thinkorswim, IBKR TWS, Webull, tastytrade, and E*TRADE — compared on execution speed, Level 2 data cost, hot keys, margin rates, and the PDT rule. Who wins depends entirely on how many trades you're placing and whether you're trading equities or options.
Schwab Referral — Potential Cash Bonus
Open a new Schwab account via our referral link and you may qualify for a bonus. thinkorswim included free.
Honest note: Many serious day traders run both — thinkorswim for charting, scanning, and options with a funded Schwab account, and IBKR Pro for direct-access equity execution on high-volume plays. The combination costs $0 in platform fees and covers every tool the other lacks.
$0 commissions · Free Level 2 · No platform fees
thinkorswim is the most complete day trading platform you can access for $0 per month. Hot keys, direct routing, paper trading with OnDemand replay, thinkScript scanning, and streaming Level 2 data are all free with a standard Schwab account. Paired with Schwab's $0 stock commissions and $0.65/contract options fees — and a referral bonus through our link — it's our top pick for most day traders.
Strengths
Limitations
$0.005/share · 5.8% margin · SmartRouting
For traders executing 50+ trades per day or dealing in penny stocks where per-share costs matter, IBKR Pro's $0.005/share tiered commissions dramatically undercut flat-rate brokers. Their SmartRouting engine actively seeks price improvement, margin rates start at 5.83% (about half what Schwab charges), and Trader Workstation is the deepest platform in retail trading — futures, options, forex, and global equities from one terminal.
Strengths
Limitations
$0 commissions · Free Nasdaq TotalView · 4am–8pm hours
Webull's standout advantage is that it offers Nasdaq TotalView Level 2 data for free — a service that costs $14–$25/month elsewhere. For day traders who depend on reading order flow and the bid-ask ladder, this is genuinely significant. Webull also offers extended trading hours from 4am–8pm ET, a solid desktop charting platform, and $0.55/contract options fees.
Strengths
Limitations
$1.00 open · $0 close · $10 cap/leg
If your day trading strategy revolves around options — intraday spreads, scalping credit, 0DTE plays — tastytrade's $0 close and $10/leg cap means you pay to get in and nothing to exit, no matter how many contracts. Streaming Greeks, IV rank, probability-of-profit displays, and a built-in options scanner make it the most purpose-built options day trading environment available.
Strengths
Limitations
$0 commissions · $0.65/contract · Power platform
Power E*TRADE is a solid day trading platform with a particularly good options scanner and a clean charting interface. Options commissions drop to $0.50/contract once you trade 30+ contracts/month, the platform has good heat map and sector rotation tools, and it's beginner-friendly enough that transitioning from passive to active trading is smoother here than on TWS or thinkorswim.
Strengths
Limitations
Before choosing a broker, you need to understand the PDT rule — it directly affects which accounts you can use and how you fund them.
If you make 4 or more day trades in a rolling 5-business-day period in a margin account, FINRA classifies you as a Pattern Day Trader. PDT accounts must maintain a minimum equity of $25,000 at all times. Dip below that and you cannot day trade until the balance is restored.
No PDT rule applies to cash accounts. You can only trade with settled funds, but there's no $25k minimum. Trades settle T+1 for stocks.
Futures contracts (/ES, /NQ, /MES, /MNQ) are NOT subject to PDT rules. Many small-account day traders move to futures for this reason.
The cleanest solution for equity day traders. Fund a margin account above $25k and the PDT restriction simply never activates.
The cells that actually move the needle for day traders: margin rates, Level 2 data cost, and per-trade commissions at scale.
| Cost Factor | Schwab TOS | IBKR Pro | Webull | tastytrade | E*TRADE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stocks & ETFs | $0 | $0.005/share (Pro) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Options (open) | $0.65/contract | $0.65/contract | $0.55/contract | $1.00/contract | $0.65 → $0.50 |
| Options (close) | $0.65/contract | $0.65/contract | $0.55/contract | $0.00 | $0.65 → $0.50 |
| Margin rate | ~11.8% | 5.83%+ | 6.99% | 8%+ | ~11.2% |
| Level 2 data | Free | Add-on | Free! | Add-on | Add-on |
| Platform fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Futures trading | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Account minimum | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Medal icons indicate category winner. IBKR Lite offers $0 commissions but lacks SmartRouting. Pro pricing shown.
| Feature | TOS | IBKR | Webull | tasty | ETRADE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot keys | |||||
| Direct order routing | |||||
| Level 2 / DOM | |||||
| Custom scanner | |||||
| Paper trading | |||||
| Market replay | |||||
| OCO orders | |||||
| Pre/post market | |||||
| Options scanner | |||||
| Futures + options | |||||
| Mobile streaming | |||||
| thinkScript/code |
thinkorswim is the platform that professional traders wish they had for free when they started. It costs $0. The only question is whether you're willing to spend 10 hours learning it.
Replay any trading day from the past in real time or at 2× speed. You can literally paper trade the 2020 COVID crash or last month's FOMC reaction. Nothing else in retail trading does this.
Fully customizable keyboard shortcuts for order entry, bracket placement, and position management. Combined with ARCA/NYSE direct routing, you control exactly where your orders go.
Build custom stock scanners using thinkScript — a proprietary but approachable coding language. Scan for RVOL breakouts, specific indicator conditions, or custom criteria that no built-in scanner offers.
Visualize the full risk profile of any options position before you place it. See P&L curves, Greek exposures, and breakeven prices plotted against price and time to expiration.
The one honest limitation:
Schwab's margin rates (~11.8%) are nearly double what IBKR charges. If you regularly carry $50,000+ on margin overnight, that gap compounds into thousands of dollars a year in extra interest. For options day traders who don't hold overnight positions on margin, this is a non-issue.
IBKR is the choice of professional traders because it's genuinely better on the two things that scale with volume: per-trade cost and margin rates. For traders executing under 10 trades a day, thinkorswim is probably a better overall experience. Above that threshold, IBKR's economics become compelling.
| Monthly Volume | Per Share | Min/Order | Max/Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≤300,000 shares | $0.0035 | $0.35 | 1% of trade |
| 300,001–3,000,000 | $0.0020 | $0.35 | 1% of trade |
| 3,000,001–20,000,000 | $0.0015 | $0.35 | 1% of trade |
| >20,000,000 | $0.0010 | $0.35 | 1% of trade |
IBKR's SmartRouting scans lit and dark pools simultaneously to seek best price. Unlike most retail brokers that route through payment-for-order-flow arrangements, IBKR Pro routes for execution quality.
Starting at 5.83% for under $100k, dropping to 4.83% above $3M. Schwab charges ~11.8% for the same balance. On $50k of overnight margin, that's ~$3,000/year in saved interest.
Full DOM, multi-asset order book, options analytics, risk navigator, futures, and forex from one terminal. Deepest toolset in retail trading — but comes with the learning curve to match.
Nasdaq TotalView Level 2 data typically costs $14–$25/month from most brokers. Webull includes it free with every funded account. For day traders who read the bid-ask ladder and order flow to time entries, this alone can save $168–$300/year compared to running it on thinkorswim or IBKR.
Bottom line: Webull is a solid secondary platform — excellent if Level 2 data is important to your strategy and you don't need hot keys or the depth of thinkorswim's toolset. Many traders run Webull for Level 2 visualization alongside thinkorswim for everything else.
Most retail brokers claim "fast execution." The difference that matters for day traders isn't milliseconds on individual orders — it's where your order goes and whether you're consistently getting filled at or better than the quoted price.
Schwab, Webull, tastytrade, and E*TRADE all use PFOF — they send retail orders to market makers in exchange for payment. This can result in slightly wider spreads and price improvement that goes to the market maker, not you.
IBKR Pro does not use PFOF on equities. SmartRouting actively seeks the best fill across exchanges and dark pools. For high-frequency day traders, this translates to measurably better fills over thousands of trades.
Both thinkorswim and IBKR allow you to manually specify routing destinations (ARCA, EDGX, BATS). Day traders use this to target exchanges with specific liquidity characteristics or rebate structures.
| Your Situation | Best Pick |
|---|---|
| New to day trading, want the best free platform | Schwab / thinkorswim |
| Execute 50+ trades/day or trade penny stocks | IBKR Pro |
| Need Level 2 data but don't want to pay for it | Webull |
| Intraday options: 0DTE, credit spreads, scalping | tastytrade |
| Transitioning from passive to active trading | E*TRADE Power |
| Trading futures alongside equities and options | IBKR or Schwab |
| Want to practice strategies before risking real money | Schwab (OnDemand) |
| Trading small account near PDT limit | Cash account at any broker |
With a referral bonus and the deepest free platform in retail trading
For the vast majority of day traders — including those executing 5–30 trades per day in equities and options — thinkorswim covers every tool needed at $0 cost. OnDemand replay, hot keys, thinkScript scanning, and direct routing are genuinely institutional-grade features. The only reason to choose IBKR over Schwab is if you're trading at volume where the $0.005/share tiered pricing and lower margin rates overcome the thinkorswim advantage.
Our Best Brokers for Day Trading rankings page gives you a fast comparison without the deep dives — ideal if you already know the basics and want to see the final standings.
If you execute 4 or more "day trades" (buying and selling the same security within the same day) in a rolling 5-business-day period in a margin account, FINRA classifies you as a Pattern Day Trader. PDT accounts must maintain a minimum equity balance of $25,000. If your balance drops below $25k you're restricted from day trading until it's restored.
Open a cash account instead of a margin account. Cash accounts are not subject to the PDT rule, but you can only trade with settled funds — so you can't immediately reinvest proceeds from a same-day sale. Alternatively, trade futures or options on futures, which are not subject to PDT requirements.
Level 2 (Nasdaq TotalView or similar) shows the full order book — all bids and asks beyond just the best bid/ask. Day traders use it to read supply/demand pressure, spot large institutional orders, and identify where price is likely to reverse or accelerate. Webull offers Nasdaq TotalView free; most other brokers charge $14–$25/month.
Yes. thinkorswim is included at no extra cost with any Charles Schwab brokerage account. There are no monthly platform fees, no data fees for standard Level 2, and no minimum balance. You only pay the standard $0.65/contract for options.
Interactive Brokers Pro has the best margin rates for retail traders, starting around 5.83% and decreasing with larger balances. Most other brokers — Schwab (~11.8%), E*TRADE (~11.2%) — charge significantly more. For day traders who use margin heavily, IBKR's rate advantage compounds quickly.