Review of TradeZero U.S.
Day traders and other experienced traders in the United States who are looking for advanced software, useful trading services, and low commissions should take a look at TradeZero. Although the brokerage firm is not as well known as some larger competitors, it offers several tools designed specifically for active traders.
TradeZero U.S. Pricing and Minimum Deposit
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| Stocks and ETFs listed on NYSE, AMEX, or Nasdaq and priced at $1 or more | $0 |
| Stocks and ETFs under $1, OTC/Pink Sheets, and equities traded between 4:00 AM ET and 7:00 AM ET | $0.005 per share, $0.99 minimum, $7.95 maximum |
| Options | $0.59 per contract |
| Mutual funds | not offered |
| Treasury Bills, Notes, Municipal and Agency Bonds, Zeros & Strips | not offered |
| Investments | stocks, ETFs, options |
| Minimum deposit to open an account | $2,500 initial funding requirement |
Investment Choices
TradeZero offers self-directed brokerage accounts only. There are no financial-planning services or managed accounts. Inside the broker’s self-directed accounts, the following assets can be traded:
- Equities, including many over-the-counter securities
- Options
- ETFs
Opening positions in foreign ordinary shares, commonly called F shares, is not permitted. Existing F-share positions can be liquidated, although a $50 fee applies to each execution. There are no other investment products at this time, which may disappoint active traders who are interested in futures, forex, mutual funds, or bonds.
TradeZero America does not currently offer cryptocurrency trading. Its current U.S. product lineup focuses on stocks, ETFs, OTC securities, and options.
Day Trading
TradeZero specializes in day trading, so we need to examine this topic right away.
Shorting: Eligible securities can be sold short inside a TradeZero account. The brokerage firm has a patented short-locate tool that can find shares available for shorting. The tool displays the locate cost and the number of shares available. Eligible unused locates can be marked for credit, giving traders a chance to recover part of the locate fee.
Level II Quotes: Real-time Level II quotes for the major U.S. exchanges are available on multiple TradeZero platforms. OTC Level II data requires a separate paid subscription.
Direct-Access Routing: TradeZero’s Select Routes are available to all eligible accounts; a $30,000 account balance is not required. The available choices include smart routes, algorithmic routing, and direct exchange access. Route-specific charges may apply.
Routing Fees and Rebates: TradeZero America offers routes that may result in liquidity fees or credits. Liquidity credits are not paid on OTC securities, stocks priced below $1, or trades placed between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. ET.
TradeZero states that funded margin accounts maintaining more than $2,000 can day trade using standard overnight margin buying power. Accounts with at least $25,000 may be eligible to apply for up to 4:1 intraday leverage, subject to TradeZero’s risk controls. TradeZero International cannot be used by U.S. citizens, green-card holders, U.S. permanent residents, or people domiciled in the United States.
TradeZero Margin Rate
Margin trading is available at TradeZero. The broker uses a flat interest rate rather than a traditional tiered schedule. The current margin-debit interest rate is 9% annually. This rate can change, and additional stock-borrow charges apply to short positions held overnight.
Securities priced below $3 are not marginable at TradeZero. They cannot be purchased with margin or used as collateral for a margin loan. Short positions in stocks priced below $5 currently have a $5-per-share margin requirement. Opening short positions in stocks priced below $0.25 is not permitted.
TradeZero has a margin-check tool on its website that displays the initial and overnight requirements for an entered ticker symbol for both short and long positions.
ZeroPro
TradeZero has four main platforms: TZ1, ZeroPro, ZeroFree, and ZeroMobile. It also offers TradingView integration and an execution-focused developer API. ZeroPro is the broker’s most advanced downloadable platform and has a great deal of trading power. Here are some of its highlights:
- Full-screen charting with more than 60 customizable technical indicators
- Ability to display multiple charts simultaneously in separate workspace windows
- Color-coded Level II quotes
- Trade ticket with separate sell-short and buy-to-cover buttons
- Advanced order types, including conditional and bracketed orders
- Real-time and historical financial news
- Time-and-sales data
- Short-locate widget with real-time pricing and availability
- Customizable alerts
- Real-time watchlists
- Market-mover lists and the ProScanner tool
The primary downside of ZeroPro is its cost, which is discussed in the pricing section below, and its lack of streaming video news. ZeroPro requires Windows 10 or later and does not directly support macOS.
TZ1
TZ1 has replaced ZeroWeb in TradeZero’s current platform lineup. TZ1 is a free browser-based platform that works on modern browsers and operating systems without requiring a separate installation.
TZ1 includes customizable workspaces, drag-and-drop widgets, real-time scanners, Level II data, watchlists, fundamentals, news and audio alerts, and TradingView-powered charts. Traders can place orders directly from charts and create customized hotkeys.
The platform also has TradeZero’s short-locate system and supports stocks, ETFs, and single-leg options. Its option chain provides live data and filters for finding eligible contracts.
ZeroFree
ZeroFree is a more basic platform that operates within a web browser. Despite its simplicity, it has Level II data, a short-locate tool, time-and-sales data, real-time quotes, news, watchlists, and portfolio-management tools. Advanced hotkeys are available as a $15-per-month add-on.
The order ticket includes separate choices for short sales. The ticket appears near the top of the platform in a horizontal format.
The watchlist has a symbol field at the top for quickly adding a security. An entry can be deleted by clicking the red X. Other windows, including the Level II box, chart window, and short-locate tool, use similar layouts.
ZeroMobile
TradeZero has a mobile app that works on compatible tablets and phones. It includes several tools that are not always available on other brokerage apps. For example, ZeroMobile has a short-locate tool that can search for securities available for shorting and lets customers mark eligible unused locates for credit.
ZeroMobile now includes Level II data, option chains, hotkeys, trailing stops, market-mover lists, time-and-sales data, and technical charting indicators. Charts can be viewed vertically or horizontally and support candlestick, OHLC, and line formats. Other features include financial news, watchlists, current positions, real-time account statistics, and multiple order types.
Other Software
TradeZero does not have a smartwatch app. It has a website that can be used for account-management functions, such as ACH transfers and day-trading information. TradeZero also offers TradingView integration and TradeZero Developer, an API that can be used to trade equities and options, retrieve account and position information, and request short locates.
TradeZero Fees and Minimums
TradeZero America charges $0 commissions on eligible orders for stocks priced above $1 and listed on the NYSE, AMEX, or Nasdaq between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET. Regulatory and reporting fees can still apply.
Option trades have no base commission. The standard options contract fee is $0.42 per contract, capped at $20 per order. The cap does not apply to cash-settled index options, which have an additional fee of $0.65 per contract. TradeZero is temporarily offering a reduced contract fee of $0.21 for eligible trades through September 4, 2026. Automatic exercises and assignments cost $10 per line, while manual exercises cost $35 per line.
Penny stocks priced below $1 and over-the-counter stocks have a commission of 0.5¢ per share. There is a minimum commission of $0.99 and a maximum of $7.95 per trade for up to 250,000 shares.
Stock trades placed on any exchange between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. ET cost 0.5¢ per share.
There is no minimum deposit required to open a TradeZero account. However, customers must deposit at least $2,500 to access a live trading platform and begin trading. A margin account must maintain at least $2,000 in equity to receive margin buying power.
Speaking of software, ZeroPro costs $59 per month and includes access to the other TradeZero platforms. TZ1, ZeroFree, and ZeroMobile have no monthly platform fee. OTC market data is not included. Nonprofessional customers pay $8 per month for OTC Level I data or $20 per month for OTC Level II data.
After the initial deposit, an account must maintain at least $250 in equity to retain platform access. If access is lost, the account must return to at least $2,500 to regain it. A quarterly Unqualified Account Fee of up to $5 may apply to accounts with balances below $100 that hold no securities and had no trading activity during the previous quarter. Zero-balance accounts are not charged this fee.
Customer Support
The TradeZero website has live-chat support available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During our testing of this service channel, we received competent answers. A document-upload tool is another useful feature on the website.
Phone service is also available. Current staffed phone hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Customers can also contact the company by email at support@tradezero.us.
TradeZero has no retail branch locations, so assistance is provided through the methods described above.
Miscellaneous Services
Initial Public Offerings: TradeZero does not offer access to IPO shares before they begin trading publicly.
Extended-Hours Trading: Pre-market and after-hours trading are available from 4:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. ET.
DRIP Availability: TradeZero does not offer automatic dividend reinvestment.
Fractional Shares: Fractional-share trading is not available.
Cash Management Features: TradeZero does not offer debit cards or check-writing services. Its website has wire and ACH transfer tools, although transfer fees may apply.
Individual Retirement Accounts: TradeZero does not offer IRAs, which means trades must be executed inside taxable accounts. Active traders may receive lengthy Form 1099-B tax statements.
Recommendations
Active ETF and Stock Trading: TradeZero with the ZeroPro or TZ1 platform could be a good choice for active traders, especially those who frequently sell stocks short.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Without IRAs or other retirement accounts, TradeZero will not work for this purpose. We can recommend Charles Schwab,
which has IRAs, Individual 401(k) plans, custodial accounts, 529 accounts, financial-planning services,
a robo-advisor, annuities, insurance products, charitable-giving services, retirement
calculators, and many other resources.
Beginners: TradeZero is designed primarily for active and experienced traders. Beginners may
find its platforms and short-selling tools difficult to use. They could instead consider
Webull,
which has a more beginner-friendly interface and simulated trading.
Mutual Funds: TradeZero does not offer mutual funds, but Charles Schwab
does. Schwab offers thousands of funds, including many that can be purchased without a transaction fee. However, some mutual-fund trades at Schwab do have transaction fees.
Small Accounts: Due to TradeZero’s $2,500 deposit requirement for live platform access, we cannot strongly recommend it for very small accounts.
Charles Schwab
may be a better choice. It has no brokerage opening minimum, fractional-share trading, and a desktop platform with
bracket orders. The platform also displays margin requirements for individual securities.
TradeZero U.S. Review Summary
TradeZero is one of the relatively few brokerage firms that still charges for its most advanced downloadable platform, and ZeroPro’s $59 monthly fee is significant. However, TZ1, ZeroFree, and ZeroMobile are now free. The broker still requires a $2,500 deposit before customers can begin live trading, and it does not offer IRAs, mutual funds, bonds, futures, forex, or fractional shares. Nevertheless, active stock and options traders may find value in TradeZero’s short-locate system, extended-hours trading, direct routing, advanced platforms, and removal of the former $25,000 pattern-day-trading minimum.
Updated on 6/18/2026.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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