Best Brokerage Accounts and Trading Platforms for Beginners in September 2024

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Trading stocks may seem daunting, but there’s a wealth of information out there for investors of every experience level. The trick can be finding the platforms and tools that are geared for the beginning investor. Here are the 10 best stock trading websites for those who are new to investing.

1. E-Trade

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock, ETF, and mutual fund trades, $0.65 for options, $1 for bonds, $1.50 for futures
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, Robo-advisor

Why they were included: E-Trade is one of the original online trading platforms and is now owned by Morgan Stanley. With years of experience helping beginning investors, E-Trade has a wealth of information on all things investment, ranging from diversification to risk tolerance to options trading. The platform includes screener tools to help you choose the best investments for your goals, research, news and even retirement planning tools.

E-Trade offers $0 commission on U.S. listed stocks, bonds and options. There is a 65 cent fee for options contracts, although if you trade 30 or more options per quarter, that drops to $0.50. The fee for futures contracts is $1.50.

E-trade lets you invest through a standard taxable brokerage account–but also offers access to IRAs, including traditional, Roth and rollover IRAs.

E-Trade Pros and Cons

Pros

• Commission-free trading of stocks and ETFs
• No minimum deposit to open an account
• Huge knowledge base for learning about investing

Cons

• Robo-advisor has higher fees than some competitors
• Some advanced trading features may overwhelm beginners

2. Robinhood

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock, ETF, and crypto trades, $0.01 for options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, crypto

Why they were included: Investors who use Robinhood can trade in stocks, options, ETFs and crypto. Robinhood also offers margin. Since it caters to the beginning investor, the website includes information on everything from what an investment is to how to analyze a stock to how to invest for retirement, all in plain language. And you don’t have to have a Robinhood account to get access to this basic information, so you can learn first, and invest later.

Robinhood also offers a Cash Card, which is a debit card that lets you round up your purchases and invest the difference. It recently announced a cash-back credit card that offers 3% cash back on all purchases, though you need to join a waitlist to get one.

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Robinhood is known for lost-cost trades, charging $0 for stock and ETF trading, and only $0.01 per options contract — which is one of the lowest charges in the industry. While there’s no commission for crypto trading, there is a spread fee that can end up being expensive, depending on the cryptocurrency being traded and market conditions.

Robinhood Pros and Cons

Pros

• Commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs and crypto
• Very inexpensive options trading
• Well-designed mobile app — ideal for beginners
• IRA match of 3% on top of annual contributions with Robinhood Gold subscription

Cons

• Robinhood has been in trouble with the SEC over deceptive practices
• No access to mutual funds or bonds
• Cannot call customer support directly (must request a call)

3. Webull

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock, ETF, and crypto trades, up to $0.55 for index options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, Crypto, robo-advisor

Why they were included: Webull touts its investing technology, and its easy-to-navigate website that includes lots of courses on investing topics. You can take a beginning trading course, then graduate to more complex subjects like put and call options, covered calls, crypto, stock splits, technical analysis and more. They even offer a robo-advisor service that can build an investment portfolio for you and automatically invest your money.

Investors who use Webull can invest in stocks, including fractional shares, ETFs, options and cryptocurrency. Webull supports extended hours trading, including pre-market from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. EST and aftermarket from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST.

Webull boasts zero-commission stock, ETF, and crypto trades — though crypto may have a spread fee. It also offers options trading for minimal fees — and index options trading for only $0.55 per contract

Webull Pros and Cons

Pros

• Commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs, crypto and select options
• Low-cost robo-advisor available for only 0.20% annually
• Beginner investing and trading courses available

Cons

• No access to mutual funds or fixed-income investments
• Limited account types

4. SoFi

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock, ETF, and crypto trades, $5 exercise and assignment fee for options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, robo-advisor

Why they were included: SoFi offers an active investing platform with no commissions or account minimums. It offers stocks, including fractional shares, ETFs and options — and you can trade on margin. If you have an active investing account you can participate in IPOs before they begin active trading on an exchange. SoFi also has a community of investors you can interact with to share information and knowledge.

SoFi doesn’t charge commissions on stock and ETF trades — and there are no contract fees for options trading, but you will pay an exercise and assignment fee. SoFi also offers a robo-advisor that doesn’t charge fees — though this service does create portfolios with proprietary SoFi funds. SoFi used to offer crypto trading–but retired the service in 2023.

SoFi Pros and Cons

Pros

• Commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs
• Robo-advisor service is free (though SoFi does place users in SoFi funds)
• Free access to financial advisors and career coaches for all SoFi members

Cons

• No access to mutual funds, bonds or fixed-income products
• Crypto trading no longer available

5. Vanguard

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock, ETF, and some mutual fund trades, $1 for options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, 401(k), custodial, 529, robo-advisor, wealth management

Why they were included: The Vanguard online brokerage account caters to the beginning investor. There’s a lot of information in plain language that will teach you important concepts like asset allocation, portfolio management and more. In your Vanguard brokerage account, you can buy and sell mutual funds, individual equities, exchange-traded funds, bonds and CDs.

Vanguard charges no fee on some mutual fund transactions, as well as ETFs, stocks and CDs. Options contracts incur a fee of $1 per contract. There is an account service fee, but it is waived if you opt for e-delivery of statements and other documents, or if you hold at least $5 million in qualifying assets.

No- and low-fee accounts are great, but not if you’re sacrificing return. Vanguard boasts that a high percentage of their ETFs beat the returns of their Lipper peer-group averages.

Vanguard Pros and Cons

Pros

• Access to low-fee Vanguard index funds
• Access to wide range of mutual funds and fixed-income products
• Simple user interface

Cons

• Options pricing is expensive
• Limited access to alternative assets like crypto and IPO investments

6. Fidelity

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock, ETF, and some mutual fund trades, $ 0.65 for options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, 401(k), custodial, 529, cypto, robo-advisor, wealth management

Why they were included: Fidelity offers commission-free trades on U.S. stocks, ETFs and options. It doesn’t charge account fees. You can get information to inform your trading decisions with Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro platform and use its research tools to understand trends and how they can impact your goals. Fidelity offers mobile trading with a custom dashboard so you can trade wherever you are.

Fidelity offers fractional share trading for over 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs in a program they call Stocks by the Slice in case you’re looking to add Berkshire Hathaway to your online portfolio and don’t have six figures to invest.

Fidelity also recently added crypto trading for bitcoin and ethereum–allowing Fidelity customers to trade crypto for a flat 1.00% spread fee.

Fidelity Pros and Cons

Pros

• Low- and no-fee mutual funds available
• No trading commissions for stocks, ETFs, and some mutual funds
• Large library of user education and helpful training materials

Cons

• Crypto trading limited to bitcoin and ethereum only

7. Ally Invest

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock and ETF trades priced $2 and higher; if less than $2, $4.95 plus $0.01 per share; $1 bond trades, $ 0.50 for options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, robo-advisor, wealth management

Why they were included: Ally Invest gives investors the option of self-directed trading, robo portfolios that automatically adjust your portfolio in accordance with your goals and wealth management by a human advisor.

Self-directed trading features $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs and options, although options incur a fee of 50 cents per contract. Ally also offers thousands of commission-free mutual funds. If you want to invest in low-priced securities — stocks under $2 per share — there’s a fee of $4.95 plus $0.01 per share. There’s no account minimum, and you can trade any time on the mobile app.

Ally Invest Pros and Cons

Pros

• No trading commissions for stocks and ETFs
• Low contract fees for options trades
• Large inventory of commission-free mutual funds

Cons

• High fee for low-priced securities
• No access to crypto trading

8. Charles Schwab

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock and ETF trades, $ 0.65 for options, $1 for bonds and brokered CDs, $2.25 for futures
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, 401(k), custodial, 529, robo-advisor, wealth management

Why they were included: Charles Schwab is one of the largest brokers in the world — with a wide range of financial products and account types. If you’re a beginner who wants to get into more active trading, Schwab has multiple platforms to choose from. Traders also have access to the world-class thinkorswim trading platform with built-in research, training and tools for active trading.

In addition to trading tools and research, Schwab has a large educational library to help new investors get up to speed on everything from retirement planning to taxes to options trading.

Schwab offers $0 stock and ETF trades, as well as access to thousands of fee-free mutual funds. Schwab also offers options trading for only $0.65 per contract, and futures trading for $2.25 per contract.

Charles Schwab Pros and Cons

Pros

• No trading commissions for stocks, ETFs and some mutual funds
• Access to many fixed-income investments
• Futures trading available

Cons

• Some mutual fund fees are as high as $74.95 per purchase
• $1 trading fee per bond or CD trade

9. Merrill Edge

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock and ETF trades, $ 0.65 for options
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs, 401(k), custodial, 529, robo-advisor, wealth management

Why they were included: Merrill Edge is the self-directed investing platform from Merrill, now owned by Bank of America, Member FDIC. The platform has no minimum investment and no commission charge for stocks, ETFs and options trades — though there is a contract fee for options trading. Research and investing insights are available to you if you need them, either online or on the Merrill app.  

Since Merrill is owned by Bank of America, your Merrill balances count toward some of the perks you can get if you also bank at Bank of America, like credit card rewards and loan interest rate discounts.

If you’re not ready to manage your own investments yet, Merrill also offers Merrill Guided Investing, an online platform that provides you with asset allocation, monitoring and rebalancing by investment professionals. There’s a $1,000 minimum investment and an annual program fee for the guided investing platform.

Merrill Edge Pros and Cons

Pros

• No trading commissions for stocks, ETFs and options trades
• Wide range of account and investment choices
• Access to financial advisors

Cons

• No fractional share trading
• No forex, futures or crypto trading
• Low amount of commission-free mutual funds available

10. Interactive Brokers — IBKR Lite

• Account minimum: $0
• Fees: $0 stock and ETF trades, up to $0.65 for options, up to $0.85 for futures
• Account types: Brokerage, IRAs

Why they were included: Interactive Brokers has several trading platforms that have various levels of complexity. Beginning investors may be overwhelmed, but if you have some background or want to jump right into complex trades, it’s worth a look.

Going beyond stocks, bonds and ETFs, Interactive Brokers‘ platforms let you trade options — including futures options — spot currencies, crypto, combinations, structured products, physical metals, hedge funds and more. Not all positions are available on all platforms, though, so you’ll want to know what you’ll be investing in before you choose.

IBKR Lite has very low fees and commissions all around — from $0 stock and ETF trading, to futures trading for only $0.85 per contract. And crypto trading is very low at just 0.18% per trade with no spread fees.

Interactive Brokers Pros and Cons

Pros

• Very low fees for most trades using IBKR Lite — and no added spread fees
• Access to wide range of investments, including stocks, ETF, fixed income, mutual funds, crypto and forex
• Very low margin rates

Cons

• Limited accounts types
• No robo-advisor or financial planning services
• User interface may be a bit overwhelming

Key Features To Look for in a Beginner-Friendly Brokerage Account

The best brokerage accounts for beginners have features and benefits geared especially toward novice investors. For example:

• Low or no account minimum, so you can start trading with whatever amount of money you’re comfortable investing.
• Transparent fees so you always understand what you’re spending and where the money is going.
• Educational resources to help you learn about different kinds of investments and trading strategies.
• Real-time market data and research on the the stocks, funds and other assets to help you make informed investment decisions.
• “Paper trading” platform where you can practice trading before you start investing real money.
• User-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate the site.
• Easy access to live customer service.

Types of Brokerage Accounts

The two primary account types are cash accounts and margin accounts.

Investors with cash accounts pay for each securities purchase as they make it, and they can only spend as much as they have in their accounts. Margin accounts let investors borrow money from the brokerage to pay for securities. The investors’ accounts serve as collateral for the loans.

While a margin account lets you make larger trades, it also makes for costlier trades and puts you at risk of significant losses. For those reasons, it’s a good idea to stick with a cash account until you’ve gained experience.

Cash vs. margin isn’t the only choice you’ll make when it comes to selecting a brokerage account. You’ll also need to decide how you want to trade:

• Self-directed: You make all the decisions about what to invest in and how much to invest.
• Robo-advisor: You invest in a pre-built portfolio designed for investors with goals, preferences and risk tolerances similar to yours.
• Managed account: A finance professional guides your decisions or makes trades on your behalf.

How To Choose the Right Brokerage Account

It goes without saying that the broker you choose should be reputable, but it can be difficult to evaluate that just by looking at the website. Look for membership in the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which covers investment accounts against broker failure in much the same way as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation protects bank deposits against bank failure.

If in doubt, look up the broker using the BrokerCheck tool by FINRA — the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. It’s a free look-up tool with information about the backgrounds and experience of financial brokers, advisors and firms.

Once you’re sure the brokerage is legitimate, check the following to make sure the broker is a good fit for your financial goals and investing style.

• Investment types: The broker should have a good selection of the types of securities you want to invest in — and enough variety of other securities you can use to diversify your portfolio.
• Fees: Look at the brokerage’s fees — not just commissions and sales loads, but transaction and account fees as well.
• Educational materials: How-to and explainer articles, videos and courses will help you learn faster, and with fewer mistakes.
• Platform: Explore the platform thoroughly to make sure you’re comfortable navigating the site.
• Support: Verify that the brokerage has chat/phone support as well as a good self-help library.
• Security: Read through the broker’s privacy policy and security features.
• Other products: If you want to keep all your financial accounts with the same firm, make sure the broker offers all the account types you need — banking, lending and insurance, for example, in addition to investing.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Starting Out

Investing mistakes get very expensive, very quickly, but many are easy to avoid. Here are some of the most common to watch out for.

Panic-Selling

As J.P. Morgan Private Bank explains on its blog, “volatility is a feature of investing, not a bug.” In the years since 1980 that the S&P 500 has contracted, it has lost an average of 15%. Despite that, annual returns have been positive 75% of the time. That makes a long-term strategy the way to go.

Focusing Too Much on Retirement

Retirement is an important goal to invest for, but it’s not the only one. Look at all your financial goals, short-term as well as long, and make sure you’re on the right track for all of them.

Timing the Market

Even experts do a poor job of trying to time the market, which is why passively managed index funds typically outperform funds actively managed by fund managers. Rather than try to buy low, invest steadily. With this strategy, called dollar-cost averaging, you wind up buying more securities when prices are low and fewer when prices are high.

Falling for Hype

Meme stocks like GameStop and AMC get lots of attention, but they also cost investors a lot of money. So, too, does basing investment decisions on doom-and-gloom (or overly optimistic) headlines. A better approach is to pick an investment strategy and stick with it.

Information is accurate as of Sept. 12, 2024.

Daria Uhlig and Karen Doyle contributed to the reporting for this article.

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