I applied for options and stocks trading platform platform; Robinhood, several months ago. I currently use eTrade; and while I love the platform for investing, it is unbearable for swing trading because of the high fees. This is where Robinhood comes in. It is touted as a zero commission stock and options trading platform. Unfortunately, after dozens of emails and countless calls to their customer support I have not been able to get and account approved and working on their app.
Luckily I stumbled onto Tastyworks a low cost options and trading platform that has been around for over a year. The trades are not free but it only costs $1.00 per contract + clearing fee: $0.10/contract + orf fee: $0.0378/contract to open but $zero + clearing fee: $0.10/contract + orf fee: $0.0378/contract to close. This is immensisely cheaper than eTrade $6.95 + $0.75/contract to open and close and options trade.
For example, Buying 5 call options at $1.00 per option would cost:
a. Tastyworks - Open Commission = 5 * ($1.00+$0.10+$0.0378) = $5.689, Close Commission = $0.00
Total: $5.689
b. eTrade - Open Commission = $6.95 + (5 * $0.75) = $10.70, Closing Commission = $6.95 + (5 * $0.75) = $10.70
Total: $21.40
What a difference in cost! Tastyworks does not have as many tools as eTrade but I use the eTrade tools for analysis and Tastyworks to execute the trade. You cannot beat 70% savings in fees.
Interactive Brokers works well for low fees too and good tools. It is designed for sophisticated investors and one does have to pass a test of knowledge to get an account approved.
I looked at IB and while their low fees are similar, their platform looked confusing and was not very user friendly.