TradeStation users. In the past, TradeStation focused on high net-worth and active traders by implementing high minimum deposit and platform fees. However, it has changed its policy and even introduced crypto trading and launched the YouCanTrade program to attract more clients. With all these new changes, what is TradeStation user stats?
While TradeStation does not clearly state how many clients it has, we can estimate its number of customers from its number of active accounts in the last quarter of 2021, as provided in its 2021 unaudited business metrics page. TradeStation has 165,811 active accounts as of the end of October 2021. So, assuming one active account per customer, the number of the company’s customers as of October 31, 2021, can be estimated at 165,811.
Here is what you will find about TradeStation user stats:
What you should know about TradeStation
TradeStation started out by producing software for institutional investors in the US but later grew into a global investment brokerage firm with an award-winning trading platform. The broker serves active individual and institutional traders both in the US and across the globe. Its popular trading platform offers speedy access to all major U.S. exchanges and makes automated trading a lot easier by allowing users to easily design, backtest, optimize, monitor, and automate their own equities, options, and futures trading strategies. Both active traders and beginners can use the platform.
Founded in 1987 as Omega Research by two brothers, William and Rafael Cruz, TradeStation came as a result of the brothers’ desire to test out their historical trading strategies and revise them. In 2001, the company changed its business approach from software trading to online securities brokerage and subsequently adopted the name, TradeStation. Given its software production background, the broker’s trading platform is one of the best in the industry, offering back-testing features, automated alerts, real-time market data, and fast trade execution. The firm was acquired by Monex Group, one of Japan’s largest online financial services companies, in 2011.
TradeStation’s Number of Active Accounts by end of month for 2017-2021
According to TradeStation’s 2021 unaudited business metrics, the company has 165,811 active accounts as of the end of October 2021. This implies more than 267% growth since 2017 when it started keeping a record of that data on its website. You can see how the number grew over the 5 years in the table below.
| Month\Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| January | 62,045 | 71,584 | 87,909 | 97,799 | 135,402 |
| February | 62,243 | 73,024 | 89,184 | 99,160 | 139,354 |
| March | 63,024 | 74,810 | 90,579 | 102,012 | 145,887 |
| April | 63,819 | 76,148 | 91,166 | 111,176 | 150,319 |
| May | 64,787 | 78,023 | 92,188 | 114,052 | 153,885 |
| June | 65,728 | 79,287 | 93,185 | 117,947 | 156,961 |
| July | 65,880 | 80,668 | 94,262 | 118,871 | 158,612 |
| August | 66,788 | 81,990 | 95,594 | 122,216 | 160,532 |
| September | 67,353 | 83,139 | 95,685 | 125,315 | 162,751 |
| October | 68,364 | 84,530 | 96,088 | 127,110 | 165,811 |
| November | 69,108 | 85,631 | 96,659 | 127,331 | – |
| December | 70,216 | 86,650 | 96,643 | 131,431 | – |
The line chart below shows a steady rise in the number of active accounts.
TradeStation’s Number of Active Accounts by end of quarter for 2017-2021
The table below shows how the number of active accounts has grown from quarter to quarter since the first quarter of 2017.
However, note that beginning April 1, 2020, the definition for an active account changed to include any brokerage account with a balance of more than $0. Before then, an active account is any brokerage account with a $200 balance or more or one that has had a transaction within the past six months. Also, with the broker’s introduction of crypto trading at the beginning of December 1, 2020, active crypto accounts are included in the number of active accounts.
| Year \ Quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| 2017 | 63,024 | 65,728 | 67,353 | 70,216 |
| 2018 | 74,810 | 79,287 | 83,139 | 86650 |
| 2019 | 90,579 | 93,185 | 95,685 | 96643 |
| 2020 | 102,012 | 117,947 | 125,315 | 131,431 |
| 2021 | 145,887 | 156,961 | 162,751 | 165,811 |
Below is the bar chart plotted with the data in that table. Notice how the numbers rose from quarter to quarter.
TradeStation’s Number of Active Accounts by end of year for 2017-2021
Considering how the numbers grew from year to year, we plotted the end of the year numbers from 2017 to 2021. Note that for 2021, we used the October 31st data because that was the most recent data as of the time of writing.
| Year | Number of active accounts by year-end |
| 2017 | 70,216 |
| 2018 | 86650 |
| 2019 | 96643 |
| 2020 | 131,431 |
| 2021 | 165,811 |
Below is a bar chart showing the yearly data.
TradeStation’s Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) by month for 2017-2021
According to TradeStation, for equities, equity options, and futures, DARTs are computed from commissionable trade orders placed by the customers and executed, regardless of the number of shares or contracts included in any given trade order.
The table below shows DARTs by months from January 2017 to October 2021.
| Month\Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| January | 67120 | 77909 | 81248 | 105140 | 273166 |
| February | 66648 | 99671 | 74217 | 131609 | 287875 |
| March | 66216 | 89620 | 80129 | 182978 | 271075 |
| April | 66598 | 83823 | 69696 | 176967 | 217317 |
| May | 66488 | 75877 | 88938 | 178577 | 213286 |
| June | 68118 | 74042 | 80292 | 201831 | 213008 |
| July | 63086 | 69362 | 79185 | 199988 | 202925 |
| August | 65366 | 66006 | 96844 | 202220 | 197460 |
| September | 61201 | 73356 | 84991 | 255006 | 209704 |
| October | 59563 | 92082 | 82924 | 231096 | 210529 |
| November | 67917 | 85860 | 80059 | 249533 | – |
| December | 62750 | 92583 | 76830 | 237796 | – |
TradeStation’s Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) by quarter for 2017-2021
The table below shows the DARTs by quarter for all the quarters between 2017 and 2021. Take a look at the bar chart below to get a quick view of how each quarter compares to the next. Notice the sharp decline in Q2 and Q3 of 2021.
| Quarter \Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Q1 | 66640 | 88719 | 78673 | 140872 | 276959 |
| Q2 | 67185 | 77882 | 79779 | 186161 | 214533 |
| Q3 | 63320 | 69341 | 87132 | 218773 | 203271 |
| Q4 | 63328 | 90174 | 80054 | 239089 | 210259 |
TradeStation’s Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) by year for 2017-2021
Checking the DARTs by year, you will get the table below. From the table, you can see that DARTs have been increasing from year to year, except in 2019 when they made a little decline.
| Year | DARTs |
| 2017 | 65119 |
| 2018 | 81447 |
| 2019 | 81443 |
| 2020 | 196533 |
| 2021 | 228902 |
The bar chart below shows it more clearly; you can see that the 2019 bar is a bit shorter than that of 2018, indicating a slight decline.
TradeStation’s End of Month Total Client Assets ($MMs) for 2017-2021
The next data we reviewed is the End of Month Total Client Assets for the same period — 2017 to 2021. In the table below, you can see that there’s a gradual but steady increase from January 2017 to October 2021.
| Month\Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| January | 4201 | 5382 | 5422 | 6005 | 9856 |
| February | 4311 | 5249 | 5486 | 5735 | 10106 |
| March | 4340 | 5182 | 5534 | 5420 | 10336 |
| April | 4348 | 5220 | 5627 | 6028 | 10842 |
| May | 4460 | 5417 | 5355 | 6303 | 10746 |
| June | 4503 | 5470 | 5556 | 6702 | 11359 |
| July | 4619 | 5557 | 5622 | 7264 | 11179 |
| August | 4694 | 5786 | 5647 | 7895 | 11780 |
| September | 4747 | 5759 | 5627 | 7826 | 11269 |
| October | 4853 | 5457 | 5693 | 7738 | 12393 |
| November | 4950 | 5476 | 5843 | 8722 | – |
| December | 5060 | 5101 | 5969 | 9259 | – |
TradeStation’s End of Quarter Total Client Assets ($MMs) for 2017-2021
As with the end of the month data, the End of Quarter Total Client Assets shows steady growth from the first quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2021. Note that for the fourth quarter of 2021, the data only captured the months of September and October.
| Year \ Quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| 2017 | 4,340 | 4,503 | 4,747 | 5,060 |
| 2018 | 5,182 | 5,470 | 5,759 | 5,101 |
| 2019 | 5,534 | 5,556 | 5,627 | 5,969 |
| 2020 | 5,420 | 6,702 | 7,826 | 9,259 |
| 2021 | 10,336 | 11,359 | 11,269 | 12,393 |
The bar chart below shows you the data at a glance.
TradeStation’s End of Year Total Client Assets ($MMs) for 2017-2021
The yearly data is shown in the table below, while the bar chart after it shows you the information at a glance.
| Year | End of Year Total Client Assets |
| 2017 | 5,060 |
| 2018 | 5,101 |
| 2019 | 5,969 |
| 2020 | 9,259 |
| 2021 | 12,393 |
TradeStation’s Avg Equities Client Credit Balances ($MMs) by month for 2017-2021
Here’s the data for the average equities client credit balances for each month, running from January 2017 to October 2021. There seems to be a slight change as we progress toward 2021, but it is fairly stable.
| Month\Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| January | 1449 | 1526 | 1528 | 1561 | 1930 |
| February | 1446 | 1508 | 1569 | 1560 | 2071 |
| March | 1458 | 1493 | 1547 | 1566 | 2048 |
| April | 1473 | 1485 | 1550 | 1561 | 1968 |
| May | 1462 | 1495 | 1548 | 1593 | 1990 |
| June | 1446 | 1505 | 1529 | 1657 | 1950 |
| July | 1470 | 1513 | 1556 | 1686 | 2006 |
| August | 1520 | 1520 | 1546 | 1708 | 2005 |
| September | 1518 | 1518 | 1558 | 1745 | 2035 |
| October | 1518 | 1529 | 1538 | 1708 | 2013 |
| November | 1494 | 1504 | 1519 | 1800 | – |
| December | 1496 | 1492 | 1515 | 1845 | – |
TradeStation’s Avg Equities Client Credit Balances ($MMs) by quarter for 2017-2021
The quarterly data for the Avg Equities Client Credit Balances are shown in the table below. It shows a more consistent increase than the monthly data as we move from 2017 to 2021. Take a look at the bar chart below for a quick view.
| Year \ Quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| 2017 | 1,451 | 1,460 | 1,503 | 1,503 |
| 2018 | 1,509 | 1,495 | 1,517 | 1,508 |
| 2019 | 1,547 | 1,543 | 1,553 | 1,524 |
| 2020 | 1,562 | 1,604 | 1,713 | 1,784 |
| 2021 | 2,015 | 1,970 | 2,015 | 2,013 |
TradeStation’s Avg Equities Client Credit Balances ($MMs) by year for 2017-2021
The yearly data for the Avg Equities Client Credit Balances are shown in the table below. It shows a gradual but consistent increase from 2017 to 2021. See the bar chart below the table.
| Year | Avg Equities Client Credit Balances |
| 2017 | 1,479 |
| 2018 | 1,507 |
| 2019 | 1,542 |
| 2020 | 1,666 |
| 2021 | 2,001 |
TradeStation’s Avg Equities Client Margin Balances ($MMs) by month for 2017-2021
The last data we considered on TradeStation’s business metric is the Avg Equities Client Margin Balances. As with other parameters, we reviewed the data from 2017 to 2021. The table below shows the data by month, from January 2017 to October 2021.
| Month\Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| January | 73 | 82 | 83 | 77 | 180 |
| February | 79 | 89 | 83 | 78 | 195 |
| March | 71 | 88 | 87 | 58 | 186 |
| April | 72 | 86 | 88 | 49 | 203 |
| May | 84 | 83 | 83 | 61 | 188 |
| June | 90 | 83 | 83 | 87 | 182 |
| July | 85 | 86 | 88 | 104 | 181 |
| August | 79 | 92 | 84 | 120 | 182 |
| September | 83 | 90 | 77 | 123 | 174 |
| October | 84 | 89 | 72 | 144 | 181 |
| November | 85 | 89 | 75 | 133 | – |
| December | 86 | 89 | 77 | 186 | – |
TradeStation’s Avg Equities Client Margin Balances ($MMs) by quarter for 2017-2021
The table below is for the quarterly version of the Avg Equities Client Margin Balances. It shows the data from the first quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2021. However, the fourth quarter of 2021 captures only the months of September and October.
| Year \ Quarter | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| 2017 | 74 | 82 | 82 | 85 |
| 2018 | 86 | 84 | 89 | 89 |
| 2019 | 84 | 85 | 83 | 75 |
| 2020 | 71 | 66 | 116 | 154 |
| 2021 | 187 | 191 | 179 | 181 |
Below is a bar chart that shows the information at a glance.
TradeStation’s Avg Equities Client Margin Balances ($MMs) by year for 2017-2021
The yearly version of the Avg Equities Client Margin Balances is shown in the table below. Take a look at the chart below it for a quick assessment of the data.
| Year | Avg Equities Client Margin Balances |
| 2017 | 81 |
| 2018 | 87 |
| 2019 | 82 |
| 2020 | 102 |
| 2021 | 185 |
