Focusing on volume is a useful way to find the top stocks for options trading. After all, symbols with more transactions are more liquid. That can also make it easier to use complex options strategies like vertical spreads with multiple legs. The stocks that trade the most options change over time, so it can help to search for the most active symbols.

Here are the 10 busiest symbols over the last month, ranked by average daily call and put volume:. This will find all symbols averaging at least 1, contracts per day in the last 20 sessions. It may take several minutes to complete, but you can schedule the scan to run automatically at a quiet time like the overnight. Finally, the Hot Lists tool includes several pre-built scans highlighting options activity. Here are two useful lists for discovering stocks with the most liquid options:.

Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password? Privacy Notice. Password recovery. Recover your password. Friday, April 2, Get help. Market Insights. Alongside platform usability, our testing focused on options chains e. With most brokers offering similar pricing, trade cost was not an influencing factor in our scoring. Read full review.

Best Options this Week

Best desktop options platform As a trading technology leader, TradeStation shines. Options trading is a breeze using OptionStation Pro, a built-in tool within the TradeStation desktop platform designed for streamlined trading and robust analysis. Options tool capabilities include custom grouping for current positions, streaming real-time greeks, and advanced position analysis, to name a few. Best options trading tools TD Ameritrade is number one for trading platforms and tools for the 10th consecutive year, thanks to desktop-based thinkorswim, which is also terrific on mobile.

Whether options trading, day trading, or futures trading, TD Ameritrade is a winner. This is especially true for beginners, who have access to the thinkMoney educational magazine, hundreds of educational videos, progress tracking, and quizzes. Unique order type for trading options Schwab's flagship downloadable trading platform, StreetSmart Edge, provides most of the bells and whistles options traders and day traders need to succeed. Best for professional options traders - Open Account Exclusive Offer: New clients that open an account today receive a special margin rate.

While Robinhood is easy to use, it lacks the trading and research tools that the best options trading platforms offer.

The 15 Most Active Call & Put Options of the S&P Components - Slide 1 of 15

In addition to a limited selection of options education articles, Robinhood also does not offer paper trading, so there is no way to practice trading options with fake money. Thus, for beginner options traders, we do not recommend Robinhood. To practice options trading, choose an options trading platform that offers a free paper trading account. With paper trading, virtual money is used to place options trades in a simulated environment. Here's a summary of the primary options trading features offered by the best options trading brokers.

At the end of the guide, we have a summary of each feature and its definition. Strategy Roller from thinkorswim enables clients to create custom rules and roll their existing options positions automatically. The number of settings and depth of customization available is impressive, and something we have come to expect from thinkorswim. TD Ameritrade thinkorswim options trade profit loss analysis. Schwab also offers Idea Hub, which uses predefined scans to filter down options trade ideas. Charles Schwab options trading platform idea hub tool.

For professionals, Interactive Brokers takes the crown as the best options platform. Additional savings are also realized through more frequent trading. Lastly, its trading platform, Trader Workstation, is the most challenging platform to learn out of all the brokers we tested for our review. There's a healthy variety of reputable brokers to choose from in the world of options trading. It's a work of art. In its most basic form, a call option is used by investors who seek to place a bet that a stock will go up in price.

Buying a call option contract gives the owner the right but not the obligation to purchase shares at a pre-specified price for a pre-determined length of time.

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As the stock price goes up, so does the value of each option contract the investor owns. Conversely, if the stock price goes down, so does the value of the call option. Each contract represents shares of stock. In its most basic form, a put option is used by investors who seek to place a bet that a stock or other security such as an ETF, commodity, or index will go down in price.

Buying a put option gives the owner the right but not the obligation to sell shares of stock at a pre-specified price strike price before a preset date expiration. The further the stock falls below the strike price, the more valuable each contract becomes. Alternatively, an increase in the stock price will decrease the value of the put option. Each online broker requires a different minimum deposit to trade options.

Best Options Trading Platforms

To apply for options trading approval, investors fill out a short questionnaire within their brokerage account. Options trading is a form of leveraged investing and thus is inherently risky. Any time an investor is using leverage to trade, they are taking on additional risk.