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Best Online Brokerages of February 2024 - Business Insider

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Personal Finance Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Investing

Best Online Brokerages of February 2024

Written by Tessa Campbell and Rickie Houston, CEPF; edited by Laura Grace Tarpley; reviewed by Elias Shaya
2024-01-30T16:27:54Z
  • Compare Online Brokerages
  • Charles Schwab
  • SoFi Invest
  • Fidelity
  • TD Ameritrade
  • Interactive Brokers
  • Public
  • Stockpile
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Our experts answer readers' investing questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess investing products). Paid non-client promotion: In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners. Our opinions are always our own.

A brokerage account is like a checking account for your investments. The difference, however, is that brokerage accounts act as both a safe place to hold your investments and a place to access the investment markets. 

The best brokerage company for you depends on the kinds of assets you're looking for, your investment style, and how much you're willing to pay for top-notch trading tools like auto rebalancing, market trades, and real-time market data. 

Here are the best online brokerages as picked by Business Insider's editors. 

Best Online Brokers

Charles Schwab

Best online brokerage overall
Charles Schwab
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Charles Schwab Charles Schwab
Insider's Rating
A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star
4.88/5
Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection.
Perks

Open and fund your account and get $101 from Schwab to split equally across the top five stocks in the S&P 500

Account Minimum

$0 ($5,000 for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios; $25,000 Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium)

Fees

0% ($0 Schwab Intelligent Portfolios; $30/month Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium)

Pros
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimums; commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, and options
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Thousands of no-load mutual funds and 50+ Schwab-managed funds; fractional shares (Stock slices) available
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Automated and advisor-managed accounts available
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Multiple trading platforms; stock screeners and other trading tools
Cons
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. $5,000 minimum for automated Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is on the higher end
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Schwab's no-load funds have a $100 minimum; some competitors offer lower minimums
Insider's Take

Insider considers Charles Schwab to be the best online brokerage overall, as well as one of the best online brokerages for beginners. It's great for all types of investors — including active traders, passive investors, and retirement-focused individuals — in search of low costs and access to a variety of trading tools and platforms.

Charles Schwab Brokerage review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
  • App store rating: 4.8 iOS/3.8 Android
  • Consider it if: You want a wide range of account types, with easy-to-use apps and web interfaces
  • Awards: Investor's Business Daily recognized Charles Schwab as one of its Most Trusted Financial Companies for 2021.
Show Pros, Cons, and More chevron down icon An icon in the shape of an angle pointing down.

Charles Schwab is a major discount broker and one of the largest investment management firms in the United States. Charles Schwab is one of the best brokers for trading commodity futures. It offers a wide range of brokerage accounts and products that meet the needs of virtually any investor.

In addition to offering competitive accounts with no minimum balance requirements and no recurring fees, Schwab is a leader in low-cost pricing for retail investors. In late 2019, Schwab was among the first major brokerage firms to lower commissions on stock and ETF trades to zero.

Hands-on investors are best served by the basic Schwab self-directed brokerage account, which gives you access to a vast array of investment choices. If you want more help, you can sign up for a managed Schwab Intelligent Portfolios account, one of the best robo-advisors. This account also doesn't charge any fees.

Schwab also offers both fractional shares (with a $5 minimum) and its own family of mutual funds and ETFs. This stock market investment app also trades mutual funds that require no commissions or trading fees inside a Schwab account. Plus, while Schwab doesn't offer cryptocurrencies, it provides several alternatives. These include crypto coin trusts, bitcoin futures, and cryptocurrency stocks.

The investment platform has an annual percentage yield (APY) of 0.45% for at least $0.01 balances. 

What to look out for: There are also high phone and broker-assisted trade costs. While online trades are commission-free for stocks and ETFs, you'll pay $5 extra for automated phone trades and $25 extra for broker-assisted trades. Online option traders cost about $0.65 per contract. 

Charles Schwab review

SoFi Invest

Best online brokerage for beginners
SoFi Invest
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On SoFi's website
SoFi SoFi Invest
Insider's Rating
A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star
4.65/5
Icon of check mark inside a promo stamp It indicates a confirmed selection.
Perks

Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.

Account Minimum

$0 ($1 to start investing); $5 fractional shares; $2,000 for margin trading

Fees

0% for active trading and automated investing

Pros
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No minimum to start investing
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No account or trading fees, and low fees to own funds
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Access to Certified Financial Planners at no additional charge
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. IPOs available
  • Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. SoFi 1% IRA match
Cons
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. No tax-loss harvesting, an advanced investing technique where you sell a stock or mutual fund at a loss for a tax benefit
  • con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. ...

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