Options Trading Fees in 2026: What a Year of Trades Costs at Major Brokers

For a year of 480 options contracts, Firstrade has the lowest printed total of the ten brokers we priced: $9.60, from no commission and a regulatory fee of $0.02 per contract, checked October 24, 2026. Vanguard is highest at $480. Commissions run from no charge to $1 a contract across the table, and no commission does not mean no cost: Public, Robinhood and moomoo each add regulatory and clearing charges to every contract.

Financeradar data: the 7 online brokers in our catalog charge between no commission and $1 a contract before regulatory fees (newest check October 18, 2026). Across the 10 brokers priced here, a year of 480 contracts costs from $9.60 to $480.00 on the fees each one prints.

This page prices one year of options trades at each broker with the same scenario for all of them. Each rate comes from the broker's own commission or fee page, and every total is our arithmetic on those printed rates.

The year we priced

Scenario A is a casual trader who makes four trades a month. Each trade buys 5 contracts to open and sells the same 5 later to close. That is 40 contract executions a month, or 480 a year, split evenly between opening and closing contracts. We assume long options, so opening means buying and closing means selling.

Scenario B is a small-lot trader who makes 12 round trips of one contract each, which is 24 orders. It shows per-order minimums. Stock trades cost no commission at most of these brokers, so the stock side is covered in best free investing apps, and this page stays with options.

Two more assumptions apply. Interactive Brokers prices by premium, so its figures use a premium of $0.10 or more. Both scenarios stay inside each broker's entry tier.

Options fees at ten brokers

The table sorts the brokers by the printed cost of scenario A.

Totals are our arithmetic on printed rates. A broker whose regulatory fee prints no amount shows its commission and printed fees only, so its figure is a floor. Firstrade's total is the lowest printed one, and the other nine already sit above it on printed fees alone.

Where the ranking flips

E*TRADE's standard rate applies below 30 stock, ETF or options trades a quarter. At 30 or more, the rate falls to $0.50 a contract, and the 480-contract year comes to $240.00 before the regulatory fee. Scenario A makes 12 round trips a quarter, or 24 orders, and both counts sit below 30. At 30 trades, E*TRADE would sit below tastytrade's $288.00 in this table.

Interactive Brokers Pro charges less on cheaper options. At a premium from $0.05 to $0.10, the same 480 contracts cost $240.00 in commission, and below $0.05 they cost $120.00, before the OCC and CAT charges. Monthly volume also matters: above 10,000 contracts a month the rate falls to $0.50 for premiums of $0.05 or more. Above 50,000 contracts it is $0.25 for every premium, and above 100,000 it is $0.15.

Vanguard's rate depends on assets. The table prices the entry tier, below $1 million in qualifying assets. In the tier above that, up to $5 million, the first 25 options or transaction-fee mutual fund trades are commission-free, counted together. After that, options carry the per-contract rate and transaction-fee mutual fund trades cost $8 each. At $5 million or more, the first 100 such trades are free, and the same split applies after that. The allowance resets each calendar year.

Fidelity adds $0.50 a contract for accounts it designates as Professional Options Traders under exchange rules, which brings its standard rate to $1.15. Robinhood charges $0.50 a contract on buys and sells for Professional options orders, effective October 15, 2026.

Two more terms change a bill without changing the headline. Fidelity lists no charge for buy-to-close orders of $0.65 or less, but this scenario sells to close, so the waiver does not apply. Public pays a rebate of $0.06 to $0.18 a contract under its Options Rebate Program, but only after enrollment and depending on the underlying, the route and volume, so the table leaves it out.

Single contracts and the per-order minimum

Scenario B shows where the minimum matters. Interactive Brokers Pro charges at least $1.00 per order, so one contract at its standard rate costs $1.00. Twenty-four single-contract orders cost $24.00 there, against $15.60 at Fidelity, Schwab or E*TRADE, which charge the same standard rate with no minimum printed. Vanguard charges a per-contract fee with no per-order charge, so one contract per order costs $1.00 and the same 24 orders cost $24.00 there. tastytrade charges to open and nothing to close, so 12 openings cost $12.00, and its clearing fee across 24 orders comes to $2.40. Firstrade's regulatory fee comes to $0.48.

What the headline leaves out

Five kinds of charge or term sit outside the commission.

The options regulatory fee is charged per contract by the options exchanges and collected through the Options Clearing Corporation. Firstrade and Public print $0.02 a contract on buys and sells, and moomoo prints $0.0122. Robinhood's $0.04 is a blended rate it calculates from its average remittance, so one trade can differ from the exact exchange charge.

Clearing and audit fees add to that. The OCC clearing fee is $0.025 at Interactive Brokers and moomoo, and CAT is $0.0003 per contract at Interactive Brokers, moomoo and Robinhood. Public's CAT fee is $0.0009. Robinhood and Public round a CAT charge under one cent down to zero, so on 5-contract orders their CAT adds nothing. tastytrade charges a clearing fee on stock options on both sides of the trade.

Sales carry two more charges the totals leave out. The SEC fee is $20.60 per million dollars of sale value at Firstrade, moomoo, tastytrade and Robinhood, so it depends on premium. FINRA's trading activity fee, $0.00329 a contract sold at Robinhood, is paused from October 1 through December 31, 2026, and adds less than a dollar a year at this volume for the rest of the year.

Index options cost more. Public charges $0.35 a contract, moomoo charges $0.50, and Robinhood charges $0.35 for Gold members and more without Gold. E*TRADE lists $0.54 on SPX and $0.66 on NDX.

Exercise and assignment are free at most of the table. Schwab charges nothing online, E*TRADE prints no charge, Interactive Brokers says it charges no commission for US exercise and assignment, Vanguard calls them commission-free, and Firstrade lists no charge. Fidelity, Robinhood, Public and moomoo schedules do not list an exercise or assignment fee.

The Options Clearing Corporation's page on its options disclosure document states: "Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read a copy of the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options, also known as the options disclosure document (ODD)." Fees are one input to an options decision. The disclosure document covers the risk of the position itself, which this fee table does not measure.

The weak spot at each broker

Firstrade has the lowest printed total, but its pricing page prints one per-contract charge, the regulatory fee, and no clearing or trading activity line for options. Its total is the least complete in the table.

moomoo's OCC clearing fee is larger than its regulatory fee, and its index options cost more than its equity options.

Robinhood charges no commission on stock and ETF options, and its blended fee applies on every contract. Accounts it classes as Professional pay the higher rate covered above.

Public charges no commission on stock and ETF options, but its printed fees add about $0.04 a contract on a sale, and its index options cost $0.35 a contract.

tastytrade's opening rate applies only when a contract opens, but its clearing fee applies on both sides. Its regulatory fee is charged per contract with no minimum per trade, and its fee table prints the rate.

E*TRADE charges its standard rate under 30 trades a quarter. Its options regulatory fee applies, and the rates page gives no figure for it.

Fidelity charges its standard rate online, plus the surcharge for Professional Options Traders. Its regulatory fee applies to buys and sells, and the page prints no figure for it.

Schwab charges its standard rate online, and a broker-assisted order adds a $25 service charge. Its regulatory fee varies by exchange, and the page gives no single amount.

Interactive Brokers prices Pro by premium, with the $1.00 minimum per order hitting small tickets. The Lite plan is a separate schedule and is not priced here.

Vanguard has the entry-tier rate that makes its $480.00 the highest total in this scenario. Exercises and assignments are commission-free.

How we checked

We read each broker's own commission, pricing or fee page, checked October 24, 2026, and recorded each rate with its unit: per contract, per order, per trade or per sale. Where a page gives a tier, a waiver or a promotion, we priced the tier the scenario reaches and labeled it. Totals are our arithmetic on those rates. No figure comes from a review site, a search summary or a comparison table. The Financeradar broker table was used only as a cross-check, and it agrees on the standard commissions. Scenario totals leave out margin interest, stock trades, index options and the value-based SEC fee on sales. For the wider picture, see investing, brokers for beginners and IRA accounts, and for how gains are taxed, capital gains tax rates.

Sources: Fidelity commissions and margin rates, Schwab pricing, Interactive Brokers US options commissions, E*TRADE rates and fees, E*TRADE online options, Vanguard investment fees and costs, Vanguard fee schedule, Robinhood trading fees, Robinhood fee schedule, Public fee schedule, Firstrade pricing, moomoo pricing, tastytrade pricing, tastytrade commissions and fees, FINRA rule filing SR-FINRA-2026-021, and the OCC options disclosure document.

Cite this: Financeradar, "Options Trading Fees in 2026: What a Year of Trades Costs at Major Brokers," October 2026.

Financeradar may earn a commission from some links; it never affects rankings (how we make money).

This is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm current fees with each broker before you trade, because regulatory and exchange charges change.

FAQ

What is the lowest options fee in this table?

For a scenario of 480 contracts a year, Firstrade's printed total is $9.60: no commission and a regulatory fee per contract, from its pricing page checked October 24, 2026. The next lowest printed totals are moomoo at $18.00 and Robinhood at $19.20. The order holds for this scenario only, and a different volume or premium can change it.

How much does a flat per-contract commission cost in a year?

At the standard rate of Fidelity, Schwab and E*TRADE, 480 contracts cost $312.00 a year before regulatory fees. Vanguard's entry-tier rate reaches $480.00. tastytrade charges only on opening trades, so its 240 openings come to $240.00 before clearing.

Do options brokers charge for exercise and assignment?

None of the schedules we priced lists a charge for it, apart from tastytrade's fee table, which lists $5 for option exercise and assignment and is not in its total. Schwab charges nothing online, E*TRADE prints no charge, Interactive Brokers says it does not charge commissions for US exercise and assignment, Vanguard calls them commission-free, and Firstrade lists no charge. Fidelity, Robinhood, Public and moomoo schedules do not list an exercise or assignment fee.

What is the options regulatory fee?

It is a per-contract charge from the options exchanges, collected through the Options Clearing Corporation. The amount depends on the broker. Firstrade, Public, moomoo and tastytrade print a per-contract figure in the table, and Robinhood charges a blended $0.04 that also covers OCC clearing. Fidelity, Schwab, E*TRADE and Interactive Brokers say it applies but print no amount on the pages we read.

Does a broker with no commission still cost money to trade options with?

Yes, in this scenario. Public, Robinhood and moomoo charged between $18.00 and $19.20 a year for 480 contracts on printed regulatory and clearing fees alone. Firstrade came lowest because it prints only one per-contract regulatory fee.

Do professional options traders pay more at Fidelity or Robinhood?

Yes. Fidelity adds a surcharge for accounts it designates as Professional Options Traders under exchange rules, which brings its standard rate to $1.15 a contract. Robinhood charges a flat rate on buys and sells for Professional options orders, effective October 15, 2026.

Why do some totals end in "plus regulatory fee"?

Four schedules say a regulatory or exchange fee applies per contract without printing its amount: Fidelity, Schwab, E*TRADE and Interactive Brokers. Their totals are floors built from commission and printed fees. tastytrade's $288.00 also leaves out its $0.02 a contract regulatory fee. The regulatory fee adds to each one, so their year costs are higher than the figures in the table.