Thursday, January 23rd
2025 Online Stock Trading Platform Reviews
Charles Schwab
- Trade with the award-winning Thinkorswim software, available on all platforms
- Schwab app
- Over 400 physical locations in the US
- Robo-advisor can trade for you
- Fractional shares as low as $5
- No minimums
- Satisfaction and security guarantee
- Plans available for every experience level
Charles Schwab is one of the most well-known and largest discount brokerages in the world. Started over 50 years ago, it quickly became known as the place for quick trading and low fees. Charles Schwab provides customers with full service, focusing on low cost and convenience. It has more than 400 physical branches in the United States. Charles Schwab's stock trading platform has $8.56 trillion in client assets and offers a robust learning library for investors of any experience level. They also have software known as Thinkorswim, which uses cutting-edge technology and is available on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.
Just the facts
- Costs
- $0 online listed stock and ETF commissions ($0.65 per contract on options)
- Service charges apply for trades placed through a broker ($25) or by automated phone ($5)
- Minimum Deposit
- $0 on self-directed accounts
- $5,000 for automated phone trades
- $250,000 for dedicated financial consultant
Friendly to advanced traders while welcoming beginners
Charles Schwab is one of the best-known stock trading platforms and has been around the block a few times. With over 50 years of history, they have many seasoned traders as clients. As a result, the platform caters to those with some experience in stock trading, but they welcome new clients with open arms and a lot of educational resources.
Different plans for different levels of experience
Charles Schwab believes in having the individual in mind, and that shows with their great plans, offering some of the lowest fees (or none at all) in the industry. These plans also fit almost every lifestyle. The four plans offered are:
- Self-directed investing
- Active trading
- Automated investing
- Wealth and investment management solutions
Offers online coaching for beginners
If you are just getting into stock trading, the Charles Schwab stock trading platform offers over 30 live, interactive webcasts and virtual workshops each week, led by Schwab Education Coaches. There are also in-person events held all over the United States where you can network and grow your stock trading knowledge base.
Fractional shares available for trading
Many stock trading platforms do not offer fractional shares on S&P 500 stocks, but Charles Schwab does. So, if you want to own a piece of Netflix or Home Depot but don't have the money for a full share, you can check out the "Stock Slices” program and buy anywhere from 1 to 30 slices for a minimum of $5 each.
Somewhat silly autotrading phone fee
While we were impressed with Charles Schwab's low fees, it was a surprise to us that this stock trading company would charge $5 for automated phone trades. It feels like an outdated practice targeted at older people. This is not a generous look for a company that prides itself on low fees.
A user-friendly interface and lots of educational opportunities
If you are interested in active trading, Charles Schwab offers educational workshops and tutorials for the newbie. One of the nicest advantages of trading with Charles Schwab is access to the award-winning trading software, Thinkorswim, which they acquired from AmeriTrade in 2020. Thinkorswim is a three-in-one platform available on desktop, mobile, or web - all streamlined to operate optimally in different environments. Thinkorswim includes a large library of charting and analysis, plus built-in insights with a Learning Center in-platform, so you don't have to take your eyes off trading while learning. But by far the best part of the software is Schwab's dedication to listening to customer feedback. Many innovations have already been made based on this feedback, and the developers actively sort through comments, platform analytics, phone calls, and social media to prioritize updates. They also have a Schwab platform and app. You can really decide which interface aligns better with your own goals - and flexibility is nice in a platform.
$5k gets you autotrading capabilities
Charles Schwab offers the Schwab Intelligent Portfolio, with a minimum investment of $5,000. This portfolio uses AI to trade for you. The process is pretty easy - first you complete a short questionnaire to explain your goals, risk tolerance, and timeline, and then you get a diversified portfolio of ETFs chosen by industry experts. Finally, the robo-advisor will monitor your portfolio daily and automatically rebalance as needed. Remember that just as if you'd done the trading on your own, you will pay the operating expenses on the ETFs in your portfolio.
$500,000 minimum investment for fully-managed accounts
Charles Schwab offers a dedicated advisor backed by an experienced team with the Schwab Wealth Advisory™ account. This is a completely personalized approach that starts with your individual goals and takes into account a strategy that adapts to life changes. This comes with a satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, you can get refunded on your fees or commissions.
Suffering growing pains with customer service and Thinkorswim
While many experts give Charles Schwab overall positive, high ratings, some regular customers have pretty negative reviews. Many of the reviews are disgruntled AmeriTrade customers upset with the merging of the two companies who only stayed on with Charles Schwab because they didn't want to learn a new trading interface. Some express frustration with slow-to-respond customer service and technical glitches that are not addressed in a timely fashion. Time is literally money in the world of stock trading, so it's obviously distressing if you can't get glitches ironed out with customer service in a quick and efficient way. One reviewer said they lost $2,000 during an extended software outage at Schwab.
Just barely above average
It appears the merging of TD AmeriTrade's Thinkorswim and Schwab has not gone as smoothly as anyone would like, and Schwab may be experiencing some growing pains. For these reasons, we don't feel comfortable giving Charles Schwab's stock trading platform anything more than a slightly above average rating at this time.
More Online Stock Trading Platform Reviews
The 12 Best Online Stock Trading Platforms
Which Online Stock Trading Platform is the Best?
This can be an overwhelming question for beginning investors - but that's a great place to start. First, ask yourself what level of skills or knowledge you have in investing and what your purposes for investing are. Are you brand new to the financial world of stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, and options? Are you trying to manage a large amount of wealth? Are you looking for a safe place to grow your savings over the next few decades?
Or, are you someone who has had a lot of experience in investing and wants to get back into the game or take your game to the next level? Are you wanting to take high risks, or are you more conservative in your approach? There are plenty of options out there and there are some who focus on everything and some who specialize in one or two niche markets.
Online Stock Trading Platform FAQ
Continued from above...
For beginning traders, there are platforms that have devoted a big part of their online presence into education. Some have partnered with banks so you can do all of your investing along with your banking.
For active traders, the best platforms will have advanced charting capabilities, responsive customer service, robust toolkits, and they will also offer high-quality research resources. We highly recommend those platforms that allow for backtesting - a way to put in a particular strategy simulation and see how it might play out before committing to the trade in real life. Be sure to ask questions and double-check that whatever stock trading platform you use, they will have the tools that fit your particular needs.
For example, if you are going to be trading mostly on your mobile phone, you will want to make sure the stock trading company you choose has a strong mobile platform. Some companies do a bare-bones mobile app, and that would not be a suitable fit. Be sure to check if software platforms have a history of outages or glitches, too.
Are you the kind of investor who doesn't want to actually pull the trigger on choosing which stocks to buy on your own? You might want to look into robo-advisors or a dedicated financial advisor or team of advisors. These accounts usually come with fees as a percentage of the total amount invested, but it can be well worth the cost if you don't want to be involved in the day-to-day management and strategy on your account.
Most advisor accounts (robo or personal) involve you completing a questionnaire and/or a phone call that considers your time frame, financial goals, and risk tolerance. From there, the company will create a portfolio matching the information you gave. This portfolio will be rebalanced automatically, and you don't have to do a thing. On those types of accounts, you can find options with no fees, and the ones that do charge fees are usually much less expensive than working with a human advisor one-on-one.
Keep in mind that most of today's online stock trading platforms very proudly advertise that they charge "$0 fees." That usually just refers to a $0 commission fee. There will definitely be at least one or two fees for most accounts. Whether it's for withdrawal or broker-assisted transactions, there are going to be some extra costs associated with your account.
So, which online stock trading platform is best for you? Here are some of the criteria to keep in mind:
- Intended investment strategy. Are you an active day trader? A buy-and-hold investor? A conservative investor taking the slow and steady way to build a retirement? Are you willing to take risks? Are you a natural researcher or do you want someone else to do that for you?
- Ease of use. Is the website difficult to figure out? Is it easy to open an account, or do you have to go through a lot of extra hoops? Do you prefer to talk to someone on the phone, or is live chat your go-to way to communicate? Are there tutorials and online help for learning how to use the platform?
- Tools. Do you want lots of tools, or do you just want someone else to worry about it? Do you want to have an app that is integrated with your bank? Is there a mobile app? Is it web-based or downloadable? Can you connect with research resources that match your level of expertise?
- Customer service. What do other clients say about their experiences with the company? How are issues handled by customer service? Are the financial advisors helpful?
- Reputation. Is this a service with a long history in the financial industry or a relative newcomer? Is the company insured or backed by government or private agencies? Do they have a history of litigation or being fined by FINRA or other agencies? Are they transparent?
To help you make the most of your investments, Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular online stock trading platforms. We hope this information helps you reach your financial goals!
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