TradeStation vs comdirect — which broker is better?

Pros

• EasyLanguage plus tick-level historical data gives retail traders genuine strategy development, backtesting and optimisation — not a toy backtester
• Commission tiers are assessed per asset class, so equities, options and futures each step down independently with monthly volume
• Options fall from USD 0.80 to USD 0.00 per contract and futures from USD 1.75 to USD 0.50 per side at the top volume brackets
• RadarScreen scans hundreds of symbols in real time with custom indicators, and the Matrix ladder is a proper depth-of-market execution tool
• Regulated by the SEC and FINRA (CRD #39473) with SIPC cover to USD 500,000, and owned by Tokyo-listed Monex Group
• Zero commission for U.S. clients on US equities and more than 3,000 ETFs, including spot Bitcoin ETPs; clients outside the U.S. pay a USD 5.00 ticket charge per trade
• Full entity account support — LLCs, corporations, trusts and partnerships — plus futures IRAs

Cons

• USD 10 monthly inactivity fee unless the account placed at least ten trades or held a USD 5,000 average end-of-month equity balance during the previous 90 days
• Base-tier options pricing of USD 0.80 per contract is above the US market average, and index options cost more again
• USD 1.75 per futures contract per side at the base tier is roughly double a dedicated futures broker's headline rate
• Non-trading fees are dated and steep: USD 125 outgoing ACAT, USD 35 annual IRA fee, USD 50 IRA termination, USD 14.95 per option exercise or assignment
• No spot cryptocurrency, no forex, no fractional shares and no no-transaction-fee mutual funds
• Margin starts at 11.75% on debit balances under USD 50,000, and uninvested cash earns essentially nothing on the first USD 100,000

Pros

• The broadest product range of the three German incumbents: shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, certificates, warrants, CFDs and direct Eurex options and futures in one depot
• Excellent platform stack — ProTrader for real-time multi-monitor trading, O&F-Trader with a margin simulator, CFD Trader with a free demo, plus a documented REST API and stock3, TraderFox and Quant4you integrations
• Cash sits behind Commerzbank AG: statutory EdB cover of EUR 100,000 plus the voluntary BdB Einlagensicherungsfonds protecting private individuals up to EUR 3 million, with direct ECB supervision as a significant institution
• Custody is now free for depots opened from 15 July 2026, and the second depot has always been free
• Cheap Eurex derivatives pricing: EUR 1.50 per single-stock option contract and EUR 1.50 for the MicroDAX future, each with a EUR 9.90 execution minimum
• Fully tax-simple for German residents — automatic Abgeltungsteuer withholding, Freistellungsauftrag, loss-offset pots and free annual tax certificates
• A EUR 1.00 Pure Depot exists for investors who only need gettex and savings plans, and a 15% Viel-Trader discount rewards 125+ trades per half-year

Cons

• Standard commissions are among the highest in the market: EUR 4.90 plus 0.25% of order value, minimum EUR 9.90 and maximum EUR 59.90, plus a EUR 2.50 venue fee — roughly four times what flatex charges on a EUR 10,000 order
• Savings plans cost 1.50% of the amount invested per execution. On a EUR 500 monthly ETF plan that is EUR 7.50 a month, or EUR 90 a year, where Consorsbank and flatex both charge zero
• Customer service is the standout failure: 1.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot across 4,117 reviews, dominated by complaints about extremely long telephone hold times and unhelpful responses, despite the advertised 24/7 desk
• The advertised EUR 3.90 per trade applies only to new depot customers for 36 months, after which the full tariff returns — the headline number is not the price you end up paying
• The cheap Pure Depot is heavily restricted: gettex only, no off-exchange trading, no derivatives, no IPOs, no ProTrader, no securities credit, no joint or second depot
• No spot cryptocurrency and no wallet — exposure is limited to crypto certificates and ETNs, and foreign trades settle at Commerzbank reference rates rather than a published percentage markup; comdirect's own cost disclosure estimates the conversion at 1%