11 Best Options Trading Brokers and Platforms of January 2022
These brokers have the tools and research necessary for options trading, and offer low options contract fees.
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The best options brokers offer low options contract fees, quality trading tools, an abundance of high-quality research and the customer service necessary to support everyone from beginner investors to advanced traders.
While most of the brokers on our list of best brokers for stock trading would be a good pick for options as well, this list highlights brokers that excel in areas that matter most to options traders. Many of the below brokers also appear on our list of best online trading platforms for day trading.
Unsure what you’re looking for? See our post on how to choose an options broker and our options 101 guide for more on what can make or break an options trading experience.
The best options brokers offer low options contract fees, quality trading tools, an abundance of high-quality research and the customer service necessary to support everyone from beginner investors to advanced traders.
While most of the brokers on our list of best brokers for stock trading would be a good pick for options as well, this list highlights brokers that excel in areas that matter most to options traders. Many of the below brokers also appear on our list of best online trading platforms for day trading.
Unsure what you’re looking for? See our post on how to choose an options broker and our options 101 guide for more on what can make or break an options trading experience.
Best Options Trading Brokers and Platforms
| Broker | NerdWallet Rating | Fees | Account Minimum | Promotion | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Merrill Edge Learn more on Merrill Edge's website | $0 per trade | $0 | Up to $600 when you invest in a new Merrill Edge® Self-Directed account. | Learn more on Merrill Edge's website | |
 Fidelity Learn more on Fidelity's website | $0 per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on Fidelity's website | |
 E*TRADE Learn more on E*TRADE's website | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on E*TRADE's website | |
 TD Ameritrade Learn more on TD Ameritrade's website | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on TD Ameritrade's website | |
 J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Learn more on J.P. Morgan's website | $0 per trade | $0 | Get up to $625 when you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money | Learn more on J.P. Morgan's website |
on Merrill Edge's website
Merrill Edge
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Up to $600when you invest in a new Merrill Edge® Self-Directed account.
on Merrill Edge's website
on Fidelity's website
Fidelity
Fees
$0per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on Fidelity's website
on E*TRADE's website
E*TRADE
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on E*TRADE's website
on TD Ameritrade's website
TD Ameritrade
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on TD Ameritrade's website
on J.P. Morgan's website
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Get up to $625when you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money
on J.P. Morgan's website
on Interactive Brokers's website
Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Noneno promotion available at this time
on Interactive Brokers's website
on Webull's website
Webull
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Get 2 free stocksvalued up to $3300 when you open and fund an account. Promotion ends 1/31/21.
on Webull's website
on TradeStation's website
TradeStation
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$500Promotion
$50 - $5,000cash credit with a minimum deposit of $5,000
on TradeStation's website
Firstrade
Fees
$0per trade
Account Minimum
$0Promotion
Up to $200in Transfer Fee Rebates
Want to compare more options? Here are our other top picks:
Disclosure: The author held no positions in the aforementioned securities at the time of publication.
Last updated on January 13, 2022
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Methodology
How do we review brokers?
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers by assets under management, along with emerging industry players. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.
To recap our selections...
