Tastyworks Full Review | Pros & Cons in Details (2021)

Ranks (of 5):

• Safety: 4
• The offering of investment: 2.5
• Account opening: 2.5
• Fees: 4
• Deposit and withdrawal: 3
• Platforms and languages: 4
• Research: 4
• Customer service: 4.5
• Education: 4
• Overall: 3.6

Pros

Regulated by top-tier financial authorities, a member of SIPC, client protection amounts, social trading, shares and ETFs trading, various account types, low trading fees, no inactivity fees, no deposit fees, have a customized platform, two-factor authentication, and good research tools,

Cons

Not listed on the stock exchange, no negative balance protection, no Forex or CFD trading, no Islamic account option, high minimum deposit, high withdrawal fees, only one base currency option, limited deposit and withdrawal options, not available on MT4 or MT5, limited platform languages, limited fundamental data, no 24/7 support, and no demo account.

Introduction

Tastyworks is a new broker in the market. It was founded in 2017 in Chicago. Although Tastyworks is fresh, it’s regulated by top-tier financial authorities including FINRA and NFA, and it’s also a member of SIPC. Tastyworks is not a Forex or CFD broker, but its main products are stocks, options, and futures. The good thing about it is that it has very competitive commissions among similar brokers.

Safety

Is Tastyworks regulated?

The Tastyworks broker is regulated by many financial authorities like:

• FINRA: the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
• NFA: the National Futures Association

Tastyworks is also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

Is Tastyworks a scam?

Tastyworks’ safety is divided into 2 parts, the safety of the broker itself and the safety of the client.

Broker safety

Although Tastyworks is a new broker, it’s regulated by top-tier financial authorities. It also passed through the coronavirus pandemic up till now. On the other hand, Tastyworks is not listed on any market stock exchange and does not publish its financial statements regularly.

Client protection

Tastyworks has a client protection amount under the supervision of FINRA in case anything goes wrong.

Tastyworks Legal Entities Table

Offering of Investments

Tastyworks has few instrument categories including shares, ETFs, options, futures, and cryptos. On the other hand, there is no Forex, CFD, or mutual funds trading.

Tastyworks Offering of Investments

Note:

Please note that some of the trading options may depend on your account type and/or your country of residence according to governmental rules.

Account Opening

Countries available

Tastyworks is available in a lot of countries around the world including, but not limited to the UK, Brazi, and Australia. On the other side, you can’t open an account on Tastyworks if you’re a resident in North Korea.

You can see the Full List of Accepted and Rejected Countries of Tastyworks.

Account types

Tastyworks has 6 main account types as the following:

• Individual

This is an account type that has only one single user. It can be a cash or margin account that you can choose any of them according to your needs.

• Joint

An account type that has two traders trading with it. This account type has 2 options: TIC option in which if one of the account owners dies, his/ her assets will be back to the company. The other option is WROS in which if one of the account owners dies, his/ her assets will be transferred to the other one.

• Retirement

This account type is perfect for those who retired and want to invest money trading to get reasonable income. This account type has three options: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and SEP IRA.

• Corporate

A corporate account is an account opened on behalf of the corporate/ company. Please, note that the corporate should be a legally established US entity.

• Trust

This account type can be opened on behalf of a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust.

• International

This is an account type in which Margin, portfolio margin, and cash accounts are available for international clients.

Tastyworks has no demo account with 0 fees if you want to experience the trading platform with no risk.

Min deposit

The minimum deposit differs according to your account type as the following:

• $0 for the cash accounts
• $2,000 for the margin accounts

How to open an account

You can open a Tastyworks account in minutes through these steps:

1. Enter your email, username, and password.
2. Choose the account type you want to open.
3. Enter your name, address, phone number, and country of residence.
4. Enter some personal information like your city and profession.
5. Answer some affiliate questions.
6. Enter your trusted contact information.
7. Enter the account activity information.
8. Add your trading preferences.
9. Enter your financial information.
10. Add a security question.
11. Provide proof of your identity and the country of residence.
12. Fund your account and start trading.

Tastyworks – Account opening

Notes: the account opening process takes from 3 to 5 business days to proceed.

Fees and Commissions

Commissions

Tastyworks charges commissions according to the asset type as well as the opening/ closing aspect.

• Equity Options

TastyWorks charges a $1 commission (per contract), and is capped at $10 per leg. The closing fee is $0.

• Stocks

Tastyworks charges no commissions on stocks and both the closing and opening fees are $0.

• Cryptos

The commission of trading cryptocurrencies is 1% of the total crypto for opening and capped at $10. The closing fee is 1% of the total crypto sale for closing and capped at $10.

• Small Futures

The commission of trading small futures is $0.25 for both opening and closing positions.

• CME/ CFE Futures

Trading CME/ CFE futures has a commission of $1.25 (per contract) for both opening and closing positions. There’s also a commission of $0.85 (per contract) for opening and closing positions for micro futures.

• CME Options on Futures

There’s a commission of $2.5 (per contract) for opening a position on Options on Futures and $0 (per contract) for closing a position.

• CME Options on Micro Futures

The opening position commission is $1.50 (per contract) while the closing position costs $0 (per contract).

Notes:

• Some additional fees may be added for both opening and closing trades.
• The Capped commissions are charged on a per-order ticket basis and only apply to equity options and cryptocurrencies.
• Customers can only carry long cryptocurrency positions.

Non-trading fees

• Account fee: $0
• Deposit fee: $0
• Withdrawal fees: $45 for non-US clients and $25 for US clients

(you can check the full withdrawal fees in the withdrawal fees section)

• Inactivity fee: $0

Deposit and withdrawal

Account Currencies

The Tastyworks account has only one base currency available, the USD

Notes:

• You will not be charged with conversion fees if your account has the same currency as your bank account or when you trade assets with the same currency of your account.
• If you want to avoid being charged with conversion fees, you can open a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank.

Deposit

1. Options

Tastyworks supports depositing using different methods such that:

• Wire Transfer
• ACH transfer (for the US clients)
• Cheques

Tastyworks deposit methods

2. Fees and Time

The deposits are free of charge and take from 2 to 3 business days to proceed.

Withdrawal

1. Options

Tastyworks has the same withdrawal methods as the deposits:

• Wire Transfer
• ACH transfer (for the US clients)
• Cheques

Tastyworks withdrawal methods

2. Fees

Tastyworks charges $45 on withdrawals using international wire transfers while US clients only have $25.

3. Time

It takes from 3 to 5 business days to withdraw your money from the Tastyworks broker.

Platforms and Languages

Tastyworks works on its customized applications through web, desktop, and mobile platforms. Each one of them has its features and specifications. So, read this part carefully to better know which platform you will choose.

Web Trading Platform

Languages

The web platform is available only in English and there’s no other language available.

User interface (UI)

The UI of the web platform looks complicated for most beginner traders. You may need some time to familiarize yourself with it and get the best out of it.

Tastyworks – Web Trading Application – UI

Login and Security

You can log in to the web platform using two-factor authentication instead of the traditional username and password.

Tastyworks – Web Trading Application – Login

Searching

The searching tool within Tastyworks is fine. You can search for a specific asset by typing the first letters of it and find it in the second or third result. The search function can also be optimized to search for assets that have two or more words.

Placing orders

There are several types of orders:

1. Market
2. Limit
3. Stop limit
4. Stop market
5. GTC
6. GTD

Notifications and alerts

You can set price and notifications alerts on some assets on the web platform to never miss a chance to trade.

Portfolio and reports

The portfolio reports are well structured, and you can find most of the needed information in them as well as the ability to download the reports in a CSV format.

Desktop Trading Application

Languages

The desktop platform is available in English only like the web platform.

User interface (UI)

The UI of the desktop application is more customizable than the web version. You can customize charts and the whole theme of the application. It may sound hard to use the platform in the beginning, but you will be used to use it then.

Tastyworks – Desktop Application – UI

Login and Security

Same as the web platform, you can log in using two-factor authentication. There’s also an advanced option to log in using a proxy host rather than the PC’s own.

Searching

The searching function here is the same as the web platform with no difference.

Placing orders

Same as the web platform, there are several types of orders:

1. Market
2. Limit
3. Stop limit
4. Stop market
5. GTC
6. GTD

Notifications and alerts

You can set notifications and alerts on a desktop platform like the web platform.

Portfolio and reports

The portfolio and reports can be accessed from the desktop platform easily.

Mobile Platform

Languages

Same as the previous platforms, the mobile trading application of Tastyworks is available only in English.

User interface (UI)

The UI of the mobile application looks simple and you can use it easily. You can also navigate between responsive tabs.

Tastyworks – Mobile Application – UI

Login and security

You can use two-factor authentication for login as well as the biometric authentication available.

Tastyworks – Mobile Application – Login

Searching

The searching function has the same functionality and performance as the other platforms. On the other hand, you can not use filters.

Placing orders

The trading function may sound different on the mobile application, but it has the same order types in the other platforms.

Tastyworks – Mobile Application – Place Order

Notifications and alerts

Although smartphones nowadays tend to have the latest technologies, Tastyworks doesn’t take advantage of that as there are no notifications or alerts on the mobile application which is disappointing.

Research Tools

Sources

The resources of the research tools in Tastyworks are their website and their trading platforms.

Trading ideas

Tastyworks provide a trading ideas tool according to technical analysis and some top traders’ highlights. You can use this tool o get a better idea of the assets you should trade on.

Tastyworks – Research – Trading Ideas

Fundamental data

Unfortunately, there’s only limited fundamental data available at Tastyworks as the information provided is very basic like the Profit Loss ratio P/L.

Tastyworks – Research – Fundamental Data

Charting

The charting tool within Tastyworks is customizable and easy to use. You can choose from a variety of indicators to plot. You can also use the charting tool to discover patterns and create your trading strategies.

Tastyworks – Research – Charting

News

Tastyworks also provides a news tool through the Tastytrade website. The news is categorized by type of assets, and you can easily find all news about any asset.

Tastyworks – Research – Newsfeed

Customer Support

Options

Tastyworks supports different customer service channels like:

• Live chat
• Phone calls
• Emails

Languages

The customer support at Tasty works is only available in English.

Tastyworks – Customer Support

Education

Tastyworks provide several types of educational materials including the platform videos in which you can watch real traders trade right inside the platform every minute the market is open! There are also several educational articles available that guide you step by step to do specific tasks and options.

As a negative point, Tastyworks doesn’t have a demo account and you can’t try to use the platfo4rm until you open a live account.

Tastyworks – Education

FAQs

• 1. How long does it take to verify my account?
• It takes about 1 to 3 business days to verify your Tastyworks account.
  1. Can I open more than one trading account?
• At Tastyworks, you can only open one account, and any other account opened under the same person will be rejected by the support team.
  1. What are the two-factor authentication methods available?
• The available methods are via an authenticator app or SMS.
  1. Does Tastyworks allow bot trading?
• Yes, through Robo-advisory.
  1. Can I transfer cash/ positions between two Tastyworks accounts?
• Yes, you can. Please, read this full article on How to Transfer Cash or Positions Between Two Tastyworks Accounts.
  1. Does Tastyworks give a bonus?
• Yes, it does. You can get $200 after depositing $2000+ into your account after signing up using a promo code and buying some cryptocurrencies.
  1. Does Tastyworks allow scalping and hedging?
• Yes, Tastyworks allows both of them on their trading platforms.
  1. Does Tastyorks have a demo account?
• Unfortunately, no.
  1. Does Tastyworks have a swap-free account?
• No, it doesn’t.
  1. When trading forex, will you lose more than your initial deposit?
• Yes, as the Tastyworks broker doesn’t have any negative balance protection. In other words, your account can have a negative balance.
  1. Can I log in to more than one account from the same computer?
• Yes, you can.
  1. Does Tastyworks accept payments from third parties?
• No, payments should be from a bank account that holds the same name as yours.

Conclusion:

• Pros: regulated by top-tiers, social trading, low trading fees
• Cons: not listed on the stock exchange, no negative balance protection, no demo account, no Islamic account option
• Best for: professional traders
• Regulated by: FINRA, NFA
• Headquarters: Chicago
• Foundation year: 2017
• Min Deposit: $0 for cash accounts, $2,000 for margin accounts
• Deposit and withdrawal methods: Wire transfers, cheques, ACH transfers
• Withdrawal fees: $25 (for US clients) and $45 (for non-US clients)
• Deposit fees: $0
• Base currencies: USD
• The offering of investments: stocks, options, futures, ETFs, cryptos