Tastyworks is one of the most popular options trading platforms in the United States.
It offers access to various investment products and some of the lowest trading commissions you will find in the industry.
Top Tastyworks competitors in the U.S. include Interactive Brokers, Robinhood, eToro, and TD’s Thinkorswim platform.
Is Tastyworks available in Canada? Learn about the top alternative investment apps for saving on fees.
Is Tastyworks Available in Canada?
Unfortunately, Tastyworks is not yet available in Canada.
As of this writing, the trading app was accepting applications from residents of the U.S. and 54 other countries.
While there are plans to offer services in Canada at some point, it is unclear when that will happen.
As per its website, if you reside in Canada, you can email [email protected] to be added to the Tastyworks Canada waitlist.
Tastyworks Canada Alternatives
While Tastyworks is not in Canada, the following investment apps can help you save on fees.
Questrade offers commission-free ETF purchases and competitive fees when you trade stocks, ETFs, options, and CFDs.
Wealthsimple Trade offers commission-free stock and ETF trading but does not support options.
Qtrade offers some free ETF trades and competitive fees for ETFs, stocks, and options trades.
CIBC Investor’s Edge is a bank-owned brokerage platform with competitive fees across the board.
1. Questrade
Questrade is a Canadian discounts brokerage platform with more than $30 billion in assets under administration.
If you are looking to trade options and need access to streaming data and complex order types, Questrade is an excellent choice and one of the closest equivalents to Tastyworks.
You can open various accounts, including TFSA, RRSP, RESP, LIRA, Margin, cash, corporate, investment club, trust, forex, and other accounts.
Investment products: Stocks, ETFs, options, FX, IPOs, bonds, GICs, mutual funds, and precious metals.
Security: Questrade is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), and your assets are protected against insolvency by up to $1 million. In addition to this, your account is also protected with an extra $10 million in private insurance.
Fees: ETF purchases are free. For other products, these fees apply:
Product | Standard | Active Trade Fee |
Stocks | $4.95-$9.95/trade | $4.95/trade |
Options | $9.95 + $1/contract | $4.95 + $0.75/contract |
Mutual funds | $9.95/trade | $9.95/trade |
Precious metals | $19.95 USD/trade | $19.95 USD/trade |
FX/CFDs | Pips as low as 0.8 | Pips as low as 0.8 |
When selling ETFs, the minimum fee is $4.95 per trade.
Promotion: Get $50 in free trade credits when you open an account and fund it with at least $1,000.
You can learn more about Questrade in my detailed review.
2. Wealthsimple Trade
While the Wealthsimple Trade app does not yet offer options trading, it resembles Tastyworks through its support for zero-commission stock and ETF trading.
Wealthsimple Trade is the brokerage platform for Wealthsimple, Canada’s largest robo-advisor.
You can use it to open a personal non-registered investment account and TFSA and RRSP accounts. It does not offer margin, joint, or corporate accounts.
Investment products: Stocks and ETFs. Cryptocurrency is offered via Wealthsimple Crypto.
Security: Wealthsimple Trade (ShareOwner) is a member of CIPF, and your account is protected against firm bankruptcy up to $1 million.
Fees: There are no trading fees when you sell or buy stocks and ETFs. If your transaction involves a U.S. asset, foreign conversion fees for CAD-USD apply.
There is an option to upgrade to a Premium Trade account for a monthly $3 + tax fee and get access to real-time market data.
Promotion: Get a $25 bonus when you open an account and trade $150 worth of stocks or ETFs.
Learn more about Wealthsimple and what it offers.
3. Qtrade
Qtrade is a top online trading platform owned by Aviso Wealth.
It supports all the popular investment accounts, including registered (TFSA, RRSP, LIRA, LRSP, RESP, LIF, and LIRA) and non-registered (cash and margin).
Investment products: Options, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and GICs.
Security: Qtrade Direct Investing (Credentials Qtrade Securities Inc.) is a member of CIPF, and your account balance is insured up to $1 million against insolvency.
Fees: The trading fees on Qtrade are:
Products | Standard Pricing | Active Trader Pricing |
Stocks and ETFs | $8.75 | $6.95 |
Options | $8.75 + $1.25/contract | $6.95 + $1.25/contract |
More than 100 ETFs are offered commission-free when you buy or sell them.
Promotion: Get a $50 sign-up bonus when you fund your new account with at least $1,000. YOu can also get up to $2,000 in cash back.
Learn more in this Qtrade review.
4. CIBC Investor’s Edge
If you prefer an investment platform owned by one of Canada’s largest banks, CIBC investor’s Edge is a good alternative to Tastyworks.
Investment products: Stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, GICs, precious metals, and fixed-income investments.
Investment accounts: TFSA, RESP, RRSP, RRIF, LIRA, PRIF, LRIF, corporate, cash, and margin non-registered accounts.
Security: CIBC Investor Services Inc. is a member of CIPF, and your investment account is protected by up to $1 million in the unlikely event that the company becomes bankrupt.
Fees: The trading fees you pay on CIBC Investor’s Edge are:
Product | Standard Pricing | Active Trader Pricing |
Stocks and ETFs | $6.95/trade | $4.95/trade |
Options | $6.95 + $1.25 per contract | $4.95 + $1.25 per contract |
Students pay $5.59 per trade for stocks and ETFs; and $5.95 + $1.25 per contract for options.
These fees are some of the lowest in Canada for a big-five bank-owned trading platform.
Note that there is a $100 annual administrative fee if your account balance is less than $25,000 (registered accounts) or $10,000 (non-registered accounts).
Learn more in this review.
What is Tastyworks?
Tastyworks is an online brokerage platform founded by Tom Sosnoff, Kristi Ross, and Scott Sheridan.
These three entrepreneurs had previously co-founded Thinkorswim and sold it to TD Ameritrade for $750 million in 2009.
Tastyworks is primarily designed for options and futures traders and comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect for active traders who use a lot of technical analysis to inform their trading activities.
If you are a beginner, you may find the platform overwhelming with all the technology it offers.
You can also use the brokerage to trade stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency.
If you are looking for trading tips, ideas, research, and resources, Tastyworks offers these via its Tastytrade live and on-demand education programming site.
The account types you can open on Tastyworks include:
The Works: This flexible margin account allows you to trade all available investment products on Tastyworks.
Individual: You can open a margin or cash account.
Joint: Two people can open a joint cash or margin account set up as either “Tenants in Common” or “With Rights of Survivorship”.
Retirement: Investment accounts for Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and SEP IRA are available.
Corporate: Accounts for C Corp, S Corp, LLC, and Partnerships. Trusts are also offered.
International accounts are offered to customers in 54 countries outside the United States.
Tastyworks Fees
The fees you pay on Tastyworks are low compared to many of its competitors.
Product | Opening Commission | Closing Commission |
Options on stocks & ETFs ($10 maximum/leg) | $1 per contract | $0 |
Options on futures | $2.50 per contract | $0 |
Options on micro futures | $1.50 per contract | $0 |
Stocks & ETFs | $0 | $0 |
Futures | $1.25 per contract | $1.25 per contract |
Micro futures | $0.85 per contract | $0.85 per contract |
Small futures | $0.25 per contract | $0.25 per contract |
Cryptocurrency ($10 maximum) | 1% | 1% |
Tastyworks Canada FAQs
The company has not provided a launch date; however, you can join its customer waitlist for Canada.
The best brokerages for trading options in Canada are Questrade, Interactive Brokers, and TD Direct Investing.
Yes, non-US citizens in several countries can use Tastyworks, including Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and India.
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