Best online brokers for stock trading

We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. Our articles, interactive tools, and hypothetical examples contain information to help you conduct research but are not intended to serve as investment advice, and we cannot guarantee that this information is applicable or accurate to your personal circumstances. Any estimates based on past performance do not a guarantee future performance, and prior to making any investment you should discuss your specific investment needs or seek advice from a qualified professional. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories.

Best Online Brokerage Accounts in Canada for 2020

Want to trade stocks? On these measures, the brokerage firms below earned their place on our list of the best online brokers for stock trading. We evaluated brokerage firms and investment companies on the services that matter most to different types of investors. For example, for active traders, we've noted online brokers with low or no commissions and robust mobile trading platforms.

For people venturing into investing for the first time, we've included the best online brokers for educational resources including webinars, video tutorials and in-person seminars and on-call chat or phone support. Read on to see our picks for the best brokers, alongside links to our investing experts' in-depth reviews on each. Show Less. Interactive Brokers' IBKR Lite is a strong option for frequent traders: The broker offers international trade capabilities, no stock-trading commission and a quality trading platform.

Zacks is a great choice for experienced and active investors who would appreciate a little extra support from a representative, but trades cost more than at competitors.

Trades of up to 10, shares are commission-free. Not much. Note that many of the brokers above have no account minimums for both taxable brokerage accounts and IRAs.

Once you open an account, all it takes to get started is enough money to cover the cost of a single share of a stock and the trading commission, if charged. Trading costs definitely matter to active and high-volume traders, but many brokers now offer commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs and options. Other factors — access to a range of investments or training tools — may be more valuable than saving a few bucks when you purchase shares.

One easy way is to invest in exchange-traded funds. ETFs are essentially bite-sized mutual funds that are bought and sold just like individual stocks on a stock market exchange. Like mutual funds, each ETF contains a basket of stocks sometimes hundreds that adhere to particular criteria e.

Unlike mutual funds, which can have high investment minimums, investors can purchase as little as one share of an ETF at a time. Your money is indeed insured, but only against the unlikely event a brokerage firm or investment company goes under. Your account choices boil down to a taxable brokerage account versus tax-favored retirement account, such as an IRA. And by that we mean taking a thoughtful and disciplined approach to investing your money for the long-term.

Some key criteria to consider when evaluating any investment company are how much money you have, what type of assets you intend to buy, your trading style and technical needs, how frequently you plan to transact and how much service you need. Promotion None.

View details. Why we like it Interactive Brokers' IBKR Lite is a strong option for frequent traders: The broker offers international trade capabilities, no stock-trading commission and a quality trading platform.

Pros Large investment selection. Strong research and tools. Over 4, no-transaction-fee mutual funds. Cons Website is difficult to navigate. Zacks Trade.

Why we like it Zacks is a great choice for experienced and active investors who would appreciate a little extra support from a representative, but trades cost more than at competitors. Pros Ample research offerings. Robust trading platform. Access to international exchanges. Cons Trails competitors on commissions.

High account minimum. Pros High-quality trading platforms. Comprehensive research. Commission-free stock, ETF and options trades.

Advanced tools. Active trader community. Cons Free trading on advanced platform requires TS Select. No transaction-fee-free mutual funds.

Plans and pricing can be confusing. Want to compare more options? Last updated on May 1, Methodology NerdWallet's ratings for brokers and robo-advisors are weighted averages of several categories, including investment selection, customer support, account fees, account minimum, trading costs and more. Our survey of brokers and robo-advisors includes the largest U. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include advisory fees, branch access, user-facing technology, customer service and mobile features.

The stars represent ratings from poor one star to excellent five stars. Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star. To recap our selections Frequently asked questions How much money do I need to start? Should I just choose the cheapest broker? How can I diversify with little money? Is my money insured? What type of brokerage account should I choose? How quickly can I start trading?

How do I decide whether a brokerage firm is right for me? We want to hear from you and encourage a lively discussion among our users. Please help us keep our site clean and safe by following our posting guidelines , and avoid disclosing personal or sensitive information such as bank account or phone numbers. Any comments posted under NerdWallet's official account are not reviewed or endorsed by representatives of financial institutions affiliated with the reviewed products, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

None No promotion available at this time. Open Account on Interactive Brokers's website. None no promotion at this time. Open Account on Zacks Trade's website. Open Account on TradeStation's website. Read review. None no promotion available at this time. Open Account on Robinhood's website. None No promotion at this time.

- Best research experience. Charles Schwab - Best for IRA accounts.

To find the best online brokers in , we went ahead and did the research for you. After testing, analyzing and comparing 61 brokers, 5 made it to the top. We highly recommend all 5 to you.

Want to trade stocks? On these measures, the brokerage firms below earned their place on our list of the best online brokers for stock trading.

Disclosure: TheSimpleDollar. However, the rankings and listings of our reviews, tools and all other content are based on objective analysis.

Best online brokers for stock trading: 2020

Jordann Brown. What is an Online Broker? How Do Online Brokerages Work? Online Broker vs. An online broker lets you buy and sell stocks online within your trading account. Online brokers operate on the same principle of investing for growth as mutual fund managers and robo advisors.

Best Online Stock Trading Brokers for 2020

Clients in more than countries can trade on 19 international exchanges, all at competitive commissions and all from a single account. Most brokers charge a flat rate per trade rather than basing the commission on the size of the trade. That works very well for people making large trades, but people who trade smaller amounts or trade very frequently need to pay close attention to the size of the flat-rate commission. Competition among online brokers has driven commissions down to the point where some offer routine trading for absolutely no commission. Brokerage firms have found that they can make money from customer accounts in other ways such as securities lending. Under extreme circumstances, securities lending could expose investors to risks such as counter-party defaults or operational delays but, for the most part, it helps reduce costs for investors. The following four online brokers are listed in alphabetical order because, with no charge for ordinary commissions, the four vie for the distinction of being the best broker for low commissions:. The most recent MoneyRates. A brokerage commission is a charge for executing a securities transaction.

Disclosure: We are committed to recommending the best products for our readers.

Your investments are not guaranteed; they can decrease in value as well as increase and you may not get back the full amount you put in. It's sometimes called share dealing. A 'share' is a unit of ownership in a particular company. Find out more about stock trading here.

Best Online Stock Trading of 2020

We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. Our articles, interactive tools, and hypothetical examples contain information to help you conduct research but are not intended to serve as investment advice, and we cannot guarantee that this information is applicable or accurate to your personal circumstances. Any estimates based on past performance do not a guarantee future performance, and prior to making any investment you should discuss your specific investment needs or seek advice from a qualified professional. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. 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. All reviews are prepared by our staff. Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including any rates, terms and fees associated with financial products, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of publication.

Best online stock brokers for beginners in May 2020

Our content is free because we may earn a commission when you click or make a purchase from links on our site. Learn more about how we make money. The best online stock trading platforms make it easy for investors to seamlessly trade stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds ETFs , and more without charging a fortune for the privilege. In fact, many online stock brokerage firms let you make certain trades for free, while some let you get started without a burdensome minimum account balance requirement. Most of the best online stock brokers even offer powerful investing tools that can help you become a better investor and money manager over time. Which online stock trading platform should you use? Remember, however, that trading stocks is risky and there is a potential to both gain and lose money. We recently compared all the top brokerage firms to find out which ones were the best in terms of their ongoing costs, investing options, tools, and more. Ready to trade stocks?