Scottrade vs. Zecco: Which Is Better?
By Sun
Scottrade and Zecco are two of my main stock brokers. I have used both of them quite often, especially Scottrade. In the past, I have written lengthy reviews of both of them (Scottrade review and Zecco review) from my own experience, including features of the broker, fees, research tools, and account opening process, etc. While I think those reviews are comprehensive, giving you a clear idea about what they both have to offer, they may not be very straightforward if you want to get the information that matters the most fast.
And that’s why I am putting together this table below so you can compare easily in which areas these two popular discount brokers are the same or different.
| Broker | Scottrade | Zecco |
| Apply online | Yes, open an account | Yes, open an account |
| Account minimum | $500 | $0.00 |
| Paperwork | No | No |
| Free trades | No | No |
| Referral program | Yes, 3 free trades | Yes, $50.00 |
| Stock commission | $7.00 | $4.50 |
| Options commission | $7.00 + $1.25/contract | $4.50 + $0.50/contract |
| Mutual fund fee (NTF)** | $17.00 | $10.00 |
| No-fee IRA | Yes | No, $30/year |
| ACH | Yes (MoneyDirect) | Yes |
| ACH hold period | No*** | 3 days |
| Account transfer-in fee | No | No |
| Account transfer-out fee | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Account transfer fee reimbursement | Yes, up to $100.00 | Yes, up to $150.00 |
| Dividend reinvestment | No | Yes |
| Check writing | Yes | No |
| Mobile trading | Yes | No |
| Web based trading platform | Yes | Yes |
| Stand alone trading platform | Yes | No |
| Fractional shares | No | No |
| Real-time stream quote | Yes | No |
| Free gain/loss tracker | Yes | No |
| Monthly fee | No | No |
| Local branch office | Yes | No |
| Customer community | Yes | Yes |
**NTF: No transaction fee;
***You have to wait for 3 business days before using the fund to buy stocks that are less than $4.00/share at Scottrade;
So which broker do you think is better? Scottrade or Zecco?
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Personally I would choose Scottrade, it seems to me that has more advantages, but this not means that Zecco is not good too, just for now I will stick with my choice
Scottrade is also my choice, even though the commission is higher. I like the interface much better than Zecco’s. Also Scottrade’s referral program is very nice. I am able to earn enough referrals to trade for free with Scottrade
Would like to see Scottrade commissions lower, but the new 2o1o Scottrader interface is really cool, many add-ons from the previous one… Also the website’s research tools are great!
I like it… I think if they drop their pricing to ~$5, they could be the best out there!