There are a lot of trading platforms out there. It is hard to find the best trading platform among them. In this guide, I will share with you a list of the best stock trading platforms that have good user experience and good performance. The rise of stock trading apps for smart phones has made the process easy and very convenient. Once you log onto your best trading platform, you can do short or long trades, sell an option or buy an option. Trading apps are available for free download at both online and offline modes.
Making money through stock market trading can be exciting. You can make money through day trading, intraday trading, and intra-weekly trading. But to start you need access to the best stock trading apps in the market. Here is a list of some great applications in this regard.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers is a long-time favorite among active traders and investing professionals thanks to its rock-bottom commissions and fees, staggering range of tradable products, and powerful platform and tools.
Low Fees, Extensive Market Access
Commissions and fees are sensitive issues for active traders. With $0 commissions the new norm among discount brokers, identifying the players that offer the best value is more challenging. Interactive Brokers’ commissions and fees are very low across the board, and one area where it continues to stand out is in margin interest rates, where the firm undercuts rivals by more than a few percentage points.
Access to global markets is another key strength at this broker. Whether you want to day trade equities on the Hong Kong stock exchange or speculate in futures options on the Mexican Derivatives Exchange, Interactive Brokers makes it possible. A total of 135 markets in 33 countries are available for trading.
Interactive Brokers’ Trader Workstation (TWS) desktop platform offers Level II market data, advanced charting, technical analysis tools, scanners, alerts and Bloomberg TV streaming. Popular features among professional day traders, such as “hot keys,” are also available.
Pros
- Low commissions and fees.
- Outstanding platform and technology.
- Unrivaled range of products to trade.
Cons
- Inconsistent customer service.
- Some may find the complexity of the platform intimidating.
- Look and feel of the client portal could be improved.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab has a long pedigree of helping individual investors, and that tradition remains firmly intact. The company was ranked by J.D. Power from 2016-18 as “Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Full Service Brokerage Firms, Three Years in a Row.” For the 2020 survey, Schwab ranked top among do-it-yourself investors, but it slipped 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 with no commission.
Charles Schwab also has an innovative customer service policy that says clients can get refunds on related commissions, a transaction fee, or an advisory program if they feel dissatisfied.
Pricing: Schwab meets the industry standard on stock and ETF commissions – zero – which it helped usher in. Options trades, though, still ring up a $0.65 per-contract fee.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade’s strength in investor education flows naturally to TDA being one of the smoothest introductions to the market for new investors. There are, of course, brokers that do it cheaper or flashier, but TD Ameritrade has the resources, range of offerings, and the support that will help new investors become better over the long-term. Major factors in choosing TD Ameritrade include the expanded learning pathways covering everything from beginning to invest to advanced trading, and the ability to paper trade on the platform without making any commitment. TD Ameritrade makes a very compelling case for being a new investors’ choice to enter the market because it manages to be a comprehensive and robust platform without being overwhelming.
Pros
- Extensive education section with learning pathways designed with beginners in mind
- Dashboard on mobile and web where clients can quickly access account details
- A range of trading platforms and investment selections for all types of investors and traders
Cons
- Some investors may have to use multiple platforms to utilize preferred tools
- Wide menu of account types can make choosing the right one challenging
- Investors are paid a tiny rate of interest on uninvested cash unless they take action to move cash into money market funds
Merrill Edge
The Bank of America Merrill Lynch effort is a solid addition to the discount brokerage market. Customers are generally happy with the platform, mobile app and MarketPro trading offer. The research and available assets are robust enough to serve the majority of beginning to advanced investors, although professional traders might look elsewhere. Merrill Lynch’s integration with Bank of America opens the door to a wealth of products and services.
tastyworks
Tastyworks remains very competitive on price when it comes to trading options contracts, but what makes it our pick as the best broker for options traders is the focused tools, education, and platforms it offers. Tastyworks isn’t the broker you start options trading on—it is the one you end up choosing once you’ve decided options trading is all you want to do. Tastyworks is optimized for this task in a way that few other brokers are. Options traders will find all the tools and analysis they need during trading sessions, and they can spend their downtime consuming options related content to get ready for the next session.Pros
- All the options tools you need
- Charting is tweaked to options, allowing you to analyze the risk profiles of the combined position
- Fantastic library of original, options focused content
Cons
- If you are coming to tastyworks to trade something other than options, you are in the wrong place
- There is no fixed income trading (outside of ETFs that contain bonds)
- Additional portfolio analysis requires setting up an account with the Quiet Foundation, also part of the tastytrade empire
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity is on a multi-year run as our best overall broker due to its client focused approach. Other brokers are closing the gap, but Fidelity remains our overall pick for investors. In addition to refusing payment for order flow, Fidelity continues to keep costs low, provides exceptional tools to help investors manage and analyze their portfolio, and are always improving the platforms and app to make things easier for the individual investor. One example of this is Fidelity’s cash sweep of uninvested funds into a money market funds to give clients another source of modest returns in their portfolios. Fidelity also has excellent order execution and shares the revenue from the stock loan program back to clients.1 These features, and Fidelity’s commitment to lowering costs for customers while improving returns, are the key reasons it continues to be our selection for best overall broker.Pros
- 97.9% of Fidelity orders are executed at a price better than the national best bid or offer
- Robust research and asset scanners
- Cash is automatically swept into a money market fund
- Rich educational offerings
Cons
- Some traders and sophisticated investors may need Fidelity’s web platform in combination with Active Trader Pro to access all the tools and research they require
- Non-U.S. citizens or residents cannot open an account.
- Fidelity has a wide offering of securities, but no commodities or options on futures.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a relative newcomer, but the online brokerage has made a quick splash, developing millions of devoted followers for its commission-free trading and user-friendly mobile app.
You’ll get no-fee trading on stocks and ETFs as well as options and cryptocurrencies. It also has a cash management account, so you can make a quick transfer whenever you want to trade.
Robinhood’s research tools are less robust (i.e. almost non-existent) than other brokers’ offerings, though you can join their premium tier, Robinhood Gold, for $5 a month and gain access to some research and margin trading. One downside: Robinhood offers only individual taxable accounts, at least for now, though it hopes to expand to joint accounts and IRAs down the road.
Pricing: Not only does the fintech company offer zero-fee stock and ETF trading, it is aggressively striving to disrupt the industry and become a platform that offers all kinds of financial products and services. For example, it also offers free trading for options and cryptocurrency.
Conclusion:
Trading is a hot topic right now, and everyone seems to be confused about where to start. There are so many platforms to choose from. And, different stocks have different rules for where you can buy and sell them. It’s possible to trade stocks for decades without ever understanding how markets work or what a stock even is!