TradeKing has one of the least expensive, non–tiered commission structures of any broker in our review. Trades are only $4.95 per trade plus $0.65 per options contract, with no additional fee for broker-assisted trades. TradeKing may not offer the lowest prices, but it makes up for it in exceptional customer service and trading education, which is absolutely essential to help you make smart trades. It earns the TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award.

It offers extensive free tools for stock screening and monitoring. Pricing is amazingly low. It also supports an active trader network with no account or trade minimums.  Account protection up to $25 million is a great feature.  Don’t just take our word for it, look at Barron's, SmartMoney and Kiplinger's reviews. TradeKing is strong in the online stock trading world and worth checking out.

Fees/Commissions        

TradeKing offers a non–tiered commission schedule so everyone gets the same rates regardless of account balance or trade activity. All trades are just $4.95 and $0.65 per options contract. There is no minimum account balance so it’s a great service for someone just starting out.

Investments Offered        

TradeKing offers the basic investment vehicles including stocks, options, mutual funds and exchange–traded funds. It also offers some fixed income investments including U.S. Treasury and Agency Issues, bonds and CDs. However, you can’t purchase fixed income investments online. You have to contact a representative by phone to make your orders.

You can set up an IRA account for your retirement and an education savings plan.

Compare to	#1	#2
	They are the same. TradeKing and optionsXpress offer the same type of investment and savings opportunities.	Slightly better, OptionsHouse does not offer education savings plans.

Ease of Use        

TradeKing offers virtual tours and video demos that guide you through the website and teach you to use the basic features and tools. We find the website easy to navigate with well–labeled tabs across the top of the page.

Compare to	#1	#2
	Nearly the same, the optionsXpress trading platform is only slightly easier to use.	About the same, both have fairly easy to use online stock trading platforms.

Trading/Investment Tools        

TradeKing’s trading platform provides many practical tools to help you plan and carry out your investing strategies. Some of these tools include calculators, alerts, charts and graphs. This broker also offers streaming news, so you’ll have access to important information as soon as it hits the wire.

This online service is full of educational materials including mp3s, videos, written articles and more. This is one of the few sites that offers podcasts. You can download an audio seminar and listen to it on your portable player. The learning materials cover everything from basic to advanced aspects of stock trading.

You can make or cancel orders on the web or by phone. Unfortunately, this broker doesn’t offer wireless trading.

Compare to	#1	#2
	A bit different, both offer all the same tools with the exception that TradeKing lacks a useful virtual trading tool.	Better, TradeKing offers a few more advanced tools such as Level II quotes and automated trading.

Support/Customer Service        

One of our favorite features is the user forums where you can discuss trading information, ask questions and give advice to other investors. If you have further questions, you can contact TradeKing by phone, email or live chat. Their staff is friendly and helpful.

Compare to	#1	#2
	Not quite the same, optionsXpress provides 24/7 support and TradeKing only offers support during regular business hours.	They are different. OptionsHouse offers 24/7 support and goes above and beyond the ordinary by providing 90 days of free coaching.

Summary

Look for great things from TradeKing in the future. This is one of the top online brokers with high–quality tools and educational materials and low commissions and fees. We find it impressive that the service has only been around since December of 2005 and is already a power player in the investment industry.