Source-checked October 3, 2026 · U.S. brokerage research
Compare the cost of the complete trade—and the policies that matter when a spread stops behaving as expected.
A vertical spread uses a long and a short option of the same type on the same underlying, with the same expiration and different strikes. Broker selection should account for both legs, opening and closing costs, strategy approval, and exercise/assignment procedures. A convenient order ticket does not remove those responsibilities.
U.S. retail online baseline; not index options, futures options or every account type.
Pass-through fees, spreads, slippage and other charges can remain.
What the published schedules actually say
Scroll across the table to see all columns.
| Provider | Commission or contract-charge basis | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| tastytrade | $1 per contract to open; $10 opening cap per leg; $0 closing commission. | Exchange, clearing and regulatory fees remain. The cap described here is for stock/ETF options. |
| Fidelity | $0 base commission plus $0.65 per contract. | Certain low-priced buy-to-close orders qualify for a waiver; professional-customer charges and other fees may differ. |
| Charles Schwab / thinkorswim | $0 online base commission plus $0.65 per contract. | thinkorswim is a Schwab platform, not a separate brokerage. Other applicable charges and exceptions require the full schedule. |
| Robinhood | No base or per-contract brokerage fee on stock/ETF options. | Pass-through fees remain. Index options and professional-customer pricing differ; spread access requires appropriate approval. |
| Interactive Brokers | Pricing varies with plan, volume and option premium; the U.S. schedule lists a $1 order minimum. | Its notes apply order minimums to individual legs of a combo order. Do not reduce the schedule to one universal per-contract price. |
These are source-checked terms, not all-in quotes. Robinhood’s fee page also announces a professional-customer contract charge starting on or after October 15, 2026; the ordinary retail baseline above should not be applied to that designation. Recheck the linked schedules and your order preview.
Count all four contract transactions
Illustration only: one spread has one long contract and one short contract. Opening both and later closing both creates four contract transactions. Assume ordinary stock/ETF options, online execution, no waiver and no exercise or assignment.
Scroll across the table to see all columns.
| Pricing model | Arithmetic | Illustrative charge |
|---|---|---|
| $0.65 per contract on both entry and exit | 2 contracts × 2 sides × $0.65 | $2.60 |
| tastytrade opening-side model | 2 opening contracts × $1; $0 closing commission | $2.00 |
| Robinhood ordinary retail stock/ETF model | $0 brokerage commission/contract charge | $0.00, before applicable fees |
This intentionally excludes exchange, clearing and regulatory fees, subscriptions, borrowing, bid–ask spreads, taxes and slippage. IBKR is not reduced to this simple example because plan rules and leg-level minimums require an account-specific calculation. Lower listed commissions alone do not prove a lower achieved trading cost.
Five questions to ask before funding
- Permission: Is this exact spread allowed in this account type, and what approval and collateral are required?
- Order handling: Can you submit and close the intended multi-leg order as a package? What happens if it is not filled?
- Expiration: When might the broker close positions, restrict new orders or issue exercise-related instructions?
- Assignment: What happens if only the short leg is assigned? Can the resulting stock obligation exceed available buying power?
- Help: How can you reach trading support during an assignment, platform interruption or time-sensitive problem?
Defined payoff does not mean “set and forget”
Early assignment, expiration uncertainty and a resulting stock position can create obligations beyond a simplified spread diagram. Closing or exercising one leg changes the position. FINRA’s options guide explains assignment, margin and expiration risks. Broker intervention is not a guaranteed safety net.
Paper trading can teach mechanics; it cannot validate live execution quality. We have not measured or ranked fill speed, price improvement or reliability at these firms.
Read the provider-specific checks
tastytrade research review · Robinhood research review · Broker research directory
How this guide was researched
Updated October 3, 2026 using the linked U.S. provider documents and investor-protection resources. This is a public-document review, not a hands-on account test. We have not measured fill quality, support response times or app usability, and do not assign star ratings. Provider pages are evidence of stated terms—not independent proof of performance.
Broker links on this page are direct information links without referral codes. InvestPips displays advertising elsewhere on the site; ads are separate from this comparison. Check current terms before acting. Read our editorial and advertising notes.
What changed in this update
Removed unsupported speed rankings and risk-free or fee-free claims. Corrected tastytrade’s per-contract pricing and identified thinkorswim as a Schwab platform. Replaced promotional recommendations with a scoped comparison and operational checklist. The existing URL and original publication date were retained.
Educational information for U.S. readers, not personalized investment advice. Products, eligibility and costs can change. Investing can result in loss.