Best Stock Brokers | 10 Best Online Stock Brokers in 2021 (USA) - EconomyWatch.com

Are you looking to start buying stocks in the USA? One of the most critical factors for your success in the shares business is the broker you choose. You don't need to worry if finding the right broker poses a significant challenge; we will get you sorted. Numerous well-regulated stock brokers allow you to buy and sell shares in the USA in 2021.

Many beginner traders in the stock market find it challenging to cut through numerous promotional emails to internet banner ads to pick a good broker to help them kick-start their stock trading career. We prepared this guide to help you find the best stock brokers in 2021. We will discuss factors such as customer support, fees, regulation, and dealing charges. We will also take you through what you need to look at when finding a good stoker broker 2021.

To come up with this guide, we went through tens of online stock brokers in the USA, scrutinized their charges, usability, customer reviews, trading platforms, and effectiveness with a particular focus on stock trading. We picked the top 10 stock brokers to present to you. We went deep and got really muddy, so you won't have to. Stick with us to the end for a full review of the top ten best stock brokers for 2021.

Table of Contents

#1 Best Stock Broker: eToro

Best Stock Brokers – Top 10 Stock Brokers List

Below you will find a breakdown of the best stock brokers.

• eToro– Best social trading, low fees, and excellent trading platform
• Interactive Brokers– Low trading fees and a good platform for advanced traders
• I.G. trading– Long-standing reputation
• Saxo Bank– Best trading platforms for advanced traders and broad class of assets
• Fidelity stock broker– Best stock broker holding multiple licenses globally
• Oanda – Best Stock Broker with No Minimum Deposit
• Robinhood- Commission-free stock trading
• Forex.com – Best stock broker for all levels of traders
• T.D. Ameritrade – Best Stock Broker with Advanced ThinkorSwim Platform
• Zack Trades – Best stock broker with comprehensive research tools

What are Stock Brokers?

Traditional stock brokers served their customers face to face, but this is no longer the case since technology revolutionized the stock trading industry. Instead of going to a physical office to get the services of a broker, an online broker is accessed through the internet, where clients are required to visit the company website, open a trading account, and access different services.

The costs of running online brokers are lower than that of brick and motor traditional brokers. While the online broker can cut down on transaction costs, customers also get services at a much more affordable fee than getting services from a traditional broker. In the united states, online brokers are sometimes referred to as online brokerage firms or discount brokers.

Online brokers process customer orders to buy or sell securities. They are a go-between tradable securities and investors who buy or sell them. Like a grocer is a middle man between farmers and the final food consumer, so does a stock broker link between the buyers and sellers of stocks and the market. Before the digital world became ubiquitous, investors would be forced to physically meet stock brokers or place orders through the phone before brokers could process the orders and send them to the market on behalf of customers.

Today, all this happens digitally and is almost real-time due to the lightning-speed systems that modern brokers run. There are different types of brokers specializing in varied asset classes. Today we will focus on the best stock brokers in USA for 2021.

Best Stock Brokers for Buying Stocks 2021

1. eToro- Best Stock Broker with 0% Commission

eToro is a multiple asset CFTC regulated broker famous for copy trading and social trading. The broker first opened its door in 2006 to offer CFDs, EFTs, and stocks. They later adopted other asset classes like cryptocurrencies and metals and bonds. They have set up operations in over 150 countries worldwide with a total client base exceeding 20 million users.

Although eToro operates in many countries, its main offices are in Israel Tel Aviv, which also acts as the company headquarters. It is a safe broker operating under multiple regulations across different countries, including the USA, Australia, and the U.K.

The company is currently expanding its operation territory into Asia with a key target on Hong Kong and China. eToro is the best choice of a stock broker for investors looking to minimize their transaction costs while buying stocks in the U.S. eToro offers 0% commission trading for all asset classes, with very competitive spreads. You will enjoy buying stocks on the eToro platform because it is user-friendly and easy to use, even for beginners.

eToro's fame grew like fire in the wild because of its unique social trading platform. This feature enables traders to copy portfolios of successful professional investors. Beginners can start making money through copy trading while they learn to trade. Busy investors who don't have time to analyze the stock market can also take advantage of this feature to grow their portfolios. According to the company website, the eToro platform has facilitated over 300 million trades successfully. You will find a list of eToro's subsidiaries below:

• United States: eToro USA LLC operating under FinCEN U.S. regulation
• United Kingdom: eToro U.K. Ltd under FCA regulation
• Australia: eToro AUS Capital Pty. Ltd. Under ASIC regulation
• Cyprus: eToro Europe Ltd under CySEC

Security

eToro is one of the safest online stock brokers in the U.S. in 2021. First, their platform offers two-step login on both mobile and web trading platforms to enhance users' security levels. Second, eToro is regulated by top-tier financial regulators, meaning it is subjected to high compliance standards designed to protect the customer. U.S. investors are protected by FinCEN

eToro Fees

Commission	0%
Deposit Fee	Free
Withdrawal Fee	$5
Inactivity fees	$10 a month after one year of inactivity

Pros	Cons
Over 850 stocks listed on the US and international markets	Not favorable for advanced traders that like to use complex tools
0% commission when buying stocks
Best social trading and copy trading
Regulated by FinCEN in the US
Multiple funding methods

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

2. Interactive Brokers- Low Trading Fees and a Good Platform for Advanced Traders

Interactive broker has been one of the best choices for advanced traders over the years. The broker offers a wide array of premium and free trading technical analysis tools for sophisticated investors. In 2019, the broker launched Interactive Broker Lite (IBKR Lite) to service more casual investors and beginners. IBKR Lite gives you access to unlimited free stock trading for all stocks listed on U.S. exchanges.

If you want to invest in other options such as futures and mutual funds, you can still use your lite account but at an extra fee, just like the IBKR Pro account. IBKR Pro is designed for top-notch traders, while IBKR Lite is geared towards beginner traders. Both of these accounts have a $0 account minimum requirement and allow investors to buy fractional shares.

IBKR Lite is free to use and maintain, while IBKR Pro charges an inactivity fee. IBKR Lite users enjoy trading at free commissions, but this is not to say that you need to pay an arm and a leg to trade on the IBKR Pro platform. Commissions for the Pro account are relatively low and manageable compared to average industry commissions.

High-volume traders get a more competitive commission than low-volume traders when using the IBKR Pro. Investors who buy or sell over 300,000 stocks monthly spend as low as $0.0035 per share, and this can go low to $0.0005 per share as monthly volumes increase. With this description, we can say that interactive broker is best for:

• Both beginner and advanced traders
• Day traders and position traders
• Margin accounts
• Informed traders
• International Traders

Interactive Brokers Fees

Commission	Minimum $1 or 1%
Deposit fees	Up to $25
Withdrawal fees	0%
Inactivity fees	Yes

Pros	Cons
Advanced trading platform	High fees
Banking experience	Not the best fit for beginners
Variety of technical study tools
Easy account opening

Or go to Interactive Brokers>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

3. IG- Best U.S Platform with over 17000 Markets

I.G. Trading U.S, Inc. is famous for offering every asset class you may want to think about. The platform gives traders access to over 17000 instruments listed all across the world. This includes all the asset classes we have discussed, like stocks, forex, metals, energy, commodities, and cryptos. U.S. shares on I.G. start at a minimum cost of $0.02 per share, and you will have to spend at least $15 in commissions. I.G. is a good fit for both casual and full-time professional traders. You will find one of the best educational and research platforms across all brokers on the I.G. trading portal.

Clients can try out the different trading platforms made available by I.G. trading, and one can easily upgrade and switch from one platform to the other. I.G. only offers stocks as a CFD for U.S. clients, and hence you may not be able to buy and own the actual stock through I.G. trading. The broker offers multiple deposit and withdrawal options but charges a commission on all credit/debit card deposits.

I.G Fees

Commission	At least $15 on US shares
Deposit fee	0.5% to 1% commission for credit/debit cards deposits
Withdrawal fee	Free
Inactivity Fees	$12 per month

Pros	Cons
Access to over 17000 assets	High minimum deposit of $250
0% commission	High commission on US stocks
Good fit for both	Charges a fee for credit/debit card deposit

Or go to IG>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

4. Saxo Bank- Best Stock Market Brokers Platform in the US

Saxo Bank is a Danish online stock broker that has been sticking around since 1992, facilitating buying and selling of stocks, CFDs, metals, futures, forex, and options. Operating under 8 different jurisdictions globally, Saxo bank stands out as one of the most regulated brokers offering a great deal of safety to its users.

Apart from the U.S., the broker is also regulated in Singapore, Denmark, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, France, and South Africa. Unlike most online brokers, opening an account with Saxo bank can be an uphill task due to rigorous KYC procedures. It takes not less than three days to set up an account with Saxo bank. The stock broker does not charge fees on deposit and withdrawal of funds. Funding your trading account is easy through bank deposits and card transfers.

Saxo bank's online stock broker does not support deposits through e-wallets, so if you are a fan of PayPal, Skrill, or Neteller, you may not love this broker. The broker provides a demo account for clients to practice before they gain confidence to buy actual stocks on the live market. You will need to deposit at least $10,00 to activate your trading account.

Saxo Bank Fees

Commissions	Yes
Deposit fees	$0.0
Withdrawal fees	$0.0
Inactivity fees	Yes

Pros	Cons
18,000+ assets available	High minimum deposits, not less than $10,000
Demo account provided	High inactivity fees
Outstanding research
No deposit and withdrawal fees

Or go to Saxo Bank>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

5. Fidelity Stock Broker- Best stock broker for all levels of Traders

Fidelity stock broker is a long-standing broker that has been operating in the U.S. since 1946. The broker is compliant and conducts business under strict regulations of

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Investors find this broker safe due to their long track records of a successful brokerage business and full compliance to the laid down regulations. Expect commission-free trading when you zero in on Fidelity as your top stock broker in 2021.

Traders looking for a solid research platform will love trading on this broker's platform. A big turn-off is that it's not 100% digital, and not many of us can keep up with that in a world where everything has gone entirely online. You will not be charged any maintenance fees or inactivity fees at Fidelity online stock broker. Account opening is easy at Fidelity, but you will have to wait longer than you may think to get verified.

Verification can take up to a few days, unlike most brokers who approve your account within less than 24 hours. There are no minimum deposits, so feel free to start with any amount you feel comfortable with Fidelity

Fidelity Fees

Commission	0%
Deposit fees	0%
Withdrawal fees	0%
Inactivity fees	$0

Pros	Cons
No minimum deposits	Not fully digital
User-friendly platform	Slow account verification
Long track record	Credit/debit cards not supported
No deposit and withdrawal fees

Or go to Fidelity >

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

6. Forex.com- Best Stock Broker holding multiple licenses globally

Forex.com is a partner company of Gain Capital and is listed to trade on the NYSE. It is a reputable online stock broker holding multiple licenses from different regulators globally. This includes FSA, FCA, IIROC, and FCA apart from CFTC and NFA from the USA. Enjoy free sophisticated trading tools and risk management tools to help you manage your trading and control risks. You can trade with Forex.com web trader, MT4 for P.C., or mobile trading platform. This broker favors both new and professional traders and has remained popular in the U.S. such as:

• Excellent free webinars and trading guides to help users improve their skills
• Demo account to enable users to practice on a virtual market as they get ready to go live
• Low minimum account deposit to activate your trading account. Although they recommend a minimum of $2,500, you are free to deposit amounts as low as $100 for a start.
• Free live trading sessions that have grown popular among its community of traders
• Dedicated customer support via live chat, phone, email, and even SMS.

Forex.com Fees

Commission	0%
Deposit fee	0%
Withdrawal fee	0%
Inactivity fee	$15 after three months of inactivity

Pros	Cons
Good for all kind of traders	High inactivity fee
Excellent research platform	Slow account verification
Free live trading sessions	Credit/debit cards not supported
No fees on deposits and withdrawals

Or go to Forex>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

7. OANDA – No minimum Deposit

Oanda is a leading stock broker in the U.S. ranking in our top ten best brokers to buy stocks in the U.S. 2021. The broker provides a standard and premium account to users depending on one's investment goals. Whether you are interested in a standard or premium account, Oanda will give you access to four types of trading platforms for your convenience:

• Oanda web-trader
• Oanda Desktop
• MT4
• Oanda mobile app

You will have access to multiple technical trading tools that all come for free including trading tools by Autochartist. The Oanda platform is integrated with an economic news reporting system that brings economic announcements right on your trading platform for easy access. Risk-averse and beginner traders may not want to buy stocks on Oanda since the broker only offers CFDs. If you are looking to buy the underlying value of any stock, this is not the broker for you.

OANDA Fees

Commissions	0%
Deposit fees	0%
Withdrawal fees	0%
Inactivity fees	Yes

Pros	Cons
Multiple trading platforms	No real stocks, only CFDs
Outstanding analysis tools	Does not have a banking background
Fast account opening procedures
Advanced but user-friendly platform

Or go to OANDA>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

8. Robinhood – Best Online Stock Brokers and Trading

Robinhood is an online stock broker regulated by FINRA in the U.S. The firm is a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a sign that your funds are totally secure when you choose to buy stocks in the U.S. 2021 using this broker.

Robinhood has grown famous quickly for being one of the first brokers to offer commission-free investing before other established brokers followed suit. It stood out as the only stock broker that offered free trades and is still doing so. If you're looking for a stock broker that doesn't charge you anything to trade, this will be a good choice. There are no commissions on deposits and withdrawals, and they will also not charge you a penny for being inactive.

Robinhood Fees

Commission	0%
Deposit fee	0%
Withdrawal fee	0%
Inactivity fees	$0

Pros	Cons
Commission-free trading	Limited product range
No fees for deposits and withdrawals	Weak customer support
Fast account opening
Great mobile and web trading platform

Or go to RobinHood>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

9. TD Ameritrade – Best Stock Market Brokers with Advanced ThinkorSwim Platform

Ameritrade stands out as one of the most prominent stock brokers on American soil. The broker was founded in 1975 and is regulated by SEC, FINRA, and CFTC. It is one of the best online stock brokers for advanced traders looking for a sophisticated trading environment. It is well equipped with unique trading tools, including the Thinkorswim trading platform.

We find this broker safe to buy stocks in the U.S. in 2021 due to its long and reputable track record spanning over five decades. The broker has a successful banking background and remains transparent by always disclosing its financial records. You will feel limited when it comes to withdrawal and deposit of funds as the broker does not support debit and credit card transactions.

TD Ameritrade Fees

Commissions	0%
Deposit fee	0%
Withdrawal fee	Yes
Inactivity fee	$0

Pros	Cons
User friendly	High withdrawal fees for wire transfers
Advanced trading tools	Limited funding methods available
Good reputation
Commission-free trading

Or go to TD>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

10. Zacks Trade Stock Broker – A Best Stock Broker with comprehensive research tools

Zack Trade is a reliable stock broker in the U.S. regulated by top-tier financial industry watchdogs SEC and FINRA. The broker is a section of LBMZ securities that has been around since 1978 when it was established. LBMZ does not have its own clearinghouse and hence has appointed Interactive Brokers to extend to them clearing and execution services. Anyone who has used Interactive Broker will find a lot of similarities while using this broker.

Zack Trade, however, has its own pricing structure, support, and product selection. Account opening and deposit procedures are seamless, just like what you would expect from Interactive Brokers. Zack Trade is a reputable broker with a good track record in the brokerage business over the years. It's a good pick for traders interested in comprehensive market research tools and an extensive selection of products at low fees.

Zack Trades Fees

Commissions	At least $1
Deposit fees	0%
Withdrawal fees	0%
Inactivity fees	$0

Pros	Cons
Low fees when buying and selling shares	Complex trading platform
Great customer support	Complicated account opening
No minimum deposits	Credit/debit cards not supported

Or go to Zacks>

67% of all retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

What to Consider when Selecting Online Stock Brokers in 2021

Minimum Account Balance

The rule of the thumb is to start small and increase your portfolio with time. Most stock brokers have a minimum deposit of $1,000 or more, and we think it is too high for beginners. The more money you have, the easier it is to diversify your investments; however, you can also lose all that only if you have not yet mastered stock trading properly. Look for an online stock broker in the U.S. that accepts smaller deposits as minimum deposit requirements.

As a newbie in the stock market, you want to start trading on a demo, then move to the small live account of less than $300 before you can begin depositing more funds into your trading wallet. Remember, the stock market is volatile and unpredictable; therefore, you should not invest what you cannot afford to lose. We recommend eToro because the stock market brokers require clients to deposit a low minimum of only $200 before activating their accounts for trading.

Investing Goals

Every stock broker that you come across will have unique features to suit the needs of a specific class of investors. You need to pick a broker that suits your investment goals. If you are a full-time professional trader looking for sophisticated trading platforms, you need to find a broker that offers just that. New traders in the stock market are always advised to start with eToro as they provide a user-friendly platform for beginners and a ton of educational material.

Costs of Trading

All business people strive to reduce their costs of operation while maximizing profits. If you are going to start buying and selling stocks in the U.S., you have to go for the best stock broker in the U.S. 2021 that allows you to trade at a low cost without compromising on the services offered to its customers. You need to be wary of brokers advertising that they offer low trading costs yet have horrible services. Find a balance between trading fees and quality. Higher trading costs can affect your profits. Look at factors such as commissions, spreads, inactivity fees, and charges on deposits when selecting the best stock broker in the U.S. 2021. eToro is the best stock broker in the U.S. for buying stocks in the U.S. 2021 because they offer commission-free trading.

Regulation

The safety of your money is paramount if you have decided to be a trader in the stock market. Apart from account security features such as the two-step authentication, regulation is one of the most critical factors to look at. You do not want to send your funds to a broker that is not regulated in the U.S. Always find the best stock market brokers in the U.S. regulated by one of the bodies mandated to regulated the best online stock brokers in the U.S.

Guidance and Support

In the name of cutting down operation costs, some brokers don't offer quality support to their customers. That is dangerous because you do not want to be in a situation where you are losing your funds, and there is no one you can run to for assistance. As a beginner, you need a broker willing to walk you through the maze of investing. A broker offering quality educational material like eToro will be the best fit in this case. eToro also provides a social platform where different traders can discuss hot trading tips and learn from each other. You can also ...