The short answer
If your edge depends on tight pricing on multi-leg orders, tastytrade remains the per-contract cost leader and has the cleanest chain we tested. If you need global access, smart routing and serious analytics, Interactive Brokers is the professional's default — at the cost of a steeper interface. thinkorswim (now at Schwab) is still the platform polish benchmark, but its pricing is no longer the most aggressive in the field.
How we ranked options brokers
The contract commission war has run its course. Every platform on this list charges between $0.50 and $0.65 per contract — and most cap the commission on the close. So we scored differently this year. Of our 100-point budget, only 15 went to commissions. The remaining 85 went to the things that quietly compound across a year of trading.
- Per-contract pricing & caps (15) — including fees on multi-leg orders, assignment, exercise and closing.
- Chain & order-entry quality (20) — speed of greeks update, multi-leg builder, scratch-and-replace flow.
- Order routing & fill quality (15) — control over routing destination, evidence of price improvement.
- Analytics & risk visualisation (15) — P&L modelling, probability cones, scenario analysis.
- Reliability under stress (15) — behaviour during three high-volume sessions we tested deliberately.
- Education & community (10) — for an asset class where strategy literacy matters more than research.
- Funding & margin terms (10) — including portfolio margin where available.
The five brokers, ranked
tastytrade
Built by the team that founded thinkorswim and then sold it. They've designed the platform around three trader-friendly biases: cheap multi-leg orders, no commission on closing trades, and a no-jargon UI that doesn't pretend you're not trading derivatives. The Curve, the company's options-pricing visualisation, is still the best in the business for understanding probability and P&L before you click.
- ✓$1.00 per contract opening, $0 closing
- ✓Cleanest chain in retail brokerage
- ✓The Curve — best visualisation tool
- ✓Strong daily live programming
- ✗Weaker stock-only research
- ✗No mutual funds, fewer bond options
Interactive Brokers
If your trading is serious enough to argue about Smart Order Routing vs IBKR's Aggressive Sweep, this is your platform. IBKR's per-contract pricing isn't the lowest, but its execution quality — particularly on illiquid expiries and multi-leg orders — consistently beats peers. Portfolio margin, broad international access, and a risk navigator that genuinely earns its keep. The accessibility cost: Trader Workstation is not for the faint of heart, and the mobile app is a generation behind tastytrade's.
- ✓Industry-leading routing & price improvement
- ✓Portfolio margin available at $100K equity
- ✓Global options markets in one platform
- ✗Steep learning curve on TWS
- ✗Data subscriptions cost extra
Charles Schwab (thinkorswim)
Thinkorswim survived the Schwab acquisition with most of its character intact. The desktop platform is still the gold standard for charting and strategy modelling, the OnDemand backtester is unmatched, and the integration with Schwab's account ecosystem makes it the most natural home for an options trader who also wants a real retirement account in the same place. Pricing has lost some of its competitive edge — $0.65/contract is no longer a leader's number — but value adjusted for platform quality remains high.
- ✓Best desktop platform in retail brokerage
- ✓OnDemand backtesting
- ✓Excellent paper-trading parity
- ✗$0.65/contract is no longer market-leading
- ✗Mobile lags behind tastytrade
E*TRADE (Power E*TRADE)
Power E*TRADE is one of the more under-appreciated options platforms in the U.S. market. The strategy seeker tool helps you build orders by intent ("I want to limit downside on a $400 NVDA position") rather than by leg, which remains genuinely educational for traders growing into more complex strategies. Pricing is mid-pack — solid but not aggressive — and the mobile app handles spreads more cleanly than most.
Webull
Webull has matured into a credible options platform with $0/contract pricing on a basic plan and surprisingly good charting on mobile. Where it loses ground is in the workflow for repeated trades and in the absence of portfolio margin. For a casual options trader who places fewer than ten trades a month, the all-in cost is excellent. For anyone doing multi-leg work regularly, the lack of routing control becomes a meaningful drag.
Side-by-side fee comparison
| Broker | Per contract | Closing fee | Multi-leg | Margin* | FT Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tastytrade | $1.00 open / $0 close | $0 (capped) | Excellent | 9.25% | 93 |
| Interactive Brokers | $0.65 (Lite) / Tiered (Pro) | Same | Excellent | 5.83% | 91 |
| Schwab (thinkorswim) | $0.65 | Same | Excellent | 10.50% | 88 |
| E*TRADE | $0.65 (under 30 trades/qtr) | Same | Good | 10.45% | 82 |
| Webull | $0 basic plan | $0 | OK | 8.75% | 79 |
*Indicative base margin rate, May 2026. Tiered rates lower at higher balances.
Editor insights
Per-contract pricing is decided at the close, not the open
tastytrade's $0-on-close model isn't a marketing flourish — it's a structural advantage for traders who roll positions frequently. A typical trader rolling a 30-delta short put weekly for a year saves around $500 in commissions versus a flat $0.65 closing fee. That's not a rounding error; it's another month of premium income.
Beware "$0 options" pricing without reading the rate card
Some platforms advertise $0 per contract but recover the cost through exchange and regulatory fees, or via wider spreads on illiquid expiries. Compare the total cost of a representative monthly trade — not the headline number on the marketing page.
Portfolio margin changes the math at $100K+
Once your account reaches $100,000 in equity, IBKR and tastytrade both unlock portfolio margin. The real benefit isn't lower margin rates — it's the dramatic reduction in capital requirement on defined-risk strategies. A simple short strangle on a moderately volatile underlying can require 60-70% less buying power under portfolio margin than under standard Reg-T.