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Open a FREE Account With Trade Zero!



Hello traders. Today I am going to do a review of one of my current and most recommended brokers – Trade Zero.



I have had a lot of people ask me about this broker, so I’m going to break down the good and the bad to help you make an informed decision based on my experience with them, and give some ideas on how to navigate around some of the potential drawn-downs.

Trade Zero is an online brokerage firm located in the Bahamas. They offer free limit order trades, no PDT (Pattern Day Trader Rule), and up to 6:1 leverage depending on your account size.



Minimum deposit is $500 for a cash account.



Margin accounts leverage is broken down as follows:

Accounts under $500 – Cash account with no leverage.

Accounts under $500 – $2499 – Gives traders 4:1 leverage

Accounts over $2500+ – Gives traders 6:1 leverage

Trading and Platform Fees

Limit Order Trades:

FREE (adding liquidity to the market)



Market Order Trades:

$0.005 per share (removing liquidity from the market)



Zero Pro Platform:

$79.00 Per Month with data and level 2 (This fee is waived if you trade more than 100,000 shares per month)



Zero Web Platform:

$59.00 Per Month with data and level 2 (This fee is waived if you trade more than 80,000 shares per month)



Zero Mobile:

free if you have an active Zero Web or Zero Pro platform.

We will go back to these numbers later – as readers of our blog and members of our trading community get an even better deal in terms of leverage and pricing.

What constitutes a “Free trade”?

I’m going to break this down as simply as possible. If you add liquidity to the market, for example, put a bid on a stock at or below the current price the stock is trading and someone sells shares to you, that is a free trade.

Example 1: Stock ticker is trading at $3.00 per share (bid) and the offer is $3.01 (ask).

You put a bid for 2,000 shares at $3.00 and 10 seconds later that order gets filled, that is a free trade.

Example 2: Stock ticker is trading at $4.90 per share and the offer is $4.91.

You add liquidity to the bid side by sending a buy order at $4.89, minutes later this order gets filled… free trade!

In other words – Any time you add liquidity to the market it is a free trade.

What constitutes a paid trade?

Any time you remove liquidity from the market, they charge $0.005 per share.

Example 1: Stock is trading at $3.00 per share (bid), and the offer is $3.01 (ask).

You want to buy the stock immediately, so you don’t want to add liquidity to the bid and wait for a fill. You send an order for 300 shares to remove liquidity from the ask at $3.01 getting you shares immediately, that constitutes a paid trade, and would cost $1.50 (300 shares x 0.005 per share).



Example 2: The stock is now trading at $3.21 per share (bid) and $3.22 (ask). You could send a limit order at the offer, $3.22 or higher, but you can feel the momentum shifting and you want to exit the stock immediately to take your profit. You hit the bid with a sell order at $3.21 for 300 shares (removing liquidity from the market), and again, that would cost $1.50.

Trade Zero doesn’t charge a per ticket price

Trade Zero does not charge a per ticket price on all orders like so many other brokers do, which is a huge advantage.

They do, however, charge a $0.99 cent minimum (per ticket) but only for orders under 200 shares. Any orders executed over 200 shares have no minimum (no per ticket price), and as long as you add liquidity to the market, they are free.

This is exceptional compared to other brokers in the same space who charge upwards of $4.95 per ticket on ALL executed orders.

How is it possible for them to offer free trades?

I have spent a lot of time on the phone with Trade Zero’s management and have done a lot of research before I began trading with them.

They route their limit orders through EDGX, ARCA, and other ECNs which provide a liquidity rebate, so when you place a free limit order trade they route it through EDGX (or another rebate route) allowing them to collect the liquidity rebate and pass the trade on to you for free.

OK, that sounds good… but how is the execution?

So far I’ve been happy with the fills and executions. Trade Zero does not interalise orders, and they are required to provide clients with the best execution price available at all times. When I add or remove liquidity from the market, there is no delay in execution, the orders execute immediately.

As TradeZero offers US market access and clears through a US clearing firm, Trade Zero is subject to Reg NMS. This basically states that firms are obligated to provide investors with executions at the best possible price.

I like to short stocks… how are the borrows?

For hard to borrow stocks (for example, low float stocks) – They are exceptional! You can find locates on virtually any hard to borrow stock directly from their platform with 2 clicks. It is incredible if you are a short seller, and often when all other brokers are bone dry for shares on a hard to borrow stocks, Trade Zero has them available.

As a Canadian based day trader who loves to short sell overvalued NASDAQ stocks, I’ve struggled in the past to get the locates I’ve needed on hard to borrow (HTB) stocks until I started trading with Trade Zero.

Many of the popular brokerage firms who are clearing through Wedbush do not offer their service to Canadian clients, so Trade Zero was a huge breakthrough for me in terms of short selling HTB symbols. This is one of the reasons why I opened an account with them; for locating HTB stocks they are truly exceptional.

Cost of borrows

They have shorts on virtually any hard to borrow stock you can imagine, and of course, you do have a pay a premium to locate these shares (as you would with any other broker). The cost of borrows vary depending on the demand for borrows on the stock, but on average it is around $0.023 per share for the locate on a HTB stock if you want to short it.

Trade Zero improving

When I wrote this blog months ago, there are very few easy to borrow (ETB) stocks with Trade Zero’s vision clearing. I’ve noticed a huge change in the availability of free shorts on mid/large cap stocks, and I am VERY happy with this change. During earnings season I like to short a lot mid and large cap stocks, and for the most part, they have all been free to short on their easy to borrow list.

I have a tip for saving money on borrows. Since they virtually never run out of borrows, just pay for what you need at the time of execution, as opposed to borrowing everything all at once in the morning. For example, Ill often start by locating 1000 shares, and then after I execute those 1000 shares, Ill wait until my next entry point to borrow more (that way I don’t end up borrowing more shares than I am actually going to use).

I am still yet to find a stock that Trade Zero can’t get shorts on. As a big short seller I have to say this is an extremely valuable asset. If you spend most of your time going long, then you don’t have to worry about any of this, and you can just enjoy the free trades!

Trade Zero USA

Trade Zero has finally opened up to the USA and you can open an account with them as a US based trader at us.tradezero.co!

What platforms do Trade Zero offer?

Trade Zero offers three platform options. Zero Pro which is their desktop software ($79 per month with data), and Zero Web which is their web based platform ($59 per month), and Zero Mobile which is their mobile platform for mobile devices (FREE).

I can only comment on their Zero Pro desktop software at this time. After 11 years of day trading I guess you can call me old fashioned, but I really prefer standalone desktop software for my trading so I haven’t gotten around to trying the web based version and I probably never will.

Zero Pro Software

Alright, up to this point we haven’t had much constructive criticism so I’m going to bring it on in this section. First I want to explain that the software I’ve used with my previous brokers are DAS Pro, Sterling Trader Pro, and a proprietary trading software I used in my early trading days with the prop firm I started trading with in 2006.

Zero Pro is a white labelled and improved version of Turbo-Tick Pro, which is a professional trading platform. Trade Zero’s version has added functionality specific to Trade Zero, for example, the improved hot keys – which makes it quite a bit better in my opinion.

The software costs $79 per month with data (or $69 if you register for your account with them via the link in this blog, and is free if you trade more than 100,000 shares per month) – which I always do, so the price is right!

Trade Zero charts

I like the platform just fine for executing orders, tape reading, watching the level 2, and managing positions. I do spend a lot of time reading charts and explaining setups with visuals on my live screen share, and I found the platforms charting to be a bit weak for that.

The solution? Well, the truth is the average newer trader probably won’t mind the charts at all. As a matter of fact, they are updating the charts this month so I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements, however, a lot of our trading group members use Think or Swim (ToS) charts for free alongside the platform, and I run TC2000 charts (as seen in my YouTube Videos) with the platform.

If you are a newer trader, I really think the charts included for free with Zero Pro should be adequate for you, its really just a matter of personal preference.

Update – platform upgrades!

Trade Zero has recently hired a superstar developer who has made some major positive changes to the platform and charting and they are continuing to roll out updates every couple weeks with new and improved features. The latest software is very good, and the charts are much improved! I’m currently running V535.

Zero Pro hot keys

You may have read my blog post on hot keys and how important they are to me as a trader. At first, their hot keys weren’t great and I was finding myself trying to point and click orders instead, which was difficult on some of the faster moving more volatile names that I trade.

As traders we are creatures of habit, and after spending so many years using one hot key setup, its very difficult to change.

I sent them some feedback, and less than one month later they made a huge update to their hot key setup so that they function EXACTLY the same as Sterling Trader Pro and DAS Pro – I couldn’t be happier with this change. I’m able to send and cancel orders with the press of one button and have full control with my keyboard for order entry and execution.

For those of you who are curious about my hot key setup with Trade Zero, here’s a video I did explaining how to set up hot keys with their platform.

How is the application process?

Trade Zero’s application process is the easiest and fastest I have ever done. I had my account setup inside of 15 minutes. You can sign up for an account and trade with a free demo account for a week to see if you like it.

Keep in mind the executions on a demo account do NOT reflect on the way the live accounts execute. The live account execution is perfect.

If you do, you can go ahead and fund the account, if not you can play with the demo which includes free real time data for 7 days.

Here’s a quick tip to speed up the application process:

When asked for the standard documents which are required to open any brokerage account, such as photo ID, passports, and/or utility bills, simply take a good clear picture of the documents with your cell phone and email it to yourself. Download the attachment from your email to your computer as an image file and upload it to the application as requested.

How is their s upport?

So far their support has been great. I had one issue where my power went out while I was holding a trade. I called their support desk, the phone was answered immediately, and they sold the position for me immediately upon my request.

I was very impressed. The best part? Their support telephone number is in Florida making it easier for clients to call, so you don’t have to worry about making a costly call overseas and waiting on hold for a representative.

So far I have nothing but good things to say about their support and management. I can and will update this blog at any time if anything changes down the road to ensure our followers can get the most up to date information.

Trade Zero and Live Stream Trading

At LiveStream Trading we are always looking for new ways to help our group traders get a better edge in the market, and Trade Zero has really given our new traders the opportunity to learn and grow an account without having to deal with huge commissions that can nickel and dime a traders account to death.

I never recommend a product or service that I would not use myself, and I can proudly say that I am actively trading with this broker and saving a TON of money on commissions with our group traders.

When I am shorting a hard to borrow stock, I am happy to know that ALL of our group traders who are using Trade Zero can participate in the trade giving everyone an equal opportunity to profit.

As a member of LiveStream Trading, or a follower of our blog, I would like to extend to you a special offer we have worked out with Trade Zero.

Get a Discount with Trade Zero

All you need to do is open your account and you can enjoy some huge benefits including better leverage/margin, cheaper platform fees, and more.

All of the benefits are listed on this page and you will have them automatically applied to your new account.

In conclusion, I would recommend this broker to any trader who wants to save on commissions and have access to short hard to borrow stocks.

Open My Account With Trade Zero