Diksia.com - Futures trading is a popular and profitable way to speculate on the price movements of various assets, such as commodities, currencies, indices, and cryptocurrencies. Futures contracts are agreements to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price and date in the future. By trading futures, you can leverage your capital, hedge your risks, and diversify your portfolio.
However, futures trading is not for everyone. It requires a high level of skill, knowledge, and discipline, as well as a reliable and robust trading platform. A good futures trading platform should offer you the following features:
- Low commissions and fees
- A wide range of futures contracts and markets
- Advanced trading tools and order types
- Fast and reliable execution and data feed
- User-friendly interface and customization options
- Educational resources and customer support
In this article, we will review some of the best futures trading platforms available in 2024, based on these criteria. We will also provide some tips on how to choose the right platform for your trading style and goals.
E*TRADE: Best for Futures Education
ETRADE is one of the oldest and most reputable online brokers, offering trading and investing services for various asset classes, including futures. ETRADE’s futures trading platform is easy to use and supports multiple U.S. markets, such as CME Group and CFE.
ETRADE’s main advantage is its extensive educational content and resources, which can help you learn and improve your futures trading skills. ETRADE offers webinars, videos, articles, courses, and podcasts on various topics related to futures trading, such as strategies, risk management, technical analysis, and market trends. You can also access a demo account for paper trading and practice your skills without risking real money.
ETRADE charges $1.50 per contract, per side for futures trading, plus exchange, clearing, and NFA fees. The margin requirements are 50% for day trades and 100% for overnight positions, except for IRA accounts, which have higher rates. ETRADE does not offer access to international futures markets.
Interactive Brokers: Best for Professional Futures Traders
Interactive Brokers is a leading online broker that caters to professional and sophisticated traders, offering access to over 135 markets worldwide, including futures, options, stocks, forex, bonds, and more. Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation (TWS) platform is one of the most advanced and powerful trading platforms in the industry, offering a plethora of trading tools and order types, such as algorithmic trading, conditional orders, basket orders, and more.
Interactive Brokers also offers low commissions and margin rates for futures trading, starting from $0.85 per contract, per side, plus exchange, clearing, and NFA fees. The margin requirements vary depending on the contract and market, but they are generally lower than the industry average. Interactive Brokers also offers a tiered pricing plan for high-volume traders, which can reduce the commissions further.
However, Interactive Brokers is not beginner-friendly, as its platform is complex and requires a steep learning curve. Interactive Brokers also has restrictive trading permissions and account minimums, which may limit some traders from accessing certain markets and products.
TradeStation: Great Platforms and Low Commissions
TradeStation is another online broker that specializes in active and experienced traders, offering trading and investing services for various asset classes, including futures. TradeStation’s futures trading platform is available in both desktop and web versions, as well as a mobile app. TradeStation’s platform is user-friendly and customizable, offering a range of trading tools and order types, such as charting, scanning, backtesting, automation, and more.
TradeStation also offers competitive commissions and margin rates for futures trading, starting from $0.85 per contract, per side, plus exchange, clearing, and NFA fees. TradeStation also offers two pricing plans for futures trading, depending on your trading frequency and platform access. The TS GO plan offers lower commissions but limited platform features, while the TS SELECT plan offers full platform access but higher commissions.
TradeStation also offers access to a wide range of futures contracts and markets, including micro and small-sized contracts, which are ideal for beginners and traders with smaller accounts. TradeStation also offers educational resources and customer support for futures traders, such as webinars, articles, videos, and a community forum.
Plus500: A Beginner-Friendly Futures Trading Platform
Plus500 is an online broker that offers trading services for various financial instruments, such as CFDs, forex, stocks, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies. Plus500’s platform is simple and easy to use, offering a web-based and a mobile app version. Plus500’s platform does not offer many advanced trading tools and order types, but it does offer some useful features, such as risk management tools, alerts, and indicators.
Plus500 does not charge commissions for futures trading, but it does charge spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices. The spreads vary depending on the contract and market, but they are generally competitive and transparent. Plus500 also charges overnight fees, which are the interest charges for holding a position overnight. Plus500 does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fees, and it offers a variety of payment methods, such as credit cards, PayPal, and Skrill.
Plus500 also offers access to a wide range of futures contracts and markets, including some exotic and niche markets, such as cannabis, VIX, and lithium. Plus500 also offers a demo account for practice trading and a $25 welcome bonus for new traders.
NinjaTrader: Best for Dedicated Futures Traders
NinjaTrader is a trading software company that offers a dedicated futures trading platform, as well as a brokerage service. NinjaTrader’s platform is designed for serious and professional futures traders, offering a comprehensive and customizable trading environment, with a range of trading tools and order types, such as charting, scanning, backtesting, optimization, automation, and more.
NinjaTrader also offers competitive commissions and margin rates for futures trading, starting from $0.09 per contract, per side, plus exchange, clearing, and NFA fees. NinjaTrader also offers two pricing plans for futures trading, depending on your trading frequency and platform access. The Lease plan offers lower commissions but requires a quarterly or annual fee, while the Lifetime plan offers a one-time fee for lifetime access and free upgrades.
NinjaTrader also offers access to a wide range of futures contracts and markets, including micro and small-sized contracts, as well as options on futures. NinjaTrader also offers educational resources and customer support for futures traders, such as webinars, videos, articles, and a community forum.
How to Choose the Right Platform for Your Futures Trading
As you can see, there are many factors to consider when choosing the best platform to trade futures. Depending on your trading style, goals, and preferences, you may find one platform more suitable than another. Here are some tips on how to choose the right platform for your futures trading:
- Define your trading objectives and budget. What are you trying to achieve with futures trading? How much capital do you have and how much are you willing to risk? How often do you plan to trade and for how long? These questions will help you determine your trading objectives and budget, which will influence your choice of platform.
- Compare the commissions and fees. How much does the platform charge for futures trading? How do the commissions and fees affect your profitability and breakeven point? How transparent and consistent are the commissions and fees? These questions will help you compare the costs and benefits of different platforms.
- Compare the futures contracts and markets. What kind of futures contracts and markets do you want to trade? How diverse and liquid are the futures contracts and markets offered by the platform? How easy and convenient is it to access and trade the futures contracts and markets you want? These questions will help you compare the trading opportunities and challenges of different platforms.
- Compare the trading tools and order types. What kind of trading tools and order types do you need and prefer? How advanced and reliable are the trading tools and order types offered by the platform? How user-friendly and customizable are the trading tools and order types? These questions will help you compare the trading functionality and performance of different platforms.
- Compare the educational resources and customer support. How much do you know and want to learn about futures trading? How helpful and accessible are the educational resources and customer support offered by the platform? How responsive and professional are the customer service representatives? These questions will help you compare the trading support and assistance of different platforms.
Conclusion
Futures trading is a rewarding but risky activity that requires a lot of skill, knowledge, and discipline, as well as a reliable and robust trading platform. A good futures trading platform should offer you low commissions and fees, a wide range of futures contracts and markets, advanced trading tools and order types, fast and reliable execution and data feed, user-friendly interface and customization options, educational resources and customer support.
In this article, we have reviewed some of the best futures trading platforms available in 2024, based on these criteria. We have also provided some tips on how to choose the right platform for your trading style and goals. We hope that this article has helped you find the best platform to trade futures in 2024.
