Best Trading Platforms: Top Picks for Day Trading in 2025

What platform is best for day trading?

All of the trading platforms on this list impressed our editorial team of testers enough to be featured here. But based on our evaluation process, which averages the overall score of each broker along with their scores for stock and option trading costs, tradable securities, margin rates, mobile app and trading platform quality, execution quality and research availability, Interactive Brokers is the best overall day trading platform.

What are the best day trading apps?

All of the brokers on this list also have strong trading apps — in fact, each brokers' app is factored into our testing process. However, if you want to specifically dig into stock trading apps, we have a roundup of our picks here.

How important is execution quality?

Generally speaking, the more you trade, the more you want to consider execution quality. Time is literally money with day trading, so you want a broker and online trading system that is reliable and offers the fastest order execution. Many platforms will publish information about their execution speeds and how they route orders; we've included these details in our analysis and ratings as well.

How do you score mobile apps?

We score brokers' mobile apps based on their iOS and Android reviews — specifically, based on the simple average of their average scores on both app marketplaces. We also personally test each app by creating and funding an account, exploring the app's features and interface, and placing a few test trades. We share our testing results across the team to discuss what we've found and eliminate bias.

The brokers in this roundup impressed all of our reviewers, as well as a majority of reviewers on the iOS and Android marketplaces.

What's the best trading platform for beginner or new investors?

As noted above, Webull and Fidelity offer the best platforms for beginner or intermediate investors.

We also have a separate list of best brokers for beginners, which includes our analysis of not just the brokerage firm's trading platform, but also how well they score on other factors that appeal to beginners, such as educational resources about how to use those platform. Finally, we suggest looking for a platform that offers paper trading, so you can practice with simulated trades before the real thing.

What's the best platform for advanced traders?

Interactive Brokers scored the highest among the brokers in this roundup, and its platform is designed for experienced, active traders, especially the Pro offering. We'd also suggest looking at tastytrade, which really impressed our testers.

What is pattern day trading?

Pattern day trader is a designation under FINRA rules that is defined as someone who day trades four or more times within 5 business days. Those day trades must also account for more than 6% of the trader's total trades within the same period. Your brokerage can help you determine if you're a pattern day trader. If you are, you're subject to additional regulations, including the requirement to have at least $25,000 in equity in your margin account.

What stocks are best for day trading?

No one can predict individual stock performance to answer this question accurately, but there are a few things that make a stock at least a good candidate for a day trader to consider. Generally, those are stocks that are highly liquid, with large trade volume; relatively volatile, so you can buy low and sell high; and known to you (an understanding of the stock’s price history, and how it reacts to various events — earnings reports, economic shifts — is key). Here’s some detailed guidance on how to research stocks.

You can use your online broker or trading platform’s stock screener to look for stocks that seem ripe for day trading. We also have a list of the best stocks right now, based on performance.

What is trading platform margin?

Margin is essentially a loan from your broker. When you open a brokerage account, you’ll be asked if you want a cash account or a margin account.

A margin account allows you to place trades on borrowed money. Like most forms of borrowing, margin trading involves paying interest, and low margin interest rates were one of the criteria for this roundup.

Often called leverage, trading on margin can magnify your gains — and, in the worst-case scenario, your losses. To read more about margin, how to use it and the risks involved, read our guide to margin trading.

Should I use a platform that charges for stock and options trades?

Most brokers we review have eliminated trading commissions for stocks. A notable exception is the IBKR Pro plan from Interactive Brokers, which is nonetheless our top pick for day trading platforms. Interactive Brokers also offers a plan with no commissions for stock trading, IBKR Lite — and Pro users pay very low stock trading commissions (fractions of a penny per share) in exchange for lower margin rates and bulk discounts on options trades.

On that topic, free options trading is not as common as free stock trading. Many if not most brokers charge a per-contract trading fee, typically less than $1 per contract. However, a few of the brokers on this list have completely done away with options trading fees, including Webull, SoFi Active Investing, Moomoo, Firstrade, Robinhood and Public. The last of these, Public, has "negative" options trading fees — it pays users a per-contract rebate for options trades.

What investment selection do these trading platforms have?

All of the brokers on this list offer stocks, ETFs and options. All of them except for Robinhood, Moomoo and SoFi Active Investing also offer individual bonds. Some also offer more exotic assets that may appeal to day traders.

Interactive Brokers, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Public, Robinhood and TastyTrade all offer cryptocurrency trading. Webull does too, but it's in a separate app called Webull Pay.

Webull, Interactive Brokers, TastyTrade, Charles Schwab and E*TRADE also offer futures trading. Robinhood also plans to launch futures trading in the coming months.

How much money do you need to use these trading platforms?

This is a loaded question. The trading platforms on our list don't have minimum account requirements, but as noted above, you're required to maintain a minimum of $25,000 in equity to engage in pattern day trading. That equity can be in cash and eligible securities. That’s the minimum amount you need to maintain in your account; on top of that, you also need the money you’ll use to day trade.

But just as important is setting a limit for how much money you dedicate to day trading. Those dipping into this kind of active trading may want to risk only a small portion of their account balance — 5% to 10% of your investable assets, at most.

Is it risky to use a trading platform?

Using a trading platform isn't risky — many investors invest through trading platforms. But day trading can be risky. In short: You could lose money, potentially lots of it. Day trading is exactly what it sounds like: Buying and selling — trading — a stock, or many stocks, inside of a day. It’s all about making predictions and timing the market, with the goal of making a small profit on each trade. In an ideal world, those small profits add up to a big return.

But research has shown that only 1% of day traders consistently earn money; many, many lose it. It’s essentially a full-time job, because you need to constantly be watching — and timing — the market, waiting for your next move. It isn’t for beginner, or casual, investors.