10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested

In-depth Day Trading Software Tested

Our research reveals that the best day trading software are Trendspider, Trade Ideas, MetaStock, TradingView, and Benzinga Pro. Each offers benefits for day traders, like free stock trades, AI automated trading, real-time news, and powerful backtesting.

As a certified market analyst with over two decades of using and testing stock market software, I can help you choose the best day trading software to match your trading style.

10 Best Day Trading SoftwareLiberated Stock Trader Review & Test Award: Best of 2024.

  1. TrendSpider: Best for Scanning, Backtesting & Autotrading Day Trading Strategies
  2. Trade Ideas: Day Trading AI Buy & Sell Signals Providing Market-Beating Profits.
  3. TradingView:Β Best Global Platform for Day Trading Stocks, Forex, and Crypto.
  4. MetaStock: Best Software for Trading Systems, Forecasting, and Backtesting.
  5. Benzinga Pro: Real-time News Feed for Day Traders.
  6. TC2000 Brokerage: Best for Day Trading from Charts US & Canada.
  7. Firstrade: Best Zero Commission Broker for Day Traders.
  8. Interactive Brokers: Powerful Global Trading Platform and Best Margin Rates.
  9. Scanz: Good Day Trade Scanning, News, and Broker Integration.
  10. TradeStation: Automated Trade Execution.

Each day trading software platform offers a unique mix of pricing, services, and software to meet the needs of the day trader. Trading costs are also critical; choosing a low-cost or zero-commission broker can save you thousands of dollars annually.

Day Trading Platforms Ranking Table

Platform Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69
TrendSpider β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
Trade Ideas β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
TradingView β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
MetaStock β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…βœ©
Benzinga Pro β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…βœ©
TC2000 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…βœ©
Firstrade β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†βœ©
Interactive Brokers β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†βœ©
Scanz β˜…β˜…β˜…βœ©βœ©
TradeStation β˜…β˜…β˜…βœ©βœ©

What Is The Best Day Trading Software for Beginners?

Our extensive testing shows that Trade Ideas is ideal for beginners because it uses powerful AI to assist your trading and find good high-probability trades.

Trade Ideas’ artificial intelligence provides clear, specific, audited, high-probability trading signals and automated trading, which give you the best chance of being profitable.

The Best Day Trading Software Summary

According to testing, the top day trading software is TrendSpider’s backtesting, scanning, trading bots, and Trade Ideas with AI-automated trading signals and free stock trades. If you want to learn day trading from a vast global stock, Forex, and crypto community, then TradingView is perfect. If you want to day trade real-time news, then Benzinga ProΒ wins.

Best Day Trading Platforms Test & Comparison
Best Day Trading Platforms Test & Comparison
We independently research and recommend the best products. We also work with partners to negotiate discounts for you and may earn a small fee through our links.

Day Trading Software Test Summary

1. TrendSpider: Best for Scanning & Backtesting Day Trading Strategies

TrendSpider ranks number one as our leading day trading software. It automates important day trading tasks such as market scanning, backtesting, chart pattern recognition, trendline analysis, and auto-trade execution.

TrendSpider Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Charts, Watchlists, Scanning, Point-and Click Backtesting
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 AI Automated Trendlines, Fibonacci, Pattern Recognition, Trading Bots
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✔ (Broker Dependent)
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75
🎯 Best for Day Traders
💰 Price $149/m or $75/m annually
✂ Premium Discount 30% Off Monthly Plan Code "LST30"
50% Off an Annual Plan (No Code Required)
🌎 Markets Covered USA
Liberated Stock Trader Review & Test Award: TrendSpider - Best of 2024.
Liberated Stock Trader Review & Test Award: TrendSpider – Best of 2024.

Pattern recognition is gaining importance due to its ability to save time and achieve superior accuracy compared to human analysis. Chart patterns like the Inverse Head and Shoulders have proven highly profitable for traders, so having TrendSpider’s machine algorithms find and trade them for you is a distinct advantage.

TrendSpider’s Day Trading Features

TrendSpider offers cutting-edge features like automated candlestick, trendline, and chart pattern recognition. Backtesting and strategy development are made easy with point-and-click functionality that directly plots buy and sell signals on the chart.

Beyond this, TrendSpider provides a wealth of financial information, including news scanning, analyst estimates, rating changes, insider trading data, and seasonality charts.

To top it off, the 2024 launch of AI-powered trading assistance and automated trading Bot execution adds an exciting layer of innovation.

Running backtesting simulations with TrendSpider
TrendSpider’s powerful features are backtesting, pattern recognition, analyst rating changes, seasonal charts, scanning, news, and signals.

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Finding Day Trading Opportunities

Market scanning for precise criteria is a critical process for day traders. With TrendSpider, you can screen for any criteria related to price, indicators, patterns, earnings, dividends, analyst estimates, and stock splits.

For example, you can scan for companies that release their earnings in the next seven days, where analysts expect a positive earnings surprise, and where the news reports mention “Surprise, Surge, or FDA.”Β 

TrendSpider's powerful multi-layered screening and scanning features.
TrendSpider’s powerful multi-layered screening and scanning features.

TrendSpider stands out as our top pick for day trading software. One of the key features that sets it apart is its ability to screen for news, technicals, and fundamentals. This function lets traders stay updated with market movements, ensuring they make informed trading decisions.

Adding to its robust capabilities, TrendSpider boasts automated trendline, pattern, and candle detection. The AI-integrated assistant further enhances the software’s efficiency, allowing users to navigate the platform seamlessly. The powerful point-and-click backtesting feature proves invaluable for those looking to test their strategies before diving into actual trading.

One of the remarkable things about TrendSpider is that it includes real-time exchange data in its price. It covers a broad range of financial instruments such as US stocks, ETFs, options, Forex, crypto, and futures. Users can access over 220 charts and indicators, providing an all-encompassing market view.

Screening for price, indicators, news, analyst ratings, seasonality and insider trading with TrendSpider.
Screening for price, indicators, news, analyst ratings, seasonality and insider trading with TrendSpider.

To ensure users can maximize the software’s potential, in-person one-on-one training is included. However, it’s worth noting that TrendSpider doesn’t feature a social network, limiting users’ ability to connect with other traders on the platform. Additionally, the software is only available for use on US exchanges.


2. Trade Ideas: Best for Black Box AI Day Trading

Trade Ideas is an excellent day trading service, with its three AI algorithms providing high-probability day trading signals and automated trading.Β 

Trade Ideas Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Trading From Charts, Watchlists, Scanning, Backtesting,
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 AI Trade Signals, Automated Trading, 3 AI Bots, Audited Performance
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✔ – eTrade
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75
🎯 Best for Day Traders
🎮 Trial Live Trading Room, Free Weekly AI Trade
✂ Premium Discount -15% With Code “LIBERATED”
🌎 Markets Covered USA
Review Winner: Trade Ideas Best Day Trading Software
Review Winner: Trade Ideas Best Day Trading Software

Founded in 2003, Trade Ideas is a web & desktop-based software platform for finding day trading opportunities. Historically specializing in real-time scanning for trade opportunities, Trade Ideas now incorporates cutting-edge AI algorithms that backtest every stock in the USA for high-probability trading opportunities.

Trade Ideas’ Day Trading Platform

When you first open Trade Ideas on your desktop, the software feels extremely clunky and not user-friendly. Every pane in the screenshot below is a separate window, so you must resize all eight windows to resize the view. This seems such a hassle initially and seems to hark back to the age of Windows 98.

But, there is a good reason for this design. Like me, operating multiple monitors and large screens gives you endless flexibility and window configuration options. Also, even though they are fully separate windows, they can be linked and unlinked to provide a fluid experience.

Trade Ideas Platform, Channels & Charts
Trade Ideas Platform, Channels & Charts. (Note the Channel Bar on the Left)

So, although it is clunky and some of the most important functions are hidden behind right-click menus in certain windows, you start to get used to the design after a few hours.

Trade Ideas Day Trading Scanner

The Trade Ideas scanner system is at the heart of the Trade Ideas platform, which is unique. By clicking New -> Alerts, you can access the Alert Config Window, which gives you immediate access to over 40 trading scans. The screenshot below shows all the in-built scans categorized into Bullish, Bearish, or Neutral. You can easily select a potential day trading strategy depending on the overall market direction.

Trade Ideas Scanner
The Excellent Trade Ideas Scanner & Strategy Engine

One thing I love about Trade Ideas is that it has 30+ curated channels. These channels highlight theme-based trading opportunities, such as Electric Vehicles, Small Caps, Social Media, Earnings Plays, China, Biotech, Penny Movers, etc.

Trade Ideas Pro AI

The AI algorithms developed by Trade Ideas are the main reason you want to sign up. I had a lengthy Zoom session with Sean Mclaughlin, Senior Strategist over at Trade Ideas, to delve into how AI works, and I was very impressed. This company is laser-focused on providing traders with the best data-supported trading opportunities. There are currently four AI systems in operation.

Holly is 3 AI Systems Applying Over 70 Strategies Differently.

Holly AI

Holly AI is the original incarnation of the algorithms. Holly applies 70 strategies to all the US & Canadian stock exchange stocks, including pink sheets and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. 70 strategies multiplied by 10,000+ stocks means millions of backtests every day. Only the strategies with the highest backtested win rate of over 60% and an estimated risk-reward ratio of 2:1 will be suggested as potential trades the following day.

Trade Ideas - Holly Grail's Trade History
Trade Ideas – Holly Grail’s Trade History / Strategy & Exits.

Holly 2.0

Holly 2.0 is a more aggressive version of Holly AI, presenting you with more aggressive day trading scenarios. Trade Ideas operates three key trading styles with each AI engine: Conservative, Moderate, and aggressive. Holly 2.0 is aggressive.

Holly Neo

Holly NEO is a newer AI that seeks to trade real-time chart patterns. It utilizes a mix of the following strategies.

  • Pullback Long seeks to identify trades where the stock price is down and seeks to start moving up on higher volume.
  • Breakout Long – Where stock price breaks out through a key resistance or to new highs.
  • Pullback Short – identifying a short pullback opportunity in price.
  • Breakdown Short – a shorting opportunity where upward momentum breaks down.

Omni AI

Omni AI is also a real-time AI ideas engine, combining all the above strategies into a straight short or long trade recommendation. It is a new development and does not yet have a proven track record, but on viewing the recent trades, the performance looks good.

Trade Ideas Day Trading AI Video

Trade Ideas Day Trading Signals

One thing I like about Trade Ideas is that it visually shows you every signal buy and sell signal on a chart. I have highlighted a trade Holly AI (Holly Grail) recommended in the chart below. This trade for Cleveland Biolabs (Ticker: CBLI) made a 25% profit within 4 hours. Not how the buy and sell signals are depicted on the chart.

Get 15% Off Trade Ideas

As a partner of Trade Ideas, I requested a discount for all our readers. Use the discount code “Liberated” to get 15% off your first purchase, worth $340 when going for the premium service.


3. TradingView: User-Friendly Day Trading Platform for Beginners

TradingView is the best global day trading platform because it covers all stock, forex, and cryptocurrency markets globally and has the largest active trading community. Add to that excellent backtesting and real-time scanning, and you have a great choice for day traders.

TradingView Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Great Charts, Real-time Market Scanning, Strategy Development
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 Trading from Charts, Backtesting
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✔ – Tradestation
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✘
🆓 Free Launch TradingView For Free
🎯 Best for International Day Traders
🎮 Trial Free 30-Day
✂ Premium Discount -25% Discount Available
🌎 Markets Covered Global, Stocks, Forex & Crypto


Liberated Stock Trader Review Winner
There is no doubt about it; I love TradingView and use it every day. I regularly post charts, ideas, and analyses and chat with other traders. Many of the communities on TradingView are focused on day trading, and the service is first class.

TradingView pricing starts at $0 for the Basic ad-supported plan, Pro costs $14.95, Pro+ $29.95, and Premium costs $59.95 monthly. Opting for a yearly subscription will reduce those costs by 16%, representing a significant saving.

Pro+ is the most popular plan, enabling multiple devices and extensive features. Intermediate and experienced traders opt for the Pro & Pro+ plans. In contrast, only the most demanding traders would use the Premium service because it enables publishing scripts, indicators, and strategies.

With TradingView, you get full broker integration, you can place trades on charts, and it will take care of profit and loss reporting and analysis. It does not cover Stock Options trading or US Trading.

TradingView hits the mark on real-time scanning and filtering and fundamental watchlist; the list of fundamentals you can scan & filter on is genuinely huge. Any idea you have based on fundamentals will be covered.

Moving Averages Ribbon - Beautifully Implemented In TradingView
Moving Averages Ribbon – Beautifully Implemented In TradingView

News & Social Community. As soon as you connect to TradingView, you realize this is also developed for the community. You can look at community ideas, post your charts and ideas, and join countless groups covering everything from bonds to Cryptocurrency. The news feeds are fully integrated, including Kiplinger, DailyFX, Futures Magazine, FXStreet, and StockTwits.Β  Add that to the social network, and you have a great solution. The news service is only second to MetaStock with their Reuters Feeds.

Technical Analysis & Charts. With over 160 indicators and unique specialty charts such as LineBreak, Kagi, Heikin Ashi, Point & Figure, and Renko, you have everything you need as an advanced trader. With the Premium membership, you also get Level II insight, fully integrated.

TradingView Charts & Scanning - Ideal for Day Traders
TradingView Charts & Scanning – Ideal for Day Traders

Did I mention the charts are fast and beautiful?

Day Trading Systems & Backtesting

I have personally developed trading systems using TradingView, the Market Outperforming Stock ETF System (Moses), and the Stock Market Crash Detector. TradingView will enable you to develop your unique day trading system with some coding skills and imagination.

TradingView has an active community of people developing and selling stock analysis systems. Also, there are many indicators and systems from the community for free. The only thing you cannot do is forecast and implement Robotic Trading Automation.

TradingView for Day Traders Video

Try TradingView


4. MetaStock: Off-The-Shelf Day Trading Systems

MetaStock is great for day traders because it has superfast data, powerful backtesting, forecasting, real-time news, and a ready-built day trading strategies marketplace. Best for powerful charting and trading system analysis, excellent real-time news with global data coverage.

MetaStock R/T Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Powerful Charts, Watchlists, Scanning
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 Backtesting, Forecasting, Real-time News, Strategy Add-ons
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✘
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✘
🎯 Best for Day Traders
🎮 Trial 30 Day Free Trial
✂ Premium Discount 3 Months for 1
🌎 Markets Covered Global

Liberated Stock Trader Review WinnerIf you are a day trader who needs to experiment with building a system that works like clockwork, giving you an edge in trading, then MetaStock is the product for you. You cannot execute trades directly from charts, but backtesting and forecasting systems are a considerable edge in day trading.

The latest release of Metastock has been a big hit, with improvements across the board. Huge advances in scanning, backtesting, and forecasting make this one of the best offerings on the market. MetaStock is one of the biggest fish in the sea of stock market analysis software. Backed up by the mighty Thomson Reuters, you can expect fast global data coverage and broad market coverage, including equities, futures, Forex, ETF, and options.

Broker Integration. MetaStock does not natively provide broker integration, execution of trades from charts, or live integrated P&L analysis; it is designed as a broker-independent desktop application.

Fundamental Scanning and Screening. Using MetaStock Refinitiv, you can see an in-depth analysis of company fundamentals from debt structure to top 10 investors, including level II. Watchlists featuring fundamentals and robust scanning of the markets are excellent.

Real-time News (Winner) – MetaStock Refinitiv gives you integration with institutional-level news, analysis, and outlook. MetaStock is the fastest global news service available, including translations into all major languages.

MetaStock Screens
MetaStock in Action

Technical Analysis: Forex forecasting based on sentiment is an exceptional feature. Never mind the broadest selection of technical analysis indicators on the market today. MetaStock is the king of technical analysis, warranting a perfect 10 out of 10.

Stock Systems and Backtesting (Winner):Β  Another area where MetaStock excels is what they call the “expert advisors.” MetaStock harnesses many inbuilt systems to help you understand and profit from technical analysis patterns and well-researched systems as a beginner or intermediate trader. This is a key area of advantage. The biggest addition to the MetaStock arsenal is the forecasting functionality, which is fantastic.

MetaStock Video

Try MetaStock With a 3 Months for 1 Month Deal


5. Benzinga Pro: Best Real-time News for Day Traders

Benzinga Pro is an excellent platform for day traders because it enables you to trade news events by providing the fastest streaming real-time news service. Benzinga’s live squawk box and news sentiment categories are a serious advantage for day traders.

Benzinga Pro Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Charts, Real-time Market Scanning, SEC Filings
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 The Fastest Real-time News, Insider Trading
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✘
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✘
🎯 Best for Day Trading the News
🎮 Trial 14 Day Free
✂ Premium Discount -25% Code “SMARTER”
🌎 Markets Covered USA
Liberated Stock Trader Review Winner
Benzinga Pro Review – Winner

Benzinga PRO is neither a brokerage nor a stock market analysis charting package. It is simply the best real-time news platform for traders. If you choose any of the packages in this list that do not have a real-time news integration or service included, then, as a day trader, you will want to consider Benzinga as your go-to tool.

Benzinga PRO is the premium real-time news service upgraded from the regular free Benzinga news service. It is a significant upgrade that comes with a price. What makes it unique is not just the fast delivery of news but the insider interviews and direct access to the reporters at the news desk. They also have a considerable amount of news content unavailable to regular subscribers. So what makes it unique? The platform and content.

Benzinga PRO Day Trader News Platform

The news platform is exceptionally configurable and can run in multiple windows on multiple monitors. In the screenshot below, you can see how I have my Benzinga Pro interface configured.

  • My Current TradesΒ in the watchlist (middle white box)
  • Important News Only –I have configured the top right columns in red only to show me the critical, potentially market-moving news, which is a great feature.
  • Instant Company Details Drill Down – Bottom Right for Financial News, Calendar & Charts
  • Quick Access to Powerful Features – Stock Screener, Custom Alerts, Squawk Box, and Chat (Left-hand side)

Benzinga Pro is extremely powerful yet easy to use, which is often a delicate balance to strike and to top it all off, they have also added real-time price quotes to the service, so you can see when news breaks the immediate impact on the stock price.

Screen Shot - Benzinga Pro News Platform Highlights - Important News, Watchlist - Price Quites
Screen Shot – Benzinga Pro News Platform Highlights – Important News, Watchlist – Price Quotes

Recommendation For Investors & Traders With A Smaller Portfolio.

If you have only $5,000 or $10,000 to trade or invest, it does not make sense to go for theΒ Essentials Package for $117– per month; this would eat up too much of your investment, so choose theΒ Benzinga Pro Basic Package.

Recommendation For Traders With Larger Trading Positions

Suppose you have a larger portfolio with significant individual short-term trades in specific stocks. In that case, you will want to know the news and sentiment before anyone else and have ringside seats to the corporate earnings announcements and rumors. In this case, you will want to go for the Essentials Package.

If you are serious about trading in the stock market and need real-time access to the news that moves markets, then Benzinga Pro is a realistically priced and high-speed news service designed for traders. In this fast-moving world, Benzinga Pro is an effective tool.

Try Benzinga Pro


6. TC2000 Brokerage: Best for Day Trading Options

TC2000 is a great platform for day traders who want to trade stocks and options contracts directly from charts using the integrated TC2000 Brokerage.Β 

TC2000 Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Great Charts, Real-time Market Scanning, Custom Indicators
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 Trading from Charts, Options Strategies & Planning
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✘ – $1 per trade
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✘
🆓 Free TC2000 Platinum Free With Brokerage Account
🎯 Best for US Day Traders
🎮 Trial Free 30-Day
✂ Premium Discount -25% for Bi-Annual Subscription
🌎 Markets Covered USA Stocks, ETFs, Options

TC2000 is recommended for long-term investors in the USA & Canada with a fundamental bias who need powerful screening and excellent charts.

TC2000 has long been one of my favorite tools; I have been a subscriber for over 20 years and find the latest release another step forward. Endlessly customizable and scalable, the platform offers nearly everything an investor will need.

24 Options Strategies instantly Available Via The Options Trading Menu
24 Options Strategies are Instantly Available in the Options Trading Menu

Day Trading with TC2000

TC2000 Brokerage offers live trading for $1 per trade, which is pricey compared toΒ Firstrade or TD Ameritrade, which offers free stock trades. This service does mean a tight integration between the charting software and the brokerage house. Essentially, it means the holy grail, trading directly from charts visually.

Worden Brothers makes a clean sweep regarding trade management with full Broker Integration (if you choose them as your broker).

Options Strategies

Use the Options Trading button at the top of the chart to open Options Strategy tickets directly on the chart. The menu divides strategies into bullish, bearish, and volatility categories. Strategies include single-leg, multi-leg, and combinations of the underlying stock.

Multi-leg strategies then open as a single trading ticket on the chart.

TC2000 also offers a nice implementation of options trading and integration; you can scan and filter many options strategies and then execute and follow them directly from the charts.

Good profit and loss tracking reporting makes the package a well-implemented solution.

Opening A Stock Option Trade With TC2000

Opening An Iron Condor Options Trade With TC2000
Opening An Iron Condor Options Trade With TC2000

Industry Leading Live Trading

Looking at the image below, you can see from the chart how well-planned the order execution is. You can open an order and execute it based on a condition.

Trading Menus on Chart
Detailed Stock & Options Trading Menus on Chart

The interesting thing here is that conditions can be any technical or fundamental condition. So, you could theoretically execute a trade if the EPS for the last quarter exceeds 35%. Alternatively, execute a trade as the real-time price breaks through the Ichimoku cloud on higher volume. The possibilities are limitless and mind-boggling.

Try TC2000 Brokerage


7. Firstrade: Best Zero Commission Broker for Day Traders

The Firstrade Navigator trading platform is ideal for day traders, providing real-time data and commission-free stock, ETF, and Options trading from charts. Firstrade is also an international broker based in the USA, which is ideal for international day traders.

Firstrade Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Great Charts, Real-time Data, Screening, Morningstar Research, Mobile Apps
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 Free Stock, ETF & Options Trading from Charts, Optionsplay Platform
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✘
🆓 Free Trade for Free with Firstrade
🎯 Best for Frequent Traders
🌎 Markets Covered USA Stocks, ETFs, Options
Firstrade Winner Best Broker
Firstrade Winner Best Broker

Firstrade Securities has been in business for over 35 years and has gained prominence as the first large broker to offer commission-free trading in New York in the USA. Firstrade has received multiple awards for best value trading, customer service, and the “Clean Hands Kiplinger Award.”

Commissions are crucial for day traders; making ten trades per week at $5 per trade can amount to over $2,600 in trading costs per year. That is a considerable saving.

Firstrade is the best for commission-free trading, with no hidden charges, an industry-leading 2,200 commission-free ETFs, and $0 Optionsfrees. The core Firstrade set of excellent tools is free for brokerage clients.

You can also purchase Mutual Funds for $0, and Bond purchases are on a Net Yield Basis. The only thing you cannot trade with Firstrade is Forex.

Commissions: Firstrade vs. TDA vs. E-Trade vs. Schwab vs. Fidelity

Commissions & Fees Firstrade TD Ameritrade E*Trade Charles Schwab Fidelity
Online Stock Orders $0 $0 $0 $0 $4.95
Online Option Orders $0 $0 + $0.65/Contract $0 + $0.65/Contract $0 + $0.65/Contract $0 + $0.65/Contract
Online Mutual Fund Trades $0 $49.99 $49.99 $49.95 $49.95
Broker-assisted Stock $19.95 $25 $25 $25 $19.95
& Options Trades (+$0.50/contract) (+$0.65/contract) (+$0.65/contract) (+$0.65/contract) (+$0.65/contract)
Minimum Initial Deposit $0 $0 $500 $0 $0

Table 1: Firstrade Commissions vs. Competitors

Firstrade Trading Platforms

Firstrade’s trading platform has several components. The web-based platform is available for all clients. If you have an account balance over $10,000, you will have complimentary access to download the Firstrade Navigator software; this compelling trading experience runs locally on your PC or Mac.

Advanced Screener, Fundamental Data & Event Calendar

No product set would be complete without scanning and screening stocks based on the fundamental data. Firstrade’s attempt at this is pretty good; it does not match the offerings from Stock Rover, but it is adequate for most investors.

A new event calendar is also available, neatly broken into tabs for Earnings Announcements, Dividends, Rating Changes, Economic Indicators, IPOs, and splits.

OptionsPlay

Firstrade has put a lot of effort into the Options Trading Platform OptionsPlay. A first-class platform that focuses first on what kind of options strategy you want to implement. You can drill down through industries and sectors and instantly get a technical analysis for the bullish or bearish score for the stock. You can even sort your watchlist based on the bullish or bearish rating.

Finally, the Profit & Loss simulator is excellent as it lets you predict your profits depending on how much you invest.

Firstrade Optionsplay Dashboard
Firstrade Optionsplay Dashboard Walkthrough

Day Trading Platform – Firstrade Navigator

Firstrade Navigator is a well-designed and robust system with a lot of valuable information instantly available; this allows you to drill down into the details. Navigator is very customizable and has a selection of widgets to embed into the dashboard. Studies and stock chart indicators are, of course, also included.

Day Trading Platform - Firstrade Navigator
Day Trading Platform – Firstrade Navigator

Try Firstrade


8. Interactive Brokers: Global Day Trading Platform & Low Margin Rates

Interactive Brokers is a good choice for day traders because it offers free stock trading in the US and industry-leading low-marginΒ rates for traders using leverage to trade.

Interactive Brokers Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Charts, Real-time Data, Screening, Watchlists
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 Lowest Margin Rates, US Commission Free, Direct Market Access
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✔ – $0-$1
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✔ with Capitalise.ai Add-on
🆓 Free Yes
🎯 Best for Traders & Investors
🌎 Markets Covered Global Stocks, ETFs, Options, Bonds, Currencies

Interactive Brokers is ideal for active investors and day traders seeking low trading costs, direct market access for fast execution, and best-in-class margin costs.

Interactive Brokers (IB) is the grandfather of online discount brokers. Not only are they a long-established company, but it is also big.

It has a complete set of services, enabling you to trade practically anything on any market. Stocks, Options, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Foreign Exchange, and even futures and commodities. Usually, when a company is well-established and large, it loses its competitive edge. Not so with Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers Day Trading Platform

How do you find the in-play stocks with high volatility and a strong trend? This is the job of the trading platform. You need your trading platform to be fast, intuitive, and powerful. In this section, we rate the brokers on their choice of trading platform.

Interactive Brokers has a unique trading platform based on Trader Workstation (TWS). It is free to download and use as a client, and it is the single place to trade any and every one of the vehicles on offer from IB. It caters to everything: Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Bonds, Mutual Funds & ETFs.

Interactive Brokers Review: Trader Workstation TWS
Interactive Brokers Review: Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation TWS

9. Scanz: Real-time News & Scanning & Broker Integration

Scanz is a good choice for day traders because it has real-time news and market scanning, broker integration, and live trading from charts.

Scanz Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜†β˜†
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Real-time News & Charts, Screening
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 Trading from Charts, Broker Integration
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✔ TD Ameritrade/IB
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75 ✘
🎯 Best for Day Traders
🎮 Trial Free 14-Day
🌎 Markets Covered USA

I recommended Scanz for day traders who want a simple and slick workflow, real-time streaming charts, news, unique level II data, dollar volume information, and broker integration.

Scanz specializes in providing real-time data and news directly to your screen. Scanz has a high price point of $149/mo for the full news and scanning package.

Day Trading with Scanz

Scanz has introduced the “Chart Montage” functionality, enabling an ultrapowerful way of trading off the charts. This single window contains critical trading information, real-time streaming news, level 2 data, time, and sales. Also, Scanz is the only software to offer Dollar Volume data.

The Scanz Team has integrations with your broker to enable trading directly from the charts, saving you time while trading. Broker integration is enabled for TD Ameritrade, Interactive Brokers, two of the brokerage world’s powerhouses, and more are planned.

Scanz contains many technical and fundamental filters to screen on. But what is the key for day traders? With the ability to scan entire markets for liquidity and volume patterns to find volatility, you can trade for a profit. This functionality makes the Scanz a unique offering.

Scanz Fundamental Scanner in Action
Scanz Fundamental Scanner in Action

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Scanz News

I like the simple implementation; you can get the low down on contracts and deals between companies. This can give you an edge if you can quantify the deal’s impact on the company’s bottom line.

Scanz also focuses on the news but is let down by having no social integration.

Scanz Streaming News
Scanz Streaming News Scanning

Scanz does not offer as many chart patterns or indicators as its competitors, but it does not have to. Most people will only use 5% of the indicators available, and fortunately, Scanz covers all the important ones. The power here is in the technical analysis screening, which is fast, seamless, and flexible.

Read the Full Scanz Review


10. TradeStation – Good Automated Day Trading

Tradestation is recommended for full broker integration, trading from charts, and automated trading. Tradestation software is free for brokerage clients.

Tradestation Rating10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 69 β˜…β˜…β˜…
⚡ Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 72 Charts, Real-time Data, Screening, Watchlists
📈 Day Trading Features10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 73 US Commission Free Trade, Algo Trading
💰 Free Stock Trading10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 74 ✔ – $0-$1
🤖 Day Trading Bots10 Best Day Trading Software of 2024 Tested - 75
🆓 Free Yes
🎯 Best for Traders & Investors
🌎 Markets Covered Global Stocks, ETFs, Options, Bonds, Currencies

TradeStation is a leading brokerage house with excellent execution and low commissions, but did you know they have great software? TradeStation offers enough software and broker integration to stand tall with the other vendors.

TradeStation has real-time news but does not provide market commentary or a chat community. But do you need that? Some people do; it’s a factor to consider.

TradeStation offers TradeStation University a vast wealth of online videos to help you master their trading platform. They also have a morning briefing that you can tune into online, and their selection of professional analysts will give an opinion on the market action and potential strategies.

TradeStation has also cultivated a systems and strategies marketplace called the “Strategy Network,” where you can purchase stock market systems from an ecosystem of vendors or even contract someone to develop your system in the “Easy Language” code.


Summary: The Best Day Trading Software

Our extensive testing shows that Trade Ideas provides the best day trading software platform for helping you become a successful day trader. Powered by artificial intelligence, Trade Ideas provides clear, specific, audited, high-probability trading signals that give you the best chance of being profitable.

If you want to learn trading from a vast community, TradingView is the best choice. MetaStock is ideal if you wish to develop backtested day trading strategies. If you want to trade real-time news, then Benzinga Pro wins.

Finally, the best overall day trading platform for social integration and community learning is TradingView.


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