Free commission broker API?

I am currently using IB API and get charged hefty commission fees every month do anyone has experience with commission-free broker API? I'm running day-trading quant strategies and execution lag needs to be minimal. I've tried Alpaca but was getting some bugs and there was zero client service so I had to give that up I'm considering trying TD Ameritrade.

thanks!

 

It is unlikely you will find a broker with free routes with minimal execution lag. Equity market makers have no incentive to be fast.

 

that's great insight thank you I am happy with IB but I'm still experiencing lags of a few 1/tenths of seconds on each trade and looking to minimize it

 

Which fees are you talking about? Isn't just $10 per month if you use their API?

 

If IB latency is too slow for you, then I would imagine you're going to find TD - or any 'retail' broker - glacial, especially ones with free commissions. And free commission brokers can only make money through PFOF which means your order is going to get thrown into a dark pool for the sharks to eat, something that will (a) slow it down and (b) completely eliminate any saving from free commissions.

Basically your options are:

- Robin hood et al - relatively slow, commission free, overall cost of execution high
- Traditional commission broker - relatively slow, expensive commission, overall cost of execution similar to Robin Hood
- IB - relatively fast, cheap commissions, relatively low cost of execution
- 'Industrial strength' broker - fast, low commissions but an expectation that your trading volume and AUM is very large

I would imagine that if you were trading enough for the latter then you would be on the lowest tier of IB commissions anyway, and probably not complaining. Don't forget that in the extreme you end up paying just exchange fees plus a tiny brokerage commission, so there is a lower limit on total commission.

GAT

 

API is free it's the trade commissions that add up to thousands every month

 

That's very helpful thanks I'm currently trading 0.5M AUM and about 2M shares per month working my way up so I might eventually consider "industrial". I'm already paying thousands in commissions every month I was hoping to get rid of them with all the no-fee retail options out there!