Best online brokers for stock trading in 2025

Additionally, you won’t start earning interest on your idle cash unless you have a balance of at least $25,000. You can reach Fidelity customer support at any time via phone and web chat. Additionally, you may encounter higher-than-average fees if you plan to invest in futures, futures options or over-the-counter equities. Though you can invest in assets that are part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, you can’t directly buy or sell crypto using Schwab. If you’re hoping to invest directly in crypto, Schwab isn’t the right fit for you. We use product data, strategic methodologies, and expert insights to inform our content and guide you in making the best decisions for you.

Overview of Top 10 Brokerage Firms

​​Interactive Brokers (IBKR) has long been the go-to platform for experienced traders, institutional investors and global market participants. The broker offers access to stocks, ETFs, options, futures, bonds and forex across over 150 markets worldwide – making it one of the most comprehensive platforms on the planet. Its flagship desktop platform, Trader Workstation (TWS), supports everything from advanced charting and algorithmic trading to in-depth options strategies. For investors who demand deep analytics and tight trade execution, IBKR sets the gold standard.

Commission Rates for Trades

It also offers thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, and excellent zero-commission options for buying stocks online, with no account minimums for brokerage accounts. Vanguard tries to keep its costs and expense ratios low so investors (like you) can keep more of your returns. Online brokers provide a gateway to the stock market, allowing you to engage in buying and selling securities present in your investment portfolio.

Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Reputable brokers take appropriate measures to ensure that your personal information and money are safe. These measures may include data encryption, network security controls like firewalls and proxy servers, multifactor authentication, fraud monitoring and security alerts. EToro and TradeStation are the only brokerages on our list that charge an inactivity fee. Some of the best brokers on our list—Charles Schwab, Fidelity and IBKR—don’t charge for withdrawals.

• He has 20+ years of mutual fund, macro market research, institutional trading desk, and trading education experience.
• All these factors are worth considering before choosing an online broker.
• Other considerations may include account minimums and benefits, supported order types, customer support accessibility, and premium account offerings.
• As a result, the value of your investments can go down, leading to potential losses.

Low Cost Brokers For

At other brokerages, you can earn interest with a free cash management account. Webull is best if you’re a beginner who wants an in-app investing community and to learn from other investors. Its offerings range from robo-advisor Schwab Intelligent Portfolios (minimum of $5,000) to personalized management with Schwab Wealth Advisory (minimum of $500,000). For questions, there’s 24/7 phone support and in-person help at Schwab branches.

Fidelity Investments

We combined our industry research and subject matter expertise to guide the research and weightings for our 2025 online broker rankings. To collect the data, our researchers collected data points through online research of provider websites. To fill in any gaps, our research team reached out to the individual brokerages.

With different types of trading accounts, Exness caters to various categories of traders, whether they’re beginners, experienced traders, or professionals. FXPro stands out as the premier online broker due to its commitment to transparency, reliability, and innovation. Offering a range of advanced trading platforms like MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader, FXPro caters to diverse trading styles. Its regulatory compliance with reputable authorities such as FCA and CySEC ensures a secure trading environment. FP Markets also excels in its educational resources, offering tutorials, market analysis, and more.

There’s a $0.50 fee for crypto trades of $100 or less and 0.50% of the trade amount above that. The Plynk mobile app is intuitive and user-friendly, and you’ll find plenty of straightforward tips and how-tos to help you grow your investing knowledge. Ally Invest is our top pick for low costs with $0 stock, ETF, and mutual fund trades, $1 bond trades, and a low $0.50 (per contract) options trades for self-directed traders.

Whether you’re a long-term investor or short-term trader, experienced or new to the stock market, here’s our list of the top seven online brokerages. Ultimately, the right broker complements your personal investing style. Whether you’re dollar-cost averaging into ETFs or actively trading options, platform functionality and user experience can directly impact your outcomes.

This minimizes potential conflicts of interest and supports a more open trading experience. Paper trading is simulated trading, letting you practice the ins and outs of trading without any risk. There’s no real money involved, so you can become familiar with the process before you invest any real funds. Some of IBKR’s platforms are more designed for investing pros than beginners. You’ll have access to a vast library of information about investing basics, market commentary and trading demos.

• Since short selling requires borrowing, it must be done in a margin account.
• That’s why, for the fourth straight year, the company is our top broker for international traders.
• To engage in margin trading, an investor must open a margin account with a brokerage firm.
• Trades of stocks, ETFs and options are commission-free at Robinhood Financial LLC.
• If you’re already a Chase user, this integration makes getting started incredibly simple and efficient.
• For more details about Atomic Invest, please see the Form CRS, Form ADV Part 2A, the Privacy Policy, and other disclosures.

Investments in securities are Not FDIC insured, Not Bank Guaranteed, and May Lose Value. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and the fees and expenses charged. Custodial and clearing services used by Atomic Brokerage can be found on its BrokerCheck report.

How to Choose a Brokerage Account

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It is natural to ask, “How do these brokers and platforms differ from full-service brokers? ” One key difference is that online brokers cater to do-it-yourself (DIY) investors. In contrast, full-service brokers aim to relieve you of as much best online stock brokers heavy financial lifting as possible by shifting it to their own advisors or affiliated experts.

NerdWallet’s Best Brokerage Accounts for Online Stock Trading

Our mission is to provide unbiased stock broker reviews and ratings to help investors find the best broker. Since inception, StockBrokers.com has helped over 20 million visitors research and compare online brokers. Online trading is safe if you use a regulated online stock broker and never invest more than you are willing to lose. A good rule of thumb is to never invest more than you can afford to lose or that you might need within the next three months.