If you're comparing Lightspeed and SpeedTrader, you're probably past the Robinhood phase. You want direct market access, real hotkeys, and a platform that doesn't choke when a stock rips 40% in five minutes. Both brokers cater to that trader. Here's how they actually stack up.
Quick answer
Lightspeed wins on platform depth, order routing options, and short locate access. SpeedTrader wins on price for lower-volume traders and has a simpler onboarding process. If you're doing serious size or trading illiquid small caps, Lightspeed's infrastructure is worth the extra cost. If you're newer to direct access and want to keep costs down while you find your footing, SpeedTrader is the lower-friction entry point.
Company background
Lightspeed has been operating since 2006 and is aimed squarely at high-volume active traders and small prop-adjacent shops. SpeedTrader has been around since 1999, originally built for the same crowd but has leaned more into being an accessible on-ramp for retail day traders moving up from a standard broker.
Neither is a household name like Schwab or Fidelity. Both exist for one reason: speed and control that retail brokers don't offer.
Platforms and execution
This is where the real difference shows up.
Lightspeed runs its own proprietary platform (Lightspeed Trader Pro) plus support for third-party platforms like Sterling Trader Pro. It's built for traders who live in Level 2, need multiple routing options (ARCA, NSDQ, EDGX, and others), and want granular control over how an order hits the book. Execution speed is consistently reported as sub-millisecond on direct routes, and its hotkey customization is deep enough that most serious scalpers won't hit a ceiling.
SpeedTrader offers its own desktop platform plus DAS Trader Pro integration, which puts it on more familiar ground for traders coming from other direct access setups. Execution is solid but the platform itself feels a step behind Lightspeed's in terms of customization depth and charting.
If your strategy depends on shaving milliseconds off entries, Lightspeed is the safer bet. If you're trading a few dozen times a day rather than a few hundred, the gap won't matter to your P&L.
Pricing
Lightspeed | SpeedTrader | |
|---|---|---|
Per-share commission | ~$0.0006–$0.0045/share (tiered) | ~$2.49–$4.49 flat per trade |
Platform fees | Often waived at volume | Often waived at volume |
Minimum deposit | $10,000+ (varies by account type) | $3,000–$5,000 |
Best for | High share-volume traders | Lower-frequency, smaller-size traders |
Lightspeed's per-share pricing rewards volume. If you're moving thousands of shares a day, it gets cheap fast. SpeedTrader's flat-rate model is more predictable for someone doing fewer, larger trades, and its lower minimum deposit makes it more accessible if you're not funding a $10k+ account on day one.
Run your own numbers here. A trader doing 50 round trips a month at 500 shares a trade will pay very differently on these two fee structures than one doing 500 round trips at 100 shares.
Short locates and borrow access
For anyone shorting small caps, this is often the deciding factor, not the commission schedule.
Lightspeed is generally considered stronger here. It pulls from multiple locate providers and gives traders more visibility into what's actually available to borrow, which matters when a stock is hard to borrow and locates are scarce. SpeedTrader's locate access is functional but narrower, and traders chasing volatile short setups more often report friction finding shares during high-demand squeezes.
If your edge is shorting momentum names, don't skip this. A broker that can't get you a locate when you need it costs you the trade entirely, not just a few cents in fees.
Account minimums and account types
SpeedTrader is the more accessible starting point. Lower minimums mean a trader building capital can get into a real direct access platform without $10k+ sitting in the account first. Lightspeed's higher minimums put it more in line with what serious, well-capitalized traders expect, but it's a real barrier for someone still proving out a strategy.
Pattern day trader rules apply to both under $25,000, same as any US equities broker. Neither gets around that.
Customer support and reliability
Both brokers have had periods of criticized support responsiveness, which is common across this niche of the industry, direct access brokers optimize engineering spend toward execution infrastructure, not call centers. Read recent trader threads before committing capital, since support quality tends to shift over time with staffing changes.
Which one should you pick
Choose Lightspeed if: you trade real volume, need dependable short locates, want the most customizable platform, and can meet a higher minimum deposit.
Choose SpeedTrader if: you're newer to direct access, want lower fixed costs on fewer trades, and want to start with less capital tied up.
Neither if: you're not yet trading frequently enough to need direct market access. If you're doing under a few trades a week, the commission structure of either broker will outweigh any execution speed benefit, and a standard retail broker is the better fit until your volume grows.