Firstrade Review 2023: Commissions, Software & Service Tested

Firstrade’s huge selection of stocks, 2,200 ETFs, and Options all trade commission-free at $0, add to that an excellent platform, and you have a good choice of broker.

Firstrade Review Rating

Firstrade Rating	4.7/5.0
💸 Trades & Commissions	★★★★★
📈 Trading Platform	★★★★★
🙋‍♂️Customer Support	★★★✩✩
📰 Research & News	★★★★★
💵 Account Opening Balance	★★★★★
🔍 Regulation	★★★★★

Firstrade Review Summary

Our review testing shows Firstrade is ideal for investors seeking zero commissions trading on stocks, options, and an industry best 2,200 commission-free ETFs. Full MorningStar research access plus a full suite of IRA accounts mean Firstrade is a great choice for brokerage services.

What stands out is the unique offering of over 2,200 commission-free Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on offer. That is over twice as many as the next best competitor T.D. Ameritrade.

You also get entirely cost-free access to the suite of Morning Star research; only three other brokers offer free research of this quality. The Firstrade Trading Platforms Firstrade Navigator, Options Wizards, and Real-time Watchlists hold up well against the competition.

Firstrade Review: Key Features

⚡ Features	Free Stock & Option Trades
🏆 Unique Features	2,200 Commission-Free ETFs
🎯 Best for	Stock Traders & Investors
♲ Subscription	Monthly, Yearly
💰 Cost Per Stock Trade	$0
💻 Platform	Web/Mobile
🌎 Region	Global

Trade for Free With Firstrade

What is Firstrade?

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

Firstrade made the extremely bold move to commission-free trades. Firstrade was already our 2018 review winner and had the lowest commissions in the industry; now, they have officially the lowest with $0 commissions & fees. Although major competitors like TD. Ameritrade, E-Trade & Schwab had in 2019 moved to commission-free stock trades. Firstrade still leads the pack, as you will see in our commission’s comparison.

Firstrade Pros

• $0 ZERO Commissions & $0 Fees
• 2,200+ Commission-Free ETFs
• Free MorningStar Research
• Excellent Customer Satisfaction
• International Broker USA, Europe, Canada & Asia

Firstrade Cons

• No CFD or Forex
• No Cryptocurrency
• Slow Customer Service Responses

Firstrade U.S.A. & International Accounts

Firstrade is also an international broker allowing investors from many countries to take advantage of their commission-free trading.

Austria Belgium China Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hong Kong India

Ireland Israel Italy Japan Korea, Republic of (South) Macau Malaysia Mexico Morocco New Zealand

Norway Philippines Poland Portugal Singapore Spain Sweden Taiwan Thailand United Kingdom

 

Firstrade Fees & Commissions

Firstrade is still the outright winner in the commissions’ war with a $0 flat fee per trade and $0 per options trade and $0 per contract.

But what also adds to the appeal with Firstrade is the 2,200+ commission-free ETFs on offer, a lot more than any other broker reviewed in our Top 10 Brokers Review.

You can purchase Mutual Funds for $0, and Bond purchases are on a Net Yield Basis.

The only thing you cannot trade 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

You can see that Firstrade has a substantial focus on having the best commissions in the industry. Even though TD. Ameritrade, E-Trade & Schwab have now been forced to join the $0 Zero commissions bandwagon; Firstrade still offers the best value across stocks, options, and mutual funds.

Options Fees: Firstrade vs. IB vs. Fidelity vs. TDA vs. E-Trade vs. Schwab

Commissions	Firstrade	Interactive Brokers	Fidelity	TD Ameritrade	E*Trade	Charles Schwab
Online Stock Orders	$0	$0	$4.95	$0	$0	$0
Online Option Orders	$0	$1 + $0.50/Contract	$0 + $0.65/Contract	$0 + $0.65/Contract	$0 + $0.65/Contract	$0 + $0.65/Contract

Table 2: Stock Trades & Options Trade Fees

Explicitly looking at broker fees for the six big players, Firstrade maintains the lead even against Interactive Brokers (IB). Interactive Brokers also recently moved to $0 Zero fees for retail trades in North America but still maintains a fixed fee of $1 per trade and a blended rate of $0.50 per contract for international accounts.

ETF Fund Fees: Firstrade vs. Fidelity vs. TDA vs. E-Trade

	Firstrade	TD Ameritrade	Fidelity	E*trade
Number of Commission-Free ETFs	2200+	300+	93	200+
Morningstar Coverage	1100+	76	52	53
Number of ETF providers	100	8	2	13

Table 3: No Fee ETF Selection

Exchange-Traded Funds usually play a role in any well-balanced portfolio, and what I appreciate with Firstrade is that all “loaded” and “no-load” funds are zero fees. With over 2,200 funds to choose from, the selection will meet most people’s needs.

The Morningstar investment research service is part of the package, which will keep you up-to-date with analysis and fund performance.

Margin Commissions: Firstrade vs. TDA vs. Fidelity vs. E-Trade vs. IB.

Online Options orders have zero commission, while the major competitors still charge $0.65 per contract. Firstrade also has the largest selection of free to trade ETFs and Mutual Funds.

Margin Balance	Firstrade	TD Ameritrade	Fidelity	E*Trade	Interactive Brokers
$1,000,000 +	5.00%	7.75%	5.00%	7.00%	4.35%
$500,000 ~ $999,999	5.60%	8.25%	5.25%	8.00%	4.35%
$250,000 ~ $499,999	7.50%	8.25%	7.58%	8.50%	4.35%
$100,000 ~ $249,999	7.75%	8.50%	7.83%	9.00%	4.35%
$50,000 ~ $99,999	8.25%	8.75%	7.88%	9.50%	4.35%
$25,000 ~ $49,999	8.75%	9.75%	8.83%	10.00%	4.35%
$10,000 ~ $24,999	9.00%	10.00%	9.33%	10.25%	4.35%
$0 ~ $9,999	9.25%	10.25%	9.33%	10.50%	4.35%

Table 4: Firstrade Margin Rates vs. Competitors

Firstrade goes head to head with the major competitors on margin rates also. Firstrades financing rates are at least 1% to 2% lower on every tier of funding versus TD. Ameritrade, Fidelity, or E-Trade. However, if the margin is critical to your trading, Interactive Brokers is still the industry leader with 4.35% across the board for an IBKR Lite account; if you open a PRO account, you will get, on average, 3.35% or less, depending on your balance.

In summary, the Margin Commissions fees are higher than Interactive Brokers but still a lot lower than TD. Ameritrade and the other mainstream retail brokers.

Open a Commission Free Firstrade Account Now

Firstrade Trading Platforms

Firstrade has wholly rebuilt its trading platform from scratch, and the improvement is dramatic. Gone are clunky java programs, replaced by a fast HTML 5.0 platform. This platform is future-proofed and highly scalable. The user experience is clean, intuitive, and easy to learn.

Also, what we like is its price – Free.

The 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 is a compelling trading experience that runs locally on your PC or Mac.

The Firstrade App for Android & IOS has two cool features:

• Swipe left to quickly Buy or Sell right from the Positions page or watchlist.
• Face ID and fingerprint recognition feature ensures that you’re the only one who can access your account.

Heatmap & Sector & Industries Tool

To find a potential opportunity to trade, you can start with the big-picture view of the market and drill down from there. The heatmap is designed for short-term traders who need to see where the price action and volatility are on any given day.

Alternatively, you can utilize the sectors and industries to evaluate past performance and select a sector to review in more depth.

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, Ratings Changes, Economic Indicators, IPOs & 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 you instantly get a technical analysis for the stock, the bullish or bearish score. You can even sort your watchlist based on the bullish or bearish rating.

The image above shows the OptionsPlay Bullish and Bearish Ratings based on bullish, bearish, or neutral scenarios.

• Strategy 1 – Selling 100 Shares of the stock – A Bearish Strategy – Cost would be $6764 – with a mediocre score of 96 for the trade
• Strategy 2 – Buy the June 9th Put Options – Bearish – Cost $185 – Low probability Rating of 74
• Strategy 3 – Buy June 9th Put Vertical – Bearish – Cost $147 – High Probability Rating of 104

I like the implementation here, simple and intuitive.

OptionsPlay Trading Platform Walk-through

See how the whole OptionsPlay functionality works in the image below to overview the feature.

OptionsPlay Dashboard Walkthrough

1. Immediate feedback into the one-month and 6-month trend for the stock.
2. This particular fund is has a rating of 88 for a bullish strategy but only a 35 rating for a bullish options strategy. The beauty of this is comparing where you should buy the stock or utilize an options strategy.
3. The ability to then sort your list on the strongest score is excellent functionality.
4. Finally, the Profit & Loss simulator is excellent as it enables you to predict what your profits would be depending on how much you invest in the strategy.

   

Firstrade Options Wizard Video

Desktop 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 that you can embed into the dashboard. Studies and stock chart indicators are, of course, also included.

Firstrade Investor Services

Firstrade does not just offer free trades; they offer a suite of traditional services vital to long-term investors and retirees.

Traditional IRA

In a traditional individual retirement account, contributions may be tax-deductible; investments grow tax-deferred until a withdrawal. Retirement income planning with a Traditional IRA account will allow you to deduct all or part of your contributions from your taxable income. The investment earnings of your IRA are not subject to federal income tax until distributions (withdrawals) are made.

Roth I.R.A.

Unlike contributions to a Traditional IRA, contributions made to a Roth individual retirement account are not deductible. The significant benefit of Roth I.R.A.s is that earnings from investments are tax-free.

Rollover IRA.

If you’re changing jobs or retiring, you may use a rollover individual retirement account to keep your investments growing tax-deferred without incurring penalties. By directly rolling over assets from your employer-sponsored retirement plan into an IRA Rollover, you’ll defer your tax liability and may be able to avoid penalties altogether.

SEP IRA

A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP.) IRA is a written arrangement that allows an employer to contribute to employees’ retirement or personal retirement if self-employed, without becoming involved in an elaborate retirement plan.

SIMPLE IRA

SIMPLE stands for Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees; it is a written arrangement that provides a simplified way to make contributions to provide retirement income for employers and employees. Under this individual retirement arrangement, employees may choose whether to make salary reduction contributions to the SIMPLE plan. Also, an employer will contribute to matching or nonelective contributions on behalf of eligible employees.

Coverdell ESA

A Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA), formerly known as an Education IRA, is an account that helps you save money for the cost of elementary, high school, or higher education for a designated beneficiary. You can open multiple accounts on behalf of individuals under the age of 18 and make a non-deductible contribution as long it does not exceed $2,000 per child.

Custodial Account

Firstrade’s Custodial Account can help you save for your child’s education and build a nest egg that will contribute to their future financial stability. A Custodial Account lets you manage a minor’s assets on their behalf, gives you a gift tax advantage, and the flexibility to invest in any combination of stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and ETFs.

Firstrade Portfolio Management Services

Firstrade Stock Portfolio Tracker Features	Visit Firstrade
Watchlist Tracking	✓
Research & News	✓
Profit & Loss Reporting	✓
Performance Reporting	✓
Weighting & Rebalancing	X
Portfolio Asset Allocation	✓
Broker Integration	✓
Future Income & Dividend Reporting	X
Automated Portfolio Management	X

Firstrade Customer Support

Firstrade provides full email, chat, and telephone coverage; however, their response times have slipped, and it took them ten days to respond to a test request, and when I called, there was a 1 hour response time. However, they have had zero negative tweets or negative TrustPilot reviews in the last 12 months. Additionally, customers rave about the service, which is unusual; this means a 5-star customer satisfaction rating.

What I also like is they throw into the mix free access to Zacks Research, Morningstar Research & Ratings, Breifing.com & Benzinga (although not the real-time Benzinga PRO version). These third-party services are quite valuable, and considering Firstrade offers very zero commissions, they also add value through these services.

Brokerage Regulation & Account Minimum

Any US-based Broker should be a member of the following institutions.

Financial Industry Regulation Authority (FINRA) Membership.

FINRA is a nonprofit organization established to protect investors and ensure that the members comply with the law and the Securities and Exchange Commission rules. They audit all members regularly.

Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) Membership.

The SIPC is there to protect and hopefully recover any money lost if a Brokerage firm fails. Although Broker failure is rare, it can happen, and SIPC membership ensures that your account is protected up to $500,000.

Firstrade has all the protection required in the U.S.A, they are fully registered in the FINRA Database and have SIPC insurance.

Open an Account with Firstrade

Firstrade Review Summary

Firstrade is excellent for traders & investors seeking FREE ZERO Commissions trading on Stocks & Options, plus the industry best 2,200 Commission-Free ETFs. Full MorningStar access and 5-star customer satisfaction, plus a full suite of IRA accounts, mean Firstrade is an excellent choice for brokerage services.

Firstrade Master Data Sheet

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Notes on the Review

Customer Satisfaction Score (Star Ratings)

The customer satisfaction score was compiled using the following methodology.

The Twitter Accounts of the Brokers were scanned back for one year for any negative feedback from customers. Also, TrustPilot UK and USA were reviewed, and any negative comments counted against the broker. These two sources of information were combined to provide the star rating you see below.

★★★★★ – No Complaints & Positive Recommendations  (1 year)
★★★★ – No Complaints  (1 year)
★★★ – < 10 Complaints (1 year)
★★ – 10 to 20 Complaints (1 year)
★ – > 20 Complaints (1 year)

Review Methodology

Over 2000 data points were collected during this review. Brokers change services, terms, and commissions regularly. If you represent a Brokerage House or are a client and spot an inaccuracy, please leave a comment or contact us here, and we will endeavor to correct it.