TastyWorks Platform and Commissions

[dergol 3]

Anyone using the new TastyWorks options platform? I’m thinking of switching to it. Their commissions are $1 per options contract to open and no charge to close. No other fees, base or otherwise.  Only downer is that if u open an entity account (I.e., you’re trading under an LLC), they consider u a professional and charge you $120/month for real time quotes. Real time quotes are free for individual accounts.  Either way, cost of making 15-20 option trades a month should be quite a bit lower than the rate I worked out with TOS.  https://tastyworks.com/pricing.html Disclosure: I am not affiliated with TastyWorks and do not get any compensation from them for sharing this info. I am just interested to know if anyone uses them and if so what their experience has been.

[kirkr1517 108]

I use Tastyworks and it’s fine. I don’t think the platform is as good as TOS, but I love the savings on commissions. I still have an account with TOS so I use it for analysis, but then make my trades thru Tastyworks. All of my trading is done at work, so I use their web version.

[skydragon 51]

I give Tastyworks mixed reviews, as I would any of the brokers I've tried thus far (TW, TDAmerica/TOS, Schwab, IB).

It can be an annoying thing to do, but I think you really need to test drive a broker for yourself.  Without getting into specifics, I have found each broker I've used to either have a great feature that I wish all brokers had or to be missing a feature that I really want.  It depends on your personal needs and preferences.

Since you mention costs, I suggest looking into Tradier.  I haven't tried that yet, but SO has a pricing arrangement with them that may pay for itself in a just a trade or two (depending on your personal activity).  Sift through the forums, and you will find a LOT of prior discussion about them.

Also keep in mind that you are not limited to just one broker.  Sometimes I'll trade on one broker and use the tools on another.  That can have its drawbacks at times, but for me it works.

[Kim 7,488]

11 hours ago, dergol said:

No other fees, base or otherwise.  

This is not entirely correct - https://tastyworks.com/commissions-and-fees.html

Those fees apply to BOTH sides, buy and sell.

 

Exercise and Assignment $5

Options Regulatory Fee $0.0415 / contract

FINRA TAF⁴ - Option Sales $0.002 / contract

Clearing Fees - Options $0.10 / contract

 

[Mary 12]

IMHO - I think each of them (Tasty Trade, IB, and TOS) have their good and their down points.

TOS has superb information for the serious and analytical trader; but downside is the fees are terrible for the option trader.

Tasty Trade has good fees and very easy to use (you can learn the basics of using the platform within a few hours). Another benefit is you can start with a small investment and you are not limited in any option strategies.  Con: very limited data if you want to do any in depth analysis and this is why you might want to have TOS or IB in addition to Tasty Trade.

But IB is for the very intense and serious player. it's the best! Prices are good.  Only negative: Learning curve is steep and if you are just starting out with options you may be spending more time learning the platform, when you should just be learning the basics of trading options.

But as I said this is only my Humble Opinion.

 

 

[dergol 3]

Thanks for all the feedback. 

Kim, you are right. I mis-spoke about any additional fees. I should have made it clearer that I was largely comparing the main broker execution fees and what I was trying to get at was that there was no additional execution flat fee like the $10 one TOS imposes in some of their commission structures. For example, my commission with TOS is .60 per contract + 10 flat fee. I know there are other smaller incidental fees for clearing and regulation, but I consider those generally a wash. But I should have stated that outright to avoid any confusion or misleading statements. 

Thanks for pointing that out. 

[Djtux 543]

42 minutes ago, dergol said:

For example, my commission with TOS is .60 per contract + 10 flat fee.

You can always try to negotiate the commissions with TOS either with live chat or by phone.

[dergol 3]

50 minutes ago, Djtux said:

You can always try to negotiate the commissions with TOS either with live chat or by phone.

Thanks. Yes, that’s what I was able to negotiate. Either that or $1/contract and no flat fee. 

[Maji 203]

I use Tastytrades and chose them because of their low commissions for trading a few lots at a time. As stated earlier, their web based platform is easy to learn. However, they don't have the analytical tools that TOS offers.

[dergol 3]

1 hour ago, Maji said:

I use Tastytrades and chose them because of their low commissions for trading a few lots at a time. As stated earlier, their web based platform is easy to learn. However, they don't have the analytical tools that TOS offers.

Thanks, Maji.