Fidelity’s content seems geared toward budgeting, paying off debt and working investing into your day-to-day personal finances. If you feel like you’re falling behind in your investment knowledge, don’t worry. Wherever you are in your personal finance journey, there’s no better time to brush up on your investing knowledge than right now. By taking the time to seek out the best online stock brokers for beginners to jumpstart your portfolio, you’re already well on your way to making a splash in the markets.

  • With a vast network of in-person branches and decades of expertise in financial markets, J.P.
  • For instance, some brokers offer excellent options for retirement planning, such as IRA accounts.
  • Discount brokers, such as E-Trade and Interactive Brokers, offer fewer services but charge lower fees.
  • Below, we breakdown the top online brokers that cater to beginners, highlighting their standout features, fee structures and the advantages they bring to first-time investors.
  • With low expense ratios, Schwab’s index funds are a cost-efficient passive investing option.
  • Fidelity Wealth Management offers a dedicated Fidelity advisor who can make trades on your behalf, for an advisory fee of between 0.50% and 1.50% of your portfolio value annually.

Best for Community Engagement: SoFi Invest

He is a long-time active investor and engages in research on emerging markets like cryptocurrency. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from San Francisco State University. The online platform that is best for a beginner depends upon a number of factors, including that person’s investing timeline, risk profile and financial knowledge. Some investors look to their investments as a source of income while others use it as a means to grow or preserve their wealth. Take your financial goals into best online stock brokers for beginners consideration when selecting a broker and make sure it can accommodate your objectives.

Fidelity Smart Money℠

Some brokers offer retirement accounts, like IRAs, which can provide tax advantages for long-term investors. Additionally, some brokers offer fractional shares, which allow you to buy a portion of a stock instead of a whole share. This can be a great way to invest in high-priced stocks with a small amount of money. Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro platform is user-friendly and has many useful features for beginners. Fidelity also offers fractional share trading, which allows users to trade and invest in more than 7,000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) using very small sums of money.

Best mobile trading app for beginners – E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Some stock trading apps offer webinars, courses, and forums, too, adding a community element to investing. Though it’s probably best known for retirement accounts and mutual funds, Vanguard is a great starting point for a comprehensive investment experience. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is our top pick for new stock traders. Backed by one of the biggest names in the financial industry, the platform provides new investors with a simplified trading experience, security, and affordability. A taxable, self-directed account where you buy and sell individual stocks is different than a retirement account. For a self-directed account, you might prefer to use a brokerage firm with an easy-to-use app to make daily trades.

However, investors requiring more sophisticated tools or a more streamlined interface might find it less accommodating. While it lacks the advanced features of some competitors, its streamlined design makes it ideal for beginners who want a no-frills experience. If your primary focus is straightforward stock and ETF investing, SoFi® provides everything you need without unnecessary complexity. To help you get started, we’ve reviewed over 45 brokers to find the best beginner options, with many folks on our team actual users of these platforms themselves. Most brokerages let you link your bank account for quick and convenient funding.

Our writers have collectively placed thousands of trades over their careers. To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on how Forbes Advisor rates investing products. Additionally, we paid close attention to platform and technology and commissions and fees. The value of keeping track of your ideas and journaling which trades you make is widely recognized as key by successful traders.

Robinhood is on a mission to “democratize finance for all” by making it easier to access financial markets. Robinhood’s mobile app delivers on this promise as one the cleanest, easiest-to-use mobile investing platforms in our tests. Using the screener tool for mutual funds, users can search thousands of funds, including Fidelity’s own fee-free funds and those with low minimum investment requirements. Similarly, the ETF screener tool allows users to scan more than 2,000 commission-free ETFs based on their interests. The educational offerings at TD Ameritrade are second to none, ranging from in-person workshops to fully immersive curriculums, articles, videos and webcasts. Progress tracking and gamified elements help keep users engaged in courses, whose topics include everything from technical analysis and income investing to options trading.

Do I need a lot of money to use a broker?

The amount of money needed to open a brokerage account varies by firm. While some stock brokers require a minimum deposit, others have no minimum at all, which is increasingly becoming more common. Fidelity offers a lost-cost online brokerage service that features $0 commissions and lets you buy stocks for as little as $1. If you have over $500,000, you can qualify to work with Fidelity Wealth Management.

This helpful learning tool is popular with beginners and is a great way to practice stock trading without risking real money. Brokers, also referred to as brokerages or stockbrokers, are middlemen who help people access the stock market. They buy and sell securities in financial markets on behalf of their clients. For the vast majority of people today, brokers are almost exclusively online services accessed via the internet, which is why they’re called online brokers. The jewel in TD Ameritrade’s crown is the powerful yet user-friendly thinkorswim platform.

Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners in April 2025

Fidelity is a well-rounded brokerage that offers everything a beginner needs for long-term investing. It features a wide range of funds with no minimums, making it easy to start small. Fidelity is particularly known for its research tools and detailed educational content, helping beginners learn as they grow their portfolios. For those looking to expand their portfolios, Public offers access to over 300 select over-the-counter (OTC) stocks, primarily focusing on large-cap international companies.

Know Your Goals

Here are the top factors to consider when looking for the best trading platform for beginners. When you make a trade on your online stock broker’s web portal or mobile app, you’re requesting that a trade be placed on your behalf. When your broker receives your trade request, it sends the request to an exchange or a market-maker firm where it’s matched up with a buyer or seller of the same security. Paper trading, or virtual trading, is a trading platform feature that enables the trading of stocks, ETFs, and options with virtual currency (fake money).

  • He founded TradersLog.com, which has received tens of millions of page views to date.
  • Yes, you can teach yourself to trade, provided you have realistic expectations and stay at it through a full market boom-and-bust cycle.
  • J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing doesn’t charge commissions on trades (with the exception of options contracts) and doesn’t require an account deposit of any size on day one to open an account.
  • We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and companies, so all are measured equally.
  • These are ways you can grow your money beyond collecting interest in a savings account.

Best for customer support and financial planning – Fidelity

That means you can buy $10 worth of Apple or Tesla if that’s all you want to invest. Robinhood doesn’t give you the full suite of investment options you might find at other firms if you’re an advanced trader, however. Charles Schwab is my pick for the best brokerage for beginners, offering an ideal balance of education, ease of use, and affordable investing options. The Schwab Mobile app and web platform are intuitive and beginner-friendly, making it easy to get started.

They typically provide a trading platform, research tools, and educational resources, but they don’t offer investment advice or portfolio management. Discount brokers are a good choice for self-directed traders who prefer to manage their own investments. The best stock brokers for beginners provide the right balance of simplicity, educational resources and low costs to help you get your foot in the door. Whether you’re looking for a platform to learn the basics or want something that offers advanced tools as you grow, there’s a broker on this list. At Public, stock and ETF trades are commission-free, offering $0 commission trading on self-directed individual cash brokerage accounts that trade U.S. listed securities placed online. While trades are free of commissions, other fees may apply, such as regulatory fees, subscription fees, wire transfer fees and paper statement fees.

We want to help you make personal finance decisions with confidence by providing you with free interactive tools, helpful data points, and by publishing original and objective content. The other option is to open a Managed Portfolio, which will put your investment goals in the hands of a robo-advisor. When you sign up for Ally Invest, you can opt for Self-Directed Trading, which comes with plenty of research tools geared toward DIY investors, or elect to open a Robo Portfolio. Ally is arguably the best-known online-only bank, but it also operates as a full-service broker through Ally Invest. There’s also a Digital Advisor platform if you’re looking for a robo-advisor account.

Schwab offers $0 stock and ETF trades, as well as access to thousands of fee-free mutual funds. Schwab also offers options trading for only $0.65 per contract, and futures trading for $2.25 per contract. Fidelity earns its spot as the third-best brokerage account for 2025 and distinguishes itself as one of the most versatile online trading platforms I’ve tested. From beginner investors to active traders, Schwab doesn’t just provide a high-level answer; it delivers a solution designed specifically for your needs.