Although we like to see low costs in all our options categories (particularly for beginners), E*TRADE takes the best broker for beginning options traders despite not being the cheapes.
It offers options at $0.65 per contract, or $0.50 if you make more than 30 trades per quarter.
The reason E*TRADE prevails in spite of its pricing disadvantage is that it has an innovative platform, extensive tools, and excellent educational resources to help new options traders develop their trading skills.
Pros
- Comprehensive mobile app and robust options tools in the trading platform
- Spectral Analysis on Power E*TRADE visualizes key elements of your potential trade
- You can test strategies using the paper trading capabilities of E*TRADE Pro’s desktop platform
Cons
- Tiered commission schedule for options trades is higher than options-focused competitors
- No direct access to international markets or forex
The options order ticket now has options trading strategies built into it so you can easily pick one to match your risk tolerance and sentiment.
Selecting one of these also gives you a preview of how the proposed trade will impact your buying power. Built-in support like this combines with a deep library of educational resources to make E*TRADE our pick for best broker for beginning options traders.
