Comparison

CME Group vs TradeStation

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CME Group

This app provides access to a diverse derivatives marketplace, offering tools for market insight and strategic planning. Track futures and options, practice with a trading simulator, and receive alerts on market movements and block trades.

Highlights
  • Product watchlists
  • Simulated trading environment
  • Trading challenges
  • Push notifications for trades and price moves
  • Delayed market data
  • Economic research and analysis
  • Block trade viewing
  • Interactive charts
Features
Read full description

Enhance Your Trading Edge with CME Group Mobile Stay ahead in the fast-paced world of derivatives with the CME Group Mobile app. Whether you're a seasoned trader or just starting, our app connects you to the world's largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, 24/7. Now featuring product watchlists and a powerful trading simulator, CME Group Mobile is your essential tool for market insight and strategic planning. With CME Group Mobile, you can effortlessly track the futures and options products you care about, right from your mobile device. Hone your strategies and explore market scenarios using our simulated trading environment, designed to help you understand market dynamics without real-world risk. Key Features: • Create and Follow Product Watchlists: Customize and monitor the futures and options products most relevant to your trading interests. • Simulated Trading Environment: Practice and refine your trading strategies with our intuitive trading simulator functionality, perfect for learning market movements and testing hypotheses. • Trading Challenges: Compete against others in a simulated trading environment • Alerts: Receive push notifications for Block Trades and significant moves in price • Market Data: Stay up-to-date with delayed quote data, daily volume, and open interest for a comprehensive market overview. • Economic Research: Get expert insights and analysis of market events, major economic themes and trends driving opportunities. • Block Trades: View real-time block trades and filter by type to focus on the information that matters most to you. • QuikStrike Analytics: Gain deeper market insights with our suite of powerful QuikStrike analytics tools. • Cross-Device Sync: Your personalized watchlists and settings sync seamlessly across your desktop and iOS devices with CME Group Login. • Interactive Charts: Tap on charts to analyze trends and patterns.

About

TradeStation

This app provides a comprehensive platform for trading stocks, options, and futures on the go. It offers powerful analysis tools, advanced execution capabilities, and account management features, all within an intuitive interface. Execute your trading strategies with real-time data and robust charting.

Highlights
  • Real-time streaming quotes and alerts
  • Candlestick and OHLC charting with indicators
  • Custom chart timeframes including pre/post-market
  • Market analysis tools and news summaries
  • Options risk measurement and probability stats
  • Advanced trade execution and options spread trading
  • Simulated trading environment
Read full description

TradeStation: Born to Trade Winner of the #1 Innovation Award from StockBrokers.com (2026) and Best in Class for Active Traders, Options Trading, Futures Trading, and Advanced Trading.† The TradeStation Mobile App is your on-the-go connection to a powerful trading ecosystem. POWERFUL ANALYSIS • Real-time streaming quotes with price and volume alerts on stocks, options, and futures • Advanced candlestick, OHLC, and line charts with dozens of indicators and drawing tools • Custom timeframes, including pre- and post-market • Hotlists, news summaries, sector ETFs, analyst ratings, and earnings calendars • Notifications on significant moves and upcoming earnings • Options risk measurement, volatility, and probability of profit stats ADVANCED TRADE EXECUTION • Monitor market depth and trade with sub-second precision • Intuitive bid and ask buttons for faster order entry • Analyze, trade, and roll options spreads on the go • Scroll-away header for more screen space OPTIONS & DERIVATIVES • Advanced position grouping for complex multi-leg strategies by goal or underlying • Flat, order-based, smart margin, and custom (Flex View) grouping modes • Streamlined multi-leg workflows designed for speed and clarity DISRUPTIVE, VOLUME-BASED PRICING • Options as low as $0/contract for high-volume traders • Futures pricing as low as $0.50/contract and $0.25 for micros • $0 base commission on equities, ETFs, and options* • No minimum deposit required ACCOUNT FEATURES • Secure login with Touch ID and Face ID • Link your bank for deposits and withdrawals • Effortlessly transfer between TradeStation accounts CONNECTED ECOSYSTEM Trade on the go, then scale up to TITAN X for multi-monitor support, deep customization, and advanced features. Manage your account through HUB. Explore TradeStation’s expanding AI and API integrations, including TradeStation MCP, to connect your brokerage with the tools that match your strategy. Need help? Contact us at (800) 822-0512. †Visit www.TradeStation.com/Awards to learn more. *Fees and charges may apply. Visit www.TradeStation.com/Pricing to learn more about all the fees and charges that may apply. For additional disclosures, visit https://www.tradestation.com/important-information/. For US and non-European residents, securities and futures trading is offered to self-directed customers by TradeStation Securities, Inc., a United States broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a futures commission merchant licensed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. TradeStation Securities is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the National Futures Association, and a number of exchanges. For European residents, securities, options, and futures trading is offered by TradeStation Europe B.V., which is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (no. 89426657) and regulated by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets in the Netherlands. Options trading is not suitable for all investors. Your TradeStation Securities’ account application to trade options will be considered and approved or disapproved based on all relevant factors, including your trading experience. See www.tradestation.com/DisclosureOptions. Security futures are not suitable for all investors. To obtain a copy of the security futures risk disclosure statement visit www.TradeStation.com/DisclosureFutures. TradeStation Securities, Inc., TradeStation Europe B.V., TradeStation International Ltd, and TradeStation Technologies, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of TradeStation Group, Inc., operating, and providing products and services, under the TradeStation brand and trademark. When applying for, or purchasing, accounts, subscriptions, products, and services, it is important that you know which company you will be dealing with. Visit www.TradeStation.com/DisclosureTSCompanies for further important information explaining what this means.

Screenshots

CME Group4 screens
TradeStation4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: TradeStation at free against CME Group's free with in-app purchases. TradeStation also leads on ratings volume (18K vs 4K). CME Group's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (58% vs 44%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

CME Group holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4K and 18K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of CME Group's written reviews are positive against 44% of TradeStation's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CME Group ships an update fortnightly, TradeStation every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CME Group versus TradeStation: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCME GroupTradeStation
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4K ratings) — better4.5 (18K ratings)
Positive reviews57.9% of reviews — better44.1% of reviews
Number of ratings4K18K — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB156 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCME Group, Inc.TradeStation Technologies

Customer experience

CME Group

All ratings4,007 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral3.7%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive57.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative34.6%

TradeStation

All ratings18,342 ratings
Positive88.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative7.3%
Written reviews399 reviews
Positive44.1%
Neutral7.3%
Negative48.6%

User reviews

CME Group

From 4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and responsive
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 💡 Valuable data and insights
  • 🔒 Secure platform

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 📉 Declining user experience after updates
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate
  • 💤 Slow data updates

TradeStation

From 18K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Lightning-fast execution
  • 🔒 Robust security features
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 📊 Excellent charting and data visualization
  • 🔍 Comprehensive trading tools and features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • ⏱️ Slow order execution and data updates
  • 🤖 Poor customer support and lack of human interaction
  • 💰 High trading fees and commissions

Bugs and requests

CME Group

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Quotes and watchlists disappearing
  • Forced portrait mode on iPad
  • Errors when signing up

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add multi-language support
  • Improve widget functionality
  • Enhance charting capabilities
  • Introduce customization options

TradeStation

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to roll over option positions from the mobile app
  • Inconsistent display of account balances and position data
  • Unreliable login process and frequent account access issues
  • Delayed or missing real-time data updates during high volatility

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to customize chart indicators and studies
  • Implement seamless syncing of watchlists and settings across devices
  • Provide more advanced order types and conditional trading capabilities
  • Improve mobile app stability and performance
  • Offer more educational resources and trading guidance within the app

In-app purchases

None

CME Group

No in-app purchases

None

TradeStation

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CME Group free?
CME Group is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TradeStation free?
TradeStation is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CME Group or TradeStation?
CME Group is rated higher. CME Group averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while TradeStation averages 4.5 from 18K ratings.
Do CME Group or TradeStation have ads?
Neither CME Group nor TradeStation shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CME Group or TradeStation?
CME Group ships an update fortnightly, and TradeStation every 3 weeks. Most recently, CME Group was updated on September 24, 2026 and TradeStation on September 24, 2026.

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