Investors have a lot of options when it comes to trading platforms. We’re going to walk through the most popular options available and help you decide which online platform is best for you.
Some trading platforms are good for only trading stocks , but others are more versatile and allow trading of cryptocurrency, commodities, options, futures, forex, bonds, ETFs , mutual funds . Choosing the best platform is important to your success. Here are our recommendations .
Interactive Brokers
Industry-Leading Trading Tools and Charting Capabilities; More Than 100 Order Types
Interactive Brokers has been successfully serving the investing community since 1978. The company has created one of the most comprehensive day trading platforms on the market today — one that’s focused on providing industry-leading tools and margins at ridiculously low rates compared to the competition.
The platform, known as the Trader Workstation, is equipped with industry-leading trading tools and charting capabilities and more than 100 order types, giving traders complete control throughout the trading session.
Here are the key stats that makes this traditional brokerage firm one of the best online brokers around today:
- Minimum Deposit: There is no minimum deposit to get involved, making Interactive Brokers accessible to everyone.
- Tools: The charting capabilities offered through the platform are second to none, giving the trader access to all indicators needed for quality technical analysis. Beyond the charting capabilities, the platform supports backtesting, making it possible to see how a new trading strategy you’re considering employing would have performed in real-time market scenarios based on previous market data.
- Assets Available to Trade: The platform offers access to a wide range of assets, offering everything from stock trading to forex trading to commodities, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, hedge funds, and options trades, making it one of the most diverse platforms on the market.
- Cost: When trading domestic stocks on the platform, you’ll gain access for free with no minimum balances or inactivity fees, but you will still be required to cover regulatory fees, which work out to a small fraction of a penny per trade. When trading international stocks, you’ll be charged commissions at a fixed rate based on the country the stock is being traded in, according to the company. Interactive Brokers also offers highly competitive rates on options contracts, forex, and other assets traded on the platform.
- Margin Trading: Margins are where this particular platform really shines. Not only are these specialty accounts offered, they come with industry-leading margin rates, ranging from 0.5% to around 9% depending on the asset being traded and the size of the margin loan. This gives you the opportunity to access leverage at a discount to industry averages.
- Available Order Types: Using the Trader Workstation developed by the firm, traders have access to more than 100 order types and algorithms, giving you the maximum number of ways to take advantage of opportunities in the market.
- Customer Support: Interactive Brokers’ customer support is exactly what you would want to see. The staff is knowledgeable and eager to answer your questions.
Overall the trading experience offered through this platform is second to none. Designed for the most active traders, the platform comes with best-in-class trading software, technical indicators, and charting capabilities. Combine this with industry-leading low margin fees, a multitude of order types, and an intuitive mobile application that allows you to take your trading on the go and you have one of the best platforms available.
Webull: Best Stock Trading App for Beginners
- Available via desktop, Apple iOS and Android App on Google Play
- Best For: Self-directed investors and intermediate traders
- Sign up here
Webull first hit the investing world in 2018 by offering free stock trading in addition to free trades of ETFs, options and cryptocurrencies.
The company provides you the ability to trade on your smartphone, tablet or desktop, track your stocks and charges no commissions for the trades you make in your portfolio.
It also recently began allowing fractional shares for you to buy smaller portions of stocks with higher share prices.
Why Choose Webull to Trade Stocks?
Webull also provides you access to several powerful tools useful for in-depth trading analysis. These easily make the service one of the best stock research and analysis apps for conducting technical analysis.
For traders, in addition to the commission-free trading and analytic tools, the brokerage offers a subscription to Nasdaq TotalView for $1.99/month, allowing you to see Level II quotes.
This can help you to gain a better sense for the full supply and demand for a stock outside of the national best bid offer (NBBO).
These advanced quotes will provide you with a deeper look into the market for understanding market direction and any potential supply and demand imbalances for a stock you pick.
If these account features sound attractive, the best part might also come with knowing setting up a Webull account is free and comes with no account minimums you must meet or maintain.
If all the free listed above isn’t enough, Webull also runs frequent promotions which involve you receiving free stocks.
Read more in our Webull review.Our Self-Directed Investing App PickWebull | No Minimums, Free Trades
- The Webull app offers free equity and option trading, advanced reporting and in-depth analysis.
Robinhood
- Available via desktop, Apple iOS and Android App on Google Play
- Best For: Investors looking for a simple, no frills investing platform
- Sign up here
Robinhood became the first free stock app to slash trading commissions to $0. This shook up the industry and caused several competitors to rethink how they make money and follow suit.
Many merged as a result in the hopes of shedding costs and remaining competitive to this investing startup.
Likewise, many new apps like Robinhood have cropped up in recent years, many of which feature on this list.
The service boasts free stock trading alongside index funds, options, penny stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Robinhood’s app offers a simple and easy-to-use design. There aren’t numerous features called out to distract you from what you are using the app to accomplish: trade commission-free.
Like Webull, Robinhood has no fees upon account opening and includes no minimum balance requirements. These brokerages have been at the vanguard for eliminating the common barriers associated with investing in the stock market.
Consider signing up for a Robinhood account to see what you think. The company makes it worth your while by offering a free stock for signing up.Robinhood | Commission-Free Trades, No Minimums
- Robinhood is an investing app famous for its commission-free trades on ETFs, options and cryptocurrency.
- It has no account minimums and comes with a free stock upon signing up for the service.
eToro
eToro is considered the best social trading platform and is the world-leading copy trading broker. It offers zero-commission trading and is excellent for beginners.
eToro features include:
- Graph trading scenarios
- Trading in US dollars
- Social newsfeed with open trading discussions and notifications
- Valuable trading education
- Trader matches depending on your needs and trading style
It is not listed, nor does it have a banking licence or public information regarding its financial information. However, it is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pepperstone
Pepperstone brokers only in forex (foreign exchange) and CFD (contract for differences).
It requires no minimum deposit and offers low trading fees.
Login procedures for mobile, desktop and web platforms are not as secure as they could be. However, they are customisable and user-friendly.
Pepperstone offers fantastic market analysis and trading ideas, but the news flow is basic. The educational tools are adequate.
Customer service is available via phone, email and live chat, and all queries are answered in a very timely manner.
It is not listed on the stock exchange, nor does it have a banking licence, but it is regulated.
Risk warning: Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
TradeStation: Best for Intermediate to Advanced Traders
- Available via desktop, Apple iOS and Android App on Google Play
- Best For: Advanced traders, Options and Futures traders, Active stock traders
- Sign up here
TradeStation is a powerful stock trading app and platform which comes with analytic tools useful to seasoned professionals and new traders alike. The platform comes equipped with brokerage services and trading education resources recognized by respected industry reviewers.
Much like every other online broker found on this list, the free stock trading app charges no commissions for stock and ETF trades and low fees on options and futures contracts.
TradeStation caters to its target audience: advanced, active and technically-minded traders. Beginning traders likely will be overwhelmed by this service and may even face fees.
The technical tools and screeners provided by TradeStation are all at or near the top of the class, making it the best stock trading platform for advanced traders on this list.
What Makes TradeStation Different?
TradeStation is one of the most high-powered stock trading platforms on this list.
The stock trading platform helps you analyze stocks, options, ETFs, futures, and crypto markets. If you open a TradeStation brokerage account, you can use the company’s robust TradeStation Analytics platform for free.
You have access to backtesting, historical intraday data, and extensive charting capabilities.
TradeStation Analytics helps you to find the right opportunities in real-time, when to get into and out of trades and discover hidden opportunities with technical analysis.
You can use the free stock trading app to monitor and rank up to 1,000 ticker symbols in real-time with access to more than 180 technical and fundamental indicators useful for valuing a stock and identifying likely price action.
If you’d like to purchase the analytics software without using the platform for making your trades, you can pay a monthly fee of $99 for non-professionals and $199 for professional subscribers.
Conclusion
There is a very good and entertaining way of making money on the internet. One of the most successful ways of doing so is by trading stocks and shares. A simple google search will tell you how to get started, but we found this method of looking at things too complicated, which resulted in us losing a lot of money due to misinformation. That’s when I decided to do some research online for a good summary that told me how to do something really simple in a clear cut manner.