Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

Ranking

Best futures brokers 2026

Futures trading turns on round-turn cost, intraday margin and data feed quality. A day trader running five contracts a day pays about USD 1,900 more per year at USD 4 versus USD 2.50 round turn. Intraday margin matters as much: brokers offering USD 500 instead of USD 12,000 on the ES contract make small accounts viable — and margin calls far more likely.

Investor's country

Shows only brokers that accept clients from the selected country.

brokers rated: 25
Data as of: 30 Aug 2026

Country of residence:No country of residence chosen — all offers are shown.

Futures

The top 3 in detail

Why these three lead — derived from the criteria this category weights most heavily.

Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.

Charles Schwab

The full-service US giant that also owns thinkorswim, a professional-grade trading platform.

Ahead on Fees (4.6) and Trading platform (4.8) — together those two carry 60% of this category's weighting.

USD 0 commission on every online listed US stock and ETF order, with no share cap and no proprietary-fund restrictions
thinkorswim desktop, web and mobile are included free — full options chains, thinkScript, backtesting and paperMoney simulation
Options at USD 0.65 per contract, with the fee waived on buy-to-close orders at USD 0.05 or less
Around 7,700 no-transaction-fee mutual funds in Mutual Fund OneSource, plus USD 0 new-issue Treasuries at auction

Group index 93/100Protection depends on your legal entity

SECFINRAFDIC

StocksETFsOptionsFuturesForexBondsFundsCommodities+1

4.7

Category score

Overall score: 4.6 / 5

Strengths in this category

Fees32%

4.6

Trading platform28%

4.8

Safety & regulation15%

4.9

Product range12%

4.2

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 1 %

Open account Read review

Investing involves risk. Your capital is at risk.

Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Interactive Brokers

The cheapest serious route to almost every market on earth — if you can live with the learning curve.

4.6

Ahead on Fees (4.9) and Trading platform (4.8) — together those two carry 60% of this category's weighting.

US stocks from USD 0.0035 per share on the Tiered plan, minimum USD 0.35 per order and capped at 1% of trade value
Currency conversion at 0.20 basis points (minimum USD 2) — an order of magnitude cheaper than most European brokers' 0.25%–1.5%
Roughly 160 market destinations in 36 countries from a single multi-currency account, with 28 settlement currencies

Group index 90/100Protection depends on your legal entity

SECFCA

StocksETFsOptionsFuturesForex+7

Strengths in this category

Fees32%

4.9

Trading platform28%

4.8

Safety & regulation15%

4.8

Stocks (per order): 0.05 %
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 0 %

Open account Read review

Investing involves risk. Your capital is at risk.

IG

The most complete leveraged-trading operation in Europe — and it prices like it knows that.

4.5

Ahead on Safety & regulation (4.9) and Trading platform (4.7) — together those two carry 43% of this category's weighting.

Around 17,000 tradable markets in a single account — shares, indices, FX, commodities, bonds, ETFs, turbo warrants and crypto CFDs, subject to regional restrictions
Six top-tier licences — FCA (FRN 195355), BaFin, FINMA, ASIC (AFSL 515106), MAS and JFSA — plus a mid-tier DFSA licence in Dubai; the FINMA licence among those six is a full Swiss banking licence at IG Bank S.A., which puts Swiss cash under esisuisse protection
Zero commission on UK and international shares, and the GBP 24 quarterly custody fee was scrapped outright in January 2026 rather than merely waived for active traders

Group index 100/100Protection depends on your legal entity

FCABaFin

StocksETFsOptionsFuturesForex+8

Strengths in this category

Fees32%

4.0

Trading platform28%

4.7

Safety & regulation15%

4.9

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 0.8 %

Open account Read review

Investing involves risk. Your capital is at risk.

Also worth a look

Rank 4 and below, ordered by category score.

Saxo

4.4

A Danish bank that trades like a professional platform — broad, polished, and no longer expensive.

Multi-asset portfolios
Bond investors

Tiered — Improved pricing at higher account tiers

Stocks (per order): 0.08 %
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 0.25 %

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+7

Pros: Full Danish banking licence (Finanstilsynet licence 1149) and SIFI designation — a stronger structural safeguard than a broker-only permission
Cons: Currency conversion costs 0.25% over mid-market for EU and Swiss clients, and up to 0.60% at the UK entity's Classic tier — the single largest hidden cost for cross-currency investors

Group index 96/100

DFSAFCA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

CapTrader

4.2

Interactive Brokers' market access wrapped in German regulation, German support and a German phone number.

German-speaking options and futures traders
Active traders who want IBKR pricing with German support

Stocks (per order): 0.1 %
Minimum deposit: €2,000
FX conversion: 0 %

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+7

Pros: BaFin-supervised German investment firm (institution number 10156708) with a Düsseldorf address, German contract law and a free German hotline until 20:00
Cons: No Abgeltungsteuer is withheld. German investors gain a compounding advantage but must declare everything themselves via Anlage KAP, and a Freistellungsauftrag is not possible — for many people that alone rules CapTrader out

Group index 81/100

BaFinCBI

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

tastytrade

4.2

An options-specialist US broker: USD 1 per contract to open, closing commission-free — built by people who trade premium for a living.

Options premium sellers
High-volume multi-leg traders

USD 0 to close — No commission to close options positions

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: n/a

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+5

Pros: Equity options are USD 1 per contract to open, USD 0 to close and capped at USD 10 per leg — large multi-leg orders scale for free
Cons: FINRA censured and fined tastytrade USD 850,000 in 2026 for failing to run adequate best-execution reviews on equity orders routed to five payment-for-order-flow market makers between 2020 and 2023

Group index 82/100

FINRASEC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.

Nordnet

4.2

The Nordic default: a listed Swedish bank with SEK 1 minimum commissions — if you live in the right four countries.

Nordic residents
Long-term ISK savers

Stocks (per order): tiered
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 0.25 %

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+4

Pros: Commission from 0.25% with a SEK 1 minimum on Nordic orders up to SEK 15,600 — small monthly share purchases are genuinely viable
Cons: Residents of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland only — there is no route in from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or the rest of the EU

Group index 93/100

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.

Kraken

4.1

The most heavily licensed venue in crypto — and the only one that is also a chartered US bank.

Traders who prioritise regulatory quality
Crypto derivatives and margin traders

Stocks (per order): Free (US only)
Minimum deposit: €1
FX conversion: n/a

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+3

Pros: Wyoming SPDI bank charter through Kraken Financial — a full-reserve institution required to hold 100% unencumbered liquid assets against customer fiat, with a Federal Reserve limited-purpose master account
Cons: Entry-tier spot pricing of 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker is the most expensive base rate among major regulated venues, and you need USD 10,000 of 30-day volume before it drops below 0.40% taker

Group index 78/100

CBIFCA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

LYNX

4.1

The friendliest front door to Interactive Brokers in the German-speaking market — and the most expensive one.

German-speaking investors who want IBKR access without TWS
Options and futures traders

Stocks (per order): 0.14 %
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 0.01 %

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+7

Pros: LYNX+ is a genuinely good browser platform, and having it alongside full Trader Workstation access means you can start simple and grow into the terminal
Cons: The most expensive of the German Interactive Brokers introducing brokers on equities: 0.14% with a EUR 5.80 Xetra minimum and a USD 5.00 minimum on US shares, against CapTrader's EUR 4.00 and USD 2.00

Group index 80/100

AFMBaFin

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Webull

4.1

A desktop-grade trading terminal wrapped in a zero-commission app — with a support desk that lags badly behind the software.

US options traders
Chart-driven active traders

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: n/a

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+5

Pros: USD 0 commission on US-listed stocks, ETFs and equity options, with no per-contract fee — index options are the only equity-derivative exception at USD 0.50 per contract
Cons: Customer support is the standing complaint: Trustpilot sits at roughly 1.3–1.4 out of 5, with transfers and account access the most common themes

Group index 86/100

FINRACFTC/NFA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Bybit

4.0

The derivatives exchange that survived the largest theft in crypto history — and then got itself properly licensed in the EU.

Perpetual futures traders
Copy-trading followers

Stocks (per order): Not offered
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: n/a

FuturesOptionsCryptoCommodities+2

Pros: USDT perpetual contracts at 0.0200% maker and 0.0550% taker, with a deep book that makes Bybit the strongest derivatives alternative to Binance
Cons: EEA residents get spot and spot margin only. Perpetuals, options and TradFi contracts require the global platform, which Bybit EU customers may not use, because those products need a MiFID II licence Bybit has applied for but not obtained

Group index 57/100

FMAVARA

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Wealthsimple Trade

4.1

The best consumer app in Canadian finance, and the first broker in the country to make equity options genuinely free.

App-first Canadian investors
Options sellers and covered-call writers

Stocks (per order): Free
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: 1.5 %

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+3

Pros: CAD 0 commission on Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, plus USD 0 per equity and ETF options contract on every tier, including free assignment
Cons: The 1.5% CAD/USD conversion is the same as Questrade's. A USD account (CAD 10 a month on Core, free on Premium from CAD 100,000) removes it on the US trades themselves but not on the CAD you convert into it, which still costs 1.5% per transaction under CAD 10,000 and falls to 0% only from CAD 100,000; journalling at CAD 9.95 is the other way round it

Group index 69/100

CIRO

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

DEGIRO

4.0

A low-cost route to owning shares outright in Europe - provided you never need anyone to hold your hand.

Buy-and-hold ETF investors
Options and futures traders

EUR 0 commission + EUR 1 handling — Core ETF selection without commission

Stocks (per order): €3
Minimum deposit: €0.01
FX conversion: 0.25 %

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+6

Pros: ETF Core Selection trades cost EUR 0 commission plus the EUR 1.00 handling fee - among the cheapest ETF execution available to EU retail investors.
Cons: The EUR 1.00 handling fee lands on almost every order, so a EUR 200 ETF purchase costs 0.5% before anything else. DEGIRO is cheap per order, not cheap per euro invested.

Group index 81/100

BaFinAFM

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.

FP Markets

4.0

Twenty years of ASIC-regulated plumbing behind the widest platform choice in the CFD market.

DMA equity and futures CFD traders
Traders who want platform choice

Stocks (per order): US$0.02/share (CFD)
Minimum deposit: A$100
FX conversion: n/a

FuturesStocksETFsForex+6

Pros: Raw account at USD 3 per lot per side with EUR/USD measured at 0.1 pips and GBP/USD at 0.1 — competitive across the majors
Cons: No options of any kind — exchange-traded, OTC or CFD — so options traders need a second broker

Group index 68/100

ASICCySEC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

TradeStation

4.0

The systematic trader's terminal — elite backtesting and automation, priced for people who use it hard.

Systematic and algo traders
Active futures traders

Stocks (per order): US$5
Minimum deposit: None
FX conversion: n/a

FuturesStocksETFsOptions+3

Pros: EasyLanguage plus tick-level historical data gives retail traders genuine strategy development, backtesting and optimisation — not a toy backtester
Cons: USD 10 monthly inactivity fee unless the account placed at least ten trades or held a USD 5,000 average end-of-month equity balance during the previous 90 days

Group index 94/100

FINRASEC

Protection depends on your legal entity

Visit broker Read review

Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.

Quick comparison

The numbers that decide this category, side by side. Scroll right on narrow screens for every column.

Best futures brokers — Quick comparison
Broker	Category	Overall	Fees32%	Trading platform28%	Safety & regulation15%	Futures	Minimum deposit	Regulation	Action
1Charles Schwab	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.8	4.9	US$2.25	None	SECFINRA, FDIC	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
2Interactive Brokers	4.6	4.5	4.9	4.8	4.8	US$0.85	None	SECFCA, CBI, ASIC, MAS	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
3IG	4.5	4.5	4.0	4.7	4.9	US$1	None	FCABaFin, FINMA, ASIC, MAS, JFSA, DFSA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
4Saxo	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.7	4.7	US$3	None	DFSAFCA, FINMA, MAS, JFSA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
5CapTrader	4.3	4.2	4.1	4.6	4.0	€2	€2,000	BaFinCBI, FCA	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
6tastytrade	4.3	4.2	4.6	4.6	4.2	US$1	None	FINRASEC, NFA	Visit broker Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
7Nordnet	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.0	4.7	tiered	None	FI	Visit broker Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
8Kraken	4.1	4.1	3.4	4.5	4.6	tiered	€1	CBIFCA, SEC, CFTC, WY DoB, CySEC, VARA, BVI FSC	Visit broker Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Our methodology

How we build this ranking

No editorial gut feeling — a published calculation. This category shifts the weights of our rating model towards what its audience actually needs.

Weighting in this category

25 brokers rated

The pale tick marks the weight in the general Brokaro model.

Category weight
Base model

The formula

The category score is 70% the category-specific weighting and 30% the general overall score. A strong all-rounder therefore does not drop out simply because it fails to lead one single criterion.

Category score = 0.7 × Σ(w_i × s_i) + 0.3 × Overall score

Full methodology

Requirements to be listed

A broker that misses these never appears in this list, no matter how it scores.

The broker has to actually offer Futures — not merely advertise it.

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