Looking for the best online stock brokers in the US? Our top 5 picks, some of the leading stock brokers in the United States. Of course, few might have presence in other countries as well, but here we’ll emphasize on the top US stock broker list.
The current year 2020 remained volatile and full of shocks for the Stock Markets. It is still very fresh in our minds and nobody really imagined that Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) will take multiple corrections and that too after hitting a record high of 29,551. And in the later month, it gave a shock to everyone by hitting 18,513.65 and marked it as 52 weeks low.
That’s why you must have heard in this COVID-19 period that it is the best time to invest in the stock market as there is a sale out there and the stock prices were looking very cheap.
Many people started trading for the first time during this pandemic and still many do want to start but where they are stuck is which stock broker to choose and which will be best suitable for them according to their needs. This is a general query which comes even in the minds of many active traders and investors.
Also read What is a broker? Meaning & Types of Brokers
Therefore, here’s our research which will guide you in selecting the best stock broker for you.
Best Online Stock Brokers in USA
An exclusive list of stock brokers that you must explore as a US citizen:
1. TD Ameritrade
First, let’s look at the pricing of TD Ameritrade:
| Particulars | TD Ameritrade |
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $44.99 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $49.99 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | All |
We can observe that no minimum deposits are required and the pricing is really attractive as it doesn’t charge you for Stock Trade, ETF trade and base fee for Options.
It provides you more than customizable 400 technical studies in dozens of charts streaming real-time data. Its array of tools includes virtual trading, advanced earnings analysis, back testing, plotting economic data, charting social sentiment, and even replaying historical markets tick-by-tick.
Live broadcasts everyday during market hours about market analysis provides good insights to traders. Daily market commentary is also provided through The Ticker Tape.
For mobile trading, it offers two fantastic apps: TD Ameritrade Mobile for casual investors and TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader for the active trader with more features.
Confero research group rated TD Ameritrade 9.43 out of 10 by testing 280 samples throughout the US when it comes to customer service.
Also, Know if you can open a TD Ameritrade account in Canada or not.
2. Fidelity
Free stock and ETF trades, offering fractional shares, no additional charges for trading penny stocks, not accepting payment for order flow, and better cash management by yielding customers 1.58% interest on their free cash, Fidelity becomes one of the top choices.
Now, let’s look at the pricing in detail:
| Particulars | Fidelity |
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $32.95 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $49.95 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | All |
Fidelity is very rich when it comes to data and research reports as it provides 16 third party reports for stocks and 5 for ETFs. Easy screening for trade ideas with its unique features and industry-leading market commentary enriches your experience.
Its flagship trading platform allows you to present clean and clear charts with 22 different drawing tools and also has some of the great tools like Website watch list, Real-time Analytics, Trade Armour.
Mobile trading is phenomenal with customizable dashboards bundled with unique features which also help to log personal thoughts and individual stocks and broader markets.
Fidelity helps you diagnose your financial position and provides great insights for retirement education supported by some tools and statistics.
Confero research group rated Fidelity 8.90 out of 10 by testing 280 samples throughout the US when it comes to customer service.
No to miss out, How to invest in US Stocks from India?
3. Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers provides quality order execution by not accepting payment for order flow. It offers 2 primary plans: IBKR Pro (for professionals) and IBKR Lite (for casual investors). Its margin rates come down to as low as 0.75% if you hold more than a million dollar with the brokerage.
Interactive Brokers’ core clientele are professional traders and institutional investors, thus making pro plan more popular.
Let’s look at the pricing:
| Feature | IBKR Pro | IBKR Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $.005/ share with min. of $1.00 and a max. of 0.5% of trade value | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.005 | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 | $0.65 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $30.00 | $30.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | $14.95 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | 96 | 96 |
Interactive Brokers’ flagship platform is Trader Workstation (TWS) is very popular in the industry because of its best trading tools like Algo trading, Volatility Lab, Market Scanner and a lot more.
Your requests are executed by using an AI technology called IBot, which is available in TWS mobile. So, here you speak, there it’s done.
For research, it has great tools like back-testing and scanning along with dozens of paid third-party researches. But the problem lies here is that it is highly technical and not user friendly.
Mobile trading is well supported with robust charting, and easy customisations.
Confero research group rated Interactive Brokers 7.87 out of 10 by testing 280 samples throughout the US when it comes to customer service.
You might also be interested in learning about the Best Day Trading Platforms in Canada.
4. Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab lists the price improvement received on eligible orders which improves order execution quality. It also does not charge for penny stock trading unlike TD Ameritrade.
Let’s look at the pricing:
| Particulars | Charles Schwab |
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $25.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $49.95 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | All |
Popular for high quality research and its proprietary equity ratings, it also has an excellent commentary which includes latest and trending topics. Live broadcasting is also done by Schwab across shows. Most traders prefer Schwab when it comes to research on ETFs and Mutual Funds.
Schwab offers two primary platforms: its flagship ‘StreetSmart Edge’ which is preferred by active traders for options and day trading, and ‘StreetSmart Central’ which is popular for futures trading.
Schwab provides you with a very smooth experience when it comes to mobile trading. It provides thorough market research with its unique and popular tools like Hub tool.
Schwab also provides educational experience to its users by way of free webinars.
Confero research group rated Charles Schwab 8.80 out of 10 by testing 280 samples throughout the US when it comes to customer service.
You may also like to learn about Different Types of Stocks Every Investor Must Know
5. TradeStation
Most common pricing plans of TradeStation are TD Select and TD Go. Let’s look at their pricing:
| Feature | TD Select | TD Go |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $2000 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.60 | $0.50 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $14.95 | $14.95 |
| Commission-Free ETFs | all | all |
Its flagship trading platform TradeStation Desktop has rich functionality with depth. It also has great tools like Radar Screen, Matrix, Scanner etc.
Charting becomes a USP as it provides more than 40 years of historical data with 274 indicators which can be customised according to your study. It also provides you seamless trading experience for Options and Futures with advanced tools like OptionStation Pro.
For research, it is not good when compared to above brokers as in-depth research can not be done on it. Still, it has screening for stocks and options, equity back testing etc.
TradeStation’s mobile app incorporates full day trading functionality, providing robust and clean charting with many drawing tools available.
TradeStation also offers a standalone app for Futures and Options traders which provides a variety of advanced tools.
The broker has also recently launched an education focused website YouCanTrade which looks promising.
Confero research group rated TradeStation 8.46 out of 10 by testing 280 samples throughout the US when it comes to customer service.
So, these are the top 5 brokers according to our research.
If you are a Canadian investor and wish to start stock trading, do explore the List of Best Online Stock Brokers in Canada.
Stock Brokers USA: Add On List
But some more good brokers are listed below:
1. E*TRADE:
E*TRADE delivers $0 stock and is often referred to as a good web platform for options trading. Its Power E*TRADE has good trading tools.
2. Merrill Edge:
Merrill Edge delivers $0 stock and ETF trades, and is popular for its reward programs across the industry.
3. Ally Invest:
Ally Invest provides $0 stock and ETF trades. It has a great universal-account management experience.
Stock Brokers: The Bottom Line
So, selecting a stock broker completely depends on the needs and priorities of the traders or investors. Whether he wants low-cost trade commissions, an advanced and reliable trading platform, a user-friendly mobile app or investment education is the purpose.
As each broker’s strength is different, thus we need to decide our priority of needs, read a bulk of genuine reviews and then decide which online stock broker is the best for us.
Disclaimer: A very high degree of risk is involved in trading and investing. The content on this site is solely for informational purpose only. We are not an investment advisory service. The content given on this website should not be considered as a professional advice in any regard.
You may also like to review Foreign Stock Brokers in India
So, have you shortlisted one of the stock brokers from the above collection? Or do you have any other popular broker name to add here? Do drop in the comments.