Online Brokers & Trading Platforms For US Residents

Phillip Fisher once said “The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.”

Trading financial assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities can help you grow your wealth. We understand you want the convenience of trading online, but you will need a broker you can trust. The following organizations have a good reputation, reasonable trading fees/commissions, and offer a range of investment options.

*Please note, the following are online brokers & trading platforms for US residents. If you live in another jurisdiction, please read our related article, Online Brokers & Trading Platforms For International Investors.

Fidelity is one of the largest U.S. brokerage firms. It has over 40 million individual investors and at least $11 trillion in assets under administration. Its trading tools are suitable for investors of any experience level. 

Fidelity makes it easy to trade on a computer or mobile device. You will have access to stocks, mutual funds, CDs, options, OTCBB (penny stocks), and fixed-income products such as treasury and municipal bonds. However, Fidelity not does not offer futures or commodities. While it does allow direct crypto trades, the brokerage currently only supports Bitcoin and Ethereum when it comes to cryptocurrencies.

The company gives traders valuable educational materials, reports, portfolio analysis tools, calculators, and screeners to identify individual securities in an asset class. 

The brokerage does not have an account minimum, and strives to minimize fees and administrative costs. Fidelity does not charge commission on online stock or ETF trades, charges $0.65/contract for options, and $1 per bond or CD. It also provides 3,300 no-transaction-fee mutual funds and a selection of no-expense-ratio index funds. Fidelity got rid of almost all of its account fees, including transfer, inactivity, and account closure fees.

While you can conduct your own trades online quite cheaply, please note that Fidelity has very high fees when it comes to broker-assisted trading. It charges $32.95 per trade, which is one of the highest fees in the industry.

E*Trade offers a variety of investment choices and trading tools via its website and mobile apps. Its well-rounded platform is easy to navigate, and the company provides new investors with a range of educational materials. If you are a passive investor, you can use pre-built portfolios and portfolio-building tools to automate your trading strategy. 

Experienced traders can take advantage of the broker’s smart order routing system, extensive analysis tools, research capabilities, and charting functionality. In 2020, E*Trade was acquired by Morgan Stanley, so investors can benefit from Morgan Stanley’s financial analysis as well. 

You can trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, futures, and commodities with E*Trade. However, the company does not permit cryptocurrency trading or foreign exchange trading (FOREX). It offers fractional share trading, but only through a robo-advisor portfolio or dividend reinvestment plan.

E*Trade has no account minimum and charges $0 commissions on online stock, ETFs, and options trades. It has also eliminated its mutual fund commissions. The company charges $0.50/contract for options, if you complete more than 30 trades per quarter, and $0.65/contract if you complete less than 30 trades per quarter. 

Merrill Edge‘s platform is ideal for beginner and intermediate investors. It is especially attractive if you are a Bank of America customer, because the trading platform can be integrated with your online banking app, and you will receive a variety of perks and rewards. 

With Merrill Edge, you can trade stocks, ETFs, options, mutual funds, and fixed income assets. However, the brokerage does not allow futures, forex, fractional share, or crypto trading.

Its web and mobile-friendly platform is straightforward, but not as sleek as some other platforms. You can trade independently, work with advisors, or automate your investment strategy with a Merrill Edge Guided Investing portfolio. The Merrill Edge platform is suitable for casual investors, but lacks advanced order types and direct market routing features that active traders expect. 

Merrill Edge provides its customers with in-depth educational materials, helpful news updates, ongoing market commentary, and well-researched reports on individual stocks.

Merrill Edge has no account minimum and charges $0 commissions on online stock and ETF trades. It provides over 2,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds. Options trades cost $0 per leg plus $0.65 per contract. At present, options strategies on Merrill Edge are limited to two legs. 

Charles Schwab is one of the largest discount brokerages in the world, with over $8 trillion in client assets and approximately 5.6 million in daily average trades. The company continues to grow, and recently acquired one of its competitors, TD Ameritrade. 

The brokerage has a diverse clientele, and provides suitable trading tools, educational content, and research for beginner and experienced investors alike. Its research offerings are impressive, combining in-house generated commentary with information from more than 20 external providers, including Moody’s, Morningstar, and Thompson Reuters. If you are ever confused by the materials or trading platform, Charles Schwab provides 24/7 customer service.

On the Charles Schwab platform you can trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, forex, options, and futures. The brokerage does not permit crypto spot trading, but does offer several indirect crypto investing options. The broker has a limited selection of fractional shares, only S&P 500 stocks.

You can trade on your browser at Schwab.com or use the company’s customizable desktop workstation and mobile apps. If you are a passive investor, you should consider a Schwab Intelligent Portfolio, which relies on AI tools/robo-advisors to manage your portfolio. 

The company has no account minimum and offers commission free stock/ETF trades. It charges $0.65/contract for options. The broker provides over 7,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds. You should note that Charles Schwab has higher margin rates than some other brokerages. Its current base rate is 11.75%.

Robinhood was one of the first brokerages to offer fee-free trading. It has over 11 million monthly active users and over $62 billion in assets under custody. 

With its simple design and streamlined trading experience, the Robinhood platform is geared towards beginner and intermediate investors. Its paired-down interface makes it extremely easy to use on a mobile device. Unfortunately, the platform lacks some trading tools, calculators, research capabilities, and charting features that advanced traders require.

You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, fractional shares, and cryptocurrencies on the platform.   However, Robinhood does not allow for bond, mutual fund, foreign exchange, or futures trading. 

Robinhood recently launched a 24-hour market feature and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) with a 1% match on contributions. 

The brokerage has no account minimum. If offers $0 commissions for stock, ETF, and options trades. Robinhood is also one of the few brokers that offers free crypto trades.

The five mentioned above are just a few online brokers to consider. You should think about your investment goals and do additional research before choosing a trading platform.