Tradier Brokerage Review: Flat-Fee Trading On Stocks, ETFs, And Options (2024)

If your trading needs are fairly basic or nothing out of the ordinary, most any brokerage will suit your needs. They're pretty much all commission-free at this point.

Tradier is an online brokerage that offers its own trading platform and an API for other brokerages to plug into. Tradier was formed in 2012 and is based in Charlotte, NC. Its CEO is Dan Raju.

Tradier has raised $6.1M through a Series A and another $24.6M in Series B. The average account size is $30,000 and does 150 trades per month.

Developers or advisors can use the Tradier Brokerage API to connect with a front-end or UI (user interface). The API brings data to the front-end.

When you use a traditional brokerage, all you see is the front-end trading platform. But it's still fed by an API. Tradier lets developers attach to a list of front-ends and there are quite a few there.

Dash is a web-based trading platform. It is included in the free plan and offers advanced orders, order and position sorting, paper trading, and the ability to view multiple chains.

This platform has over 1,000 active traders and over a billion API calls per month.

• Order entry
• Order management
• Risk analysis and simulation
• Alerts, charting
• Portfolio management
• Spread logs
• And lots more!

TradeHawk is part of the Pro plan, which costs $10 per month. Subscribers receive a free paper trading account that provides $100,000 of money to trade risk-free. Other educational resources include TradeHawk's pre-recorded video library and even 45-minute personal tours with TradeHawk Pros.

One of the downsides to TradeHawk, however, is that it only supports stock, options, and ETF trading. It should be noted that currently, futures trading isn't supported.

Tradier Hub

The Tradier Hub is where you can connect with other active traders. There are daily interactive shows from industry thought leaders, content around different trading styles, and general support to help you grow your investing skills.

You'll get access to different trading styles and can ask questions of and interact with experts.

Launching soon. If you want to trade Bitcoin or Ethereum on Tradier, you'll soon have the opportunity to do so. You'll get market research, trading access 7 days a week, and $1 trading minimums.

You can join the waitlist now for up to date information about the launch of this feature.

• Standard — Free. Includes commission free equity trades, developer API access, and access to mobile app and web platform. There is a $0.35 per-option contract fee
• Pro — $10/mo. Includes everything in the Standard plan along with commission free option trades, access to TradeHawk, and no IRA fee.

The per contract fee might look like a commission, but it actually isn’t. Before commissions were removed, brokers would also charge a flat rate to trade any number of options. Now it's only the per contract fee that is charged.

There are several miscellaneous activity fees, however, a few of which are listed below:

• Margin Interest — 9.50% (note that margin rates fluctuate)
• Outgoing Automated Customer Account Transfer (ACAT) — $75
• Outgoing USD Wires — $30
• Returned Check/ACH/Wire/Stop Payment— $35
• Mutual Fund Transaction— $30
• Option assignments/exercise — $9
  
• Broker-assisted order fees — $10 per order plus regular commission
• IRA Annual Fee — $30, waived on Pro plan
• IRA Termination Fee — $60
  
• Paper statement — $6 each
  
• Paper confirm — $3 each
  

Tradier claims to have great customer service, which means it should be easy to contact them. They certainly check all of the available contact point options.

However, we can’t say how long you’ll remain on hold when you call in or how long it will take them to respond to an email. Slow response times is a common issue across brokerage services.

To get started, visit Tradier and click the sign up button. The account opening process is basically like any other brokerage application. It requires filling in sensitive identification information, your trading experience, and linking a bank account.

However, it usually takes less than five minutes to complete the application.

The only way to really know if Tradier is worth it is to try it out. If you're into heavy customizations of your trading platform and do a lot of options trading, you might find a lot of benefit in a Tradier Brokerage subscription.

But to be clear, Tradier is oriented to developers, advanced traders, and those who require complex orders. If that's not you, you'll probably be better off choosing a broker that doesn't charge a monthly fee. You'll also need to look elsewhere if you're hoping to trade futures.

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