Best options platform xc60

The Top Gear car review: Volvo XC60. Overview. The Volvo XC60 sits right at the heart of the big-selling mid-size crossover crowd. It’s handsome and luxurious and it wraps you in a safety blanket as comprehensive as the Swedish welfare state. It’s not distracted by off-road ambitions. Neither is it wearing the pretence of track-lapping athleticism. So it’s not hampered by the heavy and cumbersome hardware of the former, or the harsh inflexibility of the latter. This middle-of-the-road approach of course lands it some stern rivals. The Mercedes-Benz GLC and Audi Q5 are both right there, and both implacably competent. But the Volvo feels very different inside. Its decor is as Skandi as a Stockholm boutique hotel bar. The generation-2 XC60 starts with a lot of momentum behind it. The old one wasn’t only Volvo’s best-selling car, it was also the best-selling vehicle of that type in Europe. Its suspension manners might have been pretty rough-and-ready but even that wasn’t enough to hold the old car back. The new one gives Volvo a chance to exploit the old buyers’ loyalty while fixing the faults. That means a better suspension.

It also brings more tech and even more safety features. The platform, powertrains, suspension, seats, and interior operating system are unashamedly the same as other recent Volvos. In short the new XC60 is the XC90 reduced. Reduced but not diminished. For the loss of the XC90’s third row of seats, it gains a handier-sized outline and a little extra agility. At launch at least, the range is all 4WD and automatic transmission. Diesels are the four-cylinder 2.0, in D4 tune giving 190bhp, and in twin-turbo T5 tune it’s 235bhp. The pure petrol option is a four-cylinder turbo T5 of 254bhp. Final powertrain is the ‘Twin Engine’ plug-in hybrid T8 pack. That’s a 320bhp turbo-plus-supercharged front drive with 87bhp of electric rear drive. As a plug-in hybrid it can whisper along on that electric drive for 15-20 miles, so long as you treat the accelerator like an eggshell.

On the safety front the XC60 runs even more helping-hand systems than any other Volvo. Which means, to a reasonable approximation, any other car on the planet. Highlights from the range. More on this car. Related reviews. Latest road tests. Taxi for Reid: Rory tests London’s new plug-in black cab. Mercedes S-Class review: new Coupe and Cabrio driven. BMW M5 review: first 4WD M5 driven. Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio review: a baby Ferrari super-SUV?

Mercedes SLC 180 review: £32k roadster tested. Lotus Elise review: hardcore Cup 260 driven. Latest from Top Gear. Allan McNish: Formula E cars will get quicker. Three-time Le Mans champ says cars will prioritise lightning 0-62mph time. Taxi for Reid: Rory tests London’s new plug-in black cab. Land Rover Discovery vs Audi Q7 vs Volvo XC90. Three very different ways of transporting seven around in high-riding luxury. But which is king? Everything you need to know about the Lambo Urus.

Video: Top Gear walks you round Lambo's surprisingly family-friendly SUV. This website is made by BBC Worldwide. © BBC Worldwide Ltd. The Top Gear word mark and logo are trademarks of the BBC and are used under licence. BBC Worldwide is a commercial company that is owned by the BBC (and just the BBC). No money from the licence fee was used to create this website. The profits we make from it go back to BBC programme-makers to help fund great new BBC programmes. 5 Best Online Broker Platforms For Options Traders. Options trading can be simple, but can quickly get complicated. Online brokers provide customers tools to handle the tons of quotes, statistics and underlying-securities tracking they might need to succeed in trading puts and calls. IBD's 2013 Best Online Brokers Survey found the five options trading platforms that clients rated highest. They were OptionsXpress , TD Ameritrade ( AMTD ), Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) and TradeStation . "Options can be used by a wide variety of investors to target a wide variety of objectives," said Jim Bittman, director of program development and a senior instructor for the Options Institute at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Brokerage firms have developed platforms to help options traders of all levels, from novices who buy a call or put to advanced folks who put on multilegged positions.

While some platforms are bare-bones, others have a barrage of features such as streaming data, sophisticated analytics and pricing tools. Investors can choose a platform that's Web-based or downloaded as a separate program. A Web-based trading platform is accessed from your broker's website. These are generally less fancy and less customizable. Downloaded platforms tend to use flashier charts and tools. They also tend to give users the ability to customize screens and layouts. OptionsXpress, owned by Schwab, has offerings for clients ranging from beginners to more sophisticated traders. The broker's Web-based platform is not flashy, but is laid out well. It has easy-to-use order-entry interfaces under secondary navigations for single-option orders as well as spreads and covered calls. The company also has an all-in-one trade ticket that makes entering orders with multiple options faster and easier. Just select the method you want to put on, and the different legs of the trade will be set up for you. OptionsXpress also has tools to help find trade ideas, as well as volatility charts and price calculators.

TD Ameritrade also offers a basic, Web-based platform that has something for every level of investor. Order entries for single options, covered calls, spreads and strangles can easily be accessed under a secondary navigation. For single options orders, you can choose an exchange to handle the order or you can have it done automatically. Whether you're putting on a spread, strangle or straddle, you easily get quotes for those trades as a package rather than viewing them in individual legs. For traders who want more advanced features, TD Ameritrade offers the Trade Architect and Thinkorswim platforms. Trade Architect is a Web-based platform catering to active investors, who can select a method and get profit-and-loss graphs to see how the trade can play out. Thinkorswim, which requires a download, is TD Ameritrade's platform for advanced traders. Packed with sophisticated features, investors can monitor the market and place trades in one screen. Complex strategies can be easily placed, and investors can switch layout views to see implied volatilities and probabilities. Interactive Brokers has two platforms for customers. One is its Web Trader platform, which has just the basics for viewing option chains and entering orders. The company also offers a much more advanced tool for options traders. Interactive Broker's OptionTrader, which is within its Trader Workstation platform, lets users view options chains, including key statistics such as implied volatilities and greeks -- a term that refers to delta, gamma and other measures of options' sensitivity to various factors.

Orders for single options or combination orders can easily be entered. Buttons are conveniently placed to reverse a position or hedge it from price risk. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of NASDAQ, Inc. The Best Options Broker. Latest Update October 28, 2016. The best options trading platform isn’t going to be an afterthought tacked on to an existing suite of products: it should be robust and easy to use. Beginners need enough support to learn the ropes and experienced traders are after low fees and powerful tools. We signed up, assessed the fees, took the tools for a spin, and narrowed it down to three top picks. The one that's best for you depends on what you’re after. Tons of online and in-person support, plus a practice platform that lets you try everything out with “paperMoney.” The downside? Higher fees. Rock-bottom pricing, but no research or method support. Unrivaled tools & research with pricing that favors active traders.

There are a lot of brokers that are perfectly capable of trading options — nearly all of the big (read: old-school) names have an options platform integrated into their suite of offerings. But for those looking to really dive in, whether as a beginner just starting out or an active trader looking to level up, the best platform won’t be something that’s just tacked on. How We Found the Best Options Broker. To find the brokers that cater specifically to options, we looked at 36 choices and analyzed their products. We prioritized the most important aspects: Cost matters a lot when it comes to trading options. It’s the very nature: part of the appeal of options is that the returns can be major even if you don’t fork over a lot of cash up front, and many traders use options as a cheaper alternative to going long on a high-priced stock. Fees can add up and even wipe out the profits from any profitable trades. Granted, slightly higher fees may be worth it if a broker can provide other perks (say, excellent resources and education for beginners), but we wanted all our picks to have competitive pricing. We also wanted to avoid minimum balance requirements, or a set number of trades per month. Easy-to-use interfaces are a make-or-break for most platforms. The price of options contracts can swing a lot over the course of a trading day poking around a clunky options chain can literally cost you.

Education and resources are important, especially for investors who are getting their feet wet. Sure you’ve got a handle on multi-leg options trades, but do you know when it’s the right time for a bull call spread? What’s an iron butterfly? Not all traders will need hand-holding, but we wanted to find at least one excellent options broker we could recommend to newcomers. Flexibility can be interpreted a few ways. For us, it meant the robustness of the platform (could we research and purchase stocks and ETFs in addition to options?) its flexibility (could we streamline a multi-leg options trade, or did we have to input them all separately?) and whether or not we could customize it to our liking. It was quick work to eliminate the most expensive platforms, as well as the ones that had absolutely no resources or reports. To test ease of use and flexibility, we signed up for accounts and simulated making trades on all the rest.

Three brokers rose to the top, and each brings something unique to the table. Our Picks for Best Options Broker. TD Ameritrade Higher fees on an ultra-easy platform. Plus, tons of support and education. TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerages in the market today, with over 7 million funded customer accounts and over $700 billion in total client assets, and despite its slightly higher prices, it provides the best platform for a beginner trading any product, options or otherwise. For more novice traders, the platform supports the jump from trading stocks with the funds in an IRA to more sophisticated products like options. It’s robust, plus it has the customer service and educational resources to make the transition. There are webinars and hours of on-demand videos that’ll teach you about options strategies and how to literally execute those strategies on the platform. TD Ameritrade is a full-service broker, and that full service (we’re talking 247 customer service and 100 branches for face-to-face consultations) does come with higher fees. Barron’s agrees, awarding it “best platform for novices” five years running.

We can anticipate its service only getting better too. In 2016, TD Ameritrade started the process of acquiring Scottrade, another platform known for it’s in-person customer service offerings. In fact, TD Ameritrade is one of the best platforms for all levels of investors, serving up two discrete products: thinkorswim and Trade Architect. Thinksorswim is a desktop platform designed for an all-around trading experience: charts with real-time data, news tickers, 300-plus technical studies, alerts and alarms, heat mapping, options screeners, securities scanner, and more, all accessible in a single click. It’s definitely for seasoned investors — newcomers will likely be overwhelmed — but it’s worth bringing up because a virtual playspace called paperMoney allows even total novices to cut their teeth without risking even a single penny. We recommend beginners stick to TD Ameritrade’s web-based platform Trade Architect. It is nowhere near as robust as thinkorswim (and has nowhere near as jazzy a name), but it provides everything a new investor would want and it’s ultra-easy to use. It’s not bogged down with all the bells and whistles and live-streaming CNBC. Tabs at the top are simply categorized under jargon-free headings: account overview, watch lists, alarms, idea generators, and heat maps. Unlike thinkorswim, the platform is customizable. If you want more widgets, like say, additional stock tickers or video, they’re there for the adding. If beginner investors use TD Ameritrade’s education library to learn the ropes, practice using paperMoney in thinkorswim, and then easily execute trades with Trade Architect, the slightly higher fee may suddenly seem worth it. OptionsHouse The lowest fees and no minimum balance requirements.

OptionsHouse isn’t the most recognizable name in the industry, and that’s probably because this online broker hasn’t pursued an aggressive marketing campaign like some of the other brokers out there (remember E*Trade’s old Super Bowl ads?). The company was founded in 2005 and was established to specifically provide options traders who demanded lower fees from the then burgeoning online brokerage industry. Those low fees are still what makes OptionsHouse so popular. There’s a $0 minimum deposit to join and options trade at $4.95 + $0.50contract (stocks trade at a flat $4.95 fee). This is the lowest price in the industry. Only TradeKing comes close — matching that $4.95 options base fee, but charging $5 more than OptionsHouse for the exercise fee. The OptionsHouse platform is striking if a bit chaotic — there are buttons, tabs, and menus all over the place. It’s intuitive and there’s a tutorial to walk you through, but to a beginner it might seem more like sitting in front of the controls of an aircraft than is comfortable. Beginners take note: OptionsHouse does have a virtual platform that’s great for practicing. And, the tradeLAB makes dissecting options spreads simple — the green smiley face is good the red frown is no good. What you won’t get for those low fees is method and research: OptionsHouse has about 30 technical studies TD Ameritrade has 300. It’s important to note that E*Trade purchased OptionsHouse for a whopping $725 million in 2016. It is still unclear how any pricing structures or account features and perks will change after the sale is completed, but an OptionsHouse blog post suggests that E*Trade’s tools and services will become available after the platforms merge.

Best Tools and Research. optionsXpress A one-stop shop within a major firm, with an options-native platform. OptionsXpress was purchased by Charles Schwab back in 2011 to enhance Schwab’s competitive edge in options trading. The result is a one-stop shop with an options-native platform that’s pretty whiz-bang. Everything happens through the desktop platform, Xtend, but all the trading tools are also on the optionsXpress web platform. It’s fully customizable, and it’s easy to find real-time quotes and market data, news and reports, and company background information. The Idea Hub scans the market for volatility, earnings, and income-based strategies and offers new trade ideas. With Walk Limit, you can set a few parameters, and it will scan updated market data and re-create an order you may have made at a higher price in the past. Sign up for the Xpresso newsletter and you’ll get a daily email alerting you to the day’s risks and opportunities. Add to that an impressive library of educational resources, as well as access to all of Charles Schwab’s investment research (and free access to its seminars and meetings at local branches), and a virtual trading platform that helps beginner investors practice all types of trading with $25,000 in fake cash.

If you need help from a broker — to calm your first-timer nerves or to walk you through a complex method — they’re ready to help and totally free, too. The standard rates are steep, so we don’t recommend optionsXpress to the casual trader. Make more than 35 trades a quarter and you’ll click into “Active Trader” status and your fees will go down. Trade in volumes and there’s another discount trade contracts under a nickel and there’s another discount. This is all to say the price structure favors the active. And while optionsXpress has a $0 account minimum and does not charge any annual or inactivity fees, if you leave, there is a $60 full outgoing transfer fee. The Best Options Broker at a Glance. Options are contracts that allow an investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset on or before a set date. Here’s an example: Say you are a buyer looking for a specific vintage car and you end up finding one you just have to have. When you find it, however, you know you won’t have any cash to buy it for another six months.

You then negotiate with the owner to give you an option to buy the car in six months for a specific amount. If the owner agrees, you pay him a percentage up front for that option. The same scenario applies in the stock market – just for financial assets instead of vintage cars. If you were trading stocks, you’d be actually buying the car. Or, rather, not buying it since you didn’t have the money. Because options are simply options and not promises, if something happened to that vintage car — say it was sitting in the driveway and a tree fell on it — you wouldn’t have to buy it. You’d still be out the price you paid for the options contract, but at least you wouldn’t have lost all that money on a now-worthless pile of steel. And, if in those same six months something happens that makes the car go up in value, well, hey, you’ve already locked in your price. If you’re new, you should prize learning tools. If you’re experienced, you’ll need to choose between low cost or amazing tools. No matter what, options trading shouldn’t be an afterthought tacked onto your platform. Best for Beginners. TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade fees might be higher, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Consider your entire investment method. Don’t make your final decision solely based on options trading if it’s not the only kind of trading you’ll be doing.

These online brokerage firms all offer a variety of investment opportunities. You may want to take into account their extra perks or the price of their mutual funds, for example. Know your expirations. Options are contracts that expire if they’re not acted on and an expired contract is worthless. Make sure you understand your expirations and set reminders using your broker’s platform, or on your calendar if you’re not trading every day. We find the best of everything. How? We start with the world. We narrow down our list with expert insight and cut anything that doesn't meet our standards. We hand-test the finalists. Then, we name our top picks. Best Options Trading Brokers and Platforms.

NerdWallet offers financial tools and advice to help people understand their options and make the best possible decisions. The guidance we offer and info we provide are deeply researched, objective and independent. We spent over 300 hours reviewing the top online brokers before selecting the best for our readers. And to help you find the one that’s best for you, we’ve highlighted their pros, cons and current offers. Who is the best options broker today? The answer depends on whom you ask and what they value. For some investors, the best broker for trading options is the one with the cheapest commissions. Others prioritize trading tools, platform design, research, customer service or all of the above. While most of the brokers on our best-of list below would be a good, all-encompassing choice for many investors, we’ve also highlighted the standout candidates in specific areas that matter most to options traders. Unsure what you’re looking for? See how to choose an options broker for more on what can make or break an options trading experience.

Summary: Best online stock brokers for options trading. Best for low-cost. Best options trading platform. Best for research and education. Best overall for options trading. Our top picks cover all the option trader needs — access to high-quality research, analytical tools, a user-friendly platform — at reasonable prices. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers earn high marks for options investors for their advanced trading platforms, deep bench of research and tools, plus their high-caliber options trading capabilities. TD Ameritrade handily serves option traders no matter where they are on the learning curve. The broker’s thinkorswim platform offers a robust options trading experience for active investors seeking professional-grade tools to identify trading opportunities, analyze potential risks and rewards, test trade strategies and quickly place even the most complex options trades. The broker’s web-based Trade Architect platform is for investors just getting into options or those who don’t require a high-octane platform.

Its stripped-down, easy-to-use interface won’t overwhelm newbies. And although Trade Architect isn’t as fully stocked with tools and data as thinkorswim, it’s no slouch, either. Intermediate investors will find advanced features like a marketoptions heat map, screening and tradefinder tools, and streaming news. Get details in our TD Ameritrade review. For cost-conscious, active options traders looking for low costs and a platform with a lot more meat on its bones, Interactive Brokers may be more your style. Interactive Brokers charges just 70 cents per contract with no base fee ($1 minimum order), plus discounts for larger volumes, if you can manage the $10,000 account minimum. Its Trader Workstation platform (with an options method lab) is considered one of the best and most sophisticated around. But watch other fees to ensure that the lower commissions pay off. Both brokers allow prospective clients to test-drive the goods without putting any real money on the line. TD Ameritrade offers a paperMoney virtual trading account to test out the thinkorswim platform. At Interactive Brokers, once customers open a real account (which has a $10,000 minimum funding requirement), they can set up a paper trading account that offers them hands-on practice using IB’s Trader Workstation platform and tools.

Best brokers for low-cost options trading. These brokers offer competitively priced options trading commissions and have eliminated or dramatically capped minimum trading fees. In early 2017 most of the mainstream online brokers slashed commissions to levels once reserved for their deep-discount peers. That doesn’t mean that they’re the best deal in town for every investor. For active options traders, eOption earns five stars from NerdWallet for its low options trade commissions. The company charges a fixed $3 base plus 15 cents per contract. Another plus: eOption is known for having some of the lowest margin rates available. Although eOption charges a $50 annual inactivity fee on accounts that have placed fewer than two trades in the past 12 months or have less than $10,000 in credit or debit balances, the minimum trade workaround isn’t onerous, even for infrequent traders. Charles Schwab’s trade commission of $4.95 base rate plus 65 cents per contract puts it within spitting distance of deep-discount peers. Schwab recently fully took over the old OptionsXpress and incorporated that broker’s options experience into its own platform, with both web-based and mobile functionality. Commissions aren’t the only costs associated with trading options. Platform, data and other fees can quickly cancel out what you save on commissions. See our full reviews of Charles Schwab and eOption for details on what they offer. For those simply looking for a cheap way to execute options trades, Charles Schwab and eOption get the job done.

Best options trading platforms. These brokers offer some of the most powerful trading platforms available for a reasonable price. Judging a broker’s trading platform by the number of features it offers is like buying a car based solely on what you read in the dealer brochure. While all investors have their must-have features, what’s more important is how the platform feels when it’s in their hands. The trading platforms at Ally Invest and TradeStation offer a wide variety of analytical tools, provide stable and speedy trade execution, and allow investors to customize the tools and design to best suit their needs. Unlike TradeStation, Ally Invest (formerly TradeKing) is technically a deep discount broker as reflected in its commissions (options traders pay a $4.95 base plus 65 cents per contract with only one base charge per spread), $0 account minimum and free access to research and data. Frequent traders (those who place 30 or more trades per quarter or who carry a balance of $100,000 or more) pay a discounted $3.95 base and 50 cents per contract. But don’t be fooled by the lower prices: Customers get a lot of platform power for free. Ally is suitable for newer options investors. The browser-based platform resembles the offerings of its pricier competitors and comes with free options trading tools for screening and advanced charting. Navigation is easy and streamlined. Customers can create a custom dashboard with movable modules with the data and features they want to use. The setup extends to what users see across all devices, including mobile and tablet.

TradeStation is best left to more experienced, tech-savvy investors who want to experience options trading using the same tools as pro traders. The broker provides all the tools needed to design, test-drive, monitor, automate and speedily execute the most complex trades via direct-market access (no pesky middleman to slow down the process). Its OptionsStation Pro platform is fully integrated into TradeStation’s regular trading platform. An added bonus is the broker’s active investor forums, where traders discuss ideas, ask questions and get help. Access to all of TradeStation’s bells and whistles used to come at a steep $99.95 monthly platform fee for those who didn’t meet account balance or trading activity minimums. But in March 2017 TradeStation eliminated the service fee, lowered its trade commissions for stocks and options and tossed in free real-time market data and free access to its market-monitoring and portfolio-level back-testing tools. Educational tools and platform tutorials are plentiful, which is a plus: Because of the sophisticated nature of the platform, it may require some time to become familiar with all that it offers. See more in our TradeStation review. Best research and options trading education. Both offer extensive research and data for free, as well as live classes and webinars for beginning and advanced options traders. If you’re new to options trading or want to expand your trading strategies, a broker that devotes its resources to research and customer education is a must. Because Schwab and Fidelity each have offices across the country in addition to their online options education libraries, they’re able to offer in-person guidance and free seminars on how to trade options, as well as one-on-one guidance on using the tools each platform offers.

Fidelity’s constantly refreshed library draws from more than 20 providers, including Recognia, Ned Davis, S&P Capital IQ and McLean Capital Management. The full suite is available to customers when they sign into the broker’s web-based platform. And you don’t have to stop digging when you’re away from your computer: Fidelity has a strong mobile app that lets customers access the company’s full suite of research through a mobile browser. Charles Schwab’s options trading capabilities and lineup of trading data and research got a big boost as the company integrated its purchase of OptionsXpress. In October Schwab re-launched its online platform under the StreetSmart name, with both web-based and mobile functionality, though for now only former OptionsXpress clients have access to the new platform. In the first quarter of 2018, Schwab will begin rolling out the new platform to all clients. While the platform name is changing, Schwab still provides a fully realized suite of offerings for options traders, including trade assessment tools, customizable screeners, access to Schwab analyst options-market commentary, live online webinars and pre-recorded seminars. Best brokers for beginner options investors. These brokers provide ideal conditions (educational resources, user-friendly platforms, customer support and low minimums) for investors just learning the options trading ropes. TD Ameritrade — one of our top overall brokers — ranked highest in this category, too. But since there are many types of beginners with many different preferences, instead of highlighting the category champions we’ve focused on brokers that are excellent candidates in three key areas: Low minimum opening balance requirements. Ally Invest, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge: If you’re not yet ready to devote a lot of your capital to options trading, you don’t want to tie up much in an account to meet the minimum.

Many of the brokers on our list require no money to open an account. However, industry regulations require that traders maintain a $2,000 minimum to trade options. Strong customer support. Scottrade and TD Ameritrade: On-call help is particularly handy when starting out. One way to test a broker’s level of service is to contact the company with any questions you have about its option trading offerings before you even open an account. Scottrade is known for its standout customer service and huge physical presence of 500 branches. So is TD Ameritrade, with around-the-clock phone and email support and 100 branches where clients can attend seminars and meet with investment associates. At the end of 2017, TD’s acquisition of Scottrade will be complete, increasing each broker’s ability to serve clients. User-friendly platforms. Ally, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade: There’s nothing better than test-driving a broker’s platform before you commit.

Check to see if the broker you’re considering offers paper trading (virtual trading on a platform that mimics the real deal) or contact customer service to see if they will set you up with a demo account. As for brokers discussed in this review, Ally Invest’s browser-based platform is intuitive and easy to customize. And both Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade have multiple platforms customers can use to start learning the ropes, then graduate to more sophisticated tools and trades if desired. Best options trading brokers: summary. Updated June 30, 2017. Disclaimer: NerdWallet has entered into referral and advertising arrangements with certain broker-dealers under which we receive compensation (in the form of flat fees per qualifying action) when you click on links to our partner broker-dealers andor submit an application or get approved for a brokerage account. At times, we may receive incentives (such as an increase in the flat fee) depending on how many users click on links to the broker-dealer and complete a qualifying action. First Drive Review: 2018 Volvo XC60 SUV Steers You Away From Trouble. The 2018 Volvo XC60 SUV adds a new layer of safety technology called Steering Assist, which steers the car out of the way of trouble on the highway and in town. The XC60 also includes a quieter, more luxurious cockpit that comfortably carries four adults. The second generation of Volvo’s compact premium SUV is modern and competitive with the best from Germany, Asia and the US. That’s good.

As with other premium automakers, however, Volvo puts some desirable driver and safety assists in $1,000-$2,000 options packs. Blind spot detection and adaptive cruise control are package options, not standard the way we’d prefer. Volvo’s safety in action. Volvo’s 2 (only) USB jacks. I drove Volvo’s top-of-the-line XC60 T6 Inscription, which as tested cost over $60,000 with virtually every option including the $1,800 air suspension and a $3,200 B&W audio system. The XC60 T5 Momentum, the entry model, starts at $42,000. In town and on highways, the XC60 is swift, quiet, light (a panoramic sunroof is standard) and airy. The rear seats hold three and are quite comfortable for two adults traveling long distances, as long as they don’t need USB power the front console has the car’s only two jacks. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. The standard safety assists include lane keep assist, run-off road mitigation (pulls the car back if it starts to go off-road), run-off road protection (protection of the spine if the car lands hard), driver drowsiness alert, road sign recognition, auto-brake after collision, the latest iteration of Volvo City Safety, and telematics with crash notification. My test car had the optional head-up display, part of the $1,900 advanced package that also has steerable LED headlamps and surround-view cameras. Steering Assist enhances 3 driver assist technologies.

There’s a new version of Volvo Pilot Assist in the XC60 that combines full-range adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist, activated with a single button on the steering wheel. Pilot Assist is part of the $2,000-$2,200 convenience package. Volvo’s LKA implementation warns if you’re about to cross over a lane marking. It then steers or brakes you back into lane, but won’t center itself in lane as would, say, a Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, or Acura. Volvo added Steering Assist to three existing technologies. With Steering Assist plus blind spot detection, if you try to change lanes when there’s a car coming up fast in the blind spot (and if you ignore the alerts), Steering Assist nudges you back. If you veer across the center line and there’s an oncoming vehicle, you’ll be steered back Volvo calls this Oncoming Lane Mitigation. The jack-of-all trades Volvo City Safety (that detects cars, cyclists, people, and large animals, and slows or stops to avoid them) will provide additional steering effort if you try to steer around an obstruction at low speed. Steering Assist is standard, as is City Safety. Blind spot detection is part of an $1,100 vision package, along with parking assistance and dimmable rear view mirrors.

Sensus center stack display. Volvo is near-unique in offering standard a vertical 9-inch center stack display, Sensus. It mimics a tablet, including a home button just below the display, and the ability swipe left or right for additional menu pages: car functions and applications. Volvo said it has improved the touch-screen interface, although others reviewers test driving the car said they found it at times confusing. Volvo said drivers become more comfortable after a couple weeks. The standard fonts on the Sensus screen will seem a bit small to some, an issue that affected others such as Ford Sync in its early years. The 12.3-inch digital Driver Display, or digital instrument panel, is legible, with one exception: Some secondary prompts, including navigation info, are hard to see on sunny days they’re in a medium blue font on a black background. Better than Mercedes, more confusing than Honda. People think of Volvo as the safe-car company. (It is.) It can slug toe-to-toe with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz and come out ahead: Lane keep assist and LED headlamps are standard only on the XC60. But Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 have a simpler story to tell: Buy our small SUV and the key safety stuff comes standard. Honda calls it Honda Sensing and (except on the low-volume entry LX) the CR-V comes standard with stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and blind spot detection. Toyota Safety Sense-P (TSS-P) gives every RAV4 the same, except blind spot detection is an option.

Volvo goes beyond what CR-V and RAV4 offer, but for the core driver safety assists — ACC, BSD, LKA — Volvo requires $2,200 and $1,100 options packages. Volvo might want to consider a simpler, more inclusive approach down the road. Is the XC60 worth waiting for? The XC60 comes two years after the breakthrough Volvo XC90, a midsize SUV that was the first to use Volvo’s Scalable Platform Architecture technology to build different size cars, wagons, and SUVs out of a common architecture. SPA cars have one engine family available in turbocharged (250-hp T5), turbocharged and supercharged (316-hp T6), or turbocharged and supercharged with a hybrid-electric motor (400-hp T8). So far, the SPA platform has hatched the XC90, S90 sedan, V90 wagon (this summer), and XC60. The XC60 is a polished vehicle, enjoyable to drive or ride in, and not at all cramped at 185 inches long. Most users will be happy with the Momentum trim and either the T5 or T6 engines. They will have to choose carefully to get the right features and technologies. My suggestion: Start with the XC60 T6 Momentum, which costs $45,895 including $995 freight. If you’re serious about safety and technology, you’ll want three more options packages: the $1,100 Vision package, the $1,900 Advanced package, and the $2,200 Convenience package. Dropping back to the turbo-only T5 engine saves $3,000.

Only the XC60 Inspiration, $3,800 more, provides access to the ventilated, massaging, premium leather seating package with heated steering wheel and heated frontrear seats for another $3,000. The 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins premium is fantastic, but it’s $3,200 the base system has 10 speakers. The 2018 Volvo XC60 is already in production. The US gets first deliveries in late summer, with the hybrid arriving in fall. In Europe, the shorter, taller first-generation XC60 has been the top seller among compact luxury SUVs for several years here, the XC90 rounds out the top ten. Volvo hopes to sell almost 30,000 new XC60s in its first full year here, which would put it in the top five. Volvo expects 60 percent of sales will be the entry XC60 Momentum, about 20 percent the top-line Inscription, and about 10 percent sporty R-Design. Based on Volvo’s technology and safety, the 2018 XC60 arrives on equal footing with the best from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, as well as the premium US and Japanese makers of compact SUVs. Volvo is back. Post a Comment Comment. ExtremeTech Newsletter. Subscribe Today to get the latest ExtremeTech news delivered right to your inbox. ET Deals Roundup: Wi-Fi Mesh Router for $150, Amazon Echo with Smart Plug for $35, and more Dec 5 Nintendo Launches Wii and Gamecube Games on Nvidia Shield in China Dec 5 Google’s ‘Android Go’ for Entry-Level Phones Launches Wednesday With Android 8.1 Dec 5 Ryzen 5 2500U Review Roundup: Can AMD’s New APU Take On Intel? Dec 5 Mega Memory: Crucial Introduces Massive 128GB LRDIMMs Dec 5. Facebook Twitter About Contact Newsletters Advertise More From Ziff Davis: PCMag Computer Shopper Geek AskMen Everyday Health IGN Offers.

com Speedtest. net TechBargains Toolbox What to Expect RSS Feeds Privacy Policy Terms of Use Advertise Accessibility Statement. ExtremeTech is among the federally registered trademarks of. Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. We have updated our PRIVACY POLICY and encourage you to read it by clicking here. Top 6 Best Options Trading Platforms. 2017 RANKING & REVIEWS. TOP RANKING OPTIONS BROKERS. Finding the Top Options Trading Platforms. Your first question might be: What is options trading? That&rsquos understandable. The investment industry can toss around confusing lingo at times, and options trading is no different. Chances are, however, that you heard about options trading and want to give it a spin. That&rsquos how you landed on our list of the best options brokers for 2017.

And above everything else, you want to know which is the best options trading platform on the market today. The good news is that we did the legwork for you. We compiled a list of options trading platforms, along with key features and functionality. All you have to do is read through the list below and decide which one is the best options broker for you. Award Emblem: Top 6 Best Options Trading Platforms. Read below on the methodology we used to select the best options brokers for 2017. Then read about the best options trading platform offered by each broker and how they might get you started as an options trader today. AdvisoryHQ&rsquos List of the Best Options Traders. Detailed Review &ndash Top Ranking Options Traders. Below, please find the detailed review of each firm on our list of best options traders. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these options traders to score so high in our selection ranking. Firstrade is an online investment firm that offers one of the best options trading platforms in the business. The firm was founded in 1985 as First Flushing Services.

It became one of the first firms to venture into online trading when it launched in 1997 as First Flushing Securities. One year later, the firm rebranded to Firstrade and has been a mainstay of online investing ever since. Key Factors That Enabled This Firm to Rank as a Top 2017 Best Options Broker. Listed below are some features of this firm&rsquos platform that we believe make it one of the best options brokers. Competitive Costs per Order: Firstrade doesn&rsquot feature the absolute lowest cost per order of the best options brokers on our list, but at a $6.95 base rate and $0.75 per contract fee, it nevertheless remains competitive. You may further compare Firstrade to competitors on its Broker Comparison page. Extended Trading Hours: One of the unique benefits to trading options with Firstrade is its Extended Hours Trading capability. This feature lets you get a jump on trading that may be affected by recent developments that occur in the hours immediately preceding and following standard market trading. Did you read something in the morning news that makes you want to place a pre-market trade? With Firstrade, you may do so between 8:05&ndash9:25 AM. Have you done more research into an option and want to engage in aftermarket trading? Firstrade does that, too, letting you place orders from 4:05&ndash5:25 PM. Online & Accessible By Mobile Phone: Firstrade&rsquos iPhone and Android apps let you view account information on the go. Your all-in-one dashboard is available with these apps as well. You also retain full functionality to execute trades just as you would from your PC. As an added measure of security, iOS devices running Firstrade apps feature Touch ID. With a touch of your fingerprint, you&rsquoll have instant, secure access to your account. No or Low Minimums Required: As a general rule, Firstrade option accounts don&rsquot require minimums for most strategies.

However, Spreads & Saddles strategies require a $10,000 minimum, and Uncovered Puts requires $25,000. When you log into your Firstrade account, you have access to a customizable all-in-one dashboard. This dashboard shows you a panorama of your account, including history, gains, losses, research, and executing trades. Not only that, but the Options Wizard streamlines the bulk of your research and work. It analyzes your data along with market goings-on to provide up-to-date information that you can act upon. Some ways that Options Wizard assists your trading include, but are not limited to, the following: One-month & six-month trend indicators Trading method checklists More than 65 technical indicators Profit & loss simulations Support & resistance levels Over 40 complex options strategies Technical & fundamental rankings. If you&rsquore interested in trading options but need to shore up your options knowledge, Firstrade has you covered with its Options Investment Guide. Some of the topics and tools available within the guide are: Options basics Advanced options concepts Options strategies Educational videos Podcasts Options calculators. Interactive Brokers Review. Interactive Brokers is an online broker-dealer founded by current Chairman and CEO Thomas Peterffy. The firm has been involved in options trading for nearly 40 years. Key Factors That Enabled This Firm to Rank as a Top 2017 Best Options Broker.

Listed below are some features of this firm&rsquos platform that we believe make it one of the best options brokers. Base fees for options with IB cost nothing whereas its options per contract are a competitive $0.15 to $0.70. IB requires a minimum of $10,000 to open an account. This averages out to be higher than industry standards. However, according to IB&rsquos own research, it proves to be more affordable than 91% of competing options trading platforms. Also, based on which country you live in, IB may offer either Fixed or Tiered commission plans. The details of both plans are laid out below. Single flat fee per contract All commissions included Exchange, regulatory, and third-party fees included VAT, or value-added tax (based on region) Already low commissions When volume goes up, commissions go down Includes exchange, clearing, and regulatory fees VAT as applicable Rebates paid back in whole or part to you. Three State-of-the-Art Trading Interfaces: If you&rsquore a busy investor who needs a way to access your account while out and about, IB&rsquos mobile app is for you. You enjoy real-time streaming quotes and most of the same functions as you would through IB&rsquos web-based account portal, including the ability to execute trades. However, if you&rsquore the kind of person who&rsquod rather sit in front of your computer and conduct your options trading, IB gives you a choice between desktop or HTML-based interface. IB&rsquos desktop software, known as Trader Workstation (TWS), puts the full power of the firm&rsquos trading platform onto your PC or laptop. You can trade over 100 global markets stream quotes, up-to-the-minute news, and research perform risk analysis and much, much more. The Trader Workstation is the perfect solution for experienced traders and investors who have more complex accounts.

It&rsquos also a great option for firms and institutions that need a high-caliber, prepackaged yet customizable options trading platform. For investors who have neither the time nor inclination to educate themselves on complicated desktop options trading platforms, there&rsquos the IB WebTrader. WebTrader is a simplified web-based portal with an intuitive interface. However, don&rsquot let the streamlined look fool you: WebTrader packs the same punch found in Trader Workstation. Your functionality is just as fully realized and extensive. The only difference is a dashboard that&rsquos less crowded and more focused on the big-picture details of your account. Expert Assistance on Large Orders: In the event you run into a problem or have a question while executing a large trade, the professionals at IB can help. Their Stocks and Options Trade Desk is staffed with expert brokers who average more than 15 years of trading experience. In this way, IB&rsquos options trading platforms let you keep your independence yet fall back on expert client care as needed. This puts you in a veritable no-lose situation when deciding whether to use IB&rsquos powerful software in your options investing strategies.

Widgets & Resources to Help You Trade: A wealth of resources is available to help you shore up your trading knowledge, not to mention make your time learning IB options trading platforms more efficient. To that end, IB offers Traders&rsquo University. Traders&rsquo University features webinars, instructional videos, software tours, and courses, all designed to bring you up to speed in the shortest amount of time. Not only that, but IB also hosts an abundance of documentation aimed at speeding up your learning curve. This includes cheat sheets, user manuals, FAQs, and quickstart guides, to name a few. Widgets can be downloaded to your preferred work device to help you calculate simple tasks. These widgets include the following: Options pricing calculator Options strategies widget Traders&rsquo calendar Traders&rsquo University Courses app Options calculator Probability lab. Aside from its online options trading platform, IB, as a firm, has won several awards through the years. This evidences the firm&rsquos leadership and innovation throughout the online investing and options trading industry. For a complete listing of awards won by IB from 2005 through today, visit the awards page on its website.

A sampling has been reproduced below: Barron&rsquos Top Online Broker 2011&ndash2016 WSL&rsquos 2016 Award for Best Options Trading Platform &ndash Broker FX Week 2015 Award Winner for Best Retail FX Platform CTA US Service Award 2015 for Best FCM &ndash Innovation. Lightspeed Trading Review. Lightspeed Trading is an online broker in business since 1994. The firm is headquartered in New York City with an additional office in Chicago, Illinois. The firm&rsquos main clientele consists of active or frequent traders. To these investors, Lightspeed markets its array of proprietary options trading platforms and third-party trading software. Key Factors That Enabled This Firm to Rank as a Top 2017 Best Options Broker. Listed below are some features of this firm&rsquos platform that we believe make it one of the best options brokers. Range of Options Trading Platforms: Lightspeed has a broad range of options trading platforms suited to your needs, comfort, and level of expertise. The options trading platforms available to you include: Lightspeed Trader : Lightspeed&rsquos flagship options trading platform.

Designed for intermediate to advanced investors. Downloadable to your desktop complete with real-time data streams. Fully customizable to suit your needs. $100 monthly platform fee. Lightspeed Web Trader : Online portal if you prefer a web-based options trading platform. Identical functionality as desktop programs, including real-time streaming and full customization. No monthly fee. Sterling Trader : Advanced users only. Full-featured downloadable software. Comes with a $130 per month platform fee. Livevol X (LVX) : Free desktop options trading platform for novice investors or those who want uncluttered, streamlined trading software. Includes real-time risk analysis, trade execution, volatility alerts, price alerts, and much more. RealTick Pro : The most sophisticated of Lightspeed&rsquos options trading platforms. For use by professional traders, hedge funds, and Registered Investment Advisors (RIA).

Monthly platform fee of $275. To view specs for each options trading platform, including a side-by-side comparison, visit Lighstpeed&rsquos Platform Comparison page. Trading Account Minimums: The minimum amount required to open a Lightspeed options trading account depends on three variables: (1) the type of platform you wish to use, (2) the type of account you open, and 3) whether you&rsquore a new customer. For example, both Lightspeed Trader and RealTick accounts require $10,000 minimum for existing accounts. If you open a new account, however, you&rsquoll pay more. New Lightspeed Trader, Sterling Trader, and RealTick accounts require $25,000 for options trading. Using the Web Trader options trading platform? You only need $10,000 to open an account. Livevol X options trading platform accounts demand the highest minimum balance at $35,000. Low Base Rates & Commissions: Whether you classify as an occasional trader, or even if you actively trade but not in high volume, then you&rsquoll be subject to Lighstpeed&rsquos standard per contract rate of $0.60 ($0.65 if using Livevol X options trading platform). However, if you actively trade in higher volumes, you may qualify for Lighstpeed&rsquos Active Trader Commission Group. Commissions vary based on volume and are broken down as follows: Once qualified, the above amounts are applied to all shares traded, not just those shares above the monthly threshold. Additionally, Lightspeed applies the following base rates per order based on your preferred options trading platform: Lightspeed Trader & Sterling Trader: per share rate x 100 RealTick: $3.00 WebTrader: $4.50. Investor Education & Resources: Lightspeed&rsquos website hosts an impressive trove of educational and instructional materials. This includes a Knowledge Center with FAQs, a deep selection of product tutorials, and webinars.

OptionsHouse is a financial services company founded in 2005. The firm is located in Chicago, Illinois and is owned by Aperture Group, LLC. Key Factors That Enabled This Firm to Rank as a Top 2017 Best Options Broker. Listed below are some features of this firm&rsquos platform that we believe make it one of the best options brokers. Industry-Leading Low Base Rate & Commissions: When you work with OptionsHouse, you save money from the start. OptionsHouse boasts the lowest base rate of any online broker, at $4.95 for options trading. Equally low is its per contract commission fee of $0.50 per contract. As if that wasn&rsquot enough, OptionsHouse doesn&rsquot require account minimums nor does it charge maintenance fees. Complete details about OptionsHouse&rsquos fee structure are found on the OptionsHouse Fees page. OptionsHouse has been recognized by leading industry publications for its innovation and customer service.

The following represent a sample of the many awards that OptionsHouse has achieved: Barron&rsquos 2016 Best for Options Traders in the Online Broker rankings Barron&rsquos Best for Options Traders &ndash 4.55 stars 2011&ndash2016 Stockbrokers. com&rsquos Number 1 Web-Based Platform Award 2016 Stockbrokers. com&rsquos Number 1 for Options Trading 2016 Stockbrokers. com&rsquos Best in Class &ndash Active Trading Stockbrokers. com&rsquos Best in Class &ndash Mobile Trading Ranked first in Investor&rsquos Business Daily&rsquos list of 2016 Best Options Trading Platforms. Comprehensive Options Trading Platform with Streamlined Process: Unlike other online options brokers, OptionsHouse doesn&rsquot offer a plethora of interfaces and platforms. This could be an issue for certain investors who want a tool prepackaged with bells and whistles inside a complex interface. While this works well for some investors and top options brokers, OptionsHouse takes a different tack. Instead, it favors a streamlined options trading platform that focuses on process . In this respect, OptionsHouse breaks the mold. Its options trading platform enables you to execute trades from start to finish within a proven process called tradeCYCLE. tradeCYCLE has six distinct steps, each step building on the previous one. When all the steps have been coordinated in this manner, you&rsquore able to execute tested, better-informed trades.

The following graph illustrates the tradeCYCLE process: That&rsquos the beauty of OptionsHouse&rsquos options trading platform. You don&rsquot need to be an advanced user when it comes to trading software. You don&rsquot need to be a trading professional. You only need a desire to learn and a willingness to be taught. In this way, OptionsHouse proves itself to be one of the best brokers for options trading. It teaches you how to transition from &ldquohunt and peck&rdquo investing into solid, thoroughly analyzed orders. However, tradeCYCLE&rsquos effectiveness stems from the power of OptionsHouse as a top options trading platform. Some benefits of OptionsHouse&rsquos options trading platform include, but are not limited to, the following: Anytime access from any location with an Internet connection A litany of top-notch tools and customizable options to gel with your investing method Real-time, streaming market data to make faster, more knowledgeable trade decisions Instant alerts that highlight trade opportunities fitting your specific criteria Risk and benefits analysis of potential trades. For more details on the powerful technology that makes this one of the best options trading platforms available today, visit OptionsHouse&rsquos Trading Platform page. If you&rsquore busy and need to review your account, stream real-time data or execute a trade, OptionsHouse has you covered with its line-up of phone and tablet apps. There&rsquos an app for you whether you operate an iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.

Even if you don&rsquot have one of the above types of hardware, you can still access your account and trading information via OptionsHouse&rsquos Stock and Options Trading app. The app is suited for Blackberrys and most other mobile phones. Resources for New Customers & New Investors Alike: OptionsHouse is a best options trading platform due in no small part because of its generous educational and informational resources. You can access a page dedicated to learning the ins and outs of OptionsHouse&rsquos options trading platform. OptionsHouse has written several in-depth guides to guide you as you first get to know the software. Once you have a grasp on the technology, OptionsHouse can walk you step by step through the tradeCYCLE process. Each step is broken down even further and explained in clear, practical terms that help you master the overall process. In addition to the above tools, OptionsHouse holds regular webinars for continuing education. It also archives past webinars for your convenience. This means you can still benefit from the expert teaching at OptionsHouse even if you miss a scheduled webinar. TradeKing is an online broker founded in 2005.

It is part of TradeKing Group, Inc. In December 2012, TradeKing merged with sister company Zecco Trading. As a result, TradeKing manages $2.6 billion in assets across 500,000 customer accounts. TradeKing is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with offices in Charlotte, North Carolina El Segundo, California and Plano, Texas. Key Factors That Enabled This Firm to Rank as a Top 2017 Best Options Broker. Listed below are some features of this firm&rsquos platform that we believe make it one of the best options brokers. In recognition of TradeKing&rsquos innovative and customer service excellence, it has received numerous awards through the years. Some of these include: Ranked 2016 Best in Class for Commissions & Fees by Stockbrokers. com Rated 4-stars by Barron&rsquos Online Broker survey between 2006&ndash2016 Stockbrokers. com&rsquos 2015 Number 1 Broker Innovation for its TradeKing LIVE platform Ranked Number 1 in Trader Community for 2013&ndash2014 by StockBrokers. com&rsquos Broker Survey SmartMoney&rsquos Number 1 in Customer Service for 2010&ndash2012.

Leading Base Rates & Competitive Commissions: TradeKing&rsquos base rate sits at $4.95. This is rivaled only by OptionsHouse in offering the lowest base rate for the cost-conscious options trader. And while TradeKing&rsquos per contract charge of $0.65 isn&rsquot the lowest in the industry, it remains extremely competitive with lesser-known firms. Compared to big-name firms, however, TradeKing&rsquos fees provide a clear advantage. These overall cost-savings benefits make TradeKing a standout among our choices for best options broker. All-in-One Options Trading Platform: TradeKing&rsquos software gives you everything you need in a comprehensive, fully functional options trading platform. A few of the key features include: Single dashboard overview of your account that lets you view trading history, track your assets, gains and losses, and more A tax manager that registers your taxes across all accounts The ability to grant secure account access to family and friends Simplified money transfers and withdrawals 19 option chains, of which 14 are based on method. TradeKing hosts a page within its Education Center that specializes in options trading. This page features option trading tools, option strategies, and on-demand videos to boost your option knowledge bank and make the most of TradeKing&rsquos technology. TradeStation is an online options trading platform offered through TradeStation Group, Inc., and TradeStation Securities, Inc. TradeStation Group is located in Plantation, Florida.

It is a subsidiary of Monex Group, Inc., located in Japan. The firm is considered a best broker for options trading due to its flexible pricing structure and OptionStation Pro trading platform. Key Factors That Enabled This Firm to Rank as a Top 2017 Best Options Broker. Listed below are some features of this firm&rsquos platform that we believe make it one of the best options brokers. TradeStation options trading platform has been recognized throughout the industry as one of the best for buying and selling options. Some of the awards and honors that the software has received include the following: Rated highest by Barron&rsquos in the Best for Frequent Traders Category 2016 Stockbrokers. com&rsquos awards for Best Platform Technology 2012&ndash2016 Stockbrokers. com&rsquos Best in Class for Mobile Trading 2016 Investor&rsquos Business Daily&rsquos Top Five Online Brokers 2016. Flexible, Tiered Pricing Structure: You may think options trading platforms of the kind offered by TradeStation are reserved for professional, high-volume traders. While pro traders can indeed make good use of TradeStation&rsquos platform, TradeStation has made it possible for its software to benefit even those who don&rsquot trade as often. It can do this through its tiered pricing structure. Depending upon the frequency and volume with which you trade, you can take advantage of either a per contract or per trade plan.

Per contract is best for infrequent traders or those who don&rsquot trade with high volume. You pay a flat fee of $1.00 per contract with no applicable base fee. You are required a one-contract minimum, however. For those of you who are to option trading as &ldquowhales&rdquo are to gambling, you save money with the per trade pricing plan. Under this plan, you pay a base rate on each trade along with a per contract fee. These rates and fees vary according to volume. The higher the volume, the lower the rate. For instance, if you execute over 200 trades per month, your base is $4.99 plus $0.20 per contract. Fewer trades result in higher costs. The key below details TradeStation&rsquos full pricing structure. $4.99 base plus $0.20contract at 200 tradesmonth $5.99 base plus $0.30contract at 100&ndash199 tradesmonth $6.99 base plus $0.40contract at 30&ndash99 tradesmonth $7.99 base plus $0.50contract at 10&ndash29 tradesmonth $9.99 base plus $0.70contract at 1&ndash9 tradesmonth.

Trading at the $9.99 base rate ($10.69 total) with TradeStation isn&rsquot as cost-effective compared to some of its competitors, as this broker comparison chart shows. Even then, TradeStation remains very competitively priced. Once you move beyond that base rate, however, the comparison chart clearly proves that TradeStation is the most cost-effective choice against the bigger names in the business. This is true no matter the volume. TradeStation set out to build the best platform to trade options, and there&rsquos no doubt it&rsquos become one of the industry leaders in online options trading. It&rsquos a powerful, feature-rich platform that lets you take control of your options trading. Some benefits you enjoy with OptionStation Pro include: Ability to quickly discover and rank potential trading opportunities Employ a pre-set method to reduce lag time between discovery and trade execution Build, analyze, and track almost all options positions One-click order placement directly from an option chain Fully customizable interface, including position management, spread types, graph displays, and more. Another reason TradeStation made our list of the best options brokers was for the variety of access points it affords its customers. Not only can you access your account from the web, but you can download the TradeStation Mobile app to your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or Android tablet. The apps aren&rsquot quite as fully functional as what you&rsquoll get through direct web-based access. TradeStation made sure to keep its apps as robust as possible, however. For instance, you can still view quotes, look over graphs and charts, view real-time streaming data, and execute trades.

Not only that, but you can easily track positions and keep a close eye on your watch lists, among other features. Conclusion &ndash Top 6 Best Options Trading Platforms. One of the more noteworthy takeaways from our list of best options trading platforms is the ability to customize your experience. If you&rsquore an experienced or even intermediate user of trading software, you may feel right at home in maneuvering such platforms, even at their most complex. However, for traders who&rsquove never bought or sold an option in their life, the customizable nature of the above software is essential. Without it, your proficiency can slow to a crawl as you try to wrap your head around more advanced, sophisticated tools. Most of the above software, the best options trading platforms to be found on the Internet, let you customize to the extreme. You get a streamlined, intuitive options trading platform that strips away the extraneous details. This frees you to focus on the basics and to learn options trading that much faster. But even the simplest tool is of no use if you don&rsquot get some training on how to use it. To that end, the above list of best options brokers extends a plethora of resources to educate you on the science and art of options trading. Equipped with both knowledge and the right instrument, you can undertake your newfound interest in options trading with confidence.

Reasonable efforts have been made to present accurate information, however all info is presented without warranty. Review AdvisoryHQ&rsquos Terms for details. Also review each firm&rsquos site for the most updated data, rates and info. Note: Firms and products, including the one(s) reviewed above, may be our affiliates. Click to view our advertiser disclosures. LATEST RELATED ARTICLES. Top 6 Best Forex Brokers & Trading Sites | 2017 Ranking & Reviews | Best Forex Trading Platforms. Top 7 Best Futures Brokers for Futures Trading | 2017 Ranking | Best Futures Trading Platforms. Top 6 Best Online Stock Brokers (Ranking of the Top Discount Brokerage Firms) Top 6 Best Online Trading Platforms | 2017 Ranking | Best Online Trading Sites & Top Trading Platforms. Top 5 Best Forex Brokers – UK | Ranking | Top UK Forex Broker Trading Platforms. Top 6 Best Discount Brokers | 2017 Ranking | Best Discount Brokerage Firms for Trading Accounts.

Top 6 Best Futures Trading Brokers (2017 Trading Platform Reviews) Top 5 Best Penny Stock Brokers | 2017 Ranking | Best Penny Stock Trading Platforms for Penny Trading. Follow AdvisoryHQ On: Copyright © 2016-2017. AdvisoryHQ (All Rights Reserved)