Zecco vs Tradeking was not even a fair comparison before Zecco increased their minimum requirements for free trades recently. However, now that Zecco decided to compete more in the paid trading arena, it’s finally appropriate to write a Zecco vs Tradeking comparison.
Doesn’t Zecco Trading Offer Free Trades?
Zecco Trading still offers free trades but you only get 10 per month now. Additionally, you need to quality for it by either:
- having a $25,000 minimum balance in your account
- execute at least 25 trades a month
So if you don’t fall into either (and most people don’t), then Zecco and is remarkably similar.
Zecco vs TradeKing Trading Commissions (as of Mar, 2009)
Assuming you don’t quality for the 10 free trades, the commissions are as follows:
Equity Trades
Zecco – $4.50 vs TradeKing – $4.95
Options Trades
Zecco – $4.50 + $0.50 per contract vs TradeKing – $4.95 + $0.65 per contract
Broker Assisted Trades
Zecco – $19.99 vs TradeKing – $4.95
Margin Rates
Zecco -$0 – $49,999 (7.20%), $50,000 – $499,999 (6.70%), $500,000+ (4.70%)
TradeKing – $0 – $49,999 (6.50%), $50,000 – $249,999 (5.50%), $250,000+ (4.50%)
Thoughts on the Rates
Looks like Zecco still wins on rates even if you don’t qualify for free trades by $0.45 per trade and $0.15 per contract. However, TradeKing kills Zecco in the broker assist department as TradeKing does not charge extra for broker assisted trades. It almost sounds too good to be true.
Also, the margin rates of TradeKing is much better than Zecco. While I don’t recommend using margin to buy stocks, it is common practice and the difference is huge.
Customer Service of Zecco vs TradeKing
Instead of writing a long winded version of this, consider the 2008 Smart Money’s annual broker survey in this category:
Best:
Worst: Zecco
Zecco or TradeKing?
- The Case for Zecco Trading – $0.45 is $0.45. For those that trade many times per month, any difference in price adds up. Also, once you start hitting the 25 trades per month mark, you get 10 free trades per month (that’s $45 every month). Sure, the customer service might not be very good but how many times do you actually need to call them? Also, for those that don’t have $25,000, make more money in the stock market and you will get to the threshold in no time (that’s the whole point of having a trading account anyway right?) By going with Zecco, you now have an added incentive to make more money.
- The Case for TradeKing – For only $0.45 per trade and $0.15 per contract more than Zecco, TradeKing actually offers customer service that is best in the industry in case you need to call. It also offers unbeatable commission rates on broker assisted trades and awesome margin rates. If you borrow money to trade at all, then there is no comparison. Go with .
- Zecco Trading – Official Site
- – Official Site
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
So far I am not pretty luck with Online stock trading and with such a low experiences in trading on my own ,I rather keep save my money to the bank
PM-Exchange: Wanting to keep your money in the bank is understandable. Just beware that most people always sell when the market is at the bottom (or near the bottom) because they think they’ve lost too much money while buy when the market is at the top (when they think it will never go down).
It’s all a cycle and as long as you trust that the capitalism of your country is going to be strong mid to long term, having a diversified portfolio will outperform money in the bank.
How does Scottrade compare? I remember $7 a trade being a bargain versus Ameritrade and Etrade. How about an analysis of research tools and streaming data?
vaughn: I do not have an Scottrade account but will gladly do a comparison against zecco or tradeking (or both) in the future so stay tuned. $2 per trade is quite a difference though since Scottrade charges $7 a trade.
Regarding research tools, I didn’t add these into the comparison because:
1. You can pretty much get everything online via a 3rd party
2. Streaming quotes are offered everywhere.
For professional traders though, they might want to look at a broker that offers trading platform software (ie a non-web version) that’s faster and more customizable. I know Etrade has one and I’m sure the more trader friendly brokers like thinkorswim or optionsexpress will also.
Trade King, not charging for assistance from a broker sounds suspicious. Most companies do not even offer this opportunity. There has got to be a twist to this whole entire thing.
For Zecco, 25 trades per month for 10 ten additional shares for free is not going to be accomplished by many who join them. I would go with Zecco because a 25,000 balance is not required. Before joining, though, I would make sure I knew what I was doing.
moneycometh: TradeKing’s same price for broker assistance definitely raises a flag but there seems to not be any complains about this so I will take their word until proven otherwise. I will give an update if I find anything out though.
What do you mean by Zecco and the $25,000 balance requirement? There’s no minimum balance but in order to qualify for free trades, you need $25,000 in your account or execute 25 trades.
I think your “I would make sure I knew what I was doing” hit the nail on the head because most people who trade in these accounts don’t!
Zecco’s customer service is fine. I keep hearing everyone talk about their customer service and it’s adequate for most people unless you know nothing about trading stocks and need to email/call them every single second. I have an account at Zeeco and I love it.
Trade King all the way! I love the way their learning center (which no one talks about). I learned so much stuff that other people would’ve paid to learn. For me $5 a trade is more than fair for what they provide. Execution is fast and the website is always up. I haven’t tried Zecco but I just don’t think you can go wrong with Trade King.
Yeah the $25k requirement sucks but I have no complaints with Zecco since $4.50 is still one of the lowest out there. I don’t even remember when I signed up but one day a couple years ago I just decided to login and start using it and I’m happy so far.
I think everyone always blows the complaints out of proportions but that’s just my 2 cents.
My picks are Zecco, then TK. I have an account for both (TK for options trading, Zecco for stocks). I do that because I generally don’t need any help with stocks while I’m still new to options. I don’t have any problems so far (touch wood) and I’d recommend anyone employ the same strategy.
MN,
Thanks for the review. As a buy and hold investor (mostly) I do prefer Zecco only because it charges some of the lowest fees around. The potential problem with Zecco however is that their business model is not proven yet.. They used to offer 40 free trades/month back in 2006, then switched to 10 free trades/month and now they only offer free trades if you hold a balance of over 25K.. I wonder if they would still be around 1 decade from now
Dividend Growth Investor
I have a Zecco account and I love it. I was trying to convince my friend to switch and I looked at his commissions from his Tradeking account. He was doing 20-30 trades on average a month so even at 10 free trades a month, that’s about $600 (~$5 x 12) for the free trades + about $5 – $10 a month (another $100 or so a year), totaling $700.
For $700, I can forgo the super infrequent phone call to customer service (especially since it’s not that customer service is non-existent).
Peter, $700 certainly sounds like a lot but I only buy stocks once a month via my automated investment scheme into mutual funds. For me, Zecco saves me about $60 a year. Is it worth it? So far, yes because I haven’t called customer support yet but the fact that they get low ratings is always in the back of my mind.
I’m in the TradeKing camp. I don’t know why people worry about $5 a trade when it’s a $0.01 difference can sometimes already mean $5.
Go with the broker that can get you the best advantage of getting good prices and stop worrying about free trades.
Tradeking is one of the best brokerages there are. I’m surprised everyone likes Zecco so much or even compares these two. They just aren’t in the same league in terms of support and trade execution.
Tradeking. Fast execution. Responsive customer support. Low commission rates. (I know it sounds like an informercial but I highly recommend them).
You can’t go wrong with Tradeking. I can’t say much about Zecco though since I’ve never tried them.
Zecco or Tradeking? There’s no comparison for me. Zecco because it is cheaper. $0.45 is $0.45. It still adds up.
i am leaving zecco because of the ceo. he shudda kept his opion on healthcare to hisself.
You idiot. What difference does the CEO’s opinion on healthcare have on how the company executes trades.
Thanks Dayne for the heads up on the idiot CEO’s showing his ignorance in such an embarrassing and public fashion. I had literally just opened an account and was about to fund it with the first 50k of a 1.7 million dollar portfolio so I owe you one.
If you were to ask him I would bet the CEO is as clueless as MJ as to why it is beyond the pale for a representative of any company, but especially one that trades in stocks to come out and advocate for the confiscation and re-allocation of wealth by force. The irony is simply lost on them.