Firstrade Review 2020: Pros, Cons and How It Compares

Firstrade appeals to experienced investors with $0 trading costs and no per-contract fees for options trades, while beginning investors will appreciate its $0 account minimum to begin investing. Investors looking for long-term investments enjoy commission-free trades for all mutual funds.

With three trading platforms and a recently redesigned mobile app, Firstrade offers a strong brokerage experience whether you are a day trader or a retirement investor looking to open an IRA.

Firstrade is best for:

• Beginning investors.

• Mutual fund investors.

• Options traders.

• Free commissions.

• Native Chinese speakers.

Firstrade at a glance

Where Firstrade shines

Commission-free trades: Firstrade was a pioneer in commission-free trading for stocks, options and ETFs before a broker price war at the end of 2019 made $0 trades the industry standard. Prior to that, Firstrade was also the only commission-free broker to offer retirement accounts (unlike the original free-trade brokerage, Robinhood, which offers only taxable brokerage accounts). Rare among brokers, Firstrade doesn’t charge any per-contract fees for options trades — only Robinhood has a similar deal.

Free trades on all mutual funds: Most brokers have a selection of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, but then charge anywhere from $5 to $49.99 for buying or selling shares of funds not on that list. Not Firstrade. Uniquely among brokers we review, Firstrade doesn't charge a trading fee on any of the thousands of mutual funds it has on offer.

Trading platform: Firstrade has three trading platforms, including a desktop platform, Options Wizard and Firstrade Navigator.

Firstrade Navigator allows you to view your positions and balances and trade in your accounts all on one screen, with drop-and-drag customization of market-related information, charts and tracking.

A redesigned advanced screener helps narrow down your investment choices by categories like high-yielding quality stocks, large-cap growth stocks, “bargain basement” small-cap funds and dozens of other criteria. Options Wizard allows sophisticated analysis of potential losses and gains from options trading and more than 40 complex options strategies.

Research and education: Clients have access to free research from Morningstar, Benzinga, Zacks and Briefing.com. Firstrade’s new Market Heatmap gives a broad overview of the market trends, with bullish- and bearish-performing sectors visible at a glance. For options investors, Firstrade holds biweekly educational seminars to help newbies learn the ropes.

Mobile app: Firstrade launched its redesigned mobile app in July, which now includes intuitive swipe actions, a consolidated portfolio dashboard and upgraded research with advanced charting capabilities. The app instantly syncs with desktop platforms, and users can trade, transfer funds among accounts, view order history and create a watchlist to follow trading opportunities. The app is available on both Android and iOS.

Open to some international investors: Beyond the U.S., Firstrade also accepts clients from Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand and Mexico. (International investors must provide a foreign tax ID number and passport information to open an account.)

Chinese-language options: Native Chinese speakers will appreciate that Firstrade’s platforms are available in traditional and simplified Chinese.

Referral program: Firstrade is offering new and existing customers a free stock for themselves and a friend they refer to the brokerage. One out of every 100 has a chance to receive a free stock in Apple, Facebook or Microsoft, the company says.

Where Firstrade falls short

Investment choice: Professional investors may be disappointed that Firstrade offers no forex, futures or futures options trading to complement its rock-bottom pricing on option trades. But retirement investors have more than enough options to build and manage their portfolio with Firstrade.

The bottom line