Online Futures Broker - Ranking Discount Brokers by Lowest Rates

Discount Online Futures Brokers - Lowest Commissions

We have included the Online Discount Futures Brokers that have the lowest Commission Rates and Fees. We were careful to include all possible fees in the equation to make a fair comparison. Some Futures Brokers will publish "teaser" rates, but these are not true rates by the time you open an account. You need to take into account all fees that will be charged and then add them into the Round-Turn Commission Rates. Many Futures Brokers are not very direct when they publish their commission rates. Therefore, we have not included some Brokers on our site if they cannot provide us a direct answer on their commission rates for trading Futures and Options.

Where are the hidden fees? Some ads Futures Brokers publish may have extremely attractive rates. They do this in order for you to call them to open an account, because of the attractive rates. You will of course notice the real rates sooner or later and most likely keep the account, because it is a hassle to transfer, etc. We don't like this approach that some Futures Brokers use everyday. Here is what you need to ask upfront, before you even look at the account forms. Ask what their all inclusive "round-turn rates are. This may include: Commissions, broker fees, trading platform fees, exchange fees, nfa fees and account maintenace fees. The best Futures Brokers don't dance around the fees. They publish rates and fees on their websites and a breakdown of commission rates based on your number of trades monthly. These Brokers deal with high volume traders who don't play the bait and switch games.

Below are the Online Discount Futures Brokers that offer the best commission rates. Many of the will also offer a good deal of services to help with your trading. A rule of thumb is that the more trades you place, the better the rates you will get.

1. Apex Futures
ApexFutures.com is the least expensive Emini broker we could find that offers a free trading platform with no monthly fees at all and low daytrade margins. Their software includes a very fast real-time datafeed, advanced trading DOM and highly customizable charting package with over a hundred indicators. They also offer low daytrade margins like $400 per Emini S&P, and it seems a real live human being always answers their phone during market hours.

Rates: Just mention DeepDiscountFutures.com and get .99/contract in the Emini, which is $4.30/rt including all of the fees. They offer even lower rates for high volume traders.

2. Trade Station
TradeStation was originally a software developer for trading systems and backtesting. They have excellent trading software, which many feel is the best to develop trading systems. It was a good progression for them to get into the brokerage business. They handle Futures, Options and Stocks. Their typical user is probably a technical trader who is an active trader and seeks their trading platform and low rates. We rank TradeStation among the best Online Futures Brokers due to their low commissions and excellent sotware.

Rates: Average about $5 per R/T. Much cheaper if you are an active trader. Their Trading Platform and Data Fee is $99.95, however, it is free if you trade over 10 R/T per month.

3. Interactive Brokers Group
Interactive Brokers focuses on low fees, trading technology and speed. The are all vital factors for the Discount Futures and Options Trader. They rank as the Online Dicount Futures Broker with the lowest rates. IB has been a relative unknown among the retail futures trader for many years. They kind of let their rates and technology do their speaking. High volume traders certainly know this Broker. If you are seeking low rates for electronic trading, IB should certainly be on your list.

Rates:Their rates range from about $3.46 - $4.80 R/T for the Minis. You can get much lower rates if you trade more volume.

4. GenericTrade.com
Generic Trade follows the adage of "What you see is what you get." This purely online futures broker fully discloses everything upfront, including all fees, so you know exactly what you are getting with this broker. They have no sales brokers to try and upsell you to a full service account or ask for more money. They have a simple online trading platform at no charge and the Firetip platform at $59 a month.

Rates: Half turn commissions are .59 cents per trade plus fees, which are fully disclosed on the website. For the emini S&P, the total R/T cost is $3.50 which includes all fees. You do have to factor in the platform fee of $59 a month if you use Firetip. The good part of this discount futures broker is the same commissions apply regardless of account size and activity.

5. ProActive Futures
ProActive is a very competitive Online Futures Broker when it come rates, especially the eminis. You will need to check the trading platforms they have to offer. Some are free and others may cost you a per trade or monthly fee. If you need a platform that requires a fee, make sure you average that fee in when you compare other brokers.

Rates: Average price for electronic markets are about $4.50 per R/T. Rates go lower if you trade over 350 contracts per month. Open Outcry markets average between $7 - $12 per R/T.


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