Ranked: The Best Stock Brokers for Investors and Traders
Ranked: The Best Stock Brokers for Investors and Traders
Choosing the right online trading platform might seem tricky. There are lots of options, and finding the best stock brokers could require a lot of time and research. Luckily, a team of experts has already done the work for you!
In this graphic from StockBrokers.com, we show how stock brokers performed in a variety of categories so you can make an informed decision.
Breaking Down the Best Stock Brokers
StockBrokers.com analyzed 17 select brokers using actual trading accounts or demo accounts.
The below table shows the overall scores, with 100% being the highest possible score. It also breaks down ratings in the ease of use, mobile trading, and commissions and fees categories, which have the heaviest weightings in the overall score.
| Stock Broker | Overall | Ease of Use | Mobile Trading | Commissions & Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | 99 | 100 | 99 | 100 |
| E*TRADE | 97 | 100 | 99 | 90 |
| Charles Schwab | 97 | 100 | 97 | 90 |
| Merrill Edge | 94 | 100 | 96 | 90 |
| Interactive Brokers | 93 | 80 | 99 | 90 |
| Firstrade | 88 | 80 | 94 | 90 |
| tastytrade | 85 | 90 | 89 | 90 |
| Ally Invest | 85 | 90 | 79 | 90 |
| Webull | 85 | 90 | 91 | 90 |
| Robinhood | 84 | 100 | 90 | 90 |
| TradeStation | 82 | 70 | 90 | 90 |
| J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | 82 | 85 | 79 | 90 |
| Vanguard | 78 | 95 | 56 | 90 |
| Tradier | 77 | 90 | 75 | 90 |
| eToro | 77 | 85 | 87 | 90 |
| SoFi Invest | 74 | 90 | 64 | 90 |
| Public.com | 70 | 85 | 68 | 90 |
Source: StockBrokers.com as of January 23, 2024. The overall score is based on the following category weightings: 25% ease of use, 25% mobile trading apps, 20% Commissions and fees, 10% investment options, 10% research, 5% platforms and tools, 5% education.
Fidelity has the top overall score in 2024, with an excellent app, clear navigation, and low fees. When it comes to fees, Fidelity skips many charges that are common among other brokers. It also doesn’t accept payment for order flow, which is when brokers direct your orders to market centers that pay them a referral fee.
E*TRADE and Charles Schwab are tied for second place when it comes to the best stock brokers. According to StockBrokers.com, E*TRADE has the best platform for mobile trading. The company offers one app focused on casual investors, and another for beginner to intermediate investors that has a useful—but not overwhelming—number of tools.
Charles Schwab, on the other hand, boasts the best desktop trading platform where investors can keep track of huge watch lists and follow streaming market news.
How Brokers Bring Additional Value
Apart from giving you the ability to trade stocks online, brokers also offer other perks like trading tools and education. Here’s how the same 17 brokers scored on these types of features.
| Stock Broker | Investment Options | Research | Platform & Tools | Education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | 96 | 96 | 94 | 100 |
| E*TRADE | 95 | 99 | 93 | 96 |
| Charles Schwab | 97 | 100 | 95 | 95 |
| Merrill Edge | 89 | 98 | 93 | 99 |
| Interactive Brokers | 99 | 99 | 100 | 93 |
| Firstrade | 90 | 87 | 75 | 69 |
| tastytrade | 80 | 55 | 92 | 84 |
| Ally Invest | 89 | 77 | 73 | 82 |
| Webull | 76 | 63 | 88 | 58 |
| Robinhood | 74 | 49 | 62 | 73 |
| TradeStation | 94 | 65 | 91 | 70 |
| J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing | 78 | 75 | 57 | 91 |
| Vanguard | 88 | 67 | 48 | 68 |
| Tradier | 76 | 46 | 73 | 35 |
| eToro | 54 | 56 | 66 | 53 |
| SoFi Invest | 60 | 41 | 54 | 86 |
| Public.com | 53 | 44 | 46 | 53 |
Source: StockBrokers.com as of January 23, 2024. The overall score is based on the following category weightings: 25% ease of use, 25% mobile trading apps, 20% Commissions and fees, 10% investment options, 10% research, 5% platforms and tools, 5% education.
Interactive Brokers holds the title of “best for professional traders” thanks to its wide range of highly customizable tools, investment options, and research. Investors can also trade in foreign markets and hold multiple currencies, for those interested in forex trading.
While not included in overall scores, StockBrokers.com also rated brokers on their customer service through nationwide phone testing. Fidelity and Merrill Edge are the best stock brokers when it comes to customer service. Both companies answered calls in less than a minute on average, and their representatives had high professionalism.
Picking the Best Brokerage Account
When you’re choosing from a list of the best stock brokers, you’ll want to consider which features are most important to you.
StockBrokers.com offers clear, in-depth reviews and compares brokers on more than 150 different account features and fees. You can also see screenshots of what various pages look like within the trading platforms.
See StockBrokers.com’s guide to the best online trading platforms of 2024.
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