Zacks Trade Review
If you're looking for advanced trading and professional-level software, Zacks Trade is a brokerage worth considering. Before you open an account, it's a good idea to read this detailed review:
Accounts and Tradable Assets
Zacks Trade offers a moderate selection of assets for investors. The broker provides stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, and fixed-income securities. In addition to major U.S. exchanges, there are also over-the-counter and some international exchanges like the London Stock Exchange. Foreign trading must be enabled on an account before it can access these exchanges.
All accounts at Zacks Trade are self-directed. There are no investment advisory services. Brokerage accounts must be set up with a specific tax structure, and Zacks Trade offers several options, including joint, custodial, individual, trust, and retirement accounts. For professional traders, there are also proprietary trading groups and hedge funds available.
The securities held within a Zacks Trade account are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) for up to $500,000 per separate capacity.
Pricing
Zacks Trade focuses on day traders, and this emphasis affects its pricing structure. Trades are not commission-free. Additionally, accounts with less than $25,000 in assets incur a $15 monthly fee. This fee can be avoided by generating $15 in trading commissions per month. The minimum opening deposit for an account is $250.
Each stock or ETF trade at Zacks costs $0.01 per share with a $1 minimum. This fee applies to stocks priced above $1.00 per share. For stocks under $1.00, the commission is 1% of the trade value, with a $1 minimum fee.
Option contracts cost $1 for the first contract and $0.75 for each additional contract in the same trade. There are no fees for exercises and assignments. Zacks Trade is one of the few brokers that doesn't charge extra for broker-assisted trades.
Crypto trades have a $1.75 minimum and a maximum fee of 1% of the trade value. Mutual fund trades cost $27.50 per side.
Since Zacks caters to day traders, it offers data bundles with varying fees depending on the package selected. There are no charges for using the trading software.
Margin
As mentioned, Zacks Trade specializes in high-frequency trading. It offers margin accounts with some of the lowest rates in the industry:
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Debit Balance
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Zackstrade Margin Rate
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$0 - $100,000
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8.83%
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$100,001 - $1,000,000
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8.33%
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$1,000,001 - $3,000,000
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8.08%
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$3,000,001+
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7.83%
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Zacks Trade’s desktop platform includes a margin calculator that displays the current and post-trade margin requirements for a hypothetical trade.
In addition to standard margin, Zacks Trade also offers portfolio margin.
ZacksTrade Promotion
Banking Tools
Zacks Trade does not provide any notable cash-management features. It doesn't offer a debit card or an FDIC-sweep program.
Website
Zacks Trade’s website primarily serves as a platform for advertising its trading services. It has a login section that enables account management, fund transfers, and basic trading. You can download statements and tax documents, and the website includes a useful portfolio-analysis tool that can generate PDF reports for daily, monthly, and quarterly periods.
For trading, the website features charts with various graph styles, intra-day stats, multiple trade types, and several time-in-force options.
Mobile App
Zacks Trade utilizes software from Interactive Brokers for its mobile app, which is available for both Apple and Android devices. The charting experience is better on a tablet, though the phone version offers the same features. These include:
- Various technical studies
- Multiple plot styles
- Buy and sell buttons on top of the graph
The trade ticket features a swipeable chart on the right-hand side. Swiping left reveals the previous chart before getting to the order ticket. The chart can be edited without returning to the original charting page.
The trade ticket includes several order types, such as mid-price, limit, market if touched, and trailing orders. Important stats, like bid and ask numbers, are displayed in real-time at the top of the ticket.
You can also set up trading presets on the order ticket. Look for the settings icon (three dots) in the upper-right corner. The adjustable parameters include order size, time-in-force, and trade type.
In addition to the mobile app for tablets and phones, Zacks Trade also offers an app for the Apple Watch.
Desktop Program
The most advanced trading experience is available through Zacks Trade Pro, the company’s desktop program. It offers a wealth of useful features and is compatible with Mac and Linux machines.
Zacks Trade Pro starts with two default layouts: Classic and Mosaic. You can create custom layouts and place them in the corner. The platform also includes a Learn tab that provides educational resources to help you get familiar with the advanced tools.
The Classic and Mosaic layouts share many of the same tools, though the interfaces differ slightly. Trade tickets have a few differences: in Classic mode, there’s an option to route marketable orders to exchanges at the best bid and offer. This option isn’t available in Mosaic mode. Both modes feature a variety of order types, including:
- Mid-price
- Limit
- Pegged-to-Best
- Adaptive Algo
Charting offers many tools, though the platform only includes two plot styles. There are a large number of technical studies and tools for drawing and adding text boxes.
Zacks Trade Pro also provides excellent options tools. A strategy builder includes predefined spreads, making it easier to set up multi-leg trades. Additionally, the volatility lab offers information on open interest, historical and implied volatility, and more, all presented in color-coded graphs.
The platform includes a simulated trading mode, which is recommended for those new to the software, as it has a steep learning curve.
Zacks Rank Trading Tool
Zacks Investment Research has maintained hypothetical portfolios holding Zacks Rank #1 stocks for 36 years. These portfolios have outperformed the market in 29 of the last 36 years, with an average annual return of 24.15%, more than double the S&P 500’s 11.11%. These results cover the period from 1988 to 06/03/2023.
The Zacks Rank Trading Tool allows traders to search for Zacks Rank #1 stocks by theme, sector, and industry, and to execute trades directly from the tool within their Zacks Trade Brokerage account.
To access the Zacks Rank Trading Tool, an account balance or initial deposit of $250 is required.
Open ZacksTrade Account
Day Trading
Zacks Trade charges a monthly fee for accounts below $25,000, which is clearly designed with day traders in mind. Here’s how it performs in key areas:
Leverage: Day traders can access up to 4:1 leverage, with portfolio margin increasing this to 6:1.
Extended Hours: Pre-market and after-hours trading are available for most securities, while cryptocurrencies trade 24/7.
Level II Quotes: Zacks Trade offers Level II data for both U.S. and international exchanges.
Direct-access Routing: Zacks Trade’s software allows you to route orders to specific market venues, including some foreign exchanges.
Shorting: Zacks Trade permits shorting, and its software displays available short interest for each ticker symbol.
Bracket Orders: The desktop platform allows users to add take-profit and stop-loss orders to a trade.
Customer Service
Zacks Trade previously had a live chat widget, but this has been removed. There's no robo chat option either. The company offers an email address (support@zackstrade.com), though this typically results in slower responses.
For more urgent issues, phone support is available from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm EST on weekdays. Zacks Trade has no physical branch locations.
Additional Services
Initial Public Offerings: Not offered at Zacks Trade.
DRIP Service: Zacks Trade charges for its DRIP service.
Fractional-Share Trading: Not available for securities, but cryptocurrencies can be traded in whole dollars.
IRA Service: Zacks Trade offers Traditional, Inherited, Roth, SEP, and Rollover IRAs, with some limitations on the Inherited IRA setup.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Not available at Zacks Trade.
ZacksTrade Review Verdict
For high-energy, global trading, Zacks Trade is a strong choice. However, its pricing structure, cash management features, and customer service could use improvement.
ZacksTrade Website
Visit ZacksTrade Website
Updated on 2/26/2026.
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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