Firstrade charges $0 per contract on equity options. Fidelity charges $0.65. On a single 10-lot iron condor opened and closed, that gap is about $52 in contract fees, and it is the first thing most traders notice. The second thing is what Fidelity’s price buys: fractional shares and Active Trader Pro on one side, a bilingual English and Chinese platform and a one-line fee schedule on the other. Which side is worth paying for depends on how often you trade and how much you lean on the platform.
Key Takeaway
- Firstrade: $0 stock commission, $0 per contract on options, $0 account minimum
- Fidelity: $0 stock commission, $0.65 per contract on options (open and close), $0 account minimum
- Neither broker offers paper trading or futures
- Fidelity supports fractional shares and runs Active Trader Pro. Firstrade does not offer fractional shares and runs on web and mobile, with a platform in English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese
- Pick Firstrade if you trade options often and mostly want low cost. Pick Fidelity if you want one account for investing and trading and you place options trades rarely enough that $0.65 a contract is small
Where the fees differ
Stock commissions are identical: $0 at both. The options line is where they split. Firstrade’s fee data was last verified on 2026-11-05 and Fidelity’s on 2026-10-03, in both cases against each broker’s own published fee schedule.
| Cost item | Firstrade | Fidelity |
|---|---|---|
| Stock commission | $0 | $0 |
| Options, per contract (open) | $0 | $0.65 |
| Options, per contract (close) | $0 | $0.65 |
| Account minimum | $0 | $0 |
| Inactivity fee | None | Check fee schedule |
“$0 per contract” does not mean “no costs.” Firstrade’s pricing page lists an options regulatory pass-through, quoted at an aggregate $0.02375 per contract as of January 2026, and a small SEC fee on eligible sells. Regulatory fees are set by exchanges and regulators, they change, and most brokers pass some version of them on. Read the live schedule at either broker before you rely on a specific figure.
A hypothetical example
Say a trader opens a 10-lot iron condor on a stock or ETF: four legs of 10 contracts each, 40 contracts to open and 40 to close if the trade is closed early. This illustrates fee math. It is not a trade idea.
- Fidelity: 80 contracts at $0.65 is $52.00 in contract fees
- Firstrade: $0 in contract fees. If the roughly $0.02375 per contract pass-through applied to all 80 contracts, that would add about $1.90
Run four of those a month and the gap is about $200 a month, or $2,400 a year. A trader who sells one covered call or one cash-secured put a month pays under a dollar at Fidelity, and the fee gap stops being a deciding factor. Multi-leg structures and larger lot sizes are what make per-contract pricing add up.
What Fidelity offers for the extra cost
Fidelity’s case is the account around the options trade, not the options ticket itself:
- Active Trader Pro. Fidelity’s desktop platform is built for active traders, with streaming data, options chains, and multi-leg order entry. Firstrade lists web and mobile only.
- Fractional shares. Fidelity supports them. Firstrade does not. If you size stock positions by dollar amount in the same account where you trade options, that matters.
- One account for everything. Fidelity is a full-service broker, so retirement accounts, investing, and options trading sit under one login.
Our Fidelity options trading review covers the platform, and the Fidelity options commissions and fees guide walks through its full fee schedule.
What Firstrade offers instead
Firstrade’s pitch is a short fee schedule: $0 commission, $0 contract fees, $0 exercise and assignment fees, no account minimum, and no inactivity fee. It also lists OptionsWizard, an options analytics tool, plus free education courses.
The tradeoffs are plain. Firstrade has no paper trading and no fractional shares, and its charting is lighter than what a chart-heavy trader will want. It also runs a fully bilingual platform, with account opening, trading, and support in English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. For a trader who prefers to manage an account in Chinese, that can settle the decision regardless of what either broker charges per contract.
The shared limits
Neither broker has paper trading, so you learn each platform with real money at both. Neither offers futures. If either feature is on your list, look elsewhere. Our Schwab vs. Firstrade comparison shows what a broker with futures access costs per contract, and the Webull vs. Firstrade comparison covers a broker that does offer a practice account.
Side by side
| Feature | Firstrade | Fidelity |
|---|---|---|
| Options, per contract | $0 | $0.65 |
| Fractional shares | No | Yes |
| Paper trading | No | No |
| Futures | No | No |
| Desktop platform | No (web and mobile) | Active Trader Pro |
| Chinese-language platform | Yes | No |
| Options analytics tool | OptionsWizard | Built into Active Trader Pro |
Fee data from Trader Central’s broker records, last verified 2026-11-05 (Firstrade) and 2026-10-03 (Fidelity).
Who each broker fits
Firstrade fits a trader who places options trades often, especially multi-leg structures where contracts pile up, and wants the lowest posted fee. It also fits Chinese-speaking traders who want a native-language platform from account opening through support.
Fidelity fits a trader who already holds investments or retirement accounts there, wants a desktop platform and fractional shares, and trades options at a pace where $0.65 a contract is a minor line item. It is the less natural fit for anyone running several multi-leg positions a week.
A quick way to decide
Start with your own numbers instead of the brokers’ marketing. Pull your last three months of options fills and add up the contracts you opened and closed. Multiply that total by $0.65 to see what Fidelity would have charged, then compare it with what you value in Active Trader Pro, fractional shares, and a one-login account for everything else.
- Under about 50 contracts a month: the fee gap is roughly $32 a month or less, so choose on platform and account features
- Over about 200 contracts a month: the gap is $130 or more, and the cost difference starts to dominate the decision
- Somewhere in between: open the cheaper account for options and keep long-term holdings wherever they already sit, since nothing forces you to use one broker for everything
Both brokers also let you hold a balance without a minimum, so testing the cheaper option with a small account costs little. Transfer fees and account-closing terms are worth reading first, and both are on each broker’s fee schedule.
Bottom Line
Firstrade is cheaper per contract by $0.65, which adds up fast on multi-leg trades. Fidelity charges for a fuller account, a desktop platform, and fractional shares. Count how many contracts you trade in a typical month, then decide whether those extras are worth the difference.
FAQ
Q: Does Firstrade charge per-contract fees on options?
A: Firstrade lists $0 commission and $0 contract fees. It also passes through small regulatory fees, quoted at about $0.02375 per contract as of January 2026, so check its current fee schedule.
Q: How much does Fidelity charge per options contract?
A: $0.65 per contract, on both opening and closing trades, per Fidelity’s published fee schedule as last verified on 2026-10-03.
Q: Can I paper trade at Firstrade or Fidelity?
A: No. Neither broker offers a paper trading account.
Q: Does either broker offer futures?
A: No. Neither Firstrade nor Fidelity offers futures trading.
Q: Is Firstrade available in languages other than English?
A: Yes. Account opening, trading, and support are available in English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.
For more head-to-head broker breakdowns, see our tastytrade vs. Firstrade comparison, the Fidelity vs. E*TRADE comparison, and the Robinhood vs. Fidelity comparison.
Ready to open an account? Firstrade is the simpler route for a $0 fee schedule and a bilingual platform. Fidelity is the route for Active Trader Pro and a full-service account.