MagnifyMoney 
We get it: You’re looking for the best brokerage account around, but how do you find “the best” with more than 246 online brokerages to choose from?
Here’s the good news: MagnifyMoney has your back. We’ve gone through the rest to bring you the best brokerage accounts, evaluating each based on features that matter most to you, including fees and functionality.
For October 2022, we’ve selected Charles Schwab as our best overall brokerage account. And here’s the best part: All of our picks have no investment minimums. Now, you can start investing at a dollar amount that’s right for you.
Why trust us: MagnifyMoney is an independent, advertising-supported service that compares financial services to companies performing those services. Our editorial independence allows us to make objective selections. Companies cannot pay to be featured higher or lower on our “Best Of” lists, either. Be sure to check out how we chose our picks.
| Best for | Broker | Account minimum | Trading fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall online stock trading | Charles Schwab | $0 | $0 stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) trades, $0.65 per options contract |
| Beginners | TD Ameritrade | $0 | $0 stock and ETF trades, $0.65 per options contract |
| High-volume trading | tastyworks | $0 | $0 stock trades, $1.00 per options contract, $1.25 per futures contract |
| Robo-advisor services | Charles Schwab | $0 for brokerage account, $5,000 for robo-advisor services | $0 stock and ETF trades, $0.65 per options contract; $0 for automated robo-advisor trades |
| Retirement investing | Vanguard | $0 | $0 stock, ETF and Vanguard mutual fund trades, $1.00 per options contract |
| Low costs | Firstrade | $0 | $0 stock, ETF, option and mutual fund trades |
| Cryptocurrency | Webull | $0 | $0 for stock, option, ETF and cryptocurrency trades |
| Pros | Cons |
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Why we chose it:
Charles Schwab made the top of our list of the best online brokerages because of the full range of its offerings, including a robo-advisor option and access to financial professionals. As one of the largest online brokers, you’ll gain access to valuable tools that large firms like Schwab can offer, like market research and analysis, too.
Simply put, Schwab offers the best experience to the widest range of potential investors. Some investors may not find their active trading capabilities to be as robust as those offered by other brokers, and others may find that Schwab is missing an asset class or two that other brokers have (like cryptocurrency). But most investors will find their needs well met by Schwab.
Schwab recently acquired TD Ameritrade and began the process of transitioning some of the standout services from that brokerage — including the much-lauded thinkorswim trading platform. TD Ameritrade has extensive educational resources for investors, and Schwab has begun using some of that information through their brokerage as well. Now that the two brokers have joined forces, either would be a solid choice for best overall, but Schwab seems better positioned moving forward given that they’ve acquired TD Ameritrade and not the other way around.
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Why we chose it:
TD Ameritrade is known for its depth of educational resources, making it a great option for beginners who are looking to invest through a broker for the first time. There are guided lessons, explainer articles, multimedia such as podcasts, webcasts and other videos, as well as guidance for retirement planning. As mentioned earlier, TD Ameritrade has been recently acquired by Charles Schwab and they are in the process of transitioning into one company. But for the time being, clients can expect business-as-usual services.
The award-winning thinkorswim trading platform has robust features for seasoned investors, but TD Ameritrade provides a comprehensive manual and other training tools to help beginners get up to speed quickly. There are also web-based and mobile app platforms that offer a simpler, more streamlined look at your portfolio and assets. TD Ameritrade also can facilitate relationships with partner financial advisors and offers options for automated investing.
Other brokerages offer educational resources and paper trading platforms as well, but TD Ameritrade has the most resources for those who are just getting started on their investment journey. As you grow more comfortable with the investing world, you’ll have the option to trade securities like foreign currencies, futures contracts, annuities and IPO offerings, which aren’t available through all brokers.
| Pros | Cons |
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Why we chose it:
Some investors are active day traders who rapidly buy and sell securities to turn a quick profit. Several platforms, including tastyworks, were designed with those investors in mind and tailor their services accordingly. tastyworks is an online brokerage affiliated with tastytrade, a media network for retail options traders, and was built for active traders. You won’t find bond funds or fixed-income securities on tastyworks, but you will be able to swap more esoteric derivatives.
Between its solid online trading platform and the ability to trade plenty of options, active traders will have their needs met with tastytrade. Granted, there are some weaknesses (notably the poor ratings on their mobile applications, which could be a big deal to some traders) and costs for options contracts and futures contracts that are higher than other brokers (but have lower fee caps at higher volume).
What truly sets tastyworks apart is the educational resources, news and analysis that’s specifically designed for active traders through tastytrade. There’s an active community of investors, a full media channel’s worth of content, educational courses and plenty of market analysis. TradeStation, another platform for active traders, doesn’t have those kinds of resources.
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Why we chose it:
Charles Schwab is a longtime standout among brokerages, and its robo-advisor — called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios — is a strong choice for those who wish to place some or all of their funds in an automated investing service. There’s a reasonable minimum opening deposit ($5,000) and Schwab professionals select the ETFs that comprise Intelligent Portfolios. You’ll take a questionnaire to establish your investment goals, risk tolerance and retirement timeline and the robo-advisor will take care of your portfolio.
There’s plenty to like about Charles Schwab beyond its robo-advisor platform, which is why it was selected as the best overall broker — and many investors who use its brokerage services may never use Intelligent Portfolios. There are starter kits for newer investors and deep third-party research for more experienced traders. Some financial planning services are accessible, but other Schwab investment advisory services — like Schwab Private Client and Schwab Advisor Network — have high minimums.
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Why we chose it:
Vanguard is an online brokerage that works with personal investors, retirement plan participants and institutional investors. The latter two tend to have safer, more stable investing strategies, and Vanguard’s built that way for personal investors and retail traders too. There are a lot of proprietary, broad index mutual funds with low expense ratios designed for buy-and-hold, long-term investing through the broker.
In addition to their brokerage services, Vanguard offers individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and other tax-advantaged accounts like 529 plans. You can also choose from a solid selection of bond funds and open certificates of deposit (CDs) through Vanguard. Their robo-advisor service, Vanguard Digital Advisor, integrates with brokerage accounts, and there’s access to fiduciary Vanguard financial advisors if you meet the $50,000 minimum.
If you intend to actively trade stocks or place volume trades, other brokers might be a better option. Vanguard is a strong choice if you intend to buy into the market, hold your assets for a while and maximize your long-term returns.
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Why we chose it:
Firstrade launched as a discount broker back in 1985 and has been an online brokerage firm since 1997. Unlike most brokerages, Firstrade doesn’t charge a fee on options contracts, and all mutual funds are free through the brokerage. There are no account minimum requirements or maintenance fees, but beware of the automated customer account transfer (ACAT) fees — they’re pretty typical for brokers, but they can be an unpleasant surprise when you transfer money out of your account.
There are some areas where Firstrade falls short relative to other online brokerages. Larger brokers tend to offer more educational resources and market analysis, though there are some available through Firstrade. Not all asset classes are available, including forex and cryptocurrency. There’s no robo-advisor service on Firstrade, and they’re not partnered with any financial advisors. But if you’re looking for a discount broker who allows you to place trades at the lowest possible cost, Firstrade is a strong choice.
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Why we chose it:
Among brokerages that offer comprehensive cryptocurrency trading services, Webull brokerage account has the best combination of available coins and low costs. In addition to common cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Etherium, Webull brokerage account allows you to trade a few dozen other coins. There are no fees or commissions for cryptocurrency trading, but there is a 100-point basis spread on either side of a trade (meaning there’s a 1% difference between the buy and sell price). Notably, Webull brokerage account does not permit you to transfer coins in or out of your Webull brokerage account account.
Beyond cryptocurrency trading, Webull brokerage account has a relatively limited selection of available securities on its platform. Investors can trade stocks, ETFs and options, but there’s not much beyond that: they can’t trade mutual funds, bonds, foreign currencies or derivatives like futures. There also isn’t much educational support for newer investors on Webull brokerage account, although there is a paper trading platform for practicing trading strategies.
Ultimately Webull brokerage account is a strong choice for dedicated cryptocurrency traders — there are more available coins than Robinhood and a better user experience than tastyworks. There are some drawbacks though, and you might want to choose a different broker if you are interested in buying mutual funds or other securities that aren’t available on Webull brokerage account.
MagnifyMoney reviewed 15 of the most well-known brokerage accounts based on multiple factors that matter most to investors like you, including:
Criteria like those listed above have an impact on how much you’ll pay to use a platform and how much those costs can ultimately impact your returns. All the brokers that we ultimately included on our list of the best brokerage accounts are accessible to the average investor and allow self-directed trading, too.
Alex Cook
