Personal Finance Financial Planning
Written by Tessa Campbell and Rickie Houston, CEPF; edited by Laura Grace Tarpley; reviewed by Elias Shaya
Updated
2024-04-30T18:00:42Z
- Best overall
- Best for active traders
- Best for beginners
- Best for no commission fees
- Best for long-term investing
- Best for expert traders
- Best for banking and stock trading
- FAQs
- Why You Should Trust Us
- Methodology
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Stock trading apps empower investors to buy and sell securities directly from the convenience of their mobile devices. The best stock trading apps provide a wealth of useful features, goal-building mechanics, and accessible trading strategies.
Featured Offer
SoFi Invest
On SoFi's website
Insider’s Rating
4.65/5
Perks Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $10 within 30 days of opening the account. Probability of customer receiving $1,000 is 0.028%. See full terms and conditions.
Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.
Account Minimum
$0 ($1 to start investing); $5 fractional shares; $2,000 for margin trading
Fees
0% for active trading and automated investing
Pros
- No minimum to start investing
- No account or trading fees, and low fees to own funds
- Access to Certified Financial Planners at no additional charge
- IPOs available
- SoFi 1% IRA match
Cons
- No tax-loss harvesting, an advanced investing technique where you sell a stock or mutual fund at a loss for a tax benefit
- No option for stop-loss orders when actively investing. SoFi's active investing account only uses market orders
- Currently only available to US residents
Insider’s Take
SoFi Invest us a great platform for US investors who are looking for an intuitive online trading experience, an open active or automated investing account.
SoFi Invest review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- Promotion: Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.
- App store rating: 4.8 iOS/4.1 Android
- Consider it if: You want an easy-to-use platform paired with rock-bottom pricing.
Best Stock Trading Apps of 2024
- Charles Schwab: Best overall stock trading app
- TD Ameritrade: Best stock trading app for active traders
- SoFi Invest: Best stock trading app for beginners
- Vanguard: Best stock trading app for low-fees
- Fidelity: Best stock trading app for long-term investing
- Interactive Brokers: Best stock trading app for expert traders
- Ally Invest: Best stock trading app for banking and stock trading
Editorial Review of the Top Stock Trading Apps
The best stock trading apps offer flexible trading options, customized portfolios, market research, low fees, and access to beginner-friendly and advanced trading strategies. If you're looking for commission-free trades on assets like stock or ETFs, the best free stock trading apps are the way to go.
Check out the best stock trading apps with low fees, as picked by Business Insider's editors in 2024.
Best overall
Charles Schwab
Insider’s Rating
4.88/5
Perks
Open and fund your account and get $101 from Schwab to split equally across the top five stocks in the S&P 500
Account Minimum
$0 ($5,000 for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios; $25,000 Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium)
Fees
0% ($0 Schwab Intelligent Portfolios; $30/month Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium)
Pros
- No minimums; commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, and options
- Thousands of no-load mutual funds and 50+ Schwab-managed funds; fractional shares (Stock slices) available
- Automated and advisor-managed accounts available
- Multiple trading platforms; stock screeners and other trading tools
Cons
- $5,000 minimum for automated Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is on the higher end
- Schwab's no-load funds have a $100 minimum; some competitors offer lower minimums
Insider’s Take
Insider considers Charles Schwab to be the best online brokerage overall, as well as one of the best online brokerages for beginners. It's great for all types of investors — including active traders, passive investors, and retirement-focused individuals — in search of low costs and access to a variety of trading tools and platforms.
Charles Schwab Brokerage review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- App store rating: 4.8 iOS/3.8 Android
- Consider it if: You want a wide range of account types, with easy-to-use apps and web interfaces
- Awards: Investor's Business Daily recognized Charles Schwab as one of its Most Trusted Financial Companies for 2021.
Charles Schwab
Trade your way with Charles Schwab's robust mobile trading app for stocks and other investable securities. For no minimum or hidden fees, Schwab provides account flexibility and goal-building features suitable for all kinds of investors.
The mobile stock trading app makes viewing your accounts, positions and balances easy. Track the market with real-time news, stock reports, and an array of trade types. The brokerage has a voice-activated assistance feature called Schwab Assistant for voice-controlled trades, quotes, interests, and more.
You'll also have access to the more advanced StreetSmart Mobile. It works well but isn't among the best for the most active traders. But Schwab now owns TD Ameritrade and thinkorswim, an industry leader for active traders. More on that in the next section.
Charles Schwab review
Best for active trading
TD Ameritrade
Insider’s Rating
4.83/5
Perks
TD Ameritrade offers a large range of investment options, including stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, futures, bitcoin futures, and more.
Account Minimum
$0 ($5,000 or $25,000 for managed accounts through Schwab)
Fees
0% ($300 one-time fee and $30/month for advisor-managed account through Schwab); $49.95 or $74.95 for no-load mutual funds, $2.25 per futures contract, and $0.65 per options contract
Pros
- Free commissions on stock, ETF, and option trades
- No minimum requirement to get started with brokerage account
- Large investment selection
- Research and educational resources available
Cons
- No fractional shares
- Robo-advice and managed portfolios are more expensive
- No cryptocurrencies
Insider’s Take
TD Ameritrade is great for active traders interested in using multiple trading platforms. As one of the best online brokerages, TD Ameritrade offers secure storage for investments and other assets.
TD Ameritrade review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- Promotion: None at this time.
- App store rating: 4.5 iOS/3.6 Android
- Consider it if: You want multiple apps for different trading experiences and goals
TD Ameritrade thinkorswim trading platform
TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim is a top stock trading app for active traders. TD Ameritrade features accounts with no recurring fees and no minimum balance. It offers various accounts and investments, including some less commonly supported investments, such as futures, forex, and cryptocurrencies.
Thinkorswim gives you a nearly identical experience wherever you log in, including desktop or mobile. It features advanced charting, trade tools, profit and loss calculations, a live CNBC news stream, and chat support where you can get live help from a TD Ameritrade trading specialist inside the app.
TD Ameritrade review
Best for beginners
SoFi Invest
Insider’s Rating
4.65/5
Perks Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $10 within 30 days of opening the account. Probability of customer receiving $1,000 is 0.028%. See full terms and conditions.
Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.
Account Minimum
$0 ($1 to start investing); $5 fractional shares; $2,000 for margin trading
Fees
0% for active trading and automated investing
Pros
- No minimum to start investing
- No account or trading fees, and low fees to own funds
- Access to Certified Financial Planners at no additional charge
- IPOs available
- SoFi 1% IRA match
Cons
- No tax-loss harvesting, an advanced investing technique where you sell a stock or mutual fund at a loss for a tax benefit
- No option for stop-loss orders when actively investing. SoFi's active investing account only uses market orders
- Currently only available to US residents
Insider’s Take
SoFi Invest us a great platform for US investors who are looking for an intuitive online trading experience, an open active or automated investing account.
SoFi Invest review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- Promotion: Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.
- App store rating: 4.8 iOS/4.1 Android
- Consider it if: You want an easy-to-use platform paired with rock-bottom pricing.
SoFi Invest
SoFi Invest is one of the best stock market brokerages for new traders. SoFi's app is less robust than some larger competitors, which makes it easy to navigate and understand if you don't have as much market experience.
SoFi's stock trading app caters to a broad audience of investors by offering both taxable and retirement brokerage accounts. While SoFi's investment options are somewhat limited, there is a large pool of stocks and ETFs to choose from.
Moreover, SoFi's no-fee automated investing platform, fractional shares (aka Stock Bits), and options trading.
Beginners will enjoy browsing through groups of stocks by category to get ideas for how to invest. The app also includes educational articles accessible from stock account pages. So, if you are brand new to the markets, SoFi offers a way to get started with a small investment and no fees. That's a good combination for learning how to trade stocks.
SoFi Invest review
Best for low fees
Vanguard
Insider’s Rating
4.49/5
Perks
You can trade stocks without commissions here, and Vanguard offers margin accounts and commission-free options trading for more advanced investors.
Account Minimum
$0 ($3,000 for Vanguard Digital Advisor; $50,000 for Vanguard Personal Advisor Services)
Fees
0% (0.20% to 0.30% for professionally managed portfolios)
Pros
- Commission-free stocks, ETFs, and options
- Brokerage, automated, and advisor-managed accounts available
- Thousands of low-cost mutual funds
- Multiple resources with expert analysis and market insights
- Several retirement accounts and services for retirement plan participants
Cons
- Higher options contract fee than other discount brokerages (Vanguard charges $1 per options contract)
- No separate trading platforms for advanced traders; no fractional shares
- No cryptocurrencies
Insider’s Take
Vanguard is a reasonable low-cost option for all types of investors. Whether you're an active trader, passive investor, or retirement-focused individual, you should be able to find what you're looking for.
Vanguard review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- Promotion: None at this time.
- App store rating: 4.7 iOS/ 1.8 Android
- Consider it if: You're a long-term focused investor looking for access to a variety of account types and investment choices.
- Awards: Morningstar gave Vanguard a 'High' assessment in its 2022 Robo-advisor Landscape report, listing it as the #1 platform out of 16 robo-advisors
Vanguard
Vanguard is a low-cost stock trading app known for its low-cost index funds and passive management strategies. Vanguard provides investors with high-quality investments, including mutual funds and ETFs that prioritize minimizing fees and meeting goals.
In addition to its Jack Bogle-created index funds, the brokerage offers commission-free trading on several investments, automated investing through Vanguard Digital Advisor (with the additional choice of one-on-one advisor guidance, thanks to Vanguard Personal Advisor Services), IRAs and other retirement resources, and market research and educational resources.
Vanguard allows commission-free trading. Plus, experienced investors can trade securities on margin for the chance of higher returns. Only advanced traders should trade on margin.
In addition to its iOS and Android mobile apps, Vanguard offers trusts, 529 plans, custodial accounts, small business retirement plans, and more.
Vanguard review
Best for long-term investing
Fidelity Investments
Insider’s Rating
4.86/5
Perks
Fidelity Investments offers a wide range of investing products, including fractional shares.
Account Minimum
$0 ($25,000 Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice)
Fees
0% ($0, $3/month, or 0.35% for robo-advisor)
Pros
- No account minimum or account fees
- No commissions for stock, ETF, and options trades; fractional shares available
- Thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds and fee-free mutual funds
- Several research tools and trading platforms available
Cons
- Fidelity Go accounts cost more for investors with higher account balances
- Representative-assisted trades are slightly more expensive than other brokerages
Insider’s Take
Fidelity is one of the best online brokerages for beginners and retirement savings. It has great features for all types of investors and traders.
Fidelity Brokerage review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- Promotion: None at this time
- App store rating: 4.8 iOS/4.3 Android
- Awards: Morningstar named the Fidelity HSA as the best HSA provider in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
- Consider it if: You're focused on long-term investing and retirement.
Fidelity
Fidelity offers a robust selection of accounts and investment options, making it a good fit for almost any investor. The brokerage is particularly attractive for long-term and retirement-focused investors because of Fidelity's accessible buy-and-hold strategy and goal-building focus. This stock trading app lets you trade fractional shares and much more.
In addition to common tools that allow you to research and trade stocks, Fidelity offers apps and tools to help you reach retirement goals and other long-term plans. For example, the Fidelity Spire app is a goal-oriented app that encourages good saving and investing habits to reach your specified goals.
Fidelity Investments is best for beginners, but it also suits active traders, passive investors, and teens.
Fidelity review
Best for expert traders
Interactive Brokers
Insider’s Rating
4.6/5
Perks
Interactive Brokers provides trading access to more than 150 markets in 33 countries around the world, allowing you to invest in stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, futures, bonds, fractional shares, and more.
Account Minimum
$0 ($100 Interactive Advisors automated accounts)
Fees
$0 for IBKR Lite; $0 IBKR Pro (per-share commissions apply)
Pros
- Low commissions and fees
- International trading opportunities
- Competitive trading platforms and tools
- Several account types available
- Thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds
- Cryptocurrency investing available for bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, and litecoin
Cons
- Less active traders pay more for IBKR Pro
- Website can be tricky to navigate
Insider’s Take
Interactive Brokers is one of the best online brokerages for advanced, active investors who trade securities frequently and value access to market analysis and trading platforms.
Interactive Brokers brokerage review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- Promotion: None at this time.
Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers is a great choice for expert traders looking for a slick, Wall Street-style trading platform. Sometimes called IBKR for short, Interactive Brokers offers multiple types of accounts, including ones that work well for retail investors and professional and institutional investors. It gives investors access to a very wide range of assets, including, of course, stocks.
Interactive Brokers mobile app, IBKR Mobile, is a fully functioning investment platform with advanced trading tools in your pocket. Advanced quotes and research contain 50 columns of data in a very similar format to the desktop platform. It's cutting-edge and works best for those with at least some investment experience.
Interactive Broker review
Best for banking and stock trading
Ally Invest
Insider’s Rating
4.48/5
Perks
Ally's self-directed brokerage accounts also offer commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, and options.
Account Minimum
$0 ($100 for Robo Portfolios; $100,000 for Ally Invest Personal Advice)
Fees
0% (up to 0.85% for Ally Invest Personal Advice; bonds, mutual funds, and certain stocks have fees)
Pros
- No account minimums or commissions for trading
- Automated portfolios free of advisory or management fees; Ally Invest Personal Advice available
- Options contracts only cost $0.50 per contract
- Bank accounts, mortgage refinancing, car loans, and personal loans available through Ally Bank
Cons
- Thousands of mutual funds but no no-transaction-fee mutual funds
- No cryptocurrencies
Insider’s Take
Ally Invest is best for active traders looking for $0 minimum deposits, commission-free investing, easy-to-use trading tools, and 24/7 market access. The brokerage is also great for passive investors in search of automated advice.
Ally Invest review External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."
Product Details
- App store rating: 4.7 iOS/ 3.9 Android
- Consider it if: You want easy-to-use apps paired with excellent investing, checking, and savings accounts.
Ally Invest
If you're interested in a straightforward investment platform that goes hand-in-hand with some of the best checking and savings accounts today, Ally could be the right fit. Ally Invest has no minimum or recurring fees and shares the same login for accounts with Ally Bank.
With Ally Mobile, you can view your investments and enter stock trades with just a few taps. The app includes basic research and charting, recent news, and the ability to enter a trade quickly. It doesn't have as many bells and whistles as some stock trading apps, but it covers the basics and makes it easy to trade for a very low cost.
Investors who prefer automated portfolios might be excited that the Ally Invest Robo Portfolio has a $100 minimum and no advisory fees. The only catch is that it doesn't allow for DIY stock trading; it primarily uses ETFs. The account also automatically sets aside 30% of your portfolio as cash to protect you against market volatility.
It also offers a market-focused, automated portfolio that only sets aside 2% of your portfolio as cash, but this option includes a 0.30% fee. However, its automated portfolios offer 3% annual interest on the cash held in the account.
Ally Invest review
Stock Trading Apps Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best stock app for beginners?
SoFi Invest is the best stock trading app for beginners because it has an easy-to-use interface and stock information. You also just need $1 to start investing, so it's a good app for beginners who don't have much money to invest yet.
What is the best stock app for day trading?
The best app for day trading stocks is probably thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade. It's affordable, and it has advanced trading tools and chat support from a TD Ameritrade trading specialist.
What app should you use to trade stocks?
Most online brokerages and trading apps offer stocks as an investment option. Depending on your level of expertise, personal preferences, and investment goals, the best trading apps for stocks can vary. Some of the best stock trading apps for beginners include Robinhood, SoFi, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.
What trading app is best?
Charles Schwab is our top pick for best trading app for stocks. The best stock trading apps offer low fees, real-time market data, multiple investment options, accessible trading features, and other top-notch investing features.
Why You Should Trust Us: Our Expert Panel on the Best Stock Trading Apps
We consulted financial planners, investing experts, and our own wealth-building reporter to inform our picks for the best stock trading apps.
We're focusing on what makes a stock trading app and brokerage account most useful. When weighing different apps, it's best to consider pricing, investment choices, account types, and investment research resources.
We interviewed the following three investing experts to see what they had to say about stock trading apps:
- Brian Fry, CFP, founder at Safe Landing Financial
- Charlotte Geletka, CFP, CRPC, managing partner at Silver Penny Financial Planning
- Kaysian Gordon, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CPA, wealth manager at Clarus Group
What are the advantages of using an investing app to trade stocks?
Brian Fry, CFP:
Of course, there are going to be different levels of what's offered through these different apps. Some of them may offer light financial planning, or low-cost or transparent investment options.
[It's about] drilling down and finding the app that's going to provide that transparency best and best provide the confidence that one's looking for in planning one's financial future.
Charlotte Geletka, CFP, CRPC:
Investing apps make it easier than it has ever been for the individuals to trade stocks right on your phone.
Kaysian Gordon, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CPA:
[The advantage] is being able to have the research you need to make that decision. Look for the app that's going to give you enough of the information that you need to be able to make a wise decision when you're trading stocks.
What are the disadvantages of using an investing app to trade stocks?
Brian Fry:
When you have free trades, you have to realize that these investment companies are making their money one way or another. So just because it's free doesn't mean it's better.
Cost is definitely something, but when you're looking at free trades versus $5 trades or $10 trades, to me it's all irrelevant. It's really about what's going to be the best user experience? What's going to empower an investor to feel confident?
Charlotte Geletka:
The disadvantage is that [mobile trading access] encourages impulse investing. Numerous studies show that when the retail investor engages in impulse investing and frequent trading he or she ends up with lower than average returns.
Kaysian Gordon:
You want to make sure you [don't have] all of your eggs in one basket. I can't stress that enough no matter how good you think a company is.
Is there any other advice you'd offer someone who's considering using a stock trading app?
Brian Fry:
Most investment platforms offer similar benefits. Choose the platform that best helps you stay on track and identify progress towards your financial goals.
Charlotte Geletka:
Make sure that you have an emergency fund and that you are adequately funding your savings goals. Use your extra money for trading apps.
Kaysian Gordon:
Don't put too much money in one stock that, if you lose the money, you're going to be hurting.
Methodology: How we Reviewed The Best Stock Trading Apps
The best stock trading apps come from brokerages that offer low-fee accounts and feature-filled mobile trading platforms. When compiling the best investment platforms for stock trading, we considered pricing, available investments, account types, and investment research resources. We reviewed more than a dozen platforms.
Business Insider's rating methodology for investment products considers pricing and fees, investment options, account types, investment platforms, investment research, and educational resources.
Junior Investing Reporter
Tessa Campbell is a Junior Investing Reporter for Personal Finance Insider. She reports on investing-related topics like cryptocurrency, the stock market, and retirement savings accounts. She originally joined the PFI team as a Personal Finance Reviews Fellow in 2022.Her love of books, research, crochet, and coffee enriches her day-to-day life.
Rickie Houston was a senior wealth-building reporter for Business Insider, tasked with covering brokerage products, investment apps, online advisor services, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other wealth-building financial products.Before Insider, Rickie worked as a personal finance writer at SmartAsset, focusing on retirement, investing, taxes, and banking topics. He's contributed to stories published in the Boston Globe, and his work has also been featured in Yahoo News.He graduated from Boston University, where he contributed as a staff writer and sports editor for Boston University News Service.
Jr Compliance Associate
Elias Shaya is a junior compliance associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City. Personal Finance Insider is Insider's personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that readers already know and love. The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions. The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up to date and accurate. He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team. Elias has a Bachelor of Science in International Business from the CUNY College of Staten Island. Prior to joining Insider, he volunteered at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he worked with the biomedical engineering department. In his spare time, Elias enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling to visit his family in Lebanon, and spending time with friends.
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