Common questions about broker integrations, supported asset classes, and building fintech platforms with the Connect Trade API.
Connect Trade is a unified broker connectivity API that allows fintech platforms to integrate with multiple brokers through a single normalized infrastructure layer. Instead of building and maintaining separate integrations for each brokerage, developers connect once to Connect Trade and gain access to broker connectivity for trading, account data, and market data. See all supported brokers and capabilities →
Connect Trade is used by trading platforms, portfolio analytics tools, no-code algorithmic trading platforms, market scanners, trading journals, and financial newsletters. These platforms rely on Connect Trade for broker connectivity, trade execution, account data, and market data without maintaining direct broker integrations themselves.
Connect Trade supports 21 brokers including Interactive Brokers, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Webull, TradeStation, Tastytrade, TradeZero, Alpaca, Lightspeed, and Sterling Trading Tech, with new brokers added monthly. View the full broker list and capability matrix →
Connect Trade supports equities, single-leg options, multi-leg options, and futures trading. API capabilities vary by broker. See the full capability matrix by broker →
Yes. Connect Trade provides infrastructure for both trading and brokerage-sourced market data. Platforms can place trades, retrieve account balances and positions, and access market data through the same unified API. See market data availability by broker →
| Capability | Connect Trade | Competing Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Broker connections | All connections are broker-approved and built on official sanctioned APIs | Connections include screen-scraped and reverse-engineered APIs that can be terminated without notice |
| Easy authentication | OAuth across all broker connections allows simple click-through end user authentication | Authentication varies by broker. Some connections require users to generate their own API keys or configure webhooks |
| Real-time streaming | WebSocket streaming updates for orders, positions and account balances across all brokers | Polling only, no WebSocket support |
| Market data streaming | Real-time brokerage-sourced market data delivered through the same normalized API used for trading | No market data streaming API |
| Order updates | Real-time order updates via WebSocket | Poll for order status every 10 seconds maximum |
| Data retrieval | Single REST call returns data instantly across all plans | Some plans require a 3-step async process: refresh request, wait for webhook, then retrieve |
| API normalization | Fully normalized across all brokers with consistent data format regardless of broker | Pass-through responses with data format varying by broker |
| Broker rate limit management | Managed server-side by Connect Trade across all brokers | Raw broker rate limits exposed directly to your platform for you to manage |
| API responses | Lean, normalized responses | Bloated broker-specific payloads |
| Asset class coverage | Equities, single-leg options, multi-leg options, and futures | Equities and single-leg options only |
| AI coding tool compatibility | OpenAPI specification works directly with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor to generate working integration code automatically | No native AI coding tool compatibility |
Yes. All Connect Trade broker integrations are compliance approved. Every broker connection is built on official, sanctioned APIs. Connect Trade does not use screen scraping or reverse engineering. For brokers that require individual client approval, Connect Trade facilitates that process on your behalf, guiding your platform through the necessary steps to get approved and live.
Approval requirements vary by broker. Some brokers automatically approve all Connect Trade clients, while others review platforms individually. When approval is required, Connect Trade manages the process with the broker and coordinates the review on your behalf.
Our integrations use official, sanctioned broker APIs, and Connect Trade is infrastructure brokers already know and trust. We maintain strong relationships with all the brokers on our network. View all supported broker integrations →
Connect Trade uses OAuth for broker authentication across supported integrations. OAuth allows your users to securely connect their brokerage accounts without sharing credentials directly with your platform. Authentication flows are normalized across brokers, so your platform implements a single OAuth workflow rather than broker-specific authentication logic for each brokerage. See which brokers support OAuth →
Yes. Connect Trade supports paper trading environments for brokers that offer them, including TradeStation, Tradier, Alpaca, and TradeZero. Paper trading allows your development team to test order management, position tracking, and trade execution workflows without placing live trades. See full paper trading availability by broker →
Each broker exposes different APIs, authentication models, and trading workflows. Maintaining separate integrations for multiple brokers creates significant engineering overhead. Connect Trade provides a normalized API layer that standardizes broker connectivity across supported brokers. Platforms integrate once and gain access to multiple broker connections through a consistent infrastructure layer. Typical direct integration timelines range from 4 to 12 weeks per broker. Connect Trade reduces this to days for the full broker network.
Most platforms complete their Connect Trade integration in 2 to 5 business days. Because the API is normalized across all supported brokers, developers implement a single integration rather than building separate connections for each brokerage.
Onboarding with Connect Trade is designed to get your platform live quickly. After signing up, you receive access to the Connect Trade API documentation and OpenAPI specification. Most platforms complete their initial integration in 2 to 5 business days. The Connect Trade team provides hands-on support during integration, including help with authentication setup, broker connectivity configuration, and testing. See all supported brokers and capabilities →
Yes. The Connect Trade API is described using a standard OpenAPI specification, which allows modern AI coding tools to understand the API structure and generate integration code automatically. Developers can provide the Connect Trade OpenAPI specification to AI coding assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor. These models can then generate code for authentication, account connectivity, trading endpoints, and market data integration. The Connect Trade OpenAPI specification is available at https://connecttrade.com/openapi.json.
The Connect Trade OpenAPI specification describes the complete API surface including authentication endpoints, account connectivity, order management, positions, historical transactions, market data, equities trading, single-leg and multi-leg options trading, and futures trading. The specification is compatible with AI coding assistants including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor, which can use it to generate working integration code automatically. The full specification is available at https://connecttrade.com/openapi.json.
The Connect Trade OpenAPI specification is publicly available at https://connecttrade.com/openapi.json. The spec can be provided directly to AI coding assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, and Cursor to generate integration code automatically. The specification follows the OpenAPI 3.0 standard and covers all REST endpoints, WebSocket APIs for real-time trading and market data streaming, request and response schemas, and order examples for equities, options, and multi-leg strategies.
Fintech platforms typically integrate with brokers through APIs. Connect Trade provides a unified API that allows platforms to connect once and access broker integrations through a consistent interface. This approach removes the need to build and maintain individual integrations for each brokerage and significantly reduces development complexity.