Best Apps for Trading Futures

Incorporating futures into your trading strategy lets you lock in predetermined prices to buy or sell at a future date, protecting yourself from market volatility and unfavorable price movements. But not all stock brokers support futures trading and choosing between those that do can be a little tricky, with some offering more advanced features than others.

In a hurry? You can't go wrong with Interactive Brokers and NinjaTrader. There are of course some other options available. We've tested dozens of apps for trading futures and have created what we feel is a definitive list of the best platforms for trading futures in December 2024. Keep reading to see how they all compare and to find the one best suited to your personal trading style.

Quick Look at the Best Trading Futures Apps:

• Best for Overall: NinjaTrader
• Best for Trading Futures 24/7: Interactive Brokers
• Best for Fund Investing: Charles Schwab
• Best for Options Education: Tastytrade
• Best for Futures Trading: TradeStation

5 Best Futures Trading Platforms

Choosing the right broker to trade futures requires you to analyze several key factors. Benzinga has made that easier by reviewing and providing insights into the best online broker.

1. Best for Advanced Futures Trading: NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader allows you to get started with $400 and gives you access to a massive futures market that is clearly visualized on the app. You can trade 24/7 irrespective of your experience level, and anyone can get started on this platform and meet their portfolio where it’s at. Extra benefits include:

• Advanced charting
• Trade from your charts
• Check market movement in realtime
• Robust analysis tools
• Custom alerts and notifications
• Free daily webinars
• Free real-time futures and forex market data

When you fund your account with $1,000, you gain access to advanced software for free, or you can get into the platform as a novice and learn how futures work. Advanced trading management or ATM is also available when you pay to license the software, which is common among advanced traders.

Why We Picked It: NinjaTrader is known for its relatively low minimum deposit requirements. In addition to its user-friendly platform, NinjaTrader offers a wealth of webinars and educational tools that are incredibly helpful for all traders, from beginners to advanced users.

2. Best for Trading Futures 24/7: Interactive Brokers

Casual traders can take advantage of low margin rates and zero commissions for U.S. stocks via Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Lite. Advanced traders will benefit from IBKR Pro, providing $0.47 per 100 shares price movement vs. the industry. The pro version offers a lower percentage for interest on idle cash balances and margin loan interest than lite.

Besides futures, IBKR allows you to trade foreign stocks, cryptocurrencies, options, bonds and forex. U.S. investors can also trade spot gold. Institutions will find an array of tools for managing funds.

You can earn interest for your fully paid shares of stock. IBKR lends your shares to traders wanting to short them and pay borrowing interest. You can still trade your loaned stocks without restrictions while on loan.

IBKR doesn’t charge maintenance or inactive fees and provides no-transaction-fee mutual funds. It offers tier-based commission fees for futures. If you have less than 1,000 contracts, you’ll pay $0.85 per contract. Traders with more than 20,000 contracts will pay $0.25 per contract.

The app provides numerous advanced indicators and trading tools. However, it doesn’t deliver stock alerts via push notification; it’s through email. Beginner traders may find the platform slightly intimidating as IBKR designed it for advanced traders and sophisticated investors.  

Why We Picked It: IBKR offers tiered commissions for futures trading, making it a more manageable option for traders who may not engage in high-volume transactions. International traders benefit greatly, as IBKR provides seamless access to the futures market.

3. Best for Fund Investing: Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab offers traders a large selection of assets. The platform’s design appeals to beginner and advanced traders because of its $0 trade commissions and a big selection of mutual funds.

It provides extensive research tools to help you gain a great perspective on the futures market. Video tutorials are available by expert traders. You can trade futures, options and stocks in a single window with the advanced order feature.

The support for trading futures is great.  Experts offer an evaluation of your trade or a strategy review. Besides the vast knowledge base, Charles Schwab offers 24/5 support. Another feature available is automated cash sweeps — it sweeps excess futures account funds to your brokerage account. Future contracts cost $2.25.  

Why We Picked It: Charles Schwab offers competitive pricing for futures contracts, making it an attractive option for investors, especially when compared to many other brokers who typically charge higher fees. Additionally, Schwab’s user-friendly dashboard provides a seamless experience, enabling users to invest in futures, options and stocks all in one centralized location.

4. Best for Options Education: Tastytrade

Tastytrade works well for advanced futures and options traders, providing a sophisticated experience for those investors. The platform is quite powerful, offering more than enough functionality for those who are trading daily, offers affordable commissions and allows you to formulate the appropriate orders for your situation.

Options only incur a 1-way, $1 commission, which outpaces the competition. There’s no minimum for cash accounts, only $2,000 for margin accounts and you can get started rather quickly.

Why We Picked It: Tastytrade stands out in the investment landscape by offering low commissions, which allows you to swiftly reinvest the funds you save through their cost-effective trading structure. This benefit not only helps to maximize your investment potential but also encourages you to keep your portfolio dynamic and responsive to market conditions.

5. Best for Futures Trading: TradeStation

Expert traders will benefit the most from TradeStation’s FuturesPlus platform, specifically designed for futures options traders. Some of the features are custom strategy builders, price visualization and advanced contract analysis. TradeStation enables you to trade futures on gold, indices, crude oil, Euro and several other futures contracts.

Although geared toward advanced traders, TradeStation’s platform aims to lure in beginner traders with commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs and options. TradeStation charges for mutual fund transactions and $1.50 per futures contract.

You can also trade cryptocurrencies, invest in retirement and get a share of up-and-coming companies via IPOs. If you want to trade for free, you have to upgrade to the TS Select platform, requiring a minimum $2,000 balance.

Why We Picked It: With TradeStation, you can utilize TS Select to trade without incurring any fees, allowing you to participate in the market without the burden of high costs. Additionally, mutual fund and futures transaction fees are relatively low, making it even more accessible for a wider range of investors.

Advantages of Trading Futures

Adding futures to your trading strategy enables you to benefit in several ways. 

Enables Diversifying and Hedging

Trading futures allows you to minimize risk by diversifying. Predicting trends is difficult, so futures contracts enable you to avoid drastic price movements by securing a predetermined fixed price. It’s particularly beneficial for companies transacting in foreign currencies.

You can use an interest rate futures contract to lock in the price of an interest-bearing asset for a future date. 

Future Markets are Liquid

Markets trade futures in large volumes six days a week. Trading extends beyond the traditional hours and into the night, and some markets trade 24/7. Available buyers and sellers mean that you can execute orders quickly and at any time. 

The efficiency and volume of trading make futures a liquid market. High liquidity helps prevent prices from drastic volatility, especially for contracts nearing maturity. 

A Highly Leveraged Investment

Traders open positions in the futures market with margins — an amount needed in an account, as a percentage of the value of a futures contract. The margin is usually a small percentage of the contract’s value, 3% to 12%.

An exchange stipulates a margin so that traders use it as collateral if they incur losses when prices affect their positions adversely. Using margin means you expose yourself to a bigger position, allowing you to increase profit significantly.

Allows Speculation

The futures market enables traders to speculate about prices and counter perceived movement by securing a fixed price. Before the contract matures, you can buy or sell an offsetting futures contract that eliminates losses of your current contract.   

Execution Costs are Low

Most brokers charge low commission fees for futures trading. Some brokers even offer 0% commission on U.S. stocks. The lower your fees, the more your investment can grow. But low fees don’t guarantee profits.

Things to Watch for When Trading Futures

Having the ability to speculate future prices and counter them to profit with the best apps for trading futures may seem like a bulletproof plan. But futures trading contains risks and drawbacks, like all markets.

Leverage is Risky

Most stockbrokers allow you to borrow up to 50% of your position’s value. The leverage available for futures trading can be up to 95%. That means you’re exposed to more risk.

Leverage boosts your losses when the price trades against your position. Even small price movements can lead to significant losses. That situation could result in the broker forcing you to liquidate your position. 

It’s possible to incur losses bigger than your investment with leverage, triggering a margin call — a broker instructs you to deposit money to reach the minimum value.

Large Margin Deposit

Investors with limited funds might not qualify for futures trading. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requires you to deposit at least $2,000 into a brokerage account. Although margins are a percentage of the contract’s value, an e-mini S&P 500 contract requires you to deposit several thousand dollars.

Choosing the Best Futures Trading App for Your Needs

Selecting the right app for trading futures is crucial for maximizing your trading potential and ensuring a smooth trading experience. The apps highlighted in this guide offer a range of features tailored to meet the needs of both novice and experienced traders. From intuitive interfaces and advanced charting tools to real-time market data and reliable customer support, these platforms empower traders to make informed decisions and execute trades efficiently.

As you navigate the complexities of the futures market, leveraging these trusted trading apps can provide you with the insights, functionality and confidence to pursue your trading goals. Remember to assess your individual needs, consider the specific features that matter most to you and choose an app that aligns with your trading strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions