I don't believe there is a "best", but some are better than others. It's what fits your trading and your needs. TOS is a good retail platform. I prefer Silexx Obsidian for stock and option trading. I use TOS and TWS for my Roth IRA. I wish I could use Obsidian. For futures/options I like CTS T4. Just my opinion.
Robert, Does your firm offer soft dollar arrangements for individual traders to use Obsidian for free? Thanks.
In general, soft dollar arrangements are normally for hedge funds. The hedge fund agrees to pay a higher commission to the executing broker or prime broker. That money gets set a side for the benefit of the hedge fund and can be used to pay for certain expenses like a Bloomberg Terminal, trading platforms and research. The GP of the hedge funds like this because the expenses come from the investors not from their performance fees.