[Cheapest]8 Lowest Cost Brokers | How To Find The Best & Cheapest Stock Brokers

When you're ready to trade, you have to hope your best bet is to meet a trustworthy and efficient online broker to handle your trading accounts. Since the beginning of time, it has been shown that the purchase of trades and stocks cannot be done through mere bank accounts. You need a brokerage firm. You need able stockbrokers to manage your trading business. There was once a time when brokers were individuals from Wall Street who walked around, handling accounts for people. However, as the world advanced, so did the stock trade, and then, getting a brokerage firm to handle your account became less stressful and cheaper than before. In this article, we're going to tell you all you need to know about stockbrokers, how to find the best and the cheapest brokers online and in real life. Let's get right into it.

Best 3 Discount Online Brokers

The forex industry keeps evolving every day. (I mean, what do you expect?) Most of the time, people buy and sell stocks through online brokers. This has led to a lot of competition. You would see that most brokerage firms offer different fees from others. Some even go as low as zero-commission trading while others mainly provide research tools for veteran stock traders. Sometimes, it can be hard to thin the herd. We've decided to make that super easy for you and show you the top 3 online brokers that also provide the best discount rates.

You might wonder, who exactly are discount brokers and why do we call them discount brokers in the first place? In the wide world of forex trading, stockbrokers have, over the years, been divided into two. This is to ensure proper labeling and a clear insight into what they do without any confusion. Hence, brokers are divided into Full Service and Discount Brokers.

A full-service broker is a human stockbroker. This can be likened to the way things were done in the early days of stock trading when brokers were people you had to find and hire to do your trading for you. Full-service brokers help you place your trade, find investment opportunities for you in the forex market, and even help set up a retirement plan. One major problem with these kinds of brokers was their prices. Full-service brokers charge almost as high as the amount you're planning to invest.

Discount brokers on the other hand are where we're going. Most stockbrokers out there today are regarded as discount brokers as they help with their clients' needs online now without the need to walk around and meet them physically. All they do is help buy a stock or help sell it. Since they do the bare minimum, they can charge the lowest prices which makes them accessible to everyone.

Ameritrade

One of the best discount brokers out there is Ameritrade. Its features include a highly accessible customer support system, in-depth stock research, and highly competitive commission.

Advantages

The service enables trading on $0 stock
Its trading platforms are impeccable
Its highly responsive customer support makes it top-notch
It also allows for the selection, not mutual funds.

Disadvantages
As of now, it does not allow for any kind of trading on cryptocurrency
Its margin rates are high, compared to other stockbrokers.

Fidelity

Even to newbies, Fidelity is not a new name. With its advanced features and easy-to-use interface, this brokerage firm has managed to make a name for itself in the forex world.

Advantages

Fidelity allows for the trading of commission-free stocks. It also allows for ETF trades
Its wide selection of mutual funds makes it stand out from other brokers
One of the most powerful features of Fidelity is its all-in-one mobile app. The app is of high quality and can be easily navigated

Disadvantages

When it comes to options, its fees are always a little higher than its counterparts.

TradeStation

If you're not sure if you want to spend a lot in the forex business and you're thinking of monitoring the progress of your stock all the time, TradeStation may be the right brokerage platform for you

Advantages

It enables the trading of $0 stocks and ETF commissions
It also allows for the trading of futures and cryptocurrencies
Its high-quality trading platform is part of the factors that makes it one of the best stock brokers
It allows for a low account minimum
TradeStation also gives out cash rewards to its first-time account holders. The cash rewards are mostly depending on the amount deposited. They range from $50-$100 to $5000

Disadvantages

One of the problems traders and investors have come across with TradeStation is its high margin rates.

How To Find The Best & Cheapest Stock Brokers

Most of the time, there's not a one size fits all brokerage firm for every stock trader. Sometimes, you need a broker that provides the kind of trading services well suited to your needs. However, to get the best stock broker, there are some features you need to consider

Fees

Most online stockbrokers now charge as low as $0 commissions when they investors and traders trade. Some stockbrokers even go as far as offering free options trading. (This means you wouldn't have to pay a premium fee). This is going to be essentially useful for active traders who buy and sell shares most of the time.

Minimums

Even banks make sure you open your account with a specific amount for it to become active. Even though some stockbrokers don't have any kind of minimum requirement they expect their traders to meet, some do. This is often a way of verifying the fact that you can meet up with the minimal amount for investing.

Trading Platforms

The best stockbrokers have the best trading platforms, period. Most brokers do this by providing an easily accessible mobile application that allows for easy navigation. Others have trading platforms that have full features, AI advisors, and a wide array of research and tools to help with your trading.

Research

A lot of stockbrokers provide services that enable you to seek a second or a third opinion on your shares in a stock. This is important when considering the best brokers. You would not only be able to converse with fellow traders, but you would also have access to a comprehensive selection of research tools to further aid your trading.

How To Compare

As said earlier, there isn't a one size fits all stockbroker for everyone. One investor's needs and demands in a brokerage firm might differ from another. Here are a few things you may also need to consider if you're planning on comparing the best online stockbrokers

- if all you plan to do is buy and hold shares, then a full-on trading platform might not be necessary for you.

- Say you majorly want to invest in mutual funds, you need a broker with a deep background in mutual funding and also has a thorough list. If possible, get one that doesn't charge additional fees for transactions of mutual funds.

- Let's say you're a newb instead and you want to test the waters first by throwing in a couple of hundreds, you need to get a broker that doesn't require a minimum requirement in your account.

- Lastly, make sure you fully compare the fees the stockbrokers charge for other activities such as options trading, bonds trading, and so on.

5 Lowest Cost Brokers

Merrill Edge

One of the things that make Merrill Edge outstanding is its free trades. It also offers tools that enhance deep-rooted research.

Advantages

Availability of enhanced third party research
Integrated with BOA

Disadvantages

Veteran traders may have difficulty in finding securities for sale

Robinhood

Apart from free stock and options trading, Robinhood also offers ETF trades and allows cryptocurrency. It does not have a required minimum before you can open a brokerage account.

Advantages

It allows for trading in cryptocurrency
The minimum requirement to open a brokerage account is $0
The interface is tailored to enhance navigation.

Disadvantages

There isn't much space for customer support
As of now, Robinhood does not allow the trading of mutual funds and bonds
There is no availability of retirement accounts.

Ally Invest

A great option for traders, Ally Invest offers $0 minimum and $0 account trading commission. It however collects a fee of $0.50 on options trading

Advantages

There is no minimum account requirement
A wider selection of tools to aid research and a powerful trading platform
No commission fees on EFTs and eligible US stocks.

Disadvantages

There is no allowance for mutual funds

Webull

This is one of the best brokerage firms for advanced traders due to its availability of advanced trading tools and a trading platform that's easy to navigate.

Advantages