Alpaca vs E*TRADE on TradersPost

Alpaca and E*TRADE differ on 12 of 21 points TradersPost compares: index options, crypto, short selling, fractional quantity and 8 more. Both support stocks, stock options, market orders, limit orders, stop limit orders and modify open orders.

Alpaca E*TRADE

  • Index Options

    Not supported

    Supported

  • Crypto

    Supported

    Not supported

  • Short selling

    Partial

    All but Crypto

    Supported

  • Fractional quantity

    Partial

    All but Stock Options

    Not supported

  • Stop orders

    Limited

    Crypto: Stop-limit only. Plain stop orders are not offered.

    Supported

  • Trailing stops

    Partial

    All but Crypto and Stock Options

    Supported

  • Bracket orders

    Partial

    All but Crypto and Stock Options

    Not supported

  • Day orders

    Partial

    All but Crypto

    Supported

  • Good till canceled orders

    Partial

    All but Stock Options

    Supported

  • Immediate or cancel orders

    Partial

    All but Stock Options

    Supported

  • Fill or kill orders

    Partial

    All but Crypto and Stock Options

    Supported

  • Paper accounts

    Supported

    Not supported

Alpaca: short selling and day orders aren't available on crypto.

Alpaca: fractional quantity, good till canceled orders and immediate or cancel orders aren't available on stock options.

Alpaca: trailing stops, bracket orders and fill or kill orders aren't available on crypto and stock options.

Same on both 7

  • Stocks
  • Stock Options
  • Market orders
  • Limit orders
  • Stop limit orders
  • Modify open orders
  • Authentication: OAuth

Neither supports 2

  • Futures
  • Trailing stop attached to entry

Link to this comparison /compare/connections/alpaca-vs-etrade

See order support for every connection

Brokers change their rules, so check their docs before you connect. TradersPost does not recommend a broker.

Worth knowing about each

Alpaca

  • Alpaca does not accept index-option orders through TradersPost. Use stock or ETF options, or a broker that lists index options.
  • Complex order classes (OCO, OTO, bracket) are not sent for Alpaca crypto or options.
  • Crypto on Alpaca is long-only through TradersPost. Trailing stops are not sent for Alpaca options.

View Alpaca connection View Alpaca docs

E*TRADE

  • Access tokens last 15 days. After that you must reconnect.
  • A 401 during login is an E*TRADE authentication issue; contact E*TRADE technical support.
  • No E*TRADE paper connection.

View E*TRADE connection View E*TRADE docs

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