Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners 2025

What is a brokerage account?

A brokerage account is a taxable investing account that allows you to trade stocks, bonds, and other assets. You can open these accounts with banks, robo-advisors, or online brokers, and you generally don’t need a large upfront deposit to get started. Opening the best brokerage accounts in the United States can be your gateway to the dynamic world of stock trading.

Types of investment products

Within your brokerage account, you can buy and sell various investment products, catering to those looking for the best way to buy stocks or explore diverse assets.

Stocks

When you invest in stocks, you’re buying the shares of a public company. There are thousands of stocks to invest in, such as those listed on the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Penny stocks. The prices of these stocks will change depending on supply and demand and how the public feels about the stock or company. 

Investing in individual stocks can be risky but has the potential for large returns. A major benefit of stocks vs. many other investments is that there’s often no management fee to worry about, making it an attractive option for users of the best stock trading app.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund where a group of investors pool their money together to buy various securities. Each ETF will be made up of several different investment products, including stocks and bonds. As a result, buying ETFs can be an easy way to diversify your portfolio, appealing to users of best trading platforms.

ETFs are traded on an exchange like stocks. Some ETFs will be 100% stocks for potentially better returns (but much higher risk), while others may be 80%, 60%, 40%, or even 20% stocks, with the level of risk gradually reducing in proportion to the portion of stocks included in the ETF.

Mutual funds

Another investment product to consider from online brokers is a mutual fund. Mutual funds pool together money from a collection of investors, and then use those funds to invest in different assets. These are managed by a fund manager who chooses what securities the fund will invest in.

Mutual funds can offer a diversified portfolio, and can be suitable for those who don’t want to decide on their own specific investment strategy. Some mutual funds can have relatively high fees, but those looking for a similar product with fewer expenses involved can consider index funds, which are low-fee and designed to track the returns of a market index, such as the Dow Jones.

Bonds

A bond is when an investor loans money to either a company or the government, and is paid a stated interest rate over the course of the loan. The bond sets forth the dates of repayment and interest attached. Bonds are sometimes used by lenders as a measure for periodic adjustment of interest rates of loans, including mortgages.

Certificates of Deposit (CD)

A Certificate of Deposit (CD) is a product where you keep a fixed amount of money in a savings account at a bank for a set period of time without touching it. Once the set period ends (whether that is three months or five years), you get the money back, plus interest.

The interest rates for CDs may not earn as high a profit as other forms of investments, but they are considered to be a low-risk investment with fixed interest rates known at the time of deposit. CDs are commonly used for people to invest funds that they don’t need access to for the next few months or years.

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Online Brokers vs. Traditional Brokers

When choosing a brokerage, you have two main options: online brokers and traditional brokers. Online brokers, often seen as the best way to buy stocks, offer convenience and usually lower fees. They are ideal for self-directed investors comfortable with making their own decisions. Traditional brokers provide personalized advice and are suited for those who prefer a more hands-on approach.

Benefits & disadvantages of opening a brokerage account

There are plenty of reasons to consider opening a brokerage account, especially when exploring the best investment platforms. First of all, working with an online stock broker is incredibly convenient. Many allow you to access your accounts online or through an app, making them contenders for the best stock market app. Transferring money in and out is quick and easy. Usually, accounts also offer great liquidity, if they allow you to sell assets and withdraw the profits at any time.

Brokerage accounts provide you access to thousands of investment products, and investing in these products could provide much better returns over time than a traditional fixed-interest savings account. Most have no contribution limits, no income limits, and fewer rules and restrictions than retirement accounts like a 401(k) or IRA.

Another major benefit is the flexibility of a brokerage account. Some investors may use it to bolster retirement savings, while others may use it to work towards a down payment or other large purchases. You get full control over how much you invest, what you invest in, and how long you invest.

Many online trading broker accounts may offer investment research tools to improve your knowledge and give you the motivation to try out different strategies, ideal for those using the best trading app for beginners.

What to consider when investing

When investing, there are a couple of things you should consider to ensure you’re making the right choices.

Age/investment horizon

Your age and how long you have to invest can influence your choices. If you are older and nearing retirement, you may want to cash out your investments sooner rather than later, and in such case you should consider how much risk you are willing to take. Those who are younger may feel more comfortable in risking some short-term loss for long-term gain.

Investing Strategies for Different Life Stages

Starting Out (Ages 20-30)

In your 20s, time is on your side. Consider starting with a robo-advisor for a hands-off approach or use the best trading app for beginners to get your feet wet. At this stage, focusing on stocks and ETFs can be a smart move, as you have time to weather market fluctuations and aim for higher returns. Think about contributing to a 401(k) or an IRA to begin building your retirement savings early.

Building Wealth (Ages 30-50)

This is your prime earning period. You might want to start diversifying your portfolio through mutual funds or bonds, in addition to stocks. Using one of the best stock trading platforms can help you manage a more complex portfolio efficiently. Consider balancing higher-risk investments with more stable ones, keeping in line with your risk tolerance and investment goals.

Pre-Retirement (Ages 50-65)

As retirement approaches, it's wise to shift towards more conservative investments. You might want to move some of your assets into bonds or certificates of deposit (CDs), which offer more stability. Reviewing your portfolio with a financial advisor and adjusting your strategy with the best investment platforms can be beneficial in ensuring a comfortable retirement.

Retirement (Ages 65 and Up)

In retirement, your focus should be on preserving wealth and generating income. Investments like bonds and dividend-paying stocks can provide a steady stream of income. It's important to monitor your investments and adjust as necessary, but with a more conservative approach to protect what you've earned.

Your risk tolerance

It is worthwhile to consider your risk tolerance in advance before investing together with your investment goals. Those who aren’t comfortable with risk may want to avoid investing in assets considered as volatile like cryptocurrency and may instead prefer products that involve diversified portfolios or pre-defined interest payments.

Navigating Market Volatility

Investing always comes with risks, especially when it comes to stock trading. Market volatility can be unsettling, but it's a normal part of investing. Here's how you can navigate these challenges:

- Stay Informed: Use the best stock market app to keep track of market trends and news.

- Diversify Your Portfolio: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Diversification can help mitigate risk.

- Think Long Term: Avoid making impulsive decisions based on short-term market movements. Remember your long-term investment goals.

- Consult Professionals: If you're unsure, consulting with a financial advisor can provide clarity and direction.

Investment goals

The goals you have, and what you want from your investments, can dictate how you invest. Some people may want to make multiple daily trades in stocks, while others are comfortable with long-term investments which could potentially bring slow and steady growth over time. 

Both are viable, but you need to have your goals in mind from the start so you can buy the right products to help you reach them.

Your personal finances

Your own budget, your savings, and how much you earn should be considered before investing. Some people can afford to invest hundreds or thousands each month, while others may be a little more restricted. Also, some investments (like real estate) may only be options for those with a large amount ready to invest.

It’s advisable to only invest money you can afford to lose. The last thing you want to do is end up investing the money you need for rent or groceries, so always try to keep track of what you can afford. You can always consult an investment adviser to help you determine your budget and risk appetite.

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How to invest in a brokerage account

If you want to get started with investing in a brokerage account, there are a few steps you’ll need to take.

1. Find the right brokerage

The first step is to find the right brokerage to work with. There are many companies in the brokerage business, so you have options. You can open an account with a traditional bank, choose a full-service broker, or choose an online discount brokerage.

There’s no right or wrong answer, and your choice depends on your investing goals, your experience, and how much assistance you want. While some may look for the best, fully-featured day trading platform, others might want a straightforward online brokerage with only basic features included.

Also, make sure to do research on the firm you’re considering to ensure it meets your needs in terms of fees, available products, and more. The best online brokerage for one person won’t automatically be the best for the next.

2. Sign up/apply

Once you’ve chosen the trading platform suitable for your needs, you need to apply. Most brokerages allow you to fill out an online application to sign up. These rarely take more than 15 minutes and are usually easy to follow.

You’ll normally need to provide your personal information, your social security number, your employment information, your financial information, and your investment objectives. In some cases, you may be able to access your account instantly, while others may take some time as the company verifies your identity.

3. Fund your account

Next, you’ll need to add funds to your account in order to invest. Most platforms make this easy as you can link your bank account directly to the brokerage account. This lets you move money in and out whenever you see fit.

4. Choose your investment

Once your account is funded and you’re all set up on your chosen stock trader app or platform, it’s time to choose your investments. Whether you already know what you want to invest in, or want to check through available options, most brokerages make it easy to complete your first trade and you can consult a professional for investment advice before making a decision.

Conclusion

If you want to build your wealth and save for the future, a brokerage account is worth considering. These convenient accounts provide a ton of flexibility to transfer funds in and out as you please, in addition to letting you invest in many different products, without having to worry about contribution limits.

Most are free or very affordable to open, and the process for getting started is straightforward. Whether you’re saving for retirement, building up a down payment, or wanting to try your hand at day trading, a brokerage account has a lot to offer.

Investing is a journey that evolves with your life stages and goals. Whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned investor, there's always a strategy that fits your needs. Utilize the best trading platforms and stay informed to make the most of your investments. Remember, the key to successful investing is a well-thought-out strategy aligned with your life stage and goals.

Disclosures

SoFi

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

¹Offer valid from 12/15/25 through 1/2/26. Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $50 within 45 days of opening the account. Receive a minimum of $15. Probability of member receiving $3,000 is a probability of 0.026% If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Percentages for the $3,000 are subject to decrease. See full terms and conditions.

²SoFi Plus members can schedule an unlimited number of appointments with a financial planner. For complete SoFi Plus eligibility, please see the SoFi Plus terms.SoFi members who do not meet the SoFi Plus eligibility criteria can schedule one (1) thirty-minute appointment with a financial planner. Members can only schedule an unlimited number of appointments with a financial planner during periods in which the member meets the SoFi Plus eligibility criteria. The ability to schedule appointments is subject to financial planner availability. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this benefit at any time with or without notice. Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth’s advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth’s current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov

³SoFi Plus members are eligible for a 1% match on recurring deposits received into a SoFi Invest® account. For complete SoFi Plus eligibility, please see the SoFi Plus Terms.

Members can only earn the 1% match for periods in which a recurring deposit is received into a SoFi Invest® account and the member meets the SoFi Plus eligibility criteria. "Recurring deposits" refer to ACH transfers scheduled with a frequency of weekly, every two weeks, or monthly into either an Active SoFi Invest® account or a SoFi Wealth Automated Investing account. Regular deposits set up from a SoFi Checking & Savings account using Autopilot are eligible for the bonus. One-time transfers are excluded from the bonus. If funds are withdrawn and later redeposited manually into the SoFi Invest® account, the manual deposit will not be eligible for the bonus. Offer can be combined with SoFi Invest 1% IRA match.

Funds must remain in the SoFi Invest® account for two years to be eligible for the bonus. If the deposit is removed prior to the end of the two-year Eligibility Period, SoFi, at its discretion may remove the corresponding proportion of the 1% Match from the member’s account. For instance, if $1,000 was deposited receiving a $10 rewards points match and $500 was withdrawn in a subsequent month, SoFi may remove $5 in rewards points from the bonus. SoFi reserves the right to liquidate securities to pay for the removal of the Match bonus. Further, SoFi may bill this to a receiving firm in the event of an account transfer.

Bonus amounts are calculated on the total net recurring inflows (incoming recurring ACH transfers less outgoing transfers) per calendar month. For example, if a member has a recurring Invest deposit of $1,000 on 11/4/2024 and withdraws $500 on 11/15/2024 and makes no other deposits or withdrawals to their SoFi InvestⓇ account for the month, they will earn 500 rewards points, equal to 1% of $500 net monthly inflows. If a member loses SoFi Plus eligibility at any point throughout the month, they will earn the 1% match only on recurring deposits received while they were a SoFi Plus member. All withdrawals in the calendar month (regardless of Plus status) will count against the bonus. For example, if a member has a recurring Invest deposit of $1,000 on 11/4/2024 as a SoFi Plus member, loses SoFi Plus status on 11/10/2024, and has another recurring Invest deposit of $1,000 on 11/12/2024, they would earn $10 in rewards points (1% of the $1,000 that was deposited while they were a SoFi Plus member).

Bonuses will be paid out as rewards points within two weeks of the end of the calendar month. Members must enroll in SoFi Member Rewards to redeem rewards points, but not to be eligible for the bonus. Rewards points are subject to the SoFi Member Rewards terms. Bonus will not be paid out on SoFi Invest® or SoFi Wealth accounts that are closed or pending closure.

SoFi Invest encompasses two distinct companies, with various products and services offered to investors as described below:

1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser ("SoFi Wealth"). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.

2) Active Investing and brokerage services are provided by SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.

Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of these platforms. For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above please visit SoFi.com/legal.

Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform.

Please note that the Active Invest platform is self-directed, therefore all monies transferred to your SoFi Active Invest will not be automatically invested.

⁴SoFi Plus members have the opportunity to receive preferred IPO allocations. For complete SoFi Plus eligibility, please see the SoFi Plus terms.

A SoFi Plus membership is one of many factors used by Sofi Securities LLC to determine an investor's allocation. Members who meet the SoFi Plus eligibility criteria may have an increased chance of receiving a larger percentage of their indication than those who are not enrolled. New offers (IPOs) generally have high demand and there are a limited number of shares available. Having a SoFi Plus membership does not guarantee that you will be allocated the number of shares you requested in your Indication of Interest (IOI) or any shares at all. For SoFi’s allocation procedures please refer to IPO Allocation Procedures.

Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA(www.finra.org/)/SIPC(www.sipc.org/). For a full listing of the fees associated with Sofi Invest, please view our fee schedule.

Interactive Brokers

²Member SIPC. Restrictions apply. for more information see ibkr.com/info

eToro

³eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. Disclaimer: eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs. Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decisions. Copy trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more. Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply. eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro. BestMoney is compensated if you access certain of the products or services offered by eToro USA LLC and/or eToro USA Securities Inc. Any testimonials contained in this communication may not be representative of the experience of other eToro customers and such testimonials are not guarantees of future performance or success.

Robinhood

⁴ Terms apply. All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible. The bonus applies to eligible assets transferred from an external brokerage account into your Robinhood non-retirement brokerage account within the limited time offer period. To keep the bonus, you must keep the money you transfer into Robinhood in your Robinhood individual brokerage account for at least 2 years. The Robinhood ACATS Bonus Offer is not a recommendation of any investment or investment strategy, and is not a recommendation that a customer transfer assets into a Robinhood Brokerage Account. Robinhood reserves the right to change the offer terms or terminate the offer at any time without notice. The offer is not transferable, saleable, or valid in conjunction with certain other offers and is available to U.S. residents only. The offer is only available for personal use, and may not be used for commercial purposes.

Stash

⁶Nothing in this material should be construed as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any security. All investments are subject to risk and may lose value. This information is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as tax, investment, or legal advice. Paid non-client endorsement. See Apple App Store and Google Play reviews. View important disclosures.

J.P. Morgan

⁵ When you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account (retirement or general) with qualifying new money by 4/15/2025. Options contract and other fees may apply.

⁷ INVESTMENT AND INSURANCE PRODUCTS ARE: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE

Public.com

⁸This yield is the current average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across all ten bonds in the Bond Account, before fees. Because the YTW of each bond is a function of that bond’s market price, which can fluctuate, your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here and YTW is not “locked in” until the time of purchase. A bond’s YTW is not guaranteed; you can earn less than that YTW if you do not hold the bonds to maturity or the issuer defaults. Learn more.

As part of the IRA Match Program, Public Investing will fund a 1% match of: (a) all eligible IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers made to a Public IRA; and (b) all eligible contributions made to a Public IRA up to the account’s annual contribution limit. The matched funds must be kept in the account for at least 5 years to avoid an early removal fee. Match rate and other terms of the Match Program are subject to change at any time. See full terms here.

Moomoo

$0 commission trading is available only to U.S. residents trading in the U.S. markets through Moomoo Financial Inc. Other fees may apply. For more info, visit moomoo.com/us/pricing.

Promo 8.1% APY (as of 08/01/25) for new users only until 12/31/25. Customers of Moomoo Crypto Inc. ("MCI") are not eligible for these promotions. Actual APY may differ. Rates may change. New user promo subject to terms & conditions. Click the ad for Bank Deposit List, Cash Sweep and Promo details. Moomoo Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC

E*TRADE

* Open a new eligible E*TRADE brokerage account, fund your account within 60 days of opening, and earn a cash credit bonus of up to $1,000, depending on the size of your deposit. Offer good for one use per customer, on a single account. Other fees apply. Please read full terms and conditions on E*TRADE's website.

M1

M1 Finance, LLC does not charge commission, trading, or management fees for self-directed brokerage accounts. You may still be charged other fees such as M1’s platform fee, regulatory fees, account closure fees, or ADR fees. For a complete list of fees M1 may charge visit M1's Fee Schedule/Ts&Cs.

Betterment

Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed.

$0 minimum, $10 to start investing