Tradier review 2025

Pros: Where Tradier stands out

Pricing for active traders

Tradier offers three pricing tiers for clients, reflecting its focus on active traders, especially those who are dealing with the faster-paced sections of the market, such as options and futures. The costs are divided into a monthly fee and a per-trade cost:

• Lite: No monthly fee. Stock and ETF trades cost $0.35, while stock and ETF option trades cost $0.35 per contract. Futures trading is not available at this tier.
• Pro: $10 monthly fee. Stock and ETF trades are free, as are options on stocks and ETFs. Standard futures contracts are $1.50.
• Pro Plus: $35 monthly fee. Stock and ETF trades are free, as are options on stocks and ETFs. Standard futures contracts are $0.75.

Besides these differences in pricing and available securities, the tiers offer a few differences in features. For example, the Lite tier charges a $30 annual fee for an IRA, a fee that’s waived at the other levels. The Lite tier offers a web app, a mobile app, and API access but not a desktop app. To get the latter, you’ll need to move up to at least the Pro tier. The differences between the Pro and Pro Plus tier center mainly around pricing — cheaper futures pricing and option exercise fees.

The baseline pricing for stocks and ETFs at Tradier is less competitive than what you could find at other major brokerages such as Fidelity or Charles Schwab, where trading is free. However, Tradier’s Lite plan does offer better pricing on options than what is the industry standard of $0.65 per contract, though many brokers have also slashed option commissions to zero as well. Those looking for no options fee per trade will need to move up at least to Tradier’s Pro plan.

Given this pricing, Tradier is likely a better fit for active traders looking to lower their costs, especially those who are trading options and futures. Average individual investors can find lower costs elsewhere and a wider selection of tradable securities at other brokers (more below).

Range of trading platforms

Tradier offers not just its own trading platforms — in a web version, desktop version and mobile version — but also those of more than 100 third-party developers. They use Tradier’s data and core platform to set up their own platforms and then provide access to Tradier customers. If none of those are to your liking, you could even set up your own trading platform here.

These third-party platforms may offer tons of trading tools, including stock screens, backtesting, trading indicators, portfolio management and more. Some platforms may give you expanded trading access, such as the ability to trade foreign exchange or buy fractional shares of stock.

That said, many platforms charge a further monthly subscription fee for these extra services, so you’ll want to carefully consider the incremental fees and whether the platform is worth it.

Margin rates

A margin account allows you to borrow money to buy securities, with the equity in your account securing the margin loan. The margin rates at Tradier come in at 9.5 percent, which is much better than the average broker, though not as good as the top (Interactive Brokers, for example).  Still, Tradier offers a good rate for those who want to access margin funding for their trading.

Cons: Where Tradier could improve

Available securities

Tradier offers trading on securities that are popular and among the most traded securities, but those choices are somewhat limited and don’t offer a few major categories that appeal to individual traders. For example, Tradier does not offer trading on online mutual funds or bonds, both of which may be more popular with longer-term investors rather than short-term traders. To place a mutual fund trade, a client must phone in the order and pay a $30 fee to make the trade.

That said, Tradier does feature the rarely offered category of futures, but this is a more niche area that is generally less popular with individual investors. And those looking for cryptocurrency trading, still fairly niche itself, will also be out of luck here.

Account fees

Tradier definitely hits you with a number of account fees that many other brokers have reduced and that some have eliminated entirely. Here’s a list of some common key fees at Tradier:

• ACATs transfer-out fee: $75
• Inactivity fee: $50 per year
• IRA annual fee: $30
• IRA termination fee: $60

A transfer-out fee remains fairly common, but a handful of brokers such as Fidelity and Interactive Brokers have eliminated it. The inactivity fee is a rare one these days. Tradier charges $50 a year for accounts that have less than $2,000 and made less than two trades in the year. Those thresholds are certainly not tough to meet, however, so it is fairly easy to avoid.

The IRA fees are also unusual these days, too. The annual fee of $30 can be avoided if you move up to the Pro or Pro Plus plans. The IRA termination fee is also one that the best brokers for stock traders have eliminated. The IRA fees in particular help show how Tradier is a broker for those who want to trade rather than for those who want to invest for the long term.

Mobile app

Tradier’s mobile apps receive mixed reviews, depending on the app platform. On Apple, Tradier receives a 4.4 rating (out of 5), though it’s from less than 150 reviewers. The situation on Google is decidedly worse, with the app scoring a lowly 3.2, albeit again on less than 100 reviews. If you’re planning on trading with the mobile app, you’ll want to carefully evaluate it to see if it meets your needs. If a mobile app is a necessity for you, then the situation here may be a dealbreaker.