
You want stocks to trade? You would need an online broker. Furthermore, that broker should have a fair minimum of investment, high-quality trading software, comprehensive customer service access, and no secret account fees. The brokerage firms below have won their place on our list of the best online stock trading brokers under these measures.
On the resources that matter most to various types of investors. We analyzed brokerage firms and investment companies. For instance, we’ve found online brokers with low or no commissions and robust mobile trading platforms for active traders. We’ve included the best online brokers for educational tools (including webinars, video guides and in-person seminars). We also included on-call chat or telephone help for individuals venturing into investing for the first time.

How much money do I need to start online stock trading?
It’s not much. Notice that, for both taxable brokerage accounts and IRAs, many of the brokers above do not have account minimums. When you open an account, all it takes to get started is ample cash to cover the expense of a single stock share and, if paid, the trading commission.

What kind of broker do I need?
Trading costs certainly matter to active and high-volume traders, but many brokers are now offering stock, ETF and options commission-free trades. Other considerations can be more important than saving a few bucks when you buy shares. These could be access to a variety of investments or training equipment.
Diversification with minimum investment?
Investing in exchange-traded funds is one simple way. ETFs are basically mutual funds that, much like individual stocks on a stock market exchange, are purchased and sold. Each ETF requires, like mutual funds, a basket of stocks (sometimes hundreds). These meet certain requirements (e.g., shares of companies that are part of a stock market index like the S&P 500). In comparison to mutual funds, which may have large investment minimums, investors may buy as little as one ETF share at a time.
Interactive Brokers
$0
per trade
Account Minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
-For daily traders, Interactive Brokers’ IBKR Lite is a good option: the broker provides international trading features, no stock-trading commission and a premium trading platform.
The Pros
-Selection of major investments.
-Robust analysis and resources.
Over 4,300 mutual funds no-transaction-fee.
-A 0.25 percentage point discount on margin rates is offered to NerdWallet users who sign up for IBKR Pro.
Negatives
-The website is hard to navigate.
-Fees for inactivity on IBKR Pro.
Trade Station
$0
per trade
Account Minimum
$0
Promotion
Up to $5,000
cash credit with a qualifying deposit
ZACKS Trade
$0.01
per share
Account Minimum
$2,500
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Ally Invest
per trade (on eligible US securities)
$50 – $3,500
in cash bonus with qualifying deposit.
$0