Top 5 Online Platforms for Stock Trading That You Need to Test

Almost every stock trading company invested in platforms that make the trading process easier and affordable. To stay on track with competition and trends, many constantly improve their service to fulfill 5 main criteria – easy to use, low or no fees, advanced trading tools, and a simple and user-friendly interface.

In this article, we will present you with the 5 best sites that you need to test if you are trading with stocks online.

So, let’s dive deep into this!

What are the best online brokers for stock trading?

• Fidelity Investments
• Charles Swab
• Merrill Edge
• RobinHood
• Interactive Brokers

Fidelity Investments is one of the best online brokers for stock trading

According to experts and many stock traders, Fidelity Investment is one of the best online brokers for stock trading and the best stock trading platform because of its client-focused approach. The platform is also the leader in industry research and has a selection of more than 3,700 no-transaction-fee mutual funds.

Also, Fidelity is famous for its low costs and commission-free trade on stock, ETF, and options. Additionally, tools that make trading and portfolio management easier for all users.

Their trading platforms, Fidelity.com and Active Trader Pro, and mobile apps available for iOs and Android, are easy to use and constantly improving to simplify trading and offer the best service.

However, if users want to use Active Trader Pro, they should be in the USA because the platform is available only there.

Regarding the prices, Fidelity shines in this area because their prices are higher than national offers and bids. Also, traders can invest their previously uninvested money into market funds with Fidelity’s cash sweep feature. The platform also repays revenue from stock loans, allowing clients to develop their investment portfolios with various revenue options.

Pros:

• Low and competitive prices and no commission fees
• Educational content

Cons:

• Some feature not available outside the USA

Charles Swab is an online broker best for EFT trading

With around 4,000 available funds with minimum investment requirements of $100 or less and its lineup of index funds, Charles Swab is one of the best platforms for this type of trade. Additionally, the platform is suitable for beginners because of the educational content Charles Swab prepared that could be useful. 

Many additional features offer portfolio analysis and research, making investing at Charles Swab simple and easy.

Investors also have access to ETF screening which helps them do in-depth research before making an investment decision. This feature, called StreetSmart Edge EFT, scans all stocks based on 150+ criteria and is very customizable.

Regarding commissions, fees, and minimum requirements, Charles Swab does not charge any commissions for stock and EFT trade. There are also no minimum requirements, making it perfect for beginners in trading.

Investors can trade on 12 international markets without minimum requirements or invest in  Roth and Rollover IRAs.

The platform also has the apps Schwab Mobile and StreetSmart Mobile, which are poorly reviewed compared to Schwab Mobile. However, if you face any issues during the trade, you can always reach out to their customer support which is available 24/7.

Pros

• Terrific trading tools
• Customer service is available 24/7
• No commission for trading with EFT, stocks, and options

Cons

• Pricey
• Users don’t have access to mutual funds and financial advisors

Merrill Edge offers high-quality tools for stock trading

This platform is the best if you need good customer support 24/7 and if you need additional research about stock trading. In 2,000 locations in the USA, Merill Edge also has financial advisors that can answer all of your questions.

Even though it has many educational resources that can be useful to beginners, Merill Edge is created for advanced traders too. Their MarketPro platform makes the trade effortless by allowing users to set alerts, create wishlists, and monitor portfolios in real time.

Also, the platform offers many chart tools, technical analysis studies, and a customizable dashboard where all users can create a board based on their style and needs.

Regarding costs, Merrill Edge does not charge any fees for trading with mutual funds, stock, and EFT funds, while they charge $0.65 per trade for options. Also, there are no minimum account requirements of how much money you need to have before you start trading.

Pros

• Customer support is available 24/7
• Educational content available for everyone
• Powerful features

Cons

• Complicated platform interface
•  

RobinHood is the online broker best for free trading

Even though a newcomer to the world of stock trading, RobinHood has many traders worldwide who are now regular users of this app.

RobinHood is the best for people just starting their stock journey and for everyone who wants to buy stocks without too much hassle. Except for stores, traders can also invest in cryptocurrencies on this platform.

Trading on stocks, options, crypto, and EFT is free, and traders can also use their cash management system to transfer money and funds whenever they need to quickly. The company is one of the rare online brokers providing zero-fee trade on most products. In addition, however, users can join their premium tier, Robinhood Gold, and get insight into margin trading and the newest research in this field.

The only downside of this platform is that it offers only individual taxable accounts, but they are planning to expand to IRA and joined reserves in the future.

RobinHood also has an intuitive mobile app, which is the most famous trading platform for all Robinhood users. The app is simple to use, easy to navigate and makes it easy to jump from one screen to another.

Pros:

• Availability of cryptocurrencies
• No fees on trade with stocks, options, and EFT and crypto
• Cash management system

Cons

• No joint accounts and no IRA

InteractiveBrokers is the best stock platform for everyday traders

InteractiveBrokers have been one of the favorite stock platforms for many advanced traders who invest in stocks daily. But, this platform has improved its game and is now a good choice for new investors who need some education before trading.

But it’s not crucial if you are a beginner or advanced trader because, on InteractiveBrokers, all users have plenty of available options for investment. With 135 international markets in 33 countries, this platform is one of the few online brokers with this wide array of coverage. But the best thing is that you can access all these international markets from one account.

Commission rates on InteractiveBrokers are low, with their Lite service being completely free. However, if you have the Pro version, you will pay $1 per trade for up to 200 shares. Additionally, option trading costs are decumbent – only $0.65 per contact for the most active members.

Margin interest rates are low too, and one of the smallest among all online stock brokers. This, together with advanced trading tools like hotkeys, level II market data, charting and data analysis tools, scanners alerts, and Bloomberg TV streaming make InteractiveBrokers one of the best stock platforms.

Pros

• Low interest and commission rates
• Various powerful advanced trading features
• Great choice of available international markets

Cons

• The website is hard to navigate for beginners

Wrapping up

Finding an online broker is easy, but finding the best web brokers for stock trading is challenging. If you want to test the best brokers, we recommend you create an account on one of the following because they have the best fees and commissions, terrific tools that will make trading more accessible, and many choices of available funds.

• Fidelity Investments – is known for its client-focused approach and advanced trading tools
• Charles Swab – best online broker for EFT trading
• Merrill Edge – known for trading tools
• RobinHood – best for beginners and free trading
• Interactive Brokers – best for advanced traders