Zacks Trade Review
For advanced trading and professional-level software, Zacks Trade is definitely one brokerage firm worth considering. Before opening your next account, be sure to take a look at the following review:
Accounts and Tradable Assets
At Zacks Trade, investors will find a moderate selection of asset classes. The broker-dealer offers stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, and fixed-income securities. Besides the major American exchanges, customers can access over-the-counter securities and many foreign exchanges, including the London Stock Exchange. Zacks Trade currently advertises access to 150 markets across 34 countries. An account must have the appropriate foreign-trading permissions before it can trade on an international exchange.
Zacks Trade’s current public product and commission pages do not list cryptocurrency trading. The firm’s advertised lineup focuses on stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, bonds, and foreign securities.
Every account at Zacks Trade is self-directed. There is no investment-advisory service. A brokerage account must have a registration and tax structure, and Zacks Trade offers several possibilities. Examples include joint, custodial, individual, trust, and retirement accounts. There are also account types for professional traders and organizations, including proprietary trading groups, corporations, partnerships, and hedge funds.
Securities and eligible cash inside a Zacks Trade account are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. SIPC protection is limited to $500,000 for each separate account capacity, including a maximum of $250,000 for cash. SIPC may protect missing assets if a member brokerage firm fails, but it does not protect against market losses.
Pricing
Zacks Trade caters to active traders, and this focus has several pricing implications. First, trades are not commission-free. Second, there is a $15 monthly inactivity fee for accounts with less than $25,000 in assets that generate less than $15 in commissions during the month. There is also a $250 minimum initial deposit for new accounts.
Every U.S. stock or ETF trade at Zacks Trade costs $0.01 per share, with a $1 minimum. This price applies when the security has a market price above $1. For securities priced below $1, the commission is 1% of the trade value, with a $1 minimum. Additional clearing, exchange, or regulatory charges may apply in some situations.
Option trades cost $1 for the first contract and $0.75 for each additional contract in the same order. There are no additional fees for options exercises or assignments. Zacks Trade is also one of the few brokerage firms that does not add a special surcharge for broker-assisted trades.
Mutual fund trades cost $27.50 per transaction. Corporate and government bonds have separate commission schedules based on face value and the number of bonds traded.
As an active-trading firm, Zacks Trade offers optional market-data and research subscriptions with fees that vary according to the package and the customer’s professional or nonprofessional status. Zacks Trade does not charge a platform-access fee for Client Portal, the mobile app, or Zacks Trade Pro.
Margin
As already mentioned, Zacks Trade specializes in active trading. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that the brokerage firm offers margin accounts. Its published margin rates are relatively low compared with those of many large brokerage firms:
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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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Current published U.S.-dollar margin rates range from 8.83% on the first $100,000 borrowed to 7.83% on the portion above $50 million. The rate is calculated using blended tiers, so each portion of a large loan is charged at the applicable tier’s rate. Rates are subject to change.
Zacks Trade Pro has margin tools that show the current and estimated post-trade margin requirements of a hypothetical transaction.
Besides standard Regulation T margin, Zacks Trade offers portfolio margin to qualified customers. Portfolio margin uses a risk-based calculation and may provide lower requirements for some diversified or hedged portfolios. It does not guarantee a fixed level of leverage for every account or position.
ZacksTrade Promotion
Banking Tools
Zacks Trade does not have notable cash-management features. There is no debit card, check-writing service, or FDIC-insured bank-sweep program.
Website
Zacks Trade’s public website is used primarily to explain and advertise the company’s brokerage services. After logging in, customers gain access to Client Portal, a browser-based platform for account management, money transfers, reporting, and trading. Statements and tax documents can be downloaded, and there is a useful Portfolio Analyst tool that can generate PDF reports for custom periods.
For trading, Client Portal provides charts, intraday statistics, several order types, and multiple time-in-force choices. Customers can also manage account settings, request trading permissions, transfer money, and review orders and positions.
Mobile App
Zacks Trade uses trading and clearing technology supplied through Interactive Brokers for its customers. The Zacks Trade mobile app works on compatible Apple and Android phones and tablets. Charting is naturally easier on a tablet, although phones provide many of the same resources. These include:
- Several technical studies
- Multiple chart styles
- Buy and sell buttons displayed on a chart
On the order ticket, there is a swipeable chart displayed on the right-hand side. Swiping to the left reveals the chart that was viewed before opening the order ticket. The chart can be edited without returning to the original charting page.
The order ticket has several order types. These include MidPrice, limit, market-if-touched, and trailing orders. Important trading information, such as bid and ask prices, is displayed prominently at the top of the ticket in real time when the appropriate market data is available.
It is possible to create trading presets for the order ticket. Look for the settings icon in the upper-right corner. Possible adjustments include order size, time in force, and order type.
Besides its phone and tablet versions, the current Apple App Store listing identifies the Zacks Trade app as compatible with Apple Watch.
Desktop Program
The most advanced trading experience is available through Zacks Trade Pro, the company’s desktop program. It includes many useful features and can be installed on Windows, macOS, and Linux computers.
A good place to begin on Pro is in the bottom-left corner. Here, there are two layouts installed by default: Classic and Mosaic. It is possible to create custom layouts and save them in this area. There is also a Learn tab in the corner with educational resources that explain the advanced platform.
The Classic and Mosaic layouts contain many of the same tools, although their interfaces are different. There can also be small differences between individual windows. The order tickets, for example, are not identical. In Classic mode, there is a checkbox that can restrict marketable orders to exchanges displaying the best bid or offer. This choice is not presented in the same way in Mosaic mode. Both tickets provide numerous order types, including:
- MidPrice
- Limit
- Pegged-to-Best
- Adaptive Algo
Charting in Zacks Trade Pro provides many tools. During our investigation, we found a right-click menu with trading buttons at the top. The platform uses blue for buy orders. There are only two chart styles in the version we tested, although the platform provides more than 120 configurable technical indicators. Drawing tools and text boxes are also available.
Zacks Trade Pro also has several advanced options tools. The Strategy Builder includes predefined spreads, making it easier to create a multi-leg order. The Volatility Lab provides information on historical and implied volatility, open interest, and other options data through color-coded charts.
The platform also provides simulated trading, which we highly recommend because the software has a steep learning curve.
Zacks Rank Trading Tool
Zacks Investment Research has maintained hypothetical model portfolios based on Zacks Rank #1 stocks since 1988. Zacks currently reports that Zacks Rank #1 stocks produced an average annual return of approximately 24.00% from January 1, 1988, through May 4, 2026, more than twice the return of the S&P 500 over the stated period. These are hypothetical model results, not the actual performance of a brokerage account, and they do not include every cost or tax that an investor might incur.
The Zacks Rank Trading Tool allows traders to search for Zacks Rank #1 stocks by theme, sector, and industry and to create buy and sell orders directly from the tool within a Zacks Trade brokerage account.
The Zacks Rank Trading Tool is free for Zacks Trade customers. Zacks Trade’s current pricing page states that an account balance or initial deposit of at least $250 is required to access it.
Open ZacksTrade Account
Day Trading
With a monthly account fee assessed against some accounts below $25,000, Zacks Trade clearly focuses on active traders. Here is how the broker-dealer performs in several key areas:
Leverage: FINRA replaced its former pattern-day-trader designation and fixed $25,000 minimum with new intraday-margin standards effective June 4, 2026. Brokerage firms may phase in the new rules through October 20, 2027. The amount of intraday buying power available at Zacks Trade therefore depends on the account, its positions, current margin requirements, the clearing firm’s risk controls, and Zacks Trade’s implementation of the new standards. Portfolio margin is risk-based and does not provide a guaranteed 6:1 leverage level.
Extended Hours: Pre-market and after-hours trading are available for eligible securities. Session availability and supported order types vary by exchange and security.
Level II Quotes: Zacks Trade offers optional Level II data for U.S. and international exchanges. Many real-time market-data packages require paid subscriptions, although some fees may be waived after the account reaches specified trading-activity levels.
Direct-Access Routing: It is possible to send an order to a particular market venue using Zacks Trade’s software. Direct routing is also available for certain foreign exchanges. Exchange, routing, clearing, and regulatory fees may apply.
Shorting: Zacks Trade permits short selling in approved margin accounts, and its software displays the number of shares currently available to borrow for an entered ticker symbol. Availability and borrowing costs can change at any time.
Bracket Orders: The desktop order ticket has a feature for attaching take-profit and stop-loss orders to an opening transaction.
Customer Service
Zacks Trade currently advertises support by phone, email, chat, and social media. Customers can email support@zackstrade.com, and broker-assisted trades do not have an additional representative surcharge.
Phone support is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. ET, except on exchange holidays. Zacks Trade does not operate retail branch locations.
Additional Services
Initial Public Offerings: IPO access is not advertised.
DRIP Service: Dividend reinvestment is available at Zacks Trade, although fees may apply to the service.
Fractional-Share Trading: Zacks Trade does not currently advertise fractional-share trading for stocks or ETFs.
IRA Service: Zacks Trade offers Traditional, Inherited, Roth, SEP, and Rollover IRAs. An Inherited IRA can use a Roth or Traditional tax structure, while a Rollover IRA uses the Traditional structure. Zacks Trade’s current pricing page lists no IRA custodial fee.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Zacks Trade does not currently advertise a fully paid securities-lending program on its public product pages.
ZacksTrade Review Verdict
For advanced global trading, Zacks Trade is a strong contender. It provides access to 150 markets across 34 countries, professional-level software at no additional platform charge, complimentary broker-assisted trades, and margin rates starting at 8.83%. Its drawbacks include commissions on trades, a possible monthly inactivity fee, limited cash-management services, and customer-support hours that do not extend to evenings or weekends.
ZacksTrade Website
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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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