Online Broker Comparison Chart

Online Broker Comparison Chart | Find The Best Online Broker For You

There are many online brokers out there. Off the top of my head I can name close to 20. As an investor, this can make investing overwhelming.

First you had to overcome your fears and decide to start investing. Now you have to deal with trying to weed through the many online brokers and try to figure out the best one for you.

Fortunately, I did the research for you. I’ve spent hours comparing the top brokers out there.

I’ve opened accounts and made notes of what sets each one apart.

The result is my online broker comparison chart.

The first section is what I consider to be the best brokers out there. They offer tons of services, great customer service, and a good web experience. And all at a good price.

The section below that are great brokers as well, but there are a few things that rank them lower on the list.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t use them. There are great names on this list. But I found other brokers to offer more value to investors.

Once you find the right online broker for you, you can read my full review to learn more or you can open your account.

If you still have questions, check out my detailed online broker review guide. There I give examples of what the perfect investor is for the various brokers.

The Best Online Brokers

How I Rank The Best Online Brokers

As I mentioned above, I personally did the research to create this list. I’ve been investing since 1998 and have invested with many firms over the years.

This list includes:

• Vanguard
• Charles Schwab
• TD Ameritrade
• M1 Finance
• Betterment
• Acorns
• Webull
• Capital One Invest (formerly Sharebuilder)
• Stockpile
• And many more

I’ve also worked in the financial services industry for over 15 years, dealing with many brokers.

Simply put, I have the experience to know what to look for. And I’ve used my personal experience investing with these firms play a role as well.

In the cases where I didn’t have a personal account, I created an account. This allowed me to understand everything there is to know about a broker.

The end result is a massive pile of research.

I then began ranking the various online brokers in different areas, including:

• Account services
• Account types
• Fees
• Customer service
• Ease of use (both online and using a mobile device)
• And more!

From there I assigned a numerical score and ranked each broker independently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Important Investing Terms To Understand

When it comes to investing, there are some important terms you need to understand. By knowing these investing terms, you can be a more successful investor. Also, you will find it easier to pick the online broker that is perfect for you.

• Stocks: A share of stock represents ownership in a company. When you buy stock in a company, you become an owner in the company and share in the company’s profits.
• Bonds: A bond is debt in a company. By purchasing a company’s debt, you earn interest on your investment.
• Mutual funds: A mutual fund is a basket of stocks, bonds or a combination of both. When you buy a share of a mutual fund, you own a small piece of many companies. The benefit to mutual funds is you can invest with less money versus stocks and be diversified at the start.
• Exchange traded funds (ETFs): Exchange traded funds are similar to mutual funds. They are also a basket of stocks or bonds. The major difference is you can buy or sell ETFs throughout the day.
• Index funds: An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange traded fund that tracks an underlying financial index, like the S&P 500. The benefit of investing in index funds is lower fees and you earn close to what the market earns.
• Robo-Advisor: A robo-advisor is a broker that automates investing for you. They follow proven investment theories and invest your money for you. All you do is answer a few questions so they can build a customized portfolio for you. Then you set up a monthly transfer to invest and they take care of the rest for a small annual fee.
• Fractional shares: Fractional shares are partial shares of stocks, mutual funds, and exchange traded funds. For example, 0.45 shares is a fractional share. Fractional shares are common when investing in mutual funds and exchange traded funds. Not all brokers allow for fractional stock investing. This means if you want to buy a share of stock, you need to have the money for a whole share. For example, if you want to buy a share of ABC Company stock and it trades for $25 per share, you need $25 to buy it. If however a broker allows for fractional stock investing, you can buy the $25 stock even if you only have $10. The result here is you will own 0.40 shares of stock.
• Trading commission: Also known as a trading fee, this is the fee a broker charges you to place a trade. In most cases, this fee under $10 per trade and applies to stocks and exchange traded funds. There is not a trading commission on mutual funds. Recently, many online brokers now offer free trades on all trades.
• Expense ratio: An expense ratio is also known as a management fee. It is represented as a percentage and is typically 1.50% and lower. This is the annual fee mutual funds charge shareholders. The fee is used to pay the salary of the management team overseeing the fund. The most important thing is to find investments with the lowest expense ratio possible.

Additional Resources

Here are some excellent posts that go into greater detail about investing and finding the right broker for you.