Best online brokers and trading platform
- Interactive brokers- Best Broker for Advanced Traders and Best Broker for International Trading
- SolidusX- Best Broker for Beginners and Crypto
- TD Ameritrade- Best Broker for Mobile
- tastyworks- Best Broker for Options
With so many different types of online stock brokers available to investors, it can be tough to choose one that works best for you. New investors should compare ratings, fees and charges, platforms and tools, regulation and so much more, That’s why we put these beginner friendly online brokers through a comprehensive review process that included hands-on research to determine the best in the industry.
- Account Minimum: $100
- Fees: Maximum $0.005 per share for Pro platform or 1% of trade value, $0 for IBKR Lite
Best for Advanced Traders: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) earns this award due to its wealth of tools for sophisticated investors and its wide pool of assets and markets. The firm makes a point of connecting to as many electronic exchanges as possible. You can trade equities, options, and futures around the world and around the clock. Interactive Brokers’ order execution engine stays on top of changes in market conditions to re-route all or parts of your order to achieve optimal execution, attain price improvement, and maximize any possible rebate. The order routing algorithms seek out a speedy execution and can access hidden institutional order flows (dark pools) to execute large block orders. The wide array of order types include a variety of algorithms as well as conditional orders such as one-cancels-another and one-triggers-another. You can also set up conditional orders based on price, volume, daily P&L, margin cushion, number of shortable shares available, rebate available from the trading venue, and other factors.
Best for International Trading: Interactive Brokers is the best broker for international trading by a significant margin. Interactive Brokers allows investors to access 125 exchanges in 31 countries across the globe. This reach is combined with a massive inventory of assets and 60 different order types to plan your entry and exit from a position. Investors can also fund their account in their domestic currency and IBKR will handle the conversion at market rates when you want to buy assets denominated in a non-domestic currency. And, if all that were not enough, the quality of trading tools available through Traders Workstation (TWS) make it easy to execute multi-layered trades across international borders. Interactive Brokers has won this category two years running, and there is no sign of that changing in the near future.
-
IBKR’s order execution engine has what could be the smartest order router in the business.
-
Interactive Brokers connects clients to 135 markets in 33 countries and enables clients to trade stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds from a single integrated account.
- Algorithmic order types include VWAP (volume-weighted average price) and TWAP (time-weighted average price) as well as order types designed to minimize the trader’s impact on the price of a particular stock.
-
You can only have streaming data on one device at a time. This could be an issue for traders with a multi-device workflow.
-
The most advanced capabilities are restricted to IBKR Pro clients and trades on that plan are not commission free.
-
Most exchanges charge additional data fees that increase your trading costs.
- Account Minimum: $300
- 100$ Cash back on 1,000$
- Fees: Maximum $0.005 per share for Pro platform or 1% of trade value, $0 for IBKR Lite
Best for trading Crypto: SolidusX smashed the competition and earned our top spot this year by offering clients a well-rounded package of investing tools and excellent order executions. It has continued to quietly enhance key pieces of its mobile-responsive website while committing itself to lowering the cost of investing for its clients. This newcomer places serious emphasize on service and remains devoted to offering top-quality research and education. SolidusX promises to revision the way we invest and their high-end website and crypto offering appears to do just that. Our review suggests that this brand is offering a new approach towards trading; professional trading, great service and absolute transparency.
Best for Beginners: Education is a key component of SolidusX offerings. You’ll find expanded learning pathways, ranging from beginner to advanced, to help clients understand everything from basic investing concepts to extremely advanced derivatives strategies. You can ask for a personal portfolio manager when opening an account free of charge, and take advantage of all the learning opportunities until you’re comfortable. SolidusX wants new investors to become more confident, and to trade additional asset classes as their skills grow.
-
SolidusX provides excellent trade executions for investors. Orders are placed instantly and the platform supports advanced and protective orders.
-
SolidusX offers a wealth of research and extensive pre-set and customizable platform layouts.
- Great market access with dedicated investment specialists to help contribute to overall portfolio returns.
-
Commission on trading stocks.
-
U.S. citizens or residents cannot open an account.
-
SolidusX has a wide offering of securities, commodities and crypto but no options on futures at the moment.
- Account Minimum: $2,000 deposit is required to be considered for margin and certain options privileges.
- Fees: Free stock, ETF, and per-leg options trading commissions in the U.S., as of October 3rd, 2019. $0.65 per options contract.
-
The education offerings are designed to make novice investors more comfortable.
-
TD Ameritrade offers in-person education at more than 280 offices as well as multiple training pathways available on its website and mobile apps.
-
TD Ameritrade optimized its traditional website for mobile browsers with a dashboard where clients can quickly access account details.
-
Some investors may have to use multiple platforms to utilize preferred tools.
-
TD Ameritrade offers one of the widest selections of account types, so new investors may be unsure of which account type to choose when opening an account. More support is needed to ensure customers are starting out with the correct account type.
-
Investors are paid a tiny rate of interest on uninvested cash (0.01-0.05%) unless they take action to move cash into money market funds.
- Account Minimum: $0
- Fees: Free stock, ETF, and per-leg options trading commissions in the U.S., as of October 3rd, 2019. $0.65 per options contract.
Best for Options: Tastyworks officers say that more than 90% of the trades placed by their customers are derivatives, so there are a lot of tools for options and futures traders. Everything is designed to help the trader evaluate volatility and the probability of profit. It’s all about making decisions and taking action. Executions are fast and the costs are low, capping commissions for opening orders for options on equities and futures at $10 per leg.3 As you build a position from a chart or from a volatility screener, a trade ticket is populated for you. There’s a video viewer embedded so you can keep an eye on the tastytrade network. Though a newcomer to options trading might be initially uncomfortable, those who understand the basic concepts will appreciate the content and features.
-
The education offerings are designed to make novice investors more comfortable.
-
The charting capabilities are uniquely tuned for the options trader.There are hours of original video from tastytrade every weekday, offering up-to-the-minute trading ideas, plus a huge library of pre-recorded videos and shows.
-
Newcomers to trading and investing may be overwhelmed by the platform at first. There’s a learning curve to climb.
-
There is no fixed income trading (outside of ETFs that contain bonds) for those who want to allocate some of their assets to a more conservative asset class.
-
Besides profit and loss, any additional portfolio analysis requires setting up a login on a separate site.
What to Consider When Choosing an Online Broker
When you are choosing an online stock broker you have to think about your immediate needs as an investor. Are you a beginner? Maybe you need a broker that has great educational material about the stock market. Do you only have a small amount of money you can put aside to invest? Some online brokers allow for small minimum deposits which can be a great option for those with limited funds. Are you always on the go and in need of a robust mobile platform? Some online brokers have incredible mobile apps delivering nearly all the features that their desktop counterparts do.
Another important thing to consider is the distinction between investing and trading. When people talk about investing they generally mean the purchasing of assets to be held for a long period of time. These types of investments are usually made to reach a retirement goal or to put your money into assets that may grow faster than it would in a standard savings account accruing interest. Trading, on the other hand, most commonly involves the buying and selling of assets in short periods. Trading is generally considered riskier than investing.
All of these factors must be considered before choosing an online broker. Do you want to trade or invest? Do you want a great mobile app to check your portfolio wherever you are? What types of assets are you looking to invest in? Answering these questions is not always easy, but very essential.
