I've previously used Merill Edge and Share builder but after not being happy with their customer service I want to switch brokers. Right now I'm stuck between picking Trade Station or IB due their low commissions but I was wondering If anyone has used these and wants to let me know their opinion that'd be great.
hhiusa
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I am currently with IB. Their pricing structure cannot be beat. They have a tiered and fixed commission pricing schedule. Tiered benefits more active traders. I pay about $0.67 per 200 shares with the tiered pricing schedule. No matter what financial assets you trade, they have the best prices.
Tradestation charges $0.01/share and a minimum of $1 per trade.
IB charges $0.0035/share
IB passes the full amount of the add/remove liquidity rebate/fee to you. You can check the exchange's rates directly for comparison.
Tradestation
IB
Tradestation
IB
options-george
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Hi Nolan,
some additional info for you:
To date I have never used IB, but I do have had an account with TS for several years. All in all, I am very happy with their platform and data, and also with their customer service level.
A downside is that TS is sometimes a bit trickier to deal with for UK residents (like me) given that it is a US company.
I have heard a lot of good things about IB though, from beginners and seasoned traders alike, so I think either broker would be a good choice for you.
Hope that helps,
G
some additional info for you:
To date I have never used IB, but I do have had an account with TS for several years. All in all, I am very happy with their platform and data, and also with their customer service level.
A downside is that TS is sometimes a bit trickier to deal with for UK residents (like me) given that it is a US company.
I have heard a lot of good things about IB though, from beginners and seasoned traders alike, so I think either broker would be a good choice for you.
Hope that helps,
G
I have been using both for many years.
They are both good reasonably priced brokers with excellent services.
With Tradestation you get a top notch trading platform - if you have a decently sized account ($100,000) or you trade frequently the platform is free - that on itself is an amazing deal. As a broker is good but not as good as IB.
With IB with a single account you can trade equities, futures and forex. With IB you can trade plethora of markets worldwide. Commission are better - it depends how much you trade, but it could make a big difference if you trade frequently enough. With IB you can put and take money in and out of the account very easily online - with TS, banking it is a bit of a pain. IB margins are also better.
But I find the IB trading platform horrible. You need an extra software to trade - that can be expensive if you want to match what you can do with TS. Plus you may need historical data - TS comes with plenty of it. So if you get something like eSignal or Metastock the money you spere in commissions may go in software and data. Ideally you should have both - and that is what I do. Use TS for longer term position a keep over $100,000 to have the platform free and use IB for short term trading. If you have to pick one I would say IB if you day trade TS if you swing trade or longer.
They are both good reasonably priced brokers with excellent services.
With Tradestation you get a top notch trading platform - if you have a decently sized account ($100,000) or you trade frequently the platform is free - that on itself is an amazing deal. As a broker is good but not as good as IB.
With IB with a single account you can trade equities, futures and forex. With IB you can trade plethora of markets worldwide. Commission are better - it depends how much you trade, but it could make a big difference if you trade frequently enough. With IB you can put and take money in and out of the account very easily online - with TS, banking it is a bit of a pain. IB margins are also better.
But I find the IB trading platform horrible. You need an extra software to trade - that can be expensive if you want to match what you can do with TS. Plus you may need historical data - TS comes with plenty of it. So if you get something like eSignal or Metastock the money you spere in commissions may go in software and data. Ideally you should have both - and that is what I do. Use TS for longer term position a keep over $100,000 to have the platform free and use IB for short term trading. If you have to pick one I would say IB if you day trade TS if you swing trade or longer.
hhiusa
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IB has free historical data. They give you access to their APIs which will connect to their servers. eSignal is a prefabricated version of what you can do with IB gateway. Since IB lets you design your own front end application, you end up with the best functionality possible. I paid a developer $4K to design mine using their code. If you are willing to spend the money and effort, it is the better choice. If you just want a prefab program that already designed, then TS may be better suited to your needs. People seems to forget or not notice that IB offers a great deal of services in house. I prefer using in house services. Additionally, it may not matter much to some people, but TS does not self-clear and IB does.
