Best options broker?

IB minimum requirement is too high for common people.Maybe they should give a chance to beginner to use low-brokerage service?

I watched IB minimum required capital rose from 2,000 to 5,000 and eventually until 10,000 now.
 
does anyone here have any recent experience in trying to execute option spreads with IB vs thinkorswim? Any material difference between the 2 brokers in trying to put on a spread at midpoiint of NBBO. I've been out for 1 year and would need to pick one of the 2. i realize that IB is cheaper BUt they have cxl fees so the commish is really pretty close. It would boil down to how many times does IB give you fill vs. TOS .

Thanks.
 
I've had good results trading options, including spreads, with Tradeking. I have not used any other broker, so do not have anything to compare it to, but as a relatively new trader I find the interface easy to understand and use, and the probability calculator is very useful.
 
IB has been the best broker and still is. Even if you trade less so your commission is less than $30 per month then you will be charged $10 per month but if you consider the saving in commission, that $10 is nothing.

If you trade 2 contracts with premium of over 0.1, you will pay 1.44. For lower preminums , like 5 cents, the commission goes down to much lower.
If you add liquidity by your order, you get some rebates. I have done trades on Nasdaq and I was paid instead of paying.
No excercise or assignment commission in IB.
Margin rate is about 1.2%. Please find another broker that has similar rate.
TOS is a good broker but IB is the best. TOS is Maddison garden, IB is heaven.
 
Quote from hajimow:

If you add liquidity by your order, you get some rebates. I have done trades on Nasdaq and I was paid instead of paying.

No excercise or assignment commission in IB.
More...
That floored me the first time it happened to me.
Can you imagine that? Getting paid by the broker to trade? :)
 
Quote from MushinSeeker:

does anyone here have any recent experience in trying to execute option spreads with IB vs thinkorswim? Any material difference between the 2 brokers in trying to put on a spread at midpoiint of NBBO. I've been out for 1 year and would need to pick one of the 2. i realize that IB is cheaper BUt they have cxl fees so the commish is really pretty close. It would boil down to how many times does IB give you fill vs. TOS .

Thanks.
More...

No question that IB will get you filled more often at midpoint of NBBO. Some quirks with IB not allowing you to build a call or put condor natively. You can use the generic spreader, but the haircut increases beyond the debit. You can trade the iron natively at minimum haircut.
 
Another point:

In IB, you cannot open orders on both sides of an option. Let's say the bid/ask is 0.2/0.22, you cannot put an order to buy at 0.2 (or lower) and sell at 0.22 (or higher) at the same time.
 
Quote from spindr0:

That floored me the first time it happened to me.
Can you imagine that? Getting paid by the broker to trade? :)
More...
Unfortunately that does not happen as often as I wish. Most of my option trades are filled in CBOE. Usually if you put your order before the market opens, and it gets filled at 9:30, it gets filled in NASDAQ (That was my experience).
 
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