Tastytrade Rating: 
Basics
- Stocks & ETFs: $0
- Options: $1.00 per contract to open, $10 maximum, $0 to close
- Mutual Funds: not available
Overview of Tastytrade
If you have been thinking about opening a brokerage account with Tastytrade, it’s probably because of all the good things you have heard about the broker. There are many good reasons for a trader to consider Tastytrade, as it is one of the most unique brokers in the industry. Especially when it comes to its investment technology and approach to options trading.
We have put together this Tastytrade review to highlight some of the most interesting aspects of the broker, point out some potential shortcomings, and to help you decide whether Tastytrade is the right broker for you.
Keep reading to learn more.
Getting Started With Tastytrade
Before getting into what makes this broker tick, it may help to have some background knowledge.
The team that started Tastytrade has been in the investment world for a long time. 40+ years, in fact.
Starting out as floor traders at the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Tom Sosnoff and
Scott Sheridan grew into several important phases of their careers over the years
following the exchange.
The two started a very popular trading platform called thinkorswim in 1999 and developed it for the next 10 years before selling it. After selling their first brokerage, the team went on to found Tastytrade in 2011. The new broker sought to create a completely new way for its customers to interact with the markets, and the tools and products available today reflect that goal.
Today, Tastytrade provides one of the most innovative options trading experiences that you can find. In addition, the broker has launched its own line of futures products, and maintains a dedicated learning network called tastytrade.
Account Types
The account types on offer at Tastytrade are similar to those that you would find at any modern broker. You can open an individual cash account, an individual margin account, IRA accounts, and several others. Creating a new account is a simple process, and traders can open several different types of account if they so choose.
Here is a breakdown of the available account types.
The Works – The Works is an individual margin account that comes with the necessary permissions to trade all of the Tastytrade products. Whether you want to create advanced options strategies, trade futures, or short stocks, it is possible with The Works.
We like that Tastytrade offers an account that is specifically designed for making trading more accessible. Applying for The Works is fast, taking under 5 minutes, and a response usually comes after a day or two.
Other account types available are:
Individual (Cash and Margin) – The Individual accounts are similar to The Works but with fewer permissions. As with any brokerage, Tastytrade makes some determinations about how much risk an investor should take based on their personal assets and experience level.
Retirement Accounts – Tastytrade also offers a good selection of retirement accounts. There are Traditional IRAs, ROTH IRAs, and SEP IRAs.
Corporate Accounts – Accounts designed for corporations, instead of individual investors.
Trust Accounts – Accounts designated for a trust.
International Accounts – Accounts designated for international customers (Except Canada)
Custodial Accounts – Tastytrade is in the process of adding custodial accounts to their account lineup. There will be UGMA/UTMA and Coverdell accounts available in the coming months.
Funding Options
The funding options at Tastytrade are similar to the account funding methods at nearly every other broker. You can fund by ACH, by wire, by check, or by using an ACAT transfer.
ACH transfers are initiated by connecting to a US bank to establish a relationship between your bank and Tastytrade. Once established, transfers can be made quickly and easily. It can take up to 5 business days for funds to land in a trading account using ACH, but the broker does give instant ‘trading funds’ to investors with at $2000 in their accounts.
Wire transfers are the fastest way to get funds into a Tastytrade account, but the process of setting one up is a bit more involved. You need to set up the transfer with your bank and provide your Tastytrade account details.
Check deposits and ACAT transfers take longer, with checks clearing in about 3 days and ACAT transfers taking up to 10 days. The benefit of funding a new account with an ACAT transfer is that you can transfer an entire brokerage account, including open positions.
Unfortunately, you cannot yet fund a Tastytrade account using a digital wallet service like PayPal, but we suspect that it may happen in the future.
Available Securities
One thing makes Tastytrade a good option for many investors is that the broker offers a healthy selection of securities that traders can invest in. It is also nice that all available securities can be traded seamlessly, using the same trading platform or mobile app.
Here are the available securities:
- U.S. listed stocks
- ETFs
- Options
- Cryptocurrencies
- CME futures (e-mini and micro)
- Small Exchange (Smalls) futures
Unfortunately, there are some popular securities that Tastytrade does not support.
Unavailable securities include:
- Mutual funds
- OTCBB stocks (penny/pink sheet stocks)
- Foreign stocks
Permissions
For stocks, ETFs, and their associated options, there are no specific permissions needed (other than the level at which you are allowed to trade options). For futures and cryptocurrencies, however, you will need to get permission from Tastytrade before you can take part in those markets.
You can enable both from the ‘Trading Preferences’ page. If you are trading from India, New York, or Hawaii, you are not allowed to trade crypto at Tastytrade.
Cryptocurrency Trading
Although we like the fact that Tastytrade provides access to several popular cryptocurrencies, there are some things that investors should be aware of.
First, there is no ‘wallet’ function to crypto accounts at Tastytrade. When given permission to trade crypto at Tastytrade, an account is created at Zero Hash LLC on behalf of you. Despite (and because of) this, the only action you can take in the crypto marketplace is to open new long positions and then close them. There are no derivative products available, and it is not possible to take short positions.
Another thing to keep in mind is that all the digital assets are priced in relation to the dollar. You cannot at this time trade crypto products against each other.
Here is a list of the available cryptocurrencies at Tastytrade:
Investor Resources
Another important aspect of any broker is the support that it offers to investors. At
Tastytrade, you have access to many types of support:
The first thing that you will likely notice is the in-depth FAQ and help sections. There are articles and descriptions on virtually every aspect of the platform and brokerage, and all the information can be located quickly using the built in search functionality.
No matter what type of information you are looking for, you are likely to find some literature about it.
If for some reason you cannot find what you are looking for in the help center, you can also access live help through the chat and AI assistant tool. Located on the bottom-right of every screen on the website, the tool gives access to all of the help material available.
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Follow Feature
Another important resource available to investors is the Follow feature.
The Follow feature is accessible through the trading platform and can be found by selecting
‘follow’. You will be asked to accept a declaration that the ideas listed on the feature are
for educational purposes only and you will need to agree to continue.
In short, Tastytrade has a lot of in-house traders that make up the Tastytrade trading team,
including the owners of the company. The Follow feature is essentially a trade feed that streams active positions that are opened and closed. The stream shows all of the information related to the position, including the strike price, the cost, the probability of profit, and the reasons that the traders took action.
It is also possible to follow specific traders from the lineup if you find one with a style that works well with your own. Some trade more aggressively than others, and there is also an account size feature that shows the type of capital that each trader is working with.
TASTYTRADE
In addition to the Follow feature, there is also a video feed that is live throughout each
trading day. The feed comes from TASTYTRADE and is the educational/discourse platform for the broker. Industry experts, as well as featured traders make regular appearances, and the topics of discussion are quite educational.
Trading Platforms & Technology
Probably the most popular aspect of Tastytrade is its trading platforms. You can use the browser trading interface, the mobile app, or the desktop platform to place trades in any of the available securities.
The desktop platform lightweight and fast, making it one of the most responsive in the industry. There’s a lot more to Tastytrade’s platform than optimal functionality, however. The platform includes a lot of smart analysis tools that traders can build strategies from very easily.
The Curve
There is a curve analyzer that allows you to visualize the profit/loss parameter of any trade that you wish to put on. No complex calculation is required to receive valuable risk/reward information on the fly. The Curve also shows useful data points like the expected market maker move, probability of profit, and more.
Intuitive Order Control
Another useful aspect of the trading software is the built-in, intuitive order control. By simply right-clicking an open position, it is possible to roll an option contract to a later expiration and set a closing bracket order that is based on a percentage gain and loss.
Charting
One area that Tastytrade struggles with is its charting. For basic charting, the desktop, mobile, and browser-based platforms all do well. However, there are limited third-party indicators available, and there are some justification issues when using certain combinations of timeframes and indicators.
It should be mentioned that charts in Tastytrade have come a long way in recent years, but it seems that their work is not yet done.
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Fees and Commissions
The fee schedule that you find at Tastytrade is yet another aspect of the broker that deserves attention.
In some cases, the fees at Tastytrade are lower than those at other brokers. And in other cases, not so much. Tastytrade rewards large orders, and you can see that in the way they have organized their pricing.
Here is a listing of Tastytrade fees and commissions:
The deepest discounts come with options, stocks, and ETFs. There are zero commissions on stocks and ETFs, and you only pay to open an option contract for stocks, ETFs, or futures.
Also interesting is that options for stocks and ETFs have a $10 cap per leg. So, if you wanted to open a 100 lot options position, you would still only pay a $10 commission. It is certainly a nice feature for traders who trade in multiple contracts.
Tastytrade Pros and Cons
As with all things in life, Tastytrade has features and products that can be viewed in both a positive and negative light. Here is our opinion about some of the broker’s strengths and weakness.
Tastytrade Pros
- Unique approach to options trading
- Industry-leading commission schedule for options
- In-house futures products (Smalls)
- Plentiful investor resources
- Actionable investment ‘inspiration’
Tastytrade Cons
- No pink sheets
- No foreign exchange-listed stocks
- Limited cryptocurrency trading experience
- Quirky charting lacks some important features
Summary of Our Tastytrade Review
There are many reasons to choose Tastytrade as your broker. Especially if you trade options and
appreciate the intuitive approach.
The Follow feature and live education put you in direct contact with the core team behind the
brokerage, and the low commissions and fees also make trading at Tastytrade more affordable than
at many other brokers.
You can also trade many securities from one platform.
You’d want to avoid Tastytrade if international and penny stocks were a part of your investment process. If advanced charting is something that you count on, the quirky charts would be another reason to avoid the broker.
All in all, there are certainly more pros than cons, and it would make sense to put Tastytrade
on your radar, if it isn’t already.
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