TradeZero review
TradeZero markets a $500 minimum against the $25,000 other brokers require. That $25,000 threshold was the FINRA pattern day trader rule, and FINRA removed it on 4 June 2026. The comparison the pitch rests on no longer describes US brokerage.
| Verdict | caution |
|---|---|
| Regulators | not verified |
| Minimum deposit | $500 |
| Maximum leverage | 6:1 intraday |
TradeZero’s pitch is built on one comparison, stated on its front page:
With our $500 low trading account minimums—far lower than the $25K required by other brokers—we make it easier for active traders.
The $25,000 is not a broker’s preference. It was the FINRA pattern day trader rule, which required an account flagged as a pattern day trader to hold $25,000 in equity before it could day trade freely.
FINRA removed that threshold and the pattern day trader designation on 4 June 2026. We covered the change and what replaced it in day trading for beginners, because most of the guides in circulation still describe the old regime.
What that does to the pitch
The comparison is no longer a comparison. A US broker does not require $25,000 to day trade because the rule that required it is gone, so a $500 minimum is now competing against other brokers’ ordinary minimums rather than against a regulatory wall.
That is not dishonesty. Marketing copy lags rule changes, and a phase-in runs to 20 October 2027, so accounts and disclosures across the industry are still catching up. It does mean the single strongest line on the page describes a market that stopped existing ten weeks ago.
Deposit bonuses, at a US-facing broker
The same front page promotes up to $5,000 in deposit bonuses through promo codes tied to deposit size: WELCOME500 at $500, WELCOME2500 at $2,500 and above, and an options-specific code.
Deposit bonuses are prohibited for retail clients under ESMA, FCA and ASIC rules, for the reasons we set out in the GatesFX review: bonus credit enlarges the position you can take without enlarging what you can withdraw.
TradeZero operates through more than one entity, and the terms attached to a bonus depend on which one holds your account. That is the thing to establish before claiming one: which entity is offering the credit, what conditions release it, and what a withdrawal does to it.
The leverage schedule is published, and it is tiered
From the same page: deposits under $500 are cash trading only, deposits over $500 receive 2:1 overnight margin, and the intraday figure advertised is 6:1.
Published tiers are better than a headline number with an asterisk, and 6:1 intraday on US equities is within the normal range rather than an offshore figure. It is a long way from the 1:500 and 1:1000 we have seen this week at FinPros and GatesFX.
What we could not establish, and what we did not do
The site advertises extended hours from 4AM to 8PM, commission-free limit orders, a short locator, Level 2 data and OTC access, and states that futures trading is coming. We have not opened an account, deposited, tested a fill, borrowed a hard-to-borrow name, or claimed a bonus.
Two questions worth resolving before funding. Which entity will hold your account, and does SIPC coverage apply to it? And given the pattern day trader rule is gone, what does the $500 minimum actually buy you that a larger broker’s ordinary account does not?
Sources
- TradeZero — account minimums, leverage schedule and promotions
- FINRA — Notices, including the pattern day trader rule change
- SIPC — what SIPC protects