Top 7 Best Brokers for Free Stock Trading for 2024

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To make stock trading more appealing and accessible to everyone, some online brokers started offering free stock trading. That means that they did not charge fees for buying or selling stocks anymore.

We have conducted an in-depth analysis of the commissions charged by the most popular online brokers and identified the top 7 best brokers for free stock trading in 2023.

What is free stock trading?

Before we dive deeper into this article, let’s clarify what exactly free stock trading is. When a broker does not charge fees for executing a trade, this is referred to as free stock trading or commission-free trading. Usually, commission-free brokers do not have inactivity fees or account minimums, but that does not mean that they do not have any fees at all.

Rating of the Top Commission-free Trading Brokers in 2024

Broker Minimum deposit Regulation Markets

eOption

$0.00

FINRA

US

Open an account

Your capital is at risk.
Via eOption's secure website.

Robinhood

$0.00

FINRA

US, International, Europe

Study review

TD Ameritrade

$0.00

SEC, FINRA, and CFTC

The US and a few other countries

Study review

Fidelity

$0.00

SEC and FINRA

US

Study review

Webull

$0.00

SEC and FINRA

The US and a few other countries

Study review

Interactive Brokers

$0.00

FINRA and SEC

US, International, Europe

Study review

Charles Schwab

$0.00

FINRA and SEC

The US and a few other countries

Study review

Free Stock Trading Platforms Comparison

Broker Stocks ETFs Stock Options Account Fee* Inactivity Fee

eOption

$0.00

$0.00

$0.1/contract

$0.00

$0.00

Robinhood

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

TD Ameritrade

$0.00

$0.00

$0.65/
contract

$0.00

$0.00

Fidelity

$0.00

$0.00

$0.65/
contract

$0.00

$0.00

Webull

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

$0.00

Interactive Brokers

$0.00

$0.00

$0.65/
contract

$0.00

$0.00

Charles Schwab

$0.00

$0.00

$0.65/
contract

$0.00

$0.00

Note

None of the above brokers requires a minimum deposit to open a brokerage account, but all of them require a balance of at least $2,000 for margin accounts, except for Fidelity which requires $5,000.

eOption

Open an account
Your capital is at risk.
Via eOption's secure website.

eOption is a U.S-based low-cost broker established in 2017. The broker provides access to trading stocks, ETFs and options at either zero or minimum commission for novice traders and professionals.

For example, the commission for options trading is as low as $0.10 per contract. In addition to options trading, which is the focus of eOption, the broker offers access to trading US stocks and ETFs with zero commission for customers from all over the world.

Among the most significant broker’s awards are THE BEST BROKER FOR LOW-COST OPTIONS TRADING, BEST FOR LOW-COST OPTIONS CONTRACTS.

The commission amount is not based on the trading volume, which makes trading Profitable not only for professional traders, but also for beginners.

eOption’s base rate for margin credits is 7.75%.

The broker offers everything a novice trader may require:

No minimum deposit

User-friendly trading platform

Free Demo Account

Robinhood

Robinhood was the first online broker to offer commissions free trading when it was launched in 2013. Since then, free trading became an industry standard that was implemented by almost every online broker.

Robinhood is regulated by FINRA and lets you trade stocks, ETFs, stocks options, and crypto without commissions.

Commissions: Robinhood does not charge commissions for trading stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, and there are no inactivity fees or account minimum. However, the outgoing transfer fee is $75.

Margin lending rates: To trade with leverage, along with having $2,000 in your account balance, you also have to pay $5/month for the Robinhood Gold subscription. Robinhood Gold also gives you access to advanced research tools such as Nasdaq Totalview Level 2 Market and Morningstar. If you use more than $1,000 of margin, you will be charged a yearly fee of 2.5%.

Robinhood is a free stock trading online broker designed for industry beginners, but experienced traders are welcomed to use it as well. One of the strong points of Robinhood is its small margin lending rates of only 2.5% annually.

TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade is an online stock broker that does not charge commissions for stocks, ETFs, and Forex trading. There is no minimum account balance and inactivity fees. TD Ameritrade has plenty of educational materials for beginners to help them improve their knowledge about trading.

Commissions: As opposed to the previous brokers in our rating, TD Ameritrade charges a fee of $0.65/contract for stock options and $49.99 for mutual funds (Webull and Robinhood do not offer mutual funds).

Margin lending rates: TD Ameritrade has some pretty high margin lending rates at 7.5%-9.5%, depending on the size of the margin.

TD Ameritrade is a great choice for beginners because it has an easy-to-use platform packed with plenty of features and educational tools. However, its lending margin rates are pretty high.

Fidelity

Fidelity is one of the biggest brokers from the US, and it is designed for any type of trader or investor. It used to have some of the market’s lowest fees a few years ago, but now it offers commission-free stocks, ETFs, and Forex trading.

Active Trader Pro is Fidelity's downloadable free trading interface that allows traders to customize their workspace as they like it. Active Trader Pro is also a research tool that helps traders identify new trading opportunities.

Commissions: Fidelity has some of the lowest fees among online brokers in the market today. The only fees it has are the stock options trading fee ($0.65/contract), the mutual fund trading fee ($49.95), and the broker-assisted trade fee which is $32.95.

Margin lending rates: Fidelity requires a $5,000 minimum account balance for margin trading. Its margin lending rates are between 8.33%-4% annually.

Fidelity is a great choice for anyone who is looking for a free stock trading broker that also offers Forex trading.

Webull – The Best Free Stock Trading Broker

Webull is a leading online broker that offers free stock and ETF trading. It was founded in 2017 and has become one of the best brokers in the market since then. It is regulated by FINRA and SEC and provides detailed charting, lots of technical indicators, advanced orders, Nasdaq Level II market data, customization, and more features for its users.

Commissions: Webull will not charge you commissions for stock trading, crypto trading, options, ETFs, or inactivity fees. However, the wire transfer deposit fee is $8 and the wire transfer withdrawal fee is $25.

Margin lending rates: Webull offers 1:2 leverage for overnight trades and 1:4 leverage for intraday trades and the margin lending rate is between 3.99% and 6.99% annually.

If you are looking for a commission-free trading online broker that offers an advanced trading, beginner-friendly platform with plenty of research tools, Webull is a solid choice for you.

Interactive Brokers – The smallest margin lending rates free trading broker

Interactive Brokers is a quite popular free stocks trading online broker that has two versions. One of them is the IBKR Lite which is more suitable for beginners and has no commissions for stock trading. The second one is the IBKR Pro version which is designed for experienced traders but has some very small fees of $0.005/share and a minimum of $1/trade value, but not more than 1% of the trade value.

In this rating, we included the IBKR Lite version because it offers free stock trading.

Commissions: IBKR Lite does not charge commissions for stocks and ETFs. The only commissions it charges are $0.65/contract for stocks options and a very small fee for Forex trading, which depends on the trade value. There are some fees for mutual funds, but there are no inactivity fees.

Margin lending rates: The regular margin lending rate for IBKR Lite is 2.5% annually, which is one of the smallest among online brokers.

IBKR Lite is a very solid choice for beginners who are looking for a free stock trading broker that offers incredibly low margin lending rates and a powerful trading platform.

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab is a great commission-free broker for any type of trader or investor, including beginners and experienced traders especially. It has some of the most advanced trading research tools that help you discover new trading opportunities for free. Also, they offer solid educational materials for beginners.

Charles Schwab will not charge you for stocks or ETFs trading but does not have crypto trading or Forex.

Commissions: Charles Schwab does not have any fees for stock and ETF trading. It does not have inactivity fees and does not charge outgoing transfer fees either. However, it charges $0.65/contract for options and $2.25/contract for futures. The wire transfer fee and the broker-assisted transactions are $25.

Margin lending rates: The margins rates vary between 8.325% and 6.575% annually, depending upon the size of the margin.

Charles Schwab is a very good commission-free trading broker because it contains plenty of educational materials for beginners and advanced research tools available for free. One of its downsides is the lack of crypto and Forex trading.

How to Buy Stocks Online for Free

After choosing a free stock trading online broker that suits your trading needs, you could start trading with it. To start trading stocks, you first must buy them.

We will use the Webull broker as an example. Here are the step-by-step instructions to buy stocks from Webull:

1. Log In or create a Webull brokerage account

Go to the Webull.com website or the Webull app, which is available on both IOS and Android devices, and Log In to your Webull brokerage account. If you do not have a Webull brokerage account, you have to click on the Sign Up button and go through the registration process.

The process of creating a free brokerage account on Webull consists of answering a few questions any other online broker would ask during the registration process, such as your name, birth date, address, nationality, employment and more. New accounts are typically approved during 1-2 days.

2. Deposit funds on your Webull account

To buy stocks, you must have enough money in your brokerage account to pay for them. Here are the steps you have to take to deposit money on your Webull account:

1

Click on the “Deposit” option.

2

Tap on the “Make Your First Deposit” button.

3

Choose one of the two options for funding your account. They are ACH and Wire.

4

As far as verifying your bank account, you have two different ways. You could choose Real-Time Verification or Micro-Deposit Verification, which takes about 1-2 business days.

5

After that, choose your bank from the list of shown banks. If you don’t see your bank, don’t worry, click “More Banks” and search for your bank.

6

Enter your username and password for internet banking.

7

Select the account you want to link.

8

Log In to Webull and select "Deposit”.

9

Type in the amount you would like to deposit.

10

Send in your deposit request and wait for it to be processed. It takes 5 trading days for every ACH transfer to be completed. Webull will add preliminary capital to your account as purchasing power so you can begin trading until your funds are fully settled.

Webull has a promo

3. Buy stocks with your Webull account

Now that your Webull account is approved and you have made your first deposit, it is time to buy stocks:

1

Click on the “Markets” button

2

Now that you are in the Markets section of Webull, you can search for whatever stock you want to buy. Search the stock you want to buy and select it.

3

After you have selected the stock you want to buy, you will see charts and a lot of info about that stock. At this point, you have to click on the “Trade” button.

4

After clicking the “Trade” button, you have to choose one of a few different ways of buying that stock which are Limit Order, Market Order, or you could buy a fraction of the stock for some stocks.

A Limit Order lets you buy a stock at a particular price you would like. For example, if the stock you want to buy is currently $10.5, but you want to buy it for $10.4, you select Limit Order and type in the price you want to buy that stock for and the number of stocks you want to buy. Your order will be automatically fulfilled if that stock reaches the desired price that day and you have enough money in your account to pay for that transaction.

A Market Order lets you buy that stock instantly for whatever its current market value is. All you have to do is type in how many stocks you want to buy and submit the payment. All you have to pay for is the market value of the stock, without any other fees.

To buy a fraction of a share, you have to click on “Market Order” and specify the fractional amount you want to buy. You can only buy fractional shares at the market value because there is no Limit Order for them.

Congratulations! You have just bought your first stock! Good luck with your future trades!

How do Free Stock Brokers Make Money?

Although most online brokers do not charge fees for common trading assets such as stocks and ETFs, they are not charitable organizations, but businesses created to generate profits. So, how do they generate profits?

One of the main ways online brokers make money is through margin lending rates. When traders buy stocks with leverage, the broker lends them the rest of the money required. Then, the traders have to pay a fee that is usually charged monthly. The size of the margin lending rate varies from broker to broker.

Other fees that are charged by online brokers are fees for stock options. A vast number of online brokers charge $0.65/contract. Other common fees are mutual fund fees or broker-assisted trade fees. Some brokers might charge a certain amount of money for wire transactions or account outgoing transfers.

If you want to create a brokerage account to only trade stocks, ETFs, and maybe some Forex or crypto trading, you don’t have to worry about most of those fees as long as you choose a commission-free trading broker.

Methodology

The TU experts have researched the market to identify the best online brokers that do not charge any fees for stocks and ETFs trading and do not have any account minimum or inactivity fees or exaggerated fees for other types of services.

To classify those brokers in our best free stock brokers trading, we paid attention to certain different criteria such as the margin lending rates, the stock options fees, how easy to use they are, and what are their fees for other services. Then, we ranked them based on their overall features.

Webull and Robinhood are our top picks because they are the most beginner-friendly online brokers at the moment and they do not have any fees for stock, ETFs, crypto, and options trading. We have classified Webull a little bit higher in this rating because it does not charge anything for access to advanced research tools as opposed to Robinhood which charges $5/month for such services.

Summary

As a beginner, you should choose an online broker that does not have fees for common trading assets such as stocks, ETFs, or crypto. Another important thing to pay attention to when choosing a broker is low margin lending rates, although it is not recommended for beginners to trade with leverage.

Choosing a commission-free trading platform is not a compromise in the current market because free stock trading is a standard these days and all the online brokers compete with each other to offer the best services to their users.

FAQs

Why should beginner traders only trade with commission-free brokers?

Most traders are more likely to make mistakes and lose some money while trading stocks at the beginning of their trading careers. If they trade with a commission-free broker, they would not have to pay a fee for trade on top of losing money in that trade.

Should I choose an advanced free trading platform as a beginner?

Advanced free trading platforms are tempting to choose for beginner traders who have a long-term vision and would like to diversify their trading assets in the future. However, some of the easier-to-use platforms created for beginners are a better choice because you will learn the basics more efficiently with such platforms.

How important is the margin lending rate when choosing a broker?

First of all, it is not recommended for beginners to trade with leverage because it represents a big risk of losing money. Yes, you should choose a broker that does not charge too high margin lending rates in case you will ever want to try it.

What free trading online brokers are no-brainers for beginner traders?

Although all the brokers we have reviewed in this rating could be used by beginners, we consider that Webull and Robinhood are some absolute no-brainers because they have a very easy-to-use platform for beginners.

Team that worked on the article

Chinmay Soni
Contributor

Chinmay is a certified Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Academy. He is currently associated with a $75 million VC fund and assists them in identifying and researching investable sectors and start-ups. He has completed his Bachelors of Business Administration from the Institute of Management, Nirma University and is currently pursuing MBA majoring in Finance from the same. He has 4 years of hands-on investment experience in a variety of asset classes and his professional qualifications include being a CFA Level 2 candidate and NSE Certified Market Professional Level 2.

He finds writing as a way to express his thoughts and share his knowledge with people eager to learn. He himself happens to be an avid reader of personal finance books and on top of his recommendation list are the international bestsellers ‘The Psychology of Money’ and ‘Think and Grow Rich’

He has this one strong belief as his motto: Life is what you make of it.

Dr. BJ Johnson
Dr. BJ Johnson
Developmental English Editor

Dr. BJ Johnson is a PhD in English Language and an editor with over 15 years of experience. He earned his degree in English Language in the U.S and the UK. In 2020, Dr. Johnson joined the Traders Union team. Since then, he has created over 100 exclusive articles and edited over 300 articles of other authors.

The topics he covers include trading signals, cryptocurrencies, Forex brokers, stock brokers, expert advisors, binary options. He has also worked on the ratings of brokers and many other materials.

Dr. BJ Johnson’s motto: It always seems impossible until it’s done. You can do it.

Mirjan Hipolito
Cryptocurrency and stock expert

Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Mirjan is a cryptocurrency and stock trader. This deep understanding of the finance sector allows her to create informative and engaging content that helps readers easily navigate the complexities of the crypto world.