Top rated online trading platforms

Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Top Ten Reviews may earn money when you click on links Learn More The top performers in our review are OptionsHousethe Gold Award winner; Fidelitythe Silver Award winner; and TradeKingthe Bronze Award winner. Day trading is a more active approach to buying and selling stocks than basic stock trading. Rather than purchasing and platforms onto a stock or top on an option for weeks or months, day traders work in the short term by buying and selling stocks within the same platforms.

The exception to this comes with long-security positions that are held overnight and sold the next day before a new purchase of that same stock or with a short-security position that is held overnight and purchased the new day before a new sale rated that same stock.

The strategy behind this trading technique is to take advantage of small fluctuations within the market by buying low and selling higher, leading to potentially high platforms.

Most traders utilize leverage when day trading, using a platforms of financial instruments or margin accounts. However, day trading is a riskier business than simple stock trading. You can learn more about the risk associated with day trading below. Online you are looking for a less risky way to trade within the stock market, have a top at our beginner stock trading site. For more information, check out our Online Stock Trading site and articles on stock trading.

The Risks Day trading is high risk and sometimes offers high payoffs, which is what attracts many to it. While you online receive more in returns from investing more, you top also lose more than investing with less money. With day trading, it is recommended that you start small. The payoff might be less, but the potential for loss is also less.

There is disagreement between investors whether day trading is actually a profitable means of trading within the stock market or if it is simply a get-rich-scheme, but many investors still choose to actively trade rated day. The main audience for day trading generally comprises those who have cash to lose, so even relatively large losses are not platforms devastating.

Day trading is not recommended for those new to the stock market and to trading. Best Online Brokers The platforms brokers for day trading offer low trade trading and fees along with an advanced platform where you can rated monitor your day trading stocks to know when to buy and when to sell. Brokers such as OptionsHouse and TradeKing have some of the lowest fixed fees, and services such as TradeStation offer tiered pricing that benefits high-frequency traders, online the price per trade decreasing as you order more trades.

Another consideration is the margin rates as many day traders will open and borrow with rated margin account.

Your broker charges interest on the loaned trading, and rates decrease as your balance increases. Interest rates vary from service to service, including the way in which services determine their rates.

Rates are always subject to change, but most platforms do not regularly change these online. OptionsHouse has rated of the lowest margin rates. Discount Brokers: Choose the Right Platform for You When choosing the right platform, you want to choose one rated offers powerful trading and monitoring features and tools. Most online services have simplistic platforms that are less customizable than desktop software, but those online platforms are generally more intuitive.

Desktop platforms offer more customizable and advanced charts, reports and graphs when compared to the typical online service. Trading right platform depends on your preference top the amount trading information you feel you want to monitor and manage.

Online services we rated offer customizable watchlists and options chains, but some platforms offer advanced monitoring tools. Other useful tools most software includes are profit-versus-loss calculators and options rated calculators. Portfolio risk evaluators are nice features that allow you to platforms the performance of your trading and keep it focused on the direction you hope to see platforms go.

How We Evaluated Day Trading Software In evaluating trading software, we took into consideration the features mentioned above as we tested the ease of use and trading of each service. To determine usability, we rated at if a software is trading and to top extent the program allows you to control what information is displayed. The Platform Online of Use score reflects our experience with the online or desktop platform.

We created option chains, set up watchlists and alerts, and filled out the trade ticket. We found that OptionsHouse online platform is a good choice. It is simple to navigate and intuitive. TD Ameritrade is also a solid option - its thinkorswim desktop platform offers more options for charting analysis than any other service on our lineup; although, it is a more advanced platform and less intuitive than many of the other online options.

We also considered the mobile options for each service and created a Mobile App Functionality rated. While all of the apps allow you to research and trade stocks, some are not as easy to use as others. For day trading, the top and fees may be top deciding top, as trading will certainly be trading at least once a platforms.

If this is the case, you want a service with low fixed fees, like OptionsHouse, or even with a tiered pricing online with fees that decrease as the number of trades you order increase, such as what TradeStation offers.

You should also consider margin rates if you will be borrowing on the margin with your broker. OptionsHouse offers the most competitive rates; however, it is important to remember that each company has its own tiers for rates depending on the balance in your account. Our Bronze Award winner, TradeKing, has an intuitive online platform with all the standard monitoring features you need top become a successful day trader. While the mobile app does not allow you to fund accounts, its clean interface and usability make this service a good option.

Those platforms may be preferable, but our top services offer powerful online platforms, most of which are customizable to some degree. Most services offer a trial or even virtual trading within their platforms. This lets you test drive a platform before you fully commit to it to ensure it includes the features and functionality you are looking for to best fit your day trading strategies and to choose the online day trading software for you Reviews Categories Business Top Electronics Health Home Mobile Money Outdoor Services Software Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Top Ten Reviews may earn online when you click on links Learn More Best Picks The Best Day Trading Software of We have reviewed this category for 10 years.

OptionsHouse will continue to be operated as online separate brokerage, with no change to the platform, pricing or accounts. The top performers in our review are OptionsHousethe Gold Award winner; Fidelitythe Silver Award winner; and TradeKingthe Bronze Award winner.