Recommended Computer Trading Software: 5 Essential Trading Platforms Deep Comparison [2025 Edition]

Why Investors Still Can’t Do Without Desktop Trading Software

By 2025, although smartphones have become standard equipment, serious investors have long understood a key principle: Desktop trading software is an essential tool for professional trading.

A larger screen is just a surface advantage. The real difference lies in: a big display can show complex charts and multiple technical indicators simultaneously, while viewing MACD on a 6-inch phone is simply torturous; the computing power of a computer allows you to monitor Taiwan stocks, US stocks, and commodities futures at the same time, with multi-window switching without lag; stability is even more critical—no worries about power outages or data loss, enabling all-day monitoring without stress.

For this reason, user-friendly desktop trading software remains a must-have in the trading community.

Comprehensive Review of 5 Desktop Trading Software

San Zhu Stock Market: Taiwan’s Local Trading King

San Zhu Stock Market’s position in Taiwan’s stock trading scene needs no elaboration. Founded in the 1990s, this veteran company now supplies mobile trading apps for 47 brokerages, serving over 90% of industry players, demonstrating its scale.

Core Advantages:

• The first choice for free Taiwan stock trading, with 24 built-in technical indicators (RSI, KD, etc.), meeting most technical analysis needs
• The desktop version offers 10 trading modes and customizable interface styles, with high flexibility
• Built-in stock screening tools, AI intelligent stock selection, and other aids to quickly filter targets
• Extremely rich post-market data, industry-leading fundamental company information
• Highly stable system operation, rarely crashing or producing data errors

Limitations:

• Only provides charting; order placement requires connecting to one of three brokerages (Yuanta, E.SUN, Uni-President), making the process somewhat cumbersome
• Limited international stock resources; US stock quotes may have delays, not suitable for short-term trading

Suitable for: Investors focused on Taiwan market who pursue a stable trading experience.

Mitrade: One-Stop International Trading Platform

Founded in Australia in 2011, Mitrade’s positioning is clear: global financial asset trading. Whether it’s forex, commodities, US stocks, or crypto CFDs, all can be traded on this platform.

Core Advantages:

• Web and desktop app dual modes, no download needed for web trading
• Simple, intuitive interface, quick for beginners to learn
• One account for global trading: free real-time quotes for US stocks, Australian stocks, indices, ETFs, commodities, forex, and hundreds of crypto assets, with direct order placement within the app
• Solid localization in Taiwan, supports TWD deposits and withdrawals, saving foreign exchange costs
• Fast trade execution, no order delays; supports multiple order types and automated trading
• Offers leverage trading options to maximize capital utilization
• New users can experience a 90-day demo account (including $50,000 simulated funds), reducing entry risk

Note:

• Margin trading mode is not suitable for long-term investing

Suitable for: Investors seeking international asset allocation and CFD trading.

Futu NiuNiu: Hong Kong and US Stock Trading Platform

Futu NiuNiu listed on NASDAQ in 2019 (FUTU), holding securities licenses in Hong Kong, the US, and Singapore. Its influence in the Chinese-speaking world has surged in recent years, becoming a gateway for many Asian investors into Hong Kong and US markets.

Core Advantages:

• Intuitive desktop interface: top-left trend chart with technical tools, top-right financial data and valuation info, bottom-left options, bottom-right buy/sell quotes—information is well-distributed
• Specially provides option pricing functions, allowing options traders to quickly evaluate time value and intrinsic value
• Covers real-time quotes and trading for Hong Kong stocks, US stocks, and A-shares (Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Connect)
• Available in Windows and Mac versions

Note:

• Does not support credit card deposits; only bank wire or ACH transfers

Suitable for: Traders focused on Hong Kong and US stocks, interested in options.

Interactive Brokers (IB): The Most Extensive Professional Platform Globally

Founded in 1977, Interactive Brokers started as an options market maker and gradually evolved into a global electronic trading giant. By trading volume, IB is one of the largest brokerages in the world. Its desktop platform, Trader Workstation (TWS), is tailored for professional traders.

Core Advantages:

• Highly customizable trading interface, allowing multiple windows and tools to be configured according to preferences
• Supports various order types and algorithmic trading, ideal for high-frequency traders
• Full suite of features: real-time charts, technical indicators, market scanners, backtesting trading strategies
• Access to over 120 markets worldwide, especially convenient for Taiwanese investors with overseas bonds needs

Note:

• The extensive features make the interface complex; beginners may find it difficult to get started quickly, best suited for experienced traders or institutional investors

Suitable for: Investors with professional trading backgrounds seeking extensive customization and global market access.

Tradingview: The Pinnacle of Chart Analysis

Founded in the US in 2011, Tradingview has become a benchmark platform for global financial charts and analysis after more than a decade of development. Many brokerages and financial websites’ chart functions are actually powered by its API.

Core Advantages:

• Industry-leading charting tools: over 100 technical indicators and drawing tools, freely draw lines, markups, color, add trendlines
• Complete database: covers Taiwan stocks, US stocks, forex, commodities, crypto, Indian stocks, and more
• Built-in social platform to view stock discussions, investment analysis, and related news
• Simple, user-friendly interface, short learning curve for beginners
• Available as web and desktop versions

Note:

• Does not support order placement; trading requires integration with other brokers
• Full features require a paid subscription; free version is quite sufficient for most needs

Suitable for: Investors emphasizing technical analysis and charting; or as a supplementary tool for market monitoring.

How to Choose the Right Desktop Trading Software

Desktop vs Mobile: Real Experience Comparison

Even the same software offers vastly different experiences on desktop and mobile. Taking these five as examples:

San Zhu’s mobile app, as an industry standard, has reduced functionality due to screen size limitations, with insufficient corporate info display and less smooth trend charts compared to the desktop version.

Mitrade’s mobile app maintains a simple style, but technical analysis features are relatively weak.

Futu and IB face similar issues: when moving features from large screens to small screens, some operations require multiple clicks, and some users simply don’t understand how to use them. IB’s mobile login security verification is especially cumbersome, affecting trading speed.

Tradingview’s small-screen experience is the most disappointing—world-class drawing tools are completely unusable on mobile.

The conclusion is clear: Desktop is ultimately the best choice for professional trading.

Extra Tip: Quant Traders’ Choice

If you’re into quantitative trading, Meta Trader 5 (MT5) is also worth considering. As a professional trading platform, MT5 has built-in technical analysis tools, automated trading (EAs), and strategy backtesting, making it especially suitable for advanced users. However, you need to log in through a broker account, and some features on Mac require a virtual machine or web version support.

Summary: Choose the Right Desktop Trading Software Based on Your Needs

In 2025, there are no shortages of good desktop trading software; the key is to find the one that fits you best.

Simple and user-friendly: Mitrade — one platform for global trading.

Full-featured: Tradingview — unbeatable chart tools, best used with other brokers.

Market breadth: Interactive Brokers — trade over 120 global markets.

Local Taiwan market: San Zhu Stock Market — most stable for Taiwan stock trading.

Balanced all-around: Futu NiuNiu — most balanced Hong Kong and US stock trading experience.

Choosing the right tool can boost trading efficiency by 50%. Start now and pick the one that suits your investment style.