The 7 Best Stock Brokerage Accounts in 2025

Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for eligibility and see offer for more details. NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers by assets under management, along with emerging industry players. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. Over 60 investment account providers reviewed and rated by our expert Nerds. Our deep, independent analysis of brokerage firms sorts through key details to find and evaluate the information investors want when choosing an account. The offer limits you to one IRA — rollover, traditional, Roth and sole-proprietor SEP only — and one cash management account.

Acorns – Free $20 Investment (Plus frequent rotating bonuses)

• This list doesn’t judge the overall quality of each brokerage or whether an account fits your long-term investing goals.
• SoFi offers a range of financial products including student loan refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, credit card, insurance, and banking services.
• We took points away from TradeStation for its margin interest rates, which are higher than some of its competitors.
• Whether you’re new to investing or looking for a better experience, you can feel confident knowing these top picks are backed by solid reputations and trusted by millions.

If you’re new to investing, you can start with a small amount of money you’re comfortable losing. You can invest in over 5,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs and over 20 cryptocurrencies on Robinhood. I have found TradeStation to have the best combination of power and user-friendliness of all trading-centric brokerages. All of these choices come with additional complexity in the web-based and mobile platforms, but both applications are easy to navigate. Opening a new Merrill Edge self-directed account could land you up to a $600 cash reward.

SogoTrade combines affordability with robust free trading tools and research resources, making it an attractive platform for some investors. Merrill Edge is best for investors looking for best-in-class advisory services and in-person assistance and is especially useful for Bank of America customers. For over a decade, Robinhood has aimed its sights at new investors, offering user-friendly investing tools and educational resources. EToro is best for investors who want to learn from other investors and develop their own trading ideas based on high-performing traders’ strategies.

The platform provides an easy entry point for those who want to start with smaller amounts of money. Additionally, the company’s mobile app is highly rated, providing clients with access to their accounts on-the-go. Fidelity Investments is another well-established name in the world of finance, with over 35 million customer accounts and $10.4 trillion in assets. I have personally used every single one of the brokerages on this list (and many others) and ranked them based on my experience. You also want to think about what type of account you want to open.

Merrill Edge — Up to $600 cash

Some brokers will allow you to use a debit card to fund your account with cash; then you can buy stock within the account. Banks do not offer the ability to buy and sell stocks in checking or savings accounts. Joel O’Leary is a full-time Personal Finance Writer at Motley Fool Money, covering credit cards, bank accounts, investing, mortgages, and other personal finance topics. Joel has been writing about personal finance since 2018, previously leading editorial content for the How To Money podcast and serving as a resident writer at Budgets Are Sexy. He bought his first rental property at age 18, funding the down payment with savings from his high school job at McDonald’s — a testament to his lifelong passion for smart money decisions. His work aims to make personal finance accessible and actionable for everyday readers.

What are the common requirements to qualify for a brokerage account bonus?

We like the fact that SogoTrade offers commission-free trading on options and stock and ETF limit orders. Plus, you can access a wealth of information through in-house and third-party research. There’s also a free daily newsletter featuring equity analysis and trade ideas. Some users also find customer service to be lacking in quality. On the positive side, many users appreciate Robinhood’s user-friendly interface, which makes trading accessible to beginners. Conversely, many users have criticized Robinhood’s customer service, which can involve long hold times, delays in responses and multiple steps before an issue is resolved.

For each account, review the terms and conditions to see how the brokerage is treating it and you’ll know for certain. Robinhood is a no-commission fee brokerage that will give you free stock (valued $5 – $200) when you open an account and link a bank account. There are no other requirements of the offer, you just need to open an account. Continue reading to review the best brokerage account promotions for new accounts. If you’re moving investments from one brokerage to SoFi Invest via ACAT, you could qualify for a bonus cash reward.

• Charles Schwab is a popular low-cost brokerage known for its selection of mutual funds, outstanding research tools, and solid customer service.
• New Webull customers are eligible to take advantage of one of the most generous welcome offers we’ve seen.
• You can access robo-advisory services and trade during extended hours.
• The bonus applies to new accounts only and must be funded with a minimum of $25 within 30 days of account opening.
• The odds of all stocks being the maximum value are low, but possible.

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However, there are some brokerage firms that set the bar lower — for example, offering a bonus simply for placing your first trade. Brokerages often restrict access to portfolio management to those with significant funds to invest. For example, Fidelity offers wealth management to those who invest at least $500,000, but you only need $10 to start investing with Fidelity’s robo-advisor. Is the broker insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corp.?

eToro Review 2025: Learn Cryptocurrency from Experienced Investors

You can access robo-advisory services and trade during extended hours. Investors will appreciate Webull’s comprehensive and user-friendly desktop and mobile platforms, which offer charting and custom trading tools. As a bonus, the in-app community lets you interact with other investors, participate in paper trading competitions and keep up with market trends. Webull also has a library of educational materials to explore. As a well-rounded brokerage with vast investment offerings and high-quality in-house research and market insights, Charles Schwab is our top pick for online brokerages.

Here are the features you should look for depending on your investment style. TradeStation is best for active traders who will benefit from advanced charting and high levels of customization. Additionally, you won’t start earning interest on your idle cash unless you have a balance of at least $25,000.

Some or all of the card offers that appear on the WalletHacks.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. WalletHacks.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Fidelity is offering a $100 bonus for just a $50 deposit, which is a 200% return on investment, so if you don’t have much money to deposit, Fidelity is a great choice. Open a new qualifying Charles Schwab account with a qualifying referral from an existing Schwab client to earn a cash bonus of up to $1,000.

If you want to make the most out of joining the M1 community, it pays to search for a referral link from someone already on the platform. Let’s run through some of the best broker best brokerage account deals promotions we’ve discovered to put some green in your account on day one. For a limited time, download the SoFi Invest app and open a new SoFi Active Invest account for the chance to earn up to $1,000. To qualify for bonus cash, existing account holders just need to complete the form on this page.

Best for Low-Cost, Straightforward Trading

Acorns is a robo-advisory service and simple mobile app that allows you to round up the spare change of your purchases, and invest the difference. Acorns connects to your debit card, and transfers your change over, investing once you hit a balance of $5 (or more). Also, for traders who transfer investments via ACAT from another brokerage, you could get up to $10,000 on SoFi Invest. Alternatively, you could claim straight cash with a $75 credit if you refer a new customer using this link. From there, you’ll have to find a friend who wants to sign up (go ahead, point them toward our M1 Finance review to learn more about what makes the platform great).

New Webull customers are eligible to take advantage of one of the most generous welcome offers we’ve seen. The brokerage’s match program offers a 2% bonus on your net qualifying funds, in addition to several other available rewards. For these rankings, we specifically considered the bonus amount offered for deposits of $100,000 or less. Some of the brokerages on our list do offer higher cash bonuses, but they require balances greater than $100,000.