thinkorswim vs tastytrade in 2026

Overview

tastytrade and Charles Schwab’s thinkorswim are very popular in the retail investment space, and they owe their popularity to their unique products and trading tools. tastytrade is a brokerage firm, while thinkorswim is Charles Schwab’s suite of trading platforms.

Commissions

tastytrade and thinkorswim Ownership

Although the two platforms are very different, there are some interesting similarities. tastytrade was founded by members of the same team that created thinkorswim, including Tom Sosnoff and Scott Sheridan, and you can see their influence in both products.

Tom Sosnoff and Scott Sheridan helped create thinkorswim to give traders more access to professional-level investment tools. After thinkorswim was sold, they helped create tastytrade. tastytrade is now part of IG Group, which acquired the company in 2021.

Like thinkorswim, tastytrade provides tools and features that are not available anywhere else.

Trading Platforms

tastytrade and thinkorswim have industry-leading trading platforms that provide multiple tools and services designed to give traders an edge in the markets. Your choice of ‘best platform’ will depend on your style of investing and preferences.

tastytrade Trading Software

The trading software from tastytrade is one of the biggest reasons people gravitate to the broker. The development team succeeded in creating a trading platform unlike anything else in the industry. At first glance, the bold colors and layout give a game-like look and feel. However, the longer you spend on the platform, the more of its many intricacies you discover.

Some of tastytrade’s platform highlights include:

• Pre-built watchlists and a watchlist manager
• A follow feed allowing users to follow the trades of tastytrade staff
• Live video during market hours
• Innovative options trade execution tools
• Simple point-and-click order entry for advanced options strategies
• Limit orders (for closing positions) based on the profit percentage earned
• Active trade tools for futures and stocks
• Pairs trading support
• A growing list of charting tools, including support for third-party indicators
• 24/5 trading in eligible stocks and ETFs
• Global Trading Hours for select index options
• Event contracts through prediction markets

thinkorswim Trading Software

thinkorswim is a go-to trading platform for traders of all kinds. The platform does come with a slight learning curve due to its complexity, but everything a trader would need to access many major financial markets is baked right in. The thinkorswim suite is available in desktop, web, and mobile formats.





Some of thinkorswim’s highlights include:

• Fully customizable trading platform with its own coding language, thinkScript
• Advanced charting tools
• Detailed economic calendar allowing you to keep track of market-moving events
• Dedicated futures and forex trading tools
• Earnings analysis for securities
• More than 400 technical indicators for charting, with the ability to add third-party tools
• Users can create their own indicators or modify the ones they use with the platform’s coding tool
• In-depth scanners for stocks and other investment tools
• paperMoney simulated trading
• 24/5 trading in more than 1,300 stocks and ETFs

Visit Websites

tastytrade: Get $100 for opening an account with this referral link.

thinkorswim: Get free thinkorswim + $0 commissions at Charles Schwab.

Mobile Access

As with the trading platforms, both tastytrade and thinkorswim provide full-featured trading apps. Both companies have built a full suite of tools and services into their mobile applications, and it is possible to place trades and manage investments in many contexts.

thinkorswim Mobile has better charting than the tastytrade app, but tastytrade has a much more intuitive order entry interface. tastytrade also has some unique tools and services that many investors find helpful. One example is the tastytrade follow feature, which offers actionable investment ideas.

In terms of speed and reliability, both applications are excellent.

Customer Service

Customer service is always an essential feature of an online broker. tastytrade and Charles Schwab provide good customer care, but Schwab has an edge when it comes to technical help with thinkorswim.

Both companies provide several support channels. tastytrade offers support by phone, email, and chat, while Schwab offers professional chat support 24/7.

Where thinkorswim edges out in front is Schwab’s ability to provide in-depth technical assistance when things aren’t working right. thinkorswim includes live support with screen-sharing capabilities, allowing a trading specialist to see the user’s screen and help solve platform problems efficiently.

Margin Trading

Margin is available at both tastytrade and Charles Schwab. You can unlock margin borrowing power by depositing at least $2,000 into an eligible account. Under standard Regulation T rules, margin can provide up to twice the overnight buying power for eligible securities.

Despite the similarities, you do pay higher margin interest rates at Schwab.

tastytrade Margin Rates

thinkorswim Margin Rates

Schwab also offers reduced intraday futures margin to eligible customers, while tastytrade has its own futures margin requirements. Forex access at tastytrade is provided through tastyfx, an affiliated but separate company.

Available Securities

tastytrade and Charles Schwab both offer access to a wide range of securities and trading products.

Both firms provide access to stocks, ETFs, options, futures, forex, and fixed-income products, although the specific products and platforms used differ. At tastytrade, forex is provided through tastyfx, while fixed-income choices include T-bills and other available fixed-income investments. At Schwab, stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and forex can be traded through thinkorswim, while bonds, mutual funds, and other fixed-income products are available through Schwab’s other platforms.

Although tastytrade and Charles Schwab offer many types of investments, there are some that can be found at one broker rather than the other. For instance, tastytrade offers cryptocurrency trading and event contracts and does not support OTC stocks. Charles Schwab supports OTC stocks, while direct cryptocurrency trading is not yet available.

Ease of Use

For newer traders, tastytrade is the most accessible platform to use. However, thinkorswim has a more traditional format, making it easier for investors who have been around for a while.

The tastytrade trading platforms provide easy navigation and trade execution but do not skimp on the details. Beginners and experts can feel right at home using tastytrade’s tools.

thinkorswim is similar in that it appeals to investors of all experience levels. The platform customizability that thinkorswim is known for allows advanced users to adjust the platform to specific use-case scenarios. At the same time, thinkorswim has many pre-built features that do not need to be changed.

Education and Advisory Services

You'll find good educational resources at tastytrade and Charles Schwab, but their advisory offerings are very different. tastytrade is a self-directed broker and does not provide investment advice, while Charles Schwab offers multiple investment-advisory services outside of thinkorswim.

Educational content from both companies can be accessed through their trading ecosystems. tastytrade offers in-platform content and access to tastylive, while thinkorswim provides built-in educational resources from Schwab.

tastytrade

At tastytrade, investors can access educational content in a few different ways. The broker provides free courses and educational material through tastytrade Learn, along with interactive live broadcasts and other programming from tastylive. There is also a Follow feature available in the trading software and mobile app. The Follow feature allows investors to see and learn from positions and trading activity shared through the platform.

thinkorswim

thinkorswim offers a built-in education suite called the Learning Center. Investors can read articles and descriptions on a variety of topics. There are also video courses and regular webinars discussing important topics. Schwab also provides Schwab Coaching, live and on-demand webcasts, virtual workshops, and in-person educational events.

Recommendations

tastytrade and thinkorswim are great at what they do. While there is much shared between them, both focus on different things. The better choice comes down to what you want and expect from your broker.

If you are looking for a trading platform that provides an intuitive trading interface, capped options commissions, a trade-follower tool, cryptocurrency trading, event contracts, and 24/5 trading, tastytrade may be the better choice for you.

If you are looking for advanced charting tools, cash management features, a wider range of account types, and access to the OTC markets, Charles Schwab and thinkorswim are the better choice.

thinkorswim vs tastytrade Summary

thinkorswim, backed by Charles Schwab, outperformed tastytrade in most categories. Nevertheless, the latter company offers a great value, especially for options and futures trading.

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