

At Firstrade, the numbers are 50% and 30%. On thinkorswim, initial margin is 50%, and maintenance is 25%. Margin accounts are available at both brokerage firms.

Thinkorswim is obviously the better pick here.

Firstrade doesn’t offer Level II data at any price. The data is free to both pros and non-professionals. Level II quotes can be accessed on the thinkorswim platform by clicking on the “+” sign in the lower-left corner. The broker’s late-night session opens 5 minutes after the closing bell and lasts until 8:00 pm. Fifteen minutes after the closing bell, the after-hours period begins and runs until 8:00 pm, EST.Īt Firstrade, the pre-market session starts at the same time as thinkorswim’s, but shuts down 5 minutes before the regular session (instead of 15). This early-bird session closes 15 minutes before the bell. Thinkorswim clients get to start trading an hour and a half before the opening bell. It does, however, deliver horizontal charting with some graphing tools. CNBC streams free of charge, and mobile check deposit is a feature on a separate TD Ameritrade app.įirstrade offers just one app, and it doesn’t have a mobile check deposit tool or any video news.

What we really liked about this platform is direct-access routing and the ability to trade forex and futures. Moving to mobile trading, thinkorswim makes another appearance with excellent charting capability. Charting is also much more sophisticated with hundreds of technical studies and full-screen mode. It provides more advanced order types than Firstrade’s trade bar. Thinkorswim is a desktop platform, something Firstrade doesn’t offer. A graph cannot be displayed the width of the monitor, but there are many tools, such as technical indicators and company events. Mutual funds and fixed-income securities need to be traded on web pages, which are able to get the job done.Ĭharting on the Firstrade site uses software borrowed from Morningstar. The tool provides real-time trade information, and option chains can be displayed above it. It can submit orders for ETF’s, closed-end funds, stocks, and options. On the Firstrade website, stocks (including over-the-counter and penny stocks), bonds, mutual funds, options, closed-end funds, and ETF’s are available.įirstrade offers a website with an excellent trade bar. On TD Ameritrade’s website, it’s also possible to trade mutual funds and bonds. On thinkorswim, it’s possible to trade ETF’s, futures, bitcoin futures, closed-end funds, stocks (including penny and OTC stocks), and currencies. TD Ameritrade/Thinkorswim: Get $0 commissions and ACAT fee reimbursement.įirstrade: Earn up to $4,000 cash bonus and $200 transfer fee rebate.
