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Best Brokers For Trading Space Stocks 2025

Written By

Paul Holmes

Written By

Paul Holmes

Paul has over 15 years experience in the trading industry, both as a full-time trader and working with leading brokers. He’s traded indices and forex, developed proprietary day trading techniques, and built his own MetaTrader algorithms. Paul has been quoted in various respected media outlets, including Benzinga, Passport to Wallstreet, and Moomoo.

» Paul Holmes Profile Page

Edited By

James Barra

Edited By

James Barra

James is an investment writer with a background in financial services. As a former management consultant, he has worked on major operational transformation programmes at prominent European banks. James authors, edits and fact-checks content for a series of investing websites.

» James Barra Profile Page

Fact Checked By

Michael MacKenzie

Fact Checked By

Michael MacKenzie

Michael is a writer and editor with over a decade in journalism and publishing. His niche lies in editing and fact-checking content in the financial services sector, with a focus on online brokers and trading platforms. Michael previously reported on politics and economics in the Middle East and edits books for established publishers.

» Michael MacKenzie Profile Page

Updated

Aug 29, 2025

Space stocks have shifted from being a niche curiosity to a sector traders actively pursue. Companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin have pushed the narrative beyond science fiction; it’s now a growing industry tied to satellite launches, defense, exploration, and even space tourism.

For us traders, that means opportunities but also more complexity. Space stocks don’t move like traditional tech or energy names. They can be volatile, headline-driven, and tied to government contracts or regulatory changes.

That makes broker choice even more important. If execution is slow, spreads are wide, or the trading platform doesn’t list the right companies, you’ll feel it straight away in your P&L. Fortunately, we’ve extensively tested brokers with access to space-related equities and ETFs to find the very best.

How DayTrading.com Chose The Best Brokers for Space Stock Trading

When it comes to trading space stocks, broker choice isn’t just about costs; it’s mainly about access because it’s still relatively novel.

Some providers let you trade the big names like Boeing or Lockheed Martin, but don’t touch the smaller, high-growth space plays like Rocket Lab or AST SpaceMobile.

Others offer space-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as ARKX, which give you instant diversification but can feel too broad if you want direct exposure to one company or shorter-term trading opportunities with strong price action.

To test brokers properly, we set up accounts and looked at:

• Execution speed: How quickly orders went through, especially in volatile names like Virgin Galactic.
• Spreads and commissions: Which brokers quietly padded costs versus those that kept them tight.
• Market access: Whether you can buy both the giants (Boeing, Lockheed Martin) and the newer entrants (AST SpaceMobile, Rocket Lab).
• Platform tools: Charting, watchlists, and screeners that help identify unusual moves in niche sectors like space.

We scored each broker based on these criteria.

What To Look At When Picking A Broker To Trade Space Stocks

Trading space stocks is different from sticking with big, liquid names like Apple or Microsoft. Execution, access, and fees matter more when you’re dealing with stocks that can move 10% in a single session.

Based on our tests, here are the five key factors you’ll want to weigh up before picking a broker:

1. Execution Speed: Volatility spikes with news – a successful launch, a government contract, or even a regulatory announcement can send stocks like AST SpaceMobile or Rocket Lab soaring or plunging in minutes. We measured execution speed by placing market and limit orders during high-volume U.S. sessions. The faster the broker got us filled, the tighter our slippage stayed.
2. Liquidity and Market Access: Some brokers give you access to all U.S. listings plus smaller international names, while others only cover the big defense contractors. If you want to trade newer space plays like AST SpaceMobile or ETFs like ARKX, make sure your broker lists them. Big names like Boeing or Lockheed Martin are liquid, so even smaller brokers can handle orders well. The newer entrants – Virgin Galactic, Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile – can be trickier. We found that brokers offering broader market access consistently delivered better fills on these names, while some platforms struggled to match the orders during high-volume periods.
3. Fees, Spreads, and Commission Structures: We compared both headline spreads and the hidden extras. Space stocks often trade on wider spreads than blue-chip tech, so a broker with a fractionally lower commission can make a big difference over multiple trades – a vital consideration for day traders. That said, a broker with low headline fees isn’t automatically the cheapest. Look for consistent execution, fair spreads on volatile names, and transparency on all costs – that combination protects your capital while trading the high-risk world of space stocks.
4. Platforms and Research Tools: Trading a niche sector like space benefits from strong screeners, watchlists, and alerts. In our testing, we found big differences between platforms – some gave us detailed sector breakdowns and real-time news, others made it harder to track movements. In particular, screeners that filter by sector, market cap, and volatility are invaluable. In our hands-on tests, brokers with built-in research tools gave us real-time insights into company announcements, upcoming launches, and ETF composition – all of which influenced our trading decisions.
5. Regulation and Safety: Space stocks are high risk, but your broker shouldn’t be. We only scored brokers regulated by major financial authorities like the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) – all ‘green tier’ bodies in DayTrading.com’s Regulation & Trust Rating.

How to Trade Space: ETFs or Single Stocks?

One of the first decisions you’ll face is whether to trade stocks directly or through an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Both approaches have pros and cons:

• Single stocks: Higher risk and higher reward. You can pick companies like Rocket Lab or AST SpaceMobile and ride the volatility, but you’re exposed to company-specific risks. Execution quality from your broker is key here, since spreads can widen quickly.
• ETFs: Funds like ARKX (ARK Space Exploration ETF) or UFO (Procure Space ETF) let you spread your risk across dozens of space-related companies in one trade. It’s a smoother way to trade the theme, but you’ll miss out on the outsized moves of individual stocks.

As you can see from the above, we found not all brokers offer both. Some lean heavily on direct U.S. stock access, while others focus on ETFs listed in the U.S. and Europe. Only a handful stood out by offering both full stock trading and space-themed ETFs on the same platform, which gives you flexibility to mix approaches.

Top Space Stocks To Trade in 2025

Here are some of the top stocks to keep an eye on based on their market capitalization, price action, and innovations in the space industry:

“Where is SpaceX?”, I hear you ask? Well, it’s not a quoted firm, but estimates suggest it would be a spectacular IPO, one of the biggest ever on the NASDAQ. Maybe one to log for the future.

Paul Holmes

Author

Pros and Cons of Trading Space Stocks

Pros

Cons