does not accept PFOF. Routes directly via 30+ ECN/exchange/dark-pool venues; rebates and charges passed through. Subject to a FINRA censure for Rule 606 best-execution failures (Nov 2017 onward).

Margin rates vs. peers

Effective interest rate by debit balance. Lower is better. Step-line — rate is constant within each tier.

Asset coverage

US stocks (NYSE/Nasdaq/AMEX)
Yes
OTC / Pink Sheets / OTCQX / OTCQB
Dedicated sub-$1 routing (OTCX Link, SPDRO) and $1+ routing (ARCAU, OTCB, DKMX, SPTD SMART)
Yes
Fractional shares
No
Options (equity, ETF, SPX, other indices)
Axos Clearing only; $30 exercise/assignment fee
Yes
Mutual funds
Broker-assisted only — no online execution
Limited
ETFs
Yes
US Treasuries / bonds
Broker-assisted only
Limited
Forex
No
Futures
No
Crypto (direct)
No
Foreign stocks ("F" tickers)
Approval-only
Limited
IRAs
Atypical for a US retail broker — no Traditional, Roth, Rollover, SEP, SIMPLE
No
Cash accounts
Margin and options accounts only
No
Pre-market trading
4:00 a.m. ET
Yes
After-hours trading
Until 8:00 p.m. ET
Yes
24-hour overnight equity trading
No
Hard-to-borrow short locates
12 third-party locate venues; in-platform "S" icon request; intraday reuse supported
Yes

Platforms & tools

Platform deep-dive

Desktop
SpeedTrader Pro
- DAS Trader Pro white-label — industry-standard active-trader platform
- Full Level 2 montage; 100+ hotkeys; custom multi-screen layouts
- Hidden / reserve / OCO / bracket / Market-on-Open / Limit-on-Open orders
- +2 more — see platform deep-dive
$99/mo (waived above $499/mo commissions); $10K account minimum
Web
Active Web
- Browser-based platform
- Level 1 quotes, basic charts, watchlists, scanners
- Options chains; streaming news; multi-screen support
$35/mo (waived above $199/mo commissions); $2,500 minimum
Mobile
SpeedTrader Mobile
- Basic order entry, watchlists, charting
- Universally rated weaker than desktop
$30/mo — NOT waived. Android support inconsistent across sources.
Desktop
SpeedTrader Pro Demo
- 14-day free trial of SpeedTrader Pro (DAS) available on request
API
Public retail API
- Not available to retail customers

Key capabilities at a glance

Commission: Per-share (day-trader oriented)
Fractional shares: No
Extended hours: Yes
Overnight (24/5): No
Options: per-contract
OTC access: 5/5 full, 0/5 limited
Penny-stock surcharge: Per-share
Short locate: best

OTC market access by tier

OTC Markets organises non-exchange-listed securities into five tiers by disclosure quality. SpeedTrader’s coverage:

OTCQXFull
OTCQBFull
Pink CurrentFull
Pink LimitedFull
Grey MarketFull

Awards & recognition

2026 Top broker for OTC and momentum day trading — Day Trade Review / TradingSim

Recent changes

Apr 20, 2026regulatory
FINRA Regulatory Notice 26-10: new Intraday Margin Level framework eliminates the $25K PDT minimum effective June 4, 2026 (full implementation by Oct 20, 2027); SpeedTrader has not yet published its transition plan
Feb 2024regulatory
FINRA AWC: $165K fine + censure for failing to supervise potentially manipulative trading (Nov 2017 – Jan 2020), inadequate Exchange Act §15c3-5 market-access controls, and AML deficiencies — involved DMA to ~570 customers including China-based day traders
2024regulatory
Separate FINRA censure for Rule 606 / best-execution failures (routing ~100M shares/yr to broker-dealers engaged in net trading)

Frequently asked

What is the SpeedTrader minimum deposit?: $2,500 for Active Web or Mobile; $10,000 to use SpeedTrader Pro (the DAS Trader Pro platform). The legacy $25K PDT minimum for day-trading margin accounts was eliminated by FINRA effective June 4, 2026, but SpeedTrader may keep its house minimum during transition. Day-trade options trading requires $15K maintenance; uncovered option writing requires $100K.
Does SpeedTrader accept PFOF?: No — SpeedTrader does not accept payment for order flow. Orders route via 30+ ECN/exchange/dark-pool venues with rebates and charges passed through. Note: SpeedTrader has been censured by FINRA separately for Rule 606 and best-execution failures (routing ~100M shares/year to broker-dealers engaged in net trading activity), so the PFOF stance is not the same as best execution.
How do SpeedTrader short locates work?: Twelve third-party locate venues are accessible from inside DAS Trader Pro by clicking the "S" icon on the Level 2 montage. Response time is seconds. Locate fees are quoted in-platform per stock and vary daily. Pre-borrow and intraday reuse are supported. Overnight short-borrow uses a formula = closing price (rounded up to next $1) × shares (rounded up to next 100) × annual rate ÷ 365 — rates exceed 300% APR on hot small caps.
What pricing model should I pick?: Per-trade is simpler: $6.95 below $25K balance, falling to $2.49 above 3,000 trades/month. Per-share is cheaper for high-volume traders: $0.0044 below 1M shares/month down to $0.0009 above 25M. You must choose at account opening and cannot switch later. Rate-tier changes require email/call request and take 1–2 business days, max one per month.
Does SpeedTrader offer IRAs?: No. SpeedTrader does not offer Traditional, Roth, Rollover, SEP, or SIMPLE IRAs — atypical for a US retail broker. US News attributes this to "a high-risk day-trading platform." For retirement accounts, use Fidelity, Schwab, or IBKR.
What were the FINRA fines about?: Two material 2024 actions: (1) a $165,000 AWC settlement for failing to supervise potentially manipulative trading (Nov 2017 – Jan 2020), inadequate market-access controls under Exchange Act §15c3-5, and AML program deficiencies — mostly involving direct-market-access to ~570 customers including China-based day traders. (2) A separate FINRA censure for Rule 606 / best-execution failures. SpeedTrader was also fined $595K in 2015 for similar supervisory deficiencies. FINRA BrokerCheck lists 16 regulatory events against Mint Global Markets.
Is SpeedTrader good for beginners?: No. The minimum deposit, monthly platform/data fees, complex pricing-model choice, lack of mobile-first design, and multiple regulatory events all push beginners toward Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood, or Webull. SpeedTrader is for experienced day traders who specifically need DAS Trader Pro plus integrated locates.

Notes

Active-trader platform. Strong short-locate on small/mid-cap names.