In this Firstrade review we have collected and sorted all the important information that an investor will ever need. From feedback, ratings and fees, to background info about the company and its security measures.
Take a look below and get the stats that are important for you.
Popularity
Firstrade investing is not a particularly popular broker and the stats listed below show exactly that. But, it is one the very few to have no violations or bad publicity online.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL | Date |
| Number of users (approximate) | – | – | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Website traffic (estimated) | 1.8m | https://www.similarweb.com/website/firstrade.com/ | 25 Aug 2020 |
| # results on web | 277K | https://www.google.com/ | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Search volume Google | 6,600 | https://searchvolume.io | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Twitter followers | 1,266 | https://twitter.com/firstrade/ | 25 Aug 2020 |
| FB followers | 72K | https://www.facebook.com/firstrade | 25 Aug 2020 |
| How popular on mainstream media? | Medium | Yahoo Finance, Kiplinger, Finance Magnates, Markets Insider, Forbes, Motley Fool, Barron’s, Benzinga | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Negative media? | None | – | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Notable awards | Best Online Broker 2019 for Active Traders | https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/t052-s002-best-online-brokers-2019/index.html | 25 Aug 2020 |
User Rating
The feedback and ratings are scarce for Firstrade overall. So please take everything with a grain of salt because having 50% positive reviews out of 4 ratings, isn’t saying much.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL | Date |
| # users rated on user platforms | 4 on TrustPilot, 0 on SiteJabber | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.firstrade.com https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/firstrade.com | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Percentage of positive reviews out of user reviews | 50% | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.firstrade.com | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Common compliments | No app down time during trading. | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.firstrade.com | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Common complaints | Hard to open a brokerage account. | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.firstrade.com | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Positive feedback on Twitter? | Reliable service. | https://twitter.com/firstrade/ | 25 Aug 2020 |
| Negative feedback on Twitter? | Lack of deposit options. | https://twitter.com/firstrade/ | 25 Aug 2020 |
| App rating (summary) | 3 / 5 average rating from ~1,500 reviews | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android https://apps.apple.com/app/firstrade/id405325225 | 25 Aug 2020 |
Background Information
| Company public/private | Private | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firstrade_Securities |
| Revenue Data | – | – |
| CEO and bio | John Liu | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firstrade_Securities |
| Number of employees | 38 | https://www.linkedin.com/company/firstrade-securities-inc-/ |
| Notable investors (private companies) | None | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/firstrade-securities-inc |
Security
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| HTTPS Certificate | Yes | https://www.firstrade.com |
| 2FA ? | No | https://www.firstrade.com/content/en-us/customerservice/onlinesecurity/onlineprotectionguarantee |
| Device monitoring? | Yes | https://www.firstrade.com/content/en-us/customerservice/faqs/support |
| New device extra security? | – | – |
Fees & Offering
With zero fees on almost all investment instruments, Firstrade is a great place for both beginners and seasoned traders. The only drawback is that they don’t provide the ability to trade fractional shares and cryptocurrencies.
Trading App
Beside the ratings, which is on the low side, this is one of the very few companies where every low rating has a reply from a representative. Even though most of them are copy/paste replies, many of the competitors don’t do that.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| Android app # installs | 100K+ | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android |
| Android app # reviews | 1,271 | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android |
| iPhone app # reviews | 206 | https://apps.apple.com/app/firstrade/id405325225 |
| Android app rating | 3 / 5 | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android |
| iPhone app rating | 3 / 5 | https://apps.apple.com/app/firstrade/id405325225 |
| Common compliments on app | Easy to use, reliable, quick execution | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android https://apps.apple.com/app/firstrade/id405325225 |
| Common complaints on app | The charts are slow loading and clunky | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android https://apps.apple.com/app/firstrade/id405325225 |
| Weighted average app rating | 3 / 5 | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.firstrade.android https://apps.apple.com/app/firstrade/id405325225 |
Final conclusions:
Though not as well known as its competitors, Firstrade is quickly gaining new users by reducing to zero many commissions. If they would also allow for fractional shares, it would really become a great choice for many investors, both new and experienced.