5 Best Futures Trading Platforms of 2024 (2024)

Tastytrade is my personal favorite for futures trading. It’s a delightful platform with a great default layout and powerful tools. You can zap in and out of positions almost instantaneously. The futures pricing is attractive and the options commissions are even better. It’s best for chart traders rather than event-driven traders; the charts package is terrific, but the news and commentary is sparse.

• Futures: $1.25 per contract.
• Micro: $0.85 per contract.
• Small: $.25 per contract.
• Futures options: $2.50 to open, $0 to close.
• Micro futures options: $1.50 to open, $0 to close.
• Smalls futures options: $0.50 to open, $0 to close.

Tastytrade platforms and tools gallery

Tastytrade mobile gallery

IBKR’s futures commissions are super low. The commission for trading an E-micro contract or an option on a micro is only a quarter, and Trader Workstation is almost infinitely tweakable, loaded with tools, data, research, and news. It also recently added a vastly better chart package. Unfortunately, I find setting up a layout on Trader Workstation that works for me to be needlessly frustrating. Happily, IBKR seems to understand that many traders want a simpler workspace, so it’s in the process of rolling out a new and aptly named IBKR Desktop app.

Interactive Brokers has a restrictive compliance department, so it might be difficult to get approved for futures trading. I used a demo account to review futures trading at IBKR because, apparently, having a CFA and a CMT along with teaching investing at a business school isn’t enough for IBKR, and I have had no difficulties being approved for futures at the other brokers I test.

• Futures and options: $0.85 per contract.
• E-Micro and options: $0.25 per contract.
• Small (all contracts): $.08 per contract (no tiered pricing).
• Crypto: varies.

Interactive Brokers platforms and tools gallery

Interactive Brokers mobile gallery

A futures contract is an agreement to either 1) buy or sell a particular security or commodity at a future date, or 2) settle the difference between a future contract level (the strike price) and the future market price in cash. Futures markets were originally established to help farmers and other commodity traders manage business risks.

The agency that oversees futures trading in the United States is the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which delegates many powers and duties to the industry’s self-regulating body, the National Futures Association.

Futures trading happens 24/7 around the world, but trading hours vary by market and traders should be aware of any upcoming holidays. Equity index and other futures traded on the CME are typically available between 6 p.m. Eastern Time Sunday (the “open”) and 5 p.m. Friday (the “close”). Traders should bookmark the CME Group’s online trading calendar.

The per-contract cost depends on which instrument you trade. Interactive Brokers charges as little as $0.08 per Small Exchange futures contract. There are also E-Mini and E-Micro contracts and there are often options on futures contracts available. Each broker has its own unique pricing. Commission aside, some brokers also charge monthly platform fees and market data fees, so it’s important to consider all costs before selecting a futures trading platform. Exchanges also levy fees on trades, but they are uniform across brokers.

Each online broker requires a different minimum deposit to trade futures contracts. For most online brokerages, the minimum deposit is less than $1,000. Before you can trade futures, you must apply for margin trading and futures trading approval.

Futures trading may or may not be profitable, but it certainly can be exciting. Both the excitement and the potential profit (and loss) are tied to the tremendous leverage in futures contracts. For example, an initial intraday margin of approximately $2,000 could get around the same profit/loss potential of $35,000 in a Nasdaq 100 ETF (margin requirements vary over time and by broker).

Trading futures requires a funded online broker account with margin and futures trading approval. Once your account is approved, opened, and funded, research and determine which contract you want to trade, fill out the order ticket, then place your trade.

Yes, a margin account is required to trade futures with an online broker, but the margin requirements differ from stocks.

Unlike a margin loan to buy stock, futures margin is a deposit against potential losses rather than a loan. It’s more like collateral on a loan than a down payment.

The initial margin depends on the instrument being traded, but can be as low as 3% of the contract. Exchanges and your broker can change margin requirements at any time.

The margin requirement is typically a percentage of the value of the underlying asset that each contract controls. The exchanges determine the minimum margin percentages and brokers are allowed to go above the exchange minimums, so you should check your broker’s requirements, which could change unexpectedly.

Should the price of your futures contract move enough against you, you could be on the hook for variation margin, where you must post additional collateral or risk having your trade closed early.

Futures trading is very risky, because it uses leverage to magnify the impact of small movements of an underlying asset or index. For example, one Mini S&P 500 contract is equal to $50 times the value of the S&P 500. A one-point decline in the S&P 500 would lead to a $50 decline in the contract.

Interactive Brokers and tastytrade offer attractive pricing and powerful desktop platforms. Interactive Brokers is more geared toward professional investors and has much more news and research, while tastytrade is quick and convenient for individual traders.

Novice traders willing to pay a bit more will find Power E*TRADE’s web platform a great place to get started.

Fidelity does not currently offer futures trading. Investments provided by Fidelity include stocks, fractional shares, OTC stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, and, in some U.S. states, crypto. Futures and forex are not available. Read our full review of Fidelity.

Sam Levine, CFA, CMT, the lead writer for StockBrokers.com, has over 30 years of investing experience and actively trades stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and options on futures. He's held roles as a portfolio manager, financial consultant, investment strategist and journalist. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designations and served on the board of directors of the CMT Association.

Blain Reinkensmeyer, head of research at StockBrokers.com, has been investing and trading for over 25 years. After having placed over 2,000 trades in his late teens and early 20s, he became one of the first in digital media to review online brokerages. Blain created the original scoring rubric for StockBrokers.com and oversees all testing and rating methodologies.

For this guide:

• Whenever possible, we used our own brokerage accounts for testing. For several brokers, we used a test account that was provided to us.
• We collected multiple data points concerning futures trading for each broker.
• We tested each online broker's futures trading capabilities, including placing live trades.
• We took over 100 platform screenshots.

For this guide to the best platforms for futures trading, our research team compared pricing, including contract charges and margin rates, and evaluated each broker’s platform features, including its trading tools; quality of market research; app, desktop and web usability; and available order types. All research, writing and data collection at StockBrokers.com is done by humans, for humans. Read our generative AI policy here.

StockBrokers.com uses a variety of computing devices to evaluate trading platforms. Our reviews were conducted using the following devices: iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, MacBook Pro M1 with 8 GB RAM running the current MacOS, and a Dell Vostro 5402 laptop i5 with 8 GB RAM running Windows 11 Pro. In testing platforms and apps, our reviewers place actual trades for a variety of instruments.

As part of our data check process, we sent a data profile link to each broker summarizing the data we had on file and the data they provided us last year, with a field for entering any data that had since changed. For the brokers that filled out these profiles, we audited the information for any discrepancies between our data and the broker’s data to ensure accuracy.

As part of our review process, all brokers had the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones in a live meeting that took place in the fall. Meetings with broker teams also took place throughout the year as new products rolled out. Insights gathered from these calls helped steer our testing efforts to ensure every feature and tool was assessed.

We tested 17 online trading platforms for this guide:

• Ally Invest review
• Charles Schwab review
• eToro review
• E*TRADE review
• Fidelity review
• Firstrade review
• Interactive Brokers review
• J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing review
• Merrill Edge review
• Public.com review
• Robinhood review
• SoFi Invest review
• tastytrade review
• TradeStation review
• Tradier review
• Vanguard review
• Webull review