Best Online Trading Platforms for Day Trading

Day trading FAQs

How do I learn how to day trade?

We’d recommend starting with our guide for how to day trade — it covers a lot of the day trading basics you need to know. But then, practice makes perfect — or as close to it as you can get, as you’ll quickly learn there is no perfect in day trading, and even the pros lose money sometimes.

The best way to practice: With a stock market simulator or paper-trading account. Many brokers offer these virtual trading platforms, and they essentially allow you to play the stock market with Monopoly money. Not only do you get to familiarize yourself with trading platforms and how they work, but you also get to test various trading strategies without losing real money. The link above has a list of brokers that offer these play platforms.

What are the risks of day trading?

In short: You could lose money, potentially lots of it.

Day trading is exactly what it sounds like: Buying and selling — trading — a stock, or many stocks, inside of a day. It’s all about making predictions and timing the market, with the goal of making a small profit on each trade. In an ideal world, those small profits add up to a big return.

But research has shown that only 1% of day traders consistently earn money; many, many lose it. It’s essentially a full-time job, because you need to constantly be watching — and timing — the market, waiting for your next move. It isn’t for beginner, or casual, investors.

If you’re interested in day trading, our recommendation is to allocate a small portion of your overall portfolio to the strategy – no more than 5% or 10%, tops. That way, if you lose money — as you are likely to do, at least at first — those losses are at least capped. The rest of your portfolio should be invested in long-term, diversified investments like low-cost index funds.

Is day trading illegal?

Day trading is risky, but it isn’t illegal. However, the Securities and Exchange Commission imposes specific regulations on pattern day traders.

The SEC defines day trading as buying and selling or short-selling and buying the same security — often a stock — on the same day. A pattern day trader, according to the SEC, is a trader who:

• Day-trades four or more times within five business days and
• Those day trades represent more than 6% of their total trading activity during that five-day period

If you fall into that category, you’re required to maintain at least $25,000 in equity in your account. That equity can be in cash or securities.

Note that once a broker has identified you as a pattern day trader due to the above activity, your account will likely be considered a pattern day trading account going forward, even if you don’t continue to meet the definition. If you decide to stop day trading, you’ll want to contact your brokerage and ask that they remove the minimum equity requirement from your account.

How much money do you need for day trading?

This is a loaded question. The SEC requires that you maintain a minimum of $25,000 in equity to engage in pattern day trading, but that equity can be in cash and eligible securities. That’s the minimum amount you need to maintain in your account; on top of that, you also need the money you’ll use to day trade.

But just as important is setting a limit for how much money you dedicate to day trading. Our recommendation is that those dipping into this kind of active trading should risk only a small portion of their account balance — 5% to 10% of your investable assets, at most.

What is margin?

Margin is essentially a loan from your broker. When you open a brokerage account, you’ll be asked if you want a cash account or a margin account.

A margin account allows you to place trades on borrowed money. Often called leverage, trading on margin can magnify your gains — and, in the worst-case scenario, your losses. To read more about margin, how to use it and the risks involved, read our guide to margin trading.

What should I look for in an online trading system?

A few things are non-negotiable in day-trading software:

• Low commissions. You might’ve gathered by now that day traders place a lot of trades. You’ll pay a commission each time you buy and sell; that cost can quickly eat into your returns. Pay close attention to a broker or day trading platform’s fees and commissions. Many brokers will offer volume pricing, which is ideal for day traders.
• Research and strategy tools. Day traders use data to make decisions: You want not only the latest market data, but you also need a platform that lets you quickly create charts, identify price trends and analyze potential trade opportunities.
• Speed. Time is literally money with day trading, so you want a broker and online trading system that is reliable and offers the fastest order execution. Many platforms will publish information about their execution speeds and how they route orders.

Another feature we’d recommend is a broker or trading platform that offers paper, or virtual, trading, so you can practice with simulated trades before the real thing.

What are the best day-trading stocks?

If we knew, we’d be very rich. This is the bit of information that every day trader is after.

That said, we can give you some general guidance. There are a few things that make a stock at least a good candidate for a day trader to consider:

• Highly liquid, with large trade volume.
• Relatively volatile. You want frequent price changes, which allows you to make a profit quickly.
• Known to you. An understanding of the stock’s price history, and how it reacts to various events — earnings reports, economic shifts — is key. Many day traders trade only a few specific stocks, developing expertise in those companies and narrowing their focus. (Here’s some detailed guidance on how to research stocks.)
• Newsworthy. Coverage of a stock will trigger people to buy or sell it. As a day trader, you’ll want to follow the news to find trade ideas.

You can use your online broker or trading software’s stock screener to look for stocks that seem ripe for day trading.