The Best Online Broker for Options Traders

Today, almost every online broker offers options trading for their customers. There are also several that specialize in options trading. However, we believe that optionsXpress is the best options trading broker available.

OptionsXpress was founded in February of 2000 as the first online brokerage geared specifically towards options traders. Over the course of the last 10 years, other firms have joined in, but none have been able to match optionsXpress. As a matter of fact, Barron’s has rated them 4 stars every year for the last 9 years in a row!

What Makes optionsXpress the Best?

There are other brokers that offer cheaper commission than optionsXpress, but here is a list of things that optionsXpress has the the other brokers don’t:

• The best options trading platform on the market.
• The best options trading and education tools to help you make winning trades.
• Top notch customer service with extended customer service hours, free broker-assisted trading, and a knowledgeable staff that knows options trading.
• They’re on solid financial footing and account protection. With no corporate debt.
• The ability to trade stocks, options, bonds, futures, mutual funds and ETFs all in the SAME account.
• Mobile options trading, and an enhanced platform for more experienced traders.
• Free virtual trading account so you can try them before you make a deposit.

Trading Tools

optionsXpress offers many outstanding trading tools, but the ones we find most useful are:

• Trade and Probability Calculator - Allows you to calculate your potential profit and loss as well as probability of success before you place the trade.
• Trading Patterns - Allows you to find out what experienced traders are doing. All you do is enter a stock, option, ETF or future symbol to find new ideas popular with optionsXpress investors trading the same security.
• Strategy Scan - Allows you to find the best possible options trading strategies based upon your expectations of the underlying security.
• Xspreads® Spread Book - Spread traders have their own dedicated corner of the investing world at optionsXpress. Shop for potential spread trading opportunities by accessing liquidity information, spread chains and pre-filled trade tickets all in one convenient location.

Commissions

optionsXpress charges $9.95 for stock trades. For options, they charge $1.25 per contract with a minimum commission of $12.95. They charge $2.99 per contract for futures trading. optionsxpress is definitely not the lowest commission broker in the business, but if you look at optionsXpress from a total value standpoint, they are head and shoulders above the competition.

Trade Executions

What’s more important than all of the items listed above is their proprietary order routing system called, “XpressRouter®”. XpressRouter® insures that you always get the best possible execution on your trades. Any experienced trader will tell you that getting the best execution is worth way more money than saving a few dollars on a commission from a lower cost broker.