TradeUP Review

TradeUP Ratings at a Glance

TradeUP's core offering is commission-free trading for U.S. stocks, ETFs and options (available on margin accounts), plus for over 250 Chinese American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). Short selling is also allowed for margin accounts with $2,000 in total account equity. TradeUP provides these investment options via its robust trading platforms which include, mobile trading app, the desktop and web platforms.

TradeUP's mobile app is a simplified, user-friendly trading platform with powerful tools and features. These include integrated and highly interactive technical charts with real-time quotes, customizable views and on-the-fly indicators for practical market analysis. There's a custom watchlist to help you keep an eye on your favorite securities. And with custom alerts, screeners and the latest news, you can seamlessly navigate market trends. The desktop platform mirrors the app’s functionality but is optimized for desktop usage and is much more extensive in terms of charting and analysis tools. Its suite of indicators, extensive real-time insights and Level 2 data empowers you to seize market opportunities without hassles.

The web platform further simplifies your trading experience by providing a single, centralized location where you can easily monitor the market, place orders and keep track of your positions. It features instant order entry, allowing you to submit an order without filling out the order placement page. The platform has advanced intraday and historical charting capabilities with over 30 drawing tools, indicators and real-time quotes for streamlined market analysis. Additionally, you can view market activities based on industries through color-coded heat maps. TradeUP’s salient features, which include highly interactive technical tools such as stock analytics, color-coded heat maps and custom news feeds all provide a comprehensive market overview designed to help you make informed decisions. Here's a review of these features.

Technical Charting Tools

For stock price analysis, TradeUP provides basic candlestick charts. The charting software comprises 22 technical indicators, including popular ones like MA (Moving Average), EMA (Exponential Moving Average), MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence), RSI (Relative Strength Index) and Bollinger Bands. Indicator parameters like timeframe or core variables are not customizable. And you cannot overlay more than one indicator at a time (unless you’re using the desktop software) on the candlestick chart. TradeUP also offers 30+ drawing tools from which you can choose your display options. For instance, you can choose to show corporate actions (earnings and dividends), current price lines and price alert lines. You can select the candlestick's axis type and bar format as well.

Stock Analytics Tools

TradeUP stock pages contain a reservoir of information, including company financial data, a stock-specific news feed, SEC filings and overall analysis. TradeUP presents financial data, such as income statements, balance sheets and cash flow, in a chart rather than a table, providing a clear visual representation of how a company's cash flow and income have evolved. TradeUP also displays the graph of return on assets and return on capital over time, providing a valuable tool for comparing companies on fundamental factors. Additionally, it breaks down companies' income into individual business lines, which can help you quickly identify growth areas within a company. The overall analysis can also be very beneficial, displaying a graph of earnings history and short interest over time. Also, you can see at a glance the amount of the company's shares held by financial institutions.

Market Overview

TradeUP offers you multiple ways to view the broader market. It features a heatmap display that categorizes stocks from major indices by sector and uses color coding to visually depict each sector's performance. You can view the heatmap for different timeframes, including the past day, week, month, quarter, six months or year. You can explore each index in detail via a table that displays all the constituent stocks. The table contains numerous data such as volume ratio, dividend yield, earnings, % change and P/E and P/B ratios. There's also a table for popular stocks with similar data. You can customize the tables to display the specific data you prefer.

News Feed, Calendar and Customization

TradeUP provides the latest market news feed and a calendar of upcoming IPOs and earnings reports. The news feed comprises stories from mainstream financial media, including Benzinga, Motley Fool, Yahoo Finance, Reuter and Bloomberg. The calendar feature can help you check upcoming earning reports, dividends, and IPOs. TradeUP enables you to create unlimited watchlists within your trading account. It supports alerts for individual stocks based on specific price levels, trading volume and percentage loss or gain.

TradeUP Demo or Paper Account

Navigating the complexities of stock trading can be challenging, especially for newbies with little or no trading experience. If you're a beginner, TradeUP's paper account offers an excellent opportunity to boost your investing knowledge and sharpen your short-selling, stock and margin trading skills. You can start practicing with 100,000 virtual funds with the flexibility to reset the amount and begin fresh whenever you wish. This ensures a risk-free learning experience.

TradeUP offers customer support primarily via live chat and email. The dedicated client service team ensures that every inquiry is efficiently handled by utilizing a sophisticated system that identifies and classifies requests based on their urgency. Benzinga experienced a slight delay in response when trying out the live chat channel. Nevertheless, it remains the most flexible and fastest means of seeking answers to your questions regarding trading, account setup, funding and rewards. TradeUP also maintains an active presence on various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, offering an alternative channel to communicate with the team and resolve your concerns or complaints.

The help center provides easily accessible resources that can address most questions and also provides educational materials to enhance your trading knowledge. You can search with a specific keyword like stock trading, option trading, authentication or by type to see if the information you need is available.

For professional traders there is personalized support. The elite professional team conducts onboarding orientations and designates dedicated representatives to assist clients at every step of their journey. This personalized approach aims to provide unparalleled support and guidance tailored to the unique needs of professional traders.

TradeUP highly prioritizes user privacy protection. Robust encryption protocols are implemented to protect personally identifiable information during account setup or data transfer. Sensitive data is securely stored on protected servers, with adequate physical and electronic security measures. When necessary, data collected during account setup can be used to improve service delivery and marketing purposes but are not shared or sold to a third party except authorized by the owner.

TradeUP employs multi-factor authentication, meaning that to access your account, you'll need to provide a unique code in addition to your password and username to access your account and initiate trades. TradeUP Securities, Inc, which provides securities products and brokerage services for the TradeUP platform, is a member of FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation), OCC (Options Clearing Corporation), CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange), DTCC (Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation) and NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). It is also regulated by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), meaning it must comply with rigorous standards that apply to entities within the investment industry.

TradeUP offers commission-free trading for U.S. stocks, ETFs and options, which is its core selling point. There's no account minimum maintenance fee or hidden fees. However, you must maintain a minimum account value of $2,000 to place an option trade for margin accounts. At 5.99% annually, TradeUP currently has the lowest margin rate among all commission-free brokers.

The platform offers numerous bonuses and rewards. For instance, you can receive up to 5 free stocks, each up to $3,600 when you open and fund an account and deposit. You also receive a bonus when you refer a friend. TradeUP currently offers a $100 cash bonus for ACATS transfers with assets over $10,000.

The TradeUP mobile trading app (available in Android and iOS versions) is one of its major trading platforms. It strikes the perfect balance by providing a blend of advanced trading tools while maintaining a user-friendly and straightforward interface. This makes it ideal for novice and seasoned traders who prioritize mobile online trading platforms for convenient access while on the go.

TradeUP offers excellent ease of usage across its multiple platforms. It is available as a mobile trading app for Android and iOS devices, and a web app accessible from all browsers, making it accessible to diverse traders. The platform provides an impressive range of trading features, such as real-time quotes, market updates, technical charting tools and stock analysis capabilities. Account opening or setup is hassle-free and takes only a few minutes. And approval is granted once an identity and background check is completed.  In cases where an applicant requires further verification the platform may request proof of identity or address.

A free demo account is also available to help beginners learn without risking real capital. Moreover, TradeUP allows users to set up multiple watchlists, receive alerts and access financial data and charts for in-depth analysis. Overall, TradeUP offers a solid trading experience with its blend of features and mobile accessibility and is highly recommendable, especially for medium- and long-term traders or investors who use fundamental and technical tools for trading.

TradeUP vs. Competitors

TradeUP has a few competitors such as Robinhood and Webull. Like TradeUP, both are commission-free platforms with excellent fundamental and technical analytical tools, including advanced charting, price alerts, numerous indicators and news updates. While these platforms offer more robust tools and investment options, TradeUP stands out by integrating all these tools into a user-friendly interface accessible on all types of devices. At 5.99%, TradeUP offers a low margin rate compared to 7.75% to 11.75% for Robinhood and 7.99% to 9.49% for Webull.

At TradeUP, investors enjoy the freedom to switch between LITE and Pro versions, offering flexibility that sets them apart from other platforms such as Webull and Robinhood. With this feature, investors are not limited to a single mode of investment, allowing them to tailor their experience according to their preferences.

Furthermore, TradeUP stands out by providing free options trading, which is not the case with Webull, where certain fees apply for index options trading.

TradeUP is a mobile-friendly online trading platform offering commission-free trading on U.S. stocks, ETFs and options. It provides a range of features, including real-time quotes, market updates, technical charting tools and stock analysis capabilities across its multiple trading platforms, making it appealing to diverse traders. The platform offers a demo account for beginners to practice trading without risking real money.

Frequently Asked Questions