Robinhood Alternatives for SPX Options Trading: Professional Platforms Without Prediction Markets

The original poster (OP) is an active SPX options trader executing 15+ contracts daily on Robinhood Gold who wants to eliminate exposure to prediction markets that encourage gambling behavior. The Reddit community provided several key recommendations:

• Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
  was strongly recommended by multiple users, with one trader reporting 25 years of satisfaction and another citing 5 years of no complaints, highlighting low commissions, great API, and decent support
• Webull
  was suggested by two users, but another user warned that Webull also contains prediction markets, directly conflicting with the OP’s primary objective
• The OP expressed disappointment that Webull has prediction markets and noted that IBKR lacks promotional offers compared to Webull or Tastytrade

Professional research confirms the Reddit community’s recommendations and provides additional context:

• Interactive Brokers
  offers professional-grade Trader Workstation (TWS) with advanced SPX options capabilities, institutional-level execution, and the lowest fees at $0.005 per share with access to over 150 markets globally
• TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim
  (now part of Charles Schwab) provides sophisticated analytical tools and extensive options trading capabilities with professional-grade analysis tools
• ETRADE’s Power ETRADE
  delivers robust options trading features with professional-grade charting and analysis tools
• Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro
  offers excellent execution quality and comprehensive options trading tools for active traders

• All recommended platforms emphasize serious trading features over gamification elements
• Professional platforms provide advanced risk management, real-time data, and sophisticated order types
• These platforms are specifically designed to support high-volume trading (15+ contracts/day) without prediction market features

The Reddit community and professional research align strongly on Interactive Brokers as the premier alternative for serious SPX options traders seeking to avoid prediction markets. The community’s practical experience (25-year user satisfaction) validates research findings about IBKR’s professional capabilities.

A notable contradiction emerged with Webull - while some Reddit users recommended it, both community members and research confirm it contains prediction markets, making it unsuitable for the OP’s specific requirement to avoid gambling features.

The OP’s concern about IBKR lacking promotional incentives reflects a broader trade-off: professional platforms prioritize execution quality and advanced tools over customer acquisition bonuses common in retail-focused platforms like Robinhood.

• Professional platforms like Interactive Brokers have steeper learning curves compared to Robinhood’s user-friendly interface
• Higher minimum account requirements and more complex fee structures
• Transition costs including learning new platforms and potential transfer fees

• Access to institutional-grade execution quality and pricing
• Advanced analytical tools and risk management capabilities
• Elimination of gamification features that may encourage poor trading behavior
• Potential for improved trading performance through professional-grade tools and data

The migration of serious retail traders from gamified platforms to professional alternatives represents a broader trend toward more sophisticated retail trading. This could benefit platform providers like Interactive Brokers (IBKR) that cater to this segment while challenging platforms that rely heavily on gamification for user engagement.