Investing is one of the best ways to set
aside money for retirement or grow your wealth. To do this, you need to open an
account through a brokerage or trading platform.
What to consider when choosing a broker
The best online stock trading websites offer investor-friendly features and fees traders can easily justify. To come up with a list of firms consumers should consider this year, we considered the following factors:
Price: When it comes to fees, you're in luck - fees are falling rapidly as most online brokers reduce their trading commissions on stocks and ETFs to $0. For this list of the best online trading sites, we considered fees and trading costs to see how they stack up.
Broker Resources: You will also want to consider factors such as the broker's advice and research tools, the quality of the digital trading app, and the ability to place trades quickly and reliably, among other details.
Strategy: The account you really want will ultimately come down to your personal investment strategy - this includes how often you plan to trade and whether you are a beginner or more experienced. We considered how each investment platform tailored its offerings to suit a different type of consumer.
Best 0% commission online trading platforms for stocks in the year 2022
1. TD Ameritrade
2. Fidelity Investments
3. E-Trade
4. Charles Schwab
5. Ally Invest
6. Vanguard
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is a great choice for investors of all abilities, whether you need guidance and education when you're just starting out or when you're ready to turn to the broker's high-powered Thinkorswim trading platform. Either way, you'll find what you need at TD Ameritrade.
The broker also gives you access to a library of educational material which includes videos, webcasts and thousands of articles. Yes, it may sound a bit overwhelming, but you can choose the information you need, whether you're a novice or an expert looking for a little extra edge.
You can trade many types of securities beyond stocks. Bonds, options and futures are available, and you can trade cryptocurrencies through futures. You can also do all this through the broker's mobile app.
Pricing: TD Ameritrade does not charge any commissions for its stock and ETF trades, and
trading options now cost $0.65 per contract. With no account minimum, TD Ameritrade is an attractive option for beginners.
Fidelity Investments
Whether you are looking for a great trading platform, low commissions or helpful customer support, Fidelity will do it right by you. This broker does it all well, and it is a great investor-friendly pick, especially if you are just starting out, but also works well for advanced investors.
Fidelity has a strong reputation for offering some great research and tools for investors planning for retirement. The information available on its platform -including sophisticated screening tools - makes the account a good option for investors who want to dig in.
Further cementing its reputation is the fact that Fidelity ranked second in Investor's Business Daily's 2021 investor survey, which polled the people it should know best – the customers who actually use their services.
Pricing: As with most of the industry, Fidelity dropped its trading commissions to zero, a boon for all traders, but especially for long-term investors buying and holding. Fidelity also has zero fees on many other services that other brokers regularly charge.
E-Trade
E-Trade offers a solid choice no matter what type of investor you are – passive or active, novice or expert. And it has a great educational section, which not only offers a library of educational tools, but a fun roundup of webinars, news clips, and educational videos aimed at investors of all levels. You can also check in with E-Trade analysts for up-to-date analysis and commentary that can help you design your trading strategy.
If you're worried about being left to invest on your own, rest assured that E-Trade also offers 24/7 phone support and an online chat option. Active traders can appreciate the broker's leading trading platform, Power E-Trade, which offers a lot of tools and also comes in a mobile version.
Pricing: Like other major brokers, E-Trade charges zero commissions for stock and ETF trades and $0.65 per option contract. If traders make 30 or more trades each quarter, they may receive a discounted commission of $0.50 per contract.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab has a long lineage of helping individual investors, and that tradition is firmly upheld. The company was ranked by J.D. Power as "Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Full-Service Brokerage Firms for three consecutive years" by J.D. Power from 2016-18. For the 2020 survey, Schwab was among the top do-it-yourself investors, but it slipped down one spot in the 2021 rankings.
The broker remains a great choice overall – offering great trading tools, excellent customer support, and a wide range of research and educational materials, all at no commission.
Charles Schwab also has an innovative customer service policy that states that customers can receive a corresponding commission, transaction fee or refund on the advisory program if they feel unsatisfied.
Pricing: Schwab stocks and ETFs meet the industry standard on commission -- zero -- which helped it get started. Options trades, however, still ring a $0.65 per contract fee.
Vanguard
Vanguard is known for its low-cost investment options -- the brokerage founder Jack Bogle invented the index fund. You will not pay any commission for trading mutual funds, stocks and ETFs. The website and mobile app are fairly easy to navigate, although you may have to search to perform simple tasks like execute transactions or find educational tools.
It is quite clear that Vanguard is aimed at investors who want to buy and hold money for the long term as it does not have many tools for those who are more active traders or interested in short term trading. Although it provides investment advice, it is done through the robo-advisory service Digital Advisor and Vanguard Personal Advisory Services.
Perhaps the best reason to use Vanguard is its lowest cost-expense ratio for ETFs and mutual funds, with an average of 0.10%, much lower than the industry average. In addition to the annual fee (which is easily waived), investors can feel confident that they are paying the minimum fee.
Ally Invest
Ally Invest offers an intuitive trading platform and robust research tools, and there are no account minimums. This brokerage is great for both novice or experienced investors - although you may not have the ability to trade futures. As long as you qualify When investing in securities, such as stocks and ETFs, you will not pay commissions. ETF options include options like iShares and Vanguard, both of which are known for their low expense ratios.
Clients can also choose from Self-Directed Portfolio or Managed Portfolio option. With a managed portfolio, Ally Investing requires a minimum of $100, but does not incur any advisory fees. The robo-advisor selects diversified and low-cost ETFs and automatically rebalances your portfolio based on your financial goals.
Investors have access to educational and research tools such as probability calculators and option series - novice investors may not find these useful. To contact customer service, investors can do so via email, live chat or phone.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers has long been known as a brokerage for professionals and active investors with a powerful trading platform and good trade execution. But there have been moves in recent years to become more attractive to new investors, especially with a "lite" version of its service that has no fees. It has also stepped up its game on customer support and basic research.
That change has removed the rough edges from the earlier no-frills service even the pros had thought in favor of lower costs and trade execution. A newly designed customer support page is easy to navigate while providing the high level functionality of the old page.
Pricing: Interactive Brokers really sparked the industry's shift to no-fee stock trading. Its Lite service charges no fees, while its Pro service charges $1 per trade for up to 200 shares, with the latter shares costing half-penny each, although volume pricing is also available. The option is priced at $0.65 per contract, and volume-based pricing is available here as well for truly active traders.
Merrill Edge
Merrill Edge is a full-service broker that provides high-quality tools for traders, while still catering to investors looking to get started. This is especially evident when you consider that the broker has more than 2,000 locations inside the parent Bank of America branches, making human advisors easily accessible, a particularly valuable feature for new investors. This requires a guiding hand.
If you become a preferred client of the broker, you will have access to detailed research reports on individual stocks, but you can also get research from Morningstar and Lipper. Merrill also does well with educational materials, helping you plan for your financial future. Customer support is available round the clock throughout the week, so someone is always ready to assist you.
Pricing: Merrill Edge charges no fees for stock and ETF trades, while options trades come in at $0.65 per contract, which is in line with most of the industry.
Learn Also about FOREX
List of top Forex brokers with high leverage in 2022
What is Leverage and Margin in Forex trading?
Best FOREX Trading Strategies in 2023
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