TradeKing vs SpeedTrader

• Tweet

• Tweet

At first glance this may seem like a strange match; these two brokers take a very different approach to the business of trading. TradeKing is a great all round broker, SpeedTrader is more specialized, aiming at high volume traders and day traders.

If both brokers swapped clients for the day it’s unlikely either side would be very happy. SpeedTrader clients would complain the TradeKing platform wasn’t adequate, TradeKing clients would complain that SpeedTrader’s platform was difficult to use and would certainly miss their treasured trading community.

To help you pick the perfect broker for your trading style and experience, we’ve compared their respective platforms and services and we’ll recommend what kind of traders they suit and why.

Products & Services
Broker	TradeKing	SpeedTrader
Rating	[rating:5/5]	[rating:3/5]
website	Visit the TradeKing Website	Visit the SpeedTrader Website
Our Review	Read Our TradeKing Review	Read Our SpeedTrader Review
	Bank Deposits	Bank Deposits
	Bonds	Bonds
	Certificates of Deposits	Certificates of Deposits
	Day Trading	Day Trading
Services	Extended Hours Trading	Extended Hours Trading
	ETFs	ETFs
	IRAs	IRAs
	Mutual Funds	Mutual Funds
	Trading Community	Trading Community

Services Overview

So they both offer share trades and mutual funds, that’s kind of what you expect from a broker right. The big difference is that SpeedTrader welcome day traders, in fact you get the impression they only want frequent traders, which is nice because most retail brokers treat day traders as social outcasts.

SpeedTrader on the other hand welcomes them with open arms, they offer per share pricing, excellent for volume traders and there’s no limit to the amount of shares you can buy.

TradeKing on the other hand are more of an all round broker, they operate an excellent flat free pricing model for investment products, which should work out more efficient for smaller trades.

Trading Tools
	TradeKing	SpeedTrader
	Automated Trading	Automated Trading
	Investor Resource Center	Investor Resource Center
	Mobile Trading	Mobile Trading
	Online Advisor	Online Advisor
Trading Tools	Profit & Loss Calculator	Profit & Loss Calculator
	Streaming Charts	Streaming Charts
	Stock & Fund Screeners	Stock & Fund Screeners
	Tables & Graphs	Tables & Graphs
	Training & Education	Training & Education
	Virtual Trading	Virtual Trading

Trading Tools Overview

It’s the same story here, TradeKing’s platform is a great all round platform, I used it for many years and was more than happy. It has some great trading tools, superb training and above all an excellent trading community built in.

SpeedTrader’s platform is aimed more at the serious investor, sold on its speed and professional style tool set; it’s a very accomplished platform for sure. It’s actually available in three different versions depending on your needs. There’s also a separate Forex platform for those of you wanting to dabble in the foreign exchange markets.

SpeedTrader Pro is a direct access platform with level 2 data, perfect for all you day traders out there. For less prolific traders there’s the basic SpeedTrader 2 platform, which still offers exceptional trading speed but doesn’t have some of the more advanced tools or level 2 data.

Summary

It should be fairly obvious by now which of these brokers is for you. SpeedTrader is not really interested in your business unless you have a sizable account and trade very frequently, they charge account inactivity fees and annual IRA fees which push the overall price up for smaller investors.

If you’re looking for a broker to manage your IRA and other investments TradeKing is the best choice as they don’t charge an annual IRA fee and offer much better training and support.

If you’re a beginner then TradeKing are definitely the way to go. Their trade platform and training is perfectly suitable for traders who are just starting out, add to that there are no account inactivity fees and a superb trading community to learn from; you’d be to be mad to go anywhere else.

You may also like:

1. TradeKing vs Firstrade
2. TradeKing vs OptionsXpress
3. TradeKing vs E*TRADE
4. TradeKing vs Zecco
5. TradeKing vs OptionsHouse
6. SpeedTrader Review
7. TradeKing Review