TOS vs DAS for Daytrading

[Ed_E 5]

Are there any consistently profitable daytraders using ThinkorSwim... or is DAS absolutely necessary? Is the order execution really faster with DAS?

[jmoney05txst 1]

 I have used both and I use DAS now.  I love TOS's platform.  It really is great, the active trader column and the ability to drag and drop stop losses are the things I miss the most.  However, DAS is faster.  The fills are better, and the use of hotkeys has allowed me to be far more accurate than I was with TOS.  It took a bit of work and several months in the simulator getting used to DAS, but now I am glad to have made the change.  I just finally went live with DAS and CMEG and it is great.  I still have my TOS account and now use it for long term trades and charting. 

[Ed_E 5]

Thank You for your insight. I'm curious about the type of trading you do, and how hotkeys are helpful... do you trade the open for fast scalps? I find the Active Trader which allows executing at bid or ask to be very fast. Or is it the "sell half" function that has helped you be quicker? Thanks Again!

[Ed_E 5]

Update: I completed 30 days of DAS trader Pro, using the Sim Account. I will not be continuing with DAS. Their lack of customer support, and poor attitude during my correspondence with them is a deal-breaker for me. 

Live, side-by-side Level 2 comparisons show DAS and TOS to be perceivably equal in speed and response. DAS has "more prices" but many of them are duplicates - so it has more visual info to interpret, to get the same result.

Some of my fills in DAS Sim were erroneous... fills that showed up many percentage points above the top wick of the candle... how can that even happen?

In Sim, you can short even if the broker has none to short, because DAS does not process through the broker... so this is not an accurate Simulator Experience. It also does not calculate fees and commissions, so you have no facts to compare.

TOS has better charting than DAS. I know multiple BBT members confirm this... some do not even use DAS charts at all, because they don't compare to TOS's.

If you use Interactive brokers, you are required to use the "SMART" routing  where they decide the best route. This is similar to TD Ameritrade's "Advanced Routing Technology" https://www.tdameritrade.com/tools-and-platforms/order-execution.page  So you are leaving it up to the broker to select routing in either case.

I found execution speed to be within the same second as the order placement in both TOS and DAS... when comparing timestamps. (Of course DAS was in SIM... TOS was real live trading).

I have an easy TOS workaround to DAS's "sell half" hotkeys/buttons ... open a second "Active Trader" window and set your quantity appropriately. I am not using the "Andrew Aziz/Ross Cameron" style of trading, where you move quickly into and out of trades repeatedly, so this workaround is more than adequate for me.

I'll stick with TOS for the time being, and investigate IB's TWS platform. Successful traders such as Michael Goode have found TWS to be their platform of choice.

I hope this helps anyone looking to learn more about the differences between DAS and TOS... I'm happy to answer anyone's questions!

[Sheela 31]

@Ed_EI am in a process of transition from TOS to DAS. I started trading with TOS since I had an account with TD and TOS is their free platform offered to their customers. Now I have experienced LIVE day trading on both the platforms, I can compare and definitely prefer DAS for the type of intra-day trading we do for faster executions and not limited to scalps and also being able to easily customize not only the hot keys also the charts, look and feel etc... When I was using only TOS, I was never able to match with Andrew's DAS's level2 from the trade room and yes the comparison was between LIVE accounts. Yes there is monthly fee for DAS which is negligible compared with advantages and the profits that we see. Below is my DAS Live which I made it similar with look and feel since I am used to TOS screens, but now with better executions and customization. Again its an individual's preference, I like both the platforms but for different purposes..

[BBT Member 001 27]

I've used TWS, Think or Swim and DAS and prefer DAS miles ahead.

TD Ameritrade sells order flow, Interactive Brokers does not so fills under IB with DAS should be better

I canceled DAS for one month and tried both TOS and TWS  different days and after two weeks I was frustrated as with DAS i can switch between montage and do everything using my keyboard and it is way faster and cleaner.



 

[jmoney05txst 1]

On 6/24/2019 at 8:15 AM, Ed_E said:

Thank You for your insight. I'm curious about the type of trading you do, and how hotkeys are helpful... do you trade the open for fast scalps? I find the Active Trader which allows executing at bid or ask to be very fast. Or is it the "sell half" function that has helped you be quicker? Thanks Again!

It depends on the setup for how I trade.  Most mornings I am pretty quick in an out.  Being able to customize hotkeys for sell half, auto set my breakeven, or breakeven +/- .10 etc based on long vs short, and being able to react instantly to seeing the right quote in the lvl 2 is what sold me.  I still miss multiple features of TOS, like being able to see my share size and avg cost IN the montage, dragging stop losses, and better charting.  In the end though, DAS just works better for me when it comes to making really fast precise decisions.  I still use TOS for long term trading, but not for day. 

[Ed_E 5]

Thank You all for your expertise and insights! I agree that the cost of the DAS platform is not an issue... only whether it is better.