Specialized and active-trading brokers
Broker Review
Alpaca Trading
Alpaca Trading entered the market in 2015 under Yoshi Yokokawa and Hitoshi Harada. Its role in the U.S. retail landscape is distinctive: it supplies brokerage APIs and clearing technology to developers as well as accounts for individual traders. That positioning determines which customers, instruments and account structures the service is designed to support. The company is privately held or not separately listed, so no public market capitalization is available.
Strengths
- Supplies brokerage APIs and clearing technology to developers as well as accounts for individual traders
Drawbacks
- At Alpaca Trading, the feature set that distinguishes Alpaca Trading can add complexity, service charges or eligibility rules that a buy-and-hold customer may never use
Profile
What you can trade
Alpaca Trading supports U.S. stocks, ETFs and listed options, with additional instruments limited to the specific disclosures and permissions of this brokerage rather than a universal product catalog.
Account types
The standard Alpaca Trading relationship is a self-directed taxable account with cash or approved margin. Retirement, joint and entity registrations are offered only where the broker’s current forms permit them. The registration structure reflects the fact that the service supplies brokerage APIs and clearing technology to developers as well as accounts for individual traders.
Platform
Alpaca Trading provides web and mobile account access; desktop software, APIs and third-party integrations are available only where specifically supported. The resulting workflow is tailored to a business that supplies brokerage APIs and clearing technology to developers as well as accounts for individual traders.
Who it suits
Best suited to Alpaca Trading customers whose principal requirement is the capability described in this profile, rather than investors choosing a broker only because of a zero-commission headline.
Where it is offered
Alpaca Trading is principally offered to eligible U.S. residents who can supply a Social Security number, domestic address and tax certification. Policies for territories, citizens living abroad and international applicants are specific to this firm.
Regulation and sources
Official website: https://alpaca.markets/ Regulatory status should be verified through FINRA BrokerCheck, SEC/IAPD, NFA BASIC, state regulators or applicable alternative-asset disclosures. Last verified: 2026-08-11.