Scalping on Robinhood
Key takeaways:
• Scalping is possible with a brokerage account at Robinhood.
• A new software platform called Legend can be used by scalpers.
• Some features that scalp traders need are missing at Robinhood.
If you’re a scalper looking to make a profit with many trades and low fees, Robinhood is worth considering. Although the brokerage firm offers some resources scalp traders need, other features are missing.
Overview of Scalping
Scalping is a form of ultra-short-term trading that uses many quick day trades to (hopefully) make many small profits. Obviously, it is a form of day trading, and as such, it requires advanced software and a margin account. Because many trades are utilized in scalp trading, the margin account inevitably becomes a PDT (pattern day trading) account.
Scalping at Robinhood
Thankfully for scalpers, Robinhood offers margin and PDT accounts. Once a margin securities account crosses the threshold for PDT status (4 day trades in a rolling 5-day period, which should come pretty quick for a scalper), Robinhood will automatically flag the account as a PDT account. At this point, it will need to maintain at least $25,000 in equity; otherwise, trading privileges will be suspended.
At Robinhood, positions of cryptocurrencies and futures cannot be used to meet the minimum $25,000 value; only cash and securities can be used. Since futures and cryptocurrencies aren’t securities, they can be day traded without a $25,000 account value.
Because many trades are placed in a single day in scalping, margin is of course required for securities. To switch from cash to margin status at Robinhood, log into the website and click on the Account tab in the top menu. Select the link for investing in the drop-down list of choices; on the Investing page, you can add margin.
On the Settings hub (also available under the Account tab), there is an Investing link on the left-hand side. Click on this link, and you’ll get a page where PDT protection can be turned on and off.
Although margin can be enabled at Robinhood, the brokerage firm does not permit shorting in any account type, and this policy obviously limits scalp trading quite a bit.
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Platforms
Once the margin account is set up, it’s time to start scalping. There are three software platforms that can be used at Robinhood for scalping or any other form of trading: mobile app, Legend, and the website.
Legend is a browser platform that is launched from the website; look for the green button at the top of the site. On any of the three platforms, it’s easy to quickly submit trades. The mobile app will most likely prove to be the most cumbersome of the three for scalping, so scalpers will probably want to opt for computer trading.
The order ticket on all three platforms has the following trade types for stocks and ETFs:
- Market
- Limit
- Stop loss
- Stop limit
- Trailing stop
A market order can accept either a dollar or share amount. For options, there are two available order types (limit and stop limit) on the regular website; Legend adds a third (market). Unfortunately for scalpers, there are no bracket orders or any other advanced order types on any of Robinhood’s platforms.
Legend has the best graphing tools for stocks and funds. A chart can be expanded the full width of the monitor, and there are many tools. During our snooping, we found 10 plot styles. Equivolume and hollow candles are a couple of examples. Then there are the technical indicators; there are more than 60 of them. And we really liked Legend’s drawing tools; there are Fibonacci gadgets and lines of various kinds.
The shortest interval a graph on Legend has is tick-by-tick. This choice can be selected underneath a graph. Other choices include 144 tickets, 1 second, 30 seconds, and 1 minute.
Legend also has a PDT counter; look for it under the account icon that sits in the upper-right corner. Once an account has been flagged as a PDT account, the flag can be removed once in a lifetime.
Robinhood Scalping Fees and Minimums
For all those trades that scalpers place, Robinhood charges nothing. There are no commissions on stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, or equity options. Futures cost 75¢ per side, per contract. Index options are 50¢.
Robinhood Scalping Judgment
Robinhood presents some advantages but some disadvantages for scalpers. While its pricing schedule is obviously very competitive, its software is a little deficient.
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Updated on 1/12/2026.
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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