Its existing crypto lineup can be traded with no spreads added to the relatively low commission of 0.12% to 0.18%. Interactive Brokers’ lineup of advanced analytical tools, trading technology, and breadth of assets is, quite frankly, awe-inspiring. This is the fourth straight year Interactive Brokers has earned this award. We have to leave it to the Stanford graduates who created this controversial app-based platform – it is a beautiful piece of work, and most things can be done online and resolved before needing to talk to customer service. Robinhood offers 24/7 chat support and business hours support for phone customer service. Reports are mixed, with some customers saying they’ve had a delightful experience with customer service and their problems were readily resolved.

First, you may prefer the look and feel of Schwab’s platforms over Fidelity’s (personally, I prefer Fidelity’s). I have found TradeStation to have the best combination of power and user-friendliness of all trading-centric brokerages. By opening an account, you’ll be able to evaluate its different features, the process for placing orders and its research tools.

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Investors may also sign up for nearly 100 additional services that offer free trials. Zack’s accounts also include one of the best research sources in the industry, Zack’s Investment Research. In 2010, Merrill Lynch launched Merrill Edge as its low-fee stock trading platform. It offers three different accounts – one self-directed account you build yourself, a guided account, and a guided account with an advisor. Although not all online trading platforms feature customer support via phone, most offer support over chat and email.

Michael is a full-time senior editor of investing and trading products for Investopedia. He has 20+ years of mutual fund, macro market research, institutional trading desk, and trading education experience. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University and is a chartered member and subject matter expert (SME) for the industry-leading Chartered Market Technicians (CMT) Association. For example, if you are going to be trading mostly on your mobile phone, you will want to make sure the stock trading company you choose has a strong mobile platform. Some companies do a bare-bones mobile app, and that would not be a suitable fit.

• Many innovations have already been made based on this feedback, and the developers actively sort through comments, platform analytics, phone calls, and social media to prioritize updates.
• Fidelity’s mobile app, in addition to its Trading Dashboard and Active Trader Pro platforms, also lets you choose your preferred way to trade.
• Bankrate follows a stricteditorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate.
• All told, we engineer our broker rankings to reward the firms that offer the most to the broadest group of investors.

Snapshots From Barron’s 2019 Top Online Brokers

To fill in any gaps, our research team reached out to the individual brokerages. In some instances, our researchers did much deeper online research to get the information they needed to complete the data collection. The data collection process spanned from Dec. 20, 2024 to Feb 19, 2025. All these factors are worth considering before choosing an online broker.

Robinhood’s average age of investor is 32 years old, and they are happy with that – their mission is to reach millennials and younger people who’d like to invest but don’t have accumulated wealth. The platform is simple to use and often irreverent, which appeals to the younger crowd. That being said, with inexperience can come extreme reactions to success or failure. Sadly, one 22-year-old investor committed suicide after Robinhood mistakenly reported huge losses on his app. In reality, there were no huge losses, but it didn’t stop the young man from believing he was financially ruined. In his suicide note, he blamed Robinhood for not warning him of the risks he was taking.

Fidelity Investments

Some express frustration with slow-to-respond customer service and technical glitches that are not addressed in a timely fashion. Time is literally money in the world of stock trading, so it’s obviously distressing if you can’t get glitches ironed out with customer service in a quick and efficient way. One reviewer said they lost $2,000 during an extended software outage at Schwab. It offers no-commission trades on stocks, ETFs, and options, no account minimum, and fractional investing. There are several factors to consider when choosing an online trading platform that aligns with your investment experience and style, trading needs and financial goals.

Fidelity doesn’t charge account fees or require a minimum deposit for opening any of its brokerage accounts. Retirement-focused investors or those with more complex financial situations may want access to a CFP or human consultant. While many brokerage firms offer this service, who is eligible and how much it costs greatly vary from platform to platform. Many experts suggest building a diverse portfolio of low-cost index funds over picking individual stocks and riskier active trading tools. Whether that’s cutting-edge active trading tools or a long list of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, there’s a good online brokerage for everyone. Online brokerage accounts are licensed firms in which a broker is responsible for executing a client’s orders.

But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. Online brokers, like many companies, frequently entice new customers with deals, such as a cash bonus on certain deposit amounts. If you’re new to investing, it may be best to look for a brokerage that offers free educational resources, such as live webinars, thorough how-to guides, video tutorials, glossaries and more. Many of the top platforms today are low-cost and self-directed (you’re the one calling the shots on your investments). But they vary widely in how much support, service, and flexibility they offer.

But each firm shines in one category or another, and no firm aced every one. Investors just starting out can benefit well from Fidelity’s wide range of easily digestible educational tools. You also can open a Cash Account offered by Atomic Brokerage which allows you to earn interest on your cash through a cash sweep program.

How to learn online trading

If you’re new to investing, Public likely has everything you need in an extremely clean and easy-to-use platform — both web and mobile app. Companies may also ask for your desired risk tolerance and what your investment goals are to determine the best type of account for you. Active traders pay close attention to market movements hoping to find opportunities to profit. Traders often seek so-called undervalued stocks they believe are priced below what they’re actually worth in order to profit when the market reflects the stock’s true value. If your goal is to save for retirement or for your children’s college tuition, you should look for a broker that offers the right type of account for it, such as a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA or a 529 College Savings account.

The best online broker for you will ultimately depend on your individual goals, priorities, and preferences. Some investors may require advanced platforms with access to niche markets and exotic instruments, while others happily settle for a simple, user-friendly mobile app and cost-effective pricing. Whatever your objectives, here are some key factors to consider when choosing an online broker. For active traders, the best platforms will have advanced charting capabilities, responsive customer service, robust toolkits, and they will also offer high-quality research resources. We highly recommend those platforms that allow for backtesting – a way to put in a particular strategy simulation and see how it might play out before committing to the trade in real life.

He bought his first rental property at age 18, funding the down payment with savings from his high school job at McDonald’s — a testament to his lifelong passion for smart money decisions. His work aims to make personal finance accessible and actionable for everyday readers. When he’s not writing, Joel enjoys surfing and spending time with his family. Merrill Edge is best for investors looking for best-in-class advisory services and in-person assistance and is especially useful for Bank of America customers. You won’t be able to trade or buy crypto, futures or fractional shares, which we think takes away from Merrill Edge’s positives.

• If you keep the majority of your investment dollars in the market, it charges a relatively low 0.30% fee.
• However, unlike most stock trading platforms, Firstrade is truly bilingual.
• Your money is indeed insured but only against the unlikely event a brokerage firm or investment company fails.
• SpeedTrader offers several trading platforms specifically designed for advanced, active day traders.
• Widely regarded for its advanced charting and analysis tools, the platform is a true powerhouse and a strong asset for options traders.
• You can also paper trade and backtest with virtual money, so you don’t need to risk your own capital until you’re confident in your trading strategies.

Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range, can also impact best online brokers for beginners how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. If this is concerning to you, you may want to consider investing with a large institution. But if all you need is a no-frills investment account, then trimmed-down apps or relatively new brokerage firms are likely fine for you. Even if you’ve carefully selected investments, idle cash can start to accrue in your brokerage account from activities like dividend payments.

Some reviewers say customer service is amazing and responds within 1-2 minutes, while others say it took a long time. We are pleased to see that Firstrade has become more responsive and we’ve noticed the number of complaints trending downward overall. Firstrade GPT has recently been released, and the company is celebrating by giving customers temporary unlimited access to this feature. FirstradeGPT gives you AI-driven insights, offering in-depth stock analysis and data visualization to enhance your investment strategy. Firstrade’s stock trading platform describes it as having a financial research analyst in your pocket, ready to help you make informed decisions. Unlike many AI tools out there, FirstradeGPT is also able to provide robust supporting materials such as charts, sources, and screening materials.