The 5 Best Online Brokerages

Schwab's acquisition of TD Ameritrade created a brokerage with $9.92 trillion in client assets and, crucially, the thinkorswim platform -- widely considered the best desktop trading software available, with 400+ technical indicators and paper trading for practicing strategies risk-free. But what really sets Schwab apart is their 400+ physical branches. If you are new to investing and want to sit across from a human being who can walk you through opening an IRA or explain asset allocation, no other discount brokerage offers that. Their educational content is extensive, their Schwab Intelligent Portfolios robo-advisor handles automated investing (though it requires a $5,000 minimum), and customer service is consistently rated among the best. The TD Ameritrade migration caused some temporary hiccups, but those are behind them now.

Vanguard exists for one type of investor: the person who wants to buy index funds, hold them for decades, and pay as little as possible along the way. And for that strategy, nobody beats them. Their ownership structure is unlike anything else in the industry -- Vanguard is owned by its fund shareholders, so there is no outside pressure to maximize profits at your expense. Their average fund expense ratio of 0.07% is 83% below the industry average. VOO (S&P 500) charges just 0.03%. Over a 30-year investing horizon, those fractions of a percent compound into tens of thousands of dollars saved. The trade-off is real though: Vanguard's website and trading platform feel like they were designed in 2010. If you want fancy charting tools, fast execution for active trading, or a sleek mobile experience, look elsewhere. For buy-and-hold index investing, Vanguard is the cathedral.

Robinhood made investing accessible to a generation that would never have opened a Schwab account, and their mobile app remains the cleanest, fastest experience for trading stocks on your phone. Two features stand out: 24-hour trading on 900+ securities (buy Tesla at midnight if you want) and IRA accounts with a 1% match on contributions -- effectively free money that no other brokerage offers. Robinhood Gold at $5/month is a legitimately good deal, giving you 4%+ APY on uninvested cash, Morningstar research, and Level II market data. The concerns are real though. Robinhood makes most of its money from payment for order flow (PFOF), which means they may not get you the absolute best execution price on trades. They also do not offer mutual funds, bonds, or futures. For a mobile-first investor who wants simplicity and a few unique perks, Robinhood delivers. For serious portfolio building, pair it with a more full-featured platform.

Interactive Brokers is the platform professionals use, and for good reason. Margin rates starting at benchmark + 0.75% (roughly 5.83%) are the lowest available anywhere -- if you trade on margin, the savings versus Schwab or Fidelity can be thousands per year. Trader Workstation supports 100+ order types, algorithmic strategies, and access to 150+ markets across 36 countries in 28 currencies. If you want to buy stocks in Tokyo, trade options in London, and hold bonds in EUR, IBKR is the only retail platform that makes that seamless. The downside is the learning curve. TWS feels like it was built by engineers for engineers -- powerful but not pretty. Beginners will be overwhelmed. Their IBKR GlobalTrader mobile app is much simpler, but it sacrifices the features that make the platform special. For experienced traders and global investors, nothing else comes close.