HEAD TO HEAD
tastytrade vs Robinhood
vs
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| Compare the details | tastytrade | Robinhood |
|---|---|---|
| Commission Per Round Trip ($) | $1.00 | $0 |
| Order minimum ($) | $0 | $0 |
| Exercise / assignment ($) | $5.00 / $5.00 | $0 / $0 |
| Min. deposit ($) | $0 | $0 |
| Futures options | ||
| Paper trading | ||
| Micro futures | $0.75 | |
| Platform fee | $0 | $0 |
| Inactivity | $0 | $0 |
| Index options | $0 | $0.35 |
| Margin | Varies | 3.95% |
| Multi-leg | ||
| Clearing | Apex Clearing | Self-clearing |
| Options regulatory fee | $0.02 | $0.04 |
| Options, active | $1.00 | |
| Stock commission | $0 | $0 |
My call: choose tastytrade if you’re actively trading options. Choose Robinhood if you mostly buy stocks/ETFs, occasionally trade options, or want everything dead simple.
Stocks/ETFs
- tastytrade
- $0
- Robinhood
- $0
Stock/ETF options
- tastytrade
- $1/contract to open, $0 close; $10 max per leg
- Robinhood
- $0 commission; currently ~$0.04/contract regulatory/clearing charge
Index options
- tastytrade
- $1/contract open, $0 close + applicable fees
- Robinhood
- $0.50/contract, or $0.35 with Gold + exchange/regulatory fees
Futures
- tastytrade
- $1/contract each way
- Robinhood
- $0.75, or $0.50 with Gold + exchange/NFA fees
Options on futures
- tastytrade
- Yes — major strength
- Robinhood
- Much less of the core proposition
Complex multi-leg options
- tastytrade
- Excellent
- Robinhood
- Good, substantially improved
Desktop trading
- tastytrade
- Trader-first
- Robinhood
- Legend is now genuinely decent
Mobile
- tastytrade
- Good
- Robinhood
- Excellent
Portfolio margin
- tastytrade
- Yes, eligible accounts
- Robinhood
- Not the reason I'd choose RH
Joint/entity/trust accounts
- tastytrade
- Much broader
- Robinhood
- More limited
International customers
- tastytrade
- Supported in eligible countries
- Robinhood
- Primarily US
IRA incentive
- tastytrade
- Nothing exceptional
- Robinhood
- 1% match; 3% contributions with Gold
| tastytrade | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
| Stocks/ETFs | $0 | $0 |
| Stock/ETF options | $1/contract to open, $0 close; $10 max per leg | $0 commission; currently ~$0.04/contract regulatory/clearing charge |
| Index options | $1/contract open, $0 close + applicable fees | $0.50/contract, or $0.35 with Gold + exchange/regulatory fees |
| Futures | $1/contract each way | $0.75, or $0.50 with Gold + exchange/NFA fees |
| Options on futures | Yes — major strength | Much less of the core proposition |
| Complex multi-leg options | Excellent | Good, substantially improved |
| Desktop trading | Trader-first | Legend is now genuinely decent |
| Mobile | Good | Excellent |
| Portfolio margin | Yes, eligible accounts | Not the reason I'd choose RH |
| Joint/entity/trust accounts | Much broader | More limited |
| International customers | Supported in eligible countries | Primarily US |
| IRA incentive | Nothing exceptional | 1% match; 3% contributions with Gold |
Current official pricing confirms tastytrade's $1-open/$0-close equity options structure and capped $10/leg commission. (Tastytrade) Robinhood currently charges no commission on stock/ETF options, while index options carry separate contract fees; Gold is $5/month. (Robinhood)
Where I'd actually use each
Options selling / spreads / iron condors / strangles / portfolio management → tastytrade. The platform is built around probability, Greeks, volatility and manipulating multi-leg positions. That matters more to me than saving a few cents in headline commissions if you're actively managing a derivatives book.
Buy-and-hold + occasional options → Robinhood. It's cheaper, cleaner and Robinhood has closed a lot of the historical product gap. It now has proper advanced charts through Legend, index options and futures. (Robinhood)
Futures purely on commission → Robinhood actually wins now. Current commission is $0.75/contract or $0.50 with Gold versus tastytrade's $1 each way, before exchange/regulatory fees. (Robinhood) That's an important change versus older broker comparisons.
IRA / long-term account → Robinhood is difficult to ignore. As of September 2026, Gold gives a 3% match on eligible annual IRA contributions, while non-Gold gets 1%; there are holding/subscription conditions. (Robinhood)
If your actual question is “which one should I put $50k/$100k into for options trading?”, that's a slightly different comparison — buying power, portfolio margin, fills and short-option workflow become the deciding factors.