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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 options brokers 2026

Options is where broker quality shows most clearly. What matters: the per-contract fee, whether closing trades are free, how assignment and exercise are billed, and whether the platform can execute a multi-leg strategy as one order. A broker without spread orders forces you to leg in manually, taking execution risk at every step. Portfolio margin instead of Reg-T can halve the capital a book ties up.

Shows only brokers that accept clients from the selected country.

brokers rated
28
Data as of
30 Aug 2026
Where you live decides which brokers and promotions are open to you. The page language is independent of it.No country of residence chosen — all offers are shown.

Options

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 58% 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

Category score

Overall score: 4.6 / 5

Strengths in this category

Fees30%
4.6
Trading platform28%
4.8
Product range14%
4.2
Research12%
4.7
Stocks (per order)
Free
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
1 %
Open accountRead 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.

2Fidelity Investments logo

Fidelity Investments

The research-and-education benchmark for US investors, with the cheapest funds in the industry attached.

Ahead on Fees (4.7) and Research (4.9) — together those two carry 42% of this category's weighting.

  • USD 0 online US stock and ETF commissions, and Fidelity does not accept payment for order flow on equity orders
  • Zero-expense-ratio index mutual funds (the FZROX family) — no other major US broker matches this on fund cost
  • Options exercise and assignment cost USD 0, and buy-to-close orders at USD 0.65 or less are free
Group index 73/100Protection depends on your legal entity
SECFINRA, FDIC
StocksETFsOptionsCryptoBonds+2

Strengths in this category

Fees30%
4.7
Trading platform28%
4.5
Product range14%
3.9
Stocks (per order)
Free
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
1 %
Open accountRead 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.

3Interactive Brokers logo

Interactive Brokers

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

Ahead on Fees (4.9) and Product range (5.0) — together those two carry 44% 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, CBI, ASIC, MAS
StocksETFsOptionsFuturesForex+7

Strengths in this category

Fees30%
4.9
Trading platform28%
4.8
Product range14%
5.0
Stocks (per order)
0.05 %
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
0 %
Open accountRead 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.

Also worth a look

Rank 4 and below, ordered by category score.

Rank 4IG logo

IG

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

  • Experienced CFD and spread bet traders
  • Multi-asset traders who want one account

Volume rebate — CFD volume rebate at the Bermuda entity

Stocks (per order)
Free
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
0.8 %
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+9
  • Pros: Around 17,000 tradable markets in a single account — shares, indices, FX, commodities, bonds, ETFs, turbo warrants and crypto CFDs, subject to regional restrictions
  • Cons: The 0.8% currency conversion mark-up on foreign-currency CFD and spread bet trades is where much of the real cost hides — on a USD position round-trip it comfortably exceeds the spread
Group index 100/100
FCABaFin, FINMA, ASIC, MAS, JFSA, DFSA
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 5Saxo logo

Saxo

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 %
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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, FINMA, MAS, JFSA
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 6

moomoo

One of the most data-rich free trading platforms on the market — if you happen to live in one of the seven countries it serves.

  • Data-driven active traders
  • US options traders
Stocks (per order)
Free
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
n/a
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+3
  • Pros: Free Nasdaq TotalView Level 2 depth on the US platform — Webull charges USD 3.99 per month for comparable data
  • Cons: Available to residents of only seven countries — the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Malaysia and New Zealand — with no EU, UK or DACH entity
Group index 86/100
FINRAMAS, ASIC, CIRO, SC
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 7CapTrader logo

CapTrader

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 %
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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, FCA
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 8tastytrade logo

tastytrade

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
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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, NFA
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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

Rank 9Questrade logo

Questrade

Canada's biggest independent broker, now genuinely commission-free — with a 1.5% currency spread as the sting in the tail.

  • Canadian self-directed investors
  • Registered account investing (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP)
Stocks (per order)
Free
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
1.5 %
OptionsStocksETFsForex+6
  • Pros: CAD 0 commission on every Canadian and US stock and ETF trade, on both the buy and the sell side, with no ECN fees at all on Canadian orders
  • Cons: The 1.5% CAD/USD conversion charge is high and unavoidable unless you deliberately manage currency; on a CAD 20,000 US-stock purchase it costs CAD 300, dwarfing any commission saving
Group index 76/100
CIROOSC
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 10Nordnet logo

Nordnet

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 %
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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
FI
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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

Rank 11Kraken logo

Kraken

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
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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, SEC, CFTC, WY DoB, CySEC, VARA, BVI FSC
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 12LYNX logo

LYNX

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 %
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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, CBI, FCA
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 13Qtrade Direct Investing logo

Qtrade Direct Investing

Canada's best-researched discount broker — now commission-free, still let down by its mobile app.

  • Research-driven stock and ETF investors
  • Mutual fund investors
Stocks (per order)
Free
Minimum deposit
None
FX conversion
n/a
OptionsStocksETFsBonds+2
  • Pros: CAD 0 commission on equities, ETFs and mutual funds alike — the only Canadian broker of the three to make mutual funds free as well
  • Cons: Cash pays 0.00% on every balance up to CAD 2,000,000 — on a CAD 25,000 cash buffer that is roughly CAD 1,100 a year of foregone interest against a Wealthsimple chequing balance
Group index 76/100
CIROBCSC
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 14

Webull

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
OptionsStocksETFsFutures+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, FCA, ASIC, MAS, AFM
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Rank 15

Bybit

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
OptionsFuturesCryptoCommodities+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, AFSA, NBG
Protection depends on your legal entity
Visit brokerRead review

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.

Quick comparison

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

Best options brokers — Quick comparison
BrokerCategoryOverallFees30%Trading platform28%Product range14%OptionsMinimum depositRegulationAction
1Charles Schwab
4.64.64.64.84.2US$0.65None
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.

2Fidelity Investments logoFidelity Investments
4.64.64.74.53.9US$0.65None
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.

3Interactive Brokers logoInteractive Brokers
4.64.54.94.85.0US$0.65None
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.

4IG logoIG
4.54.54.04.74.9US$1None
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.

5Saxo logoSaxo
4.54.44.24.74.8US$2None
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.

6moomoo
4.34.34.54.63.8FreeNone
FINRAMAS, ASIC, CIRO, SC
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.

7CapTrader logoCapTrader
4.34.24.14.64.7€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.

8tastytrade logotastytrade
4.34.24.64.63.6US$1None
FINRASEC, NFA
Visit broker

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

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.

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

28 brokers rated

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

Fees30%Trading platform28%Product range14%Research12%Safety & regulation10%Customer support6%
  • 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(wi × si) + 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 Options — not merely advertise it.

Frequently asked questions about this category

More rankings

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