The most popular stock trading applications provide the ability to buy and sell equities and ETFs without incurring any fees. They also allow you to investigate investments, keep track of your portfolio, and make orders to purchase or sell with ease.
We looked at pricing and fees, investment alternatives, account types, investment platforms, investment research, and educational resources while making our selections.
Charles Schwab is the finest overall option.
Schwab Mobile by Charles Schwab is an excellent all-around stock trading platform. There are no account minimums or recurring costs, making it a great option for stock traders. You can choose from a wide range of investment accounts and many types of investments. Schwab also has a no-cost automated financial planner called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, which comes with some smart features.
It’s simple to use the Schwab mobile app. It’s straightforward to view your accounts, positions, and balances from the app. Market indices and news are all available through the app, as well as stock research and a variety of trade sorts that may be entered via voice control. The Schwab Assistant is one of its features, which allows you to utilize voice commands to execute trades, get quotes, set alerts, and receive answers to questions about investments.
Users of Schwab’s StreetSmart Mobile also have access to the more advanced StreetSmart Mobile. It performs well, but it isn’t in the top ranks for most active traders. However, TD Ameritrade and thinkorswim are both owned by Schwab now, which is an industry leader for active traders. More on that later in this section.)
For active traders, thinkorswim is the best solution.
TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim is a great stock trading program for active traders. TD Ameritrade offers no-fee accounts with no minimum balance requirement. It has a wide range of accounts and instruments available, including some that aren’t commonly supported, such as futures, forex, and cryptocurrencies. However, it distinguishes itself by its active trader service for both experts and newcomers to the field of active trading.
Thinkorswim is TD Ameritrade’s primary active trading platform. Thinkorswim provides you with a nearly identical experience from wherever you log in, whether it’s on a computer or mobile device. Advanced charting, sophisticated trade tools, profit and loss calculations, a live CNBC news feed, and chat support are all included.
It’s also worth noting that TD Ameritrade was purchased by Charles Schwab on October 6, 2020. However, as Schwab has stated it intends to maintain thinkorswim alongside StreetSmart Edge, there is hope for you. If you want to open a managed account with Schwab, though, you’ll need to do so before April 2024.
Best for beginners: SoFi
SoFi Invest is one of the most user-friendly stock brokerages for novices. SoFi’s program isn’t as sophisticated as others in the market, but it’s simple to use and comprehend if you don’t have much trading experience.
SoFi offers taxable accounts, retirement accounts, and a smaller range of investment options. Stocks and ETFs are well represented, however. SoFi also has an automated investing system that is free to use, and it allows you to invest in fractional shares through the Stock Bits product.
SoFi’s stock trading section is rather basic, with only fundamental data and most recent price charts for supported investments. Beginners will like looking at categories of stocks to get ideas for how to invest. The app also includes instructional material that may be viewed from stock account pages.
SoFi is a popular loan provider that has been around since 2012. SoFi allows you to get started in the markets with a small investment and no costs if you are new to the market. That’s an excellent combination for learning how to trade stocks. You may also dabble in cryptocurrency trading by using SoFi’s 27 different cryptocurrencies as diversifying your portfolio outside of stocks. Crypto transactions will cost 1.25 percent each, however
Vanguard is a great choice for those who don’t want to pay commissions.
Vanguard provides investment solutions for almost every sort of investor. In addition to its Jack Bogle-developed index funds, the company offers commission-free trading on a variety of assets, automatic investing through Vanguard Digital Advisor (with the option of one-on-one advisor assistance thanks to Vanguard Personal Advisor Services), IRAs and other retirement tools, and market research and educational services.
You can trade equities without fees at Vanguard, and margin accounts (these allow you to borrow money to invest in more assets) and commission-free options trading for more experienced traders are available. You’ll need to request permission to use the exchange’s margin facilities.
Vanguard offers shares, IRAs, custodial accounts, 529 plans, small business retirement plans, and other investment products on both iOS and Android platforms.
Fidelity is a great long-term investment.
Fidelity Investment Services provides a variety of accounts and investments to suit the needs of almost any investor, but it is an excellent alternative for stock market inventors looking to acquire and hold for long-term goals like retirement. It has a diverse range of investment solutions, including fractional shares.
Fidelity offers applications and resources to assist you reach retirement objectives, as well as other long-term goals. The Fidelity Spire app is an example of a goal-oriented software that promotes healthy savings and investing behaviors in order to fulfill the objectives you’ve set.
Fidelity is ideal for inexperienced traders, but it can also be used by active traders, passive investors, and long-term investors.
Best for expert traders: Interactive Brokers
For experts searching for a slick Wall Street-style trading platform, Interactive Brokers is an excellent alternative. Interactive Brokers provides several diverse types of accounts, including ones that are tailored to retail investors all the way up to professional and institutional traders. Stocks are only one example of the numerous instruments accessible through this platform.
The Interactive Brokers mobile app, IBKR Mobile, is a fully-functional investment platform with sophisticated trading instruments in your pocket. Advanced quotations and research include 50 columns of data in a similar structure to the desktop version. It’s cutting-edge technology that works best for individuals with some investing knowledge.
Ally Invest is a solid choice if you’re looking for a bank or stock trading broker.
Ally Invest is a simple and straightforward investment platform that complements some of the top checking and savings accounts on the market today. Ally Invest has no minimum or recurring fees, and it shares the same login with Ally Bank accounts.
You can see your holdings and execute stock purchases with just a few clicks when using Ally Mobile. The program offers fundamental research and charting, up-to-date news, and the ability to quickly place a trade. It doesn’t have as many frills as some stock trading applications do, but it does enough of the fundamentals to allow you to trade for a really low price.
Plus, investors who like having their assets managed on a computer might be relieved to learn that the Ally managed portfolio has a $100 minimum and no advisory costs. The only drawback is that it doesn’t enable stock trading; rather, it primarily uses ETFs. The account also automatically sets aside 30% of your portfolio as cash to safeguard you against market volatility. Despite its former 0.60 percent cash interest rate, it now increases at a rate of 0.80%.
How we identified the top three winners
The greatest stock trading programs are offered by firms that provide low-cost accounts with full mobile trading platforms. We took into account pricing, available investments, account types, and research tools when selecting the finest stock trading systems. We looked at over a dozen platforms.