Tastyworks is unfortunately not open to Canadians at this time.
An online brokerage platform that focuses on options trading, Tastyworks is available in the United States and 50 other countries.
Interactive Brokers
Pros
- Low commissions, especially for high-frequency traders.
- Robust platform with a variety of advanced tools.
Cons
- Platform design and function takes some getting used to.
Questrade
Pros
- No fees to purchase ETFs.
- Easy to navigate mobile and desktop platform.
Cons
- Minimum account balance of $1,000 is required to trade.
- Subscription required to stream real time quotes.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
Pros
- Transparent fee structure.
- As an established institution, clients have a sense of familiarity.
Cons
- User experience is not ideal.
With Tastyworks not currently available in Canada, there are several alternatives that traders have access to.
These platforms are great substitutes for Tastyworks and offer many products and services at similar costs.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers is a great broker for Canadians.
The costs of trading are extremely low, and there are several different pricing structures to choose from depending on the type of trader you are.
The fixed pricing structure offers trading for as low as $0.005 per share of US equities, with a minimum of $1 and a maximum of 1% of the trade value.
For the tiered structure, pricing starts at $0.0035 per share for the first 300,000 shares and drops to $0.0005.
As you can see, high-frequency traders are likely to benefit the most from the Interactive Brokers pricing structure.
In addition, Interactive Brokers has some of the lowest (if not the lowest) margin rates in the industry.
Aside from stocks, investors also have access to a wide range of other assets, including ETFs, options, futures, FOPs, warrants, structured products, SSFs, currencies, commodities, indices, fixed income, and mutual funds.
Interactive Brokers offers their Canadian clients a variety of account options.
Both registered and non-registered accounts can be created in just a few simple clicks.
TFSA, RRSP, Spousal RRSP, margin accounts, and various trust accounts are all available through the trading platform.
Interactive Brokers also offers the ability to trade fractional shares, except in RRSP and TFSA accounts.
This feature has been highly requested, as it allows for traders operating with small sums of money in their accounts to buy stock in companies with high individual share prices such as Amazon.
The investment platform offers both a mobile application and a desktop application, both of which have an initial learning curve to them.
However, once users get a grasp of the interface, there are a variety of useful features that can be used to conduct research to make better financial decisions.
Lastly, Interactive Brokers also offers interest up to 4.83% on idle cash balances sitting in your trading account.
Questrade
Questrade has been around in the Canadian market for over 20 years.
During this time, the company has consistently been rated amongst the top investing platforms in the country by offering low-fee trading and a variety of services that cater to both amateur and experienced traders.
Just like Interactive Brokers, Questrade offers a few different account options depending on user needs.
Regular accounts have commissions ranging from $4.95 to $9.95 for most Canadian and U.S. stocks. The company also offers an Active Trader package which can bring commissions down to as low as $0.01 per share.
Aside from stocks, Questrade offers access to several other assets including ETFs, options, forex, CFDs, mutual funds, bonds, GICs, and commodities.
In terms of account types, Questrade offers a large range of both registered and non-registered accounts.
This variety opens up investing to those with different financial goals, from saving for education to retirement planning.
Money can be held in either USD or CAD, which can allow traders to buy and sell both Canadian and U.S. equities with ease while saving higher-frequency traders hundreds of dollars in transaction fees each year.
One feature not offered by Questrade is fractional share trading.
In this area, both Interactive Brokers and Wealthsimple Trade come out ahead.
Both the mobile application and desktop application are fairly straightforward and easy-to-use.
A variety of customization options are available, allowing traders to focus on what is important to them.
CIBC Investor’s Edge
CIBC’s trading platform Investor’s Edge is a good option for traders who prefer to stay with one of the big five banks.
The platform shares many similarities with Tastyworks, including the ability to trade options.
While most of the big five banks have this feature, CIBC stands out through its transparent and easy-to-understand pricing structure.
Standard, student and active pricing tiers are available for options trading.
Compared to other platforms, CIBC’s pricing is very favourable ($6.95 + $1.25 per contract, $5.95 + $1.25 per contract, and $4.95 + $1.25 per contract for standard, student, and active traders, respectively).
While CIBC’s Investor Edge may be missing the sleek interface and superior user experience found in other platforms, the no-frills, low-cost offering is still a reasonable alternative for Canadians looking to trade options.
Will Tastyworks Ever Come to Canada?
Tastyworks has mentioned that they have expansion plans in motion and specifically mentions plans to offer services in Canada.
The company allows Canadians to join a waitlist, which will allow users first access once the platform comes to Canada.
What is Tastyworks?
Tastyworks is one of the newer online brokerage platforms to emerge in recent years.
The company was established in 2017 and the platform focuses specifically on options and futures trading.
While trading stocks and ETFs is possible, the platform is not catered towards those types of securities in the way Questrade or Interactive Brokers are.
The platform also boasts a great selection of educational content, allowing both new and experienced traders to learn more about options trading.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can non-US citizens use Tastyworks?
- Can you trade options in Canada?
