6 “Best” USA Stock Brokers (May 2024)

Stock trading online has never been more accessible. There are now a wide range of online stock brokers offering trusted trading environments and commission-free trading on thousands of top stocks, ETFs, and more.

Whether you are a new or experienced stock trader, there will be a broker perfect for you. We have taken a closer look at 6 of the best and outlined their key features to meet your trading needs.

Important Areas to Consider

With so many great choices available, we have taken into consideration a few of the following important areas as key factors when you are making your online stock broker choice:

Trading Costs: These will directly impact your bottom line. Luckily in the market today, most of the top stock brokers offer great value when it comes to allowing commission-free trading and are largely fee-free overall.

Platform and Features: You will want a trading platform that is user-friendly and also available on your chosen device with mobile trading capability being increasingly more important for the majority of traders. Additional broker features and tools can also set many competitors apart.

Trading Style: How you want to trade, and particularly your level of involvement will play a key role. For the hands-off approach robo-advisors and automated trading is perfect, while for a diverse portfolio with a budget, the rise of fractional share trading is more than ideal.

Warning: Regardless of broker choice or capital deployment, investing always brings a level of risk that must be understood and considered.

1. Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers offers U.S. investors an expansive gateway to various global financial markets.  Renowned for its comprehensive trading options, the platform caters to novice and experienced investors/traders, presenting an extensive portfolio that includes stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, forex, and cryptocurrencies.

U.S. traders looking to diversify their investment strategies will find Interactive Brokers an invaluable partner, thanks to its access to over 150 markets worldwide.  This includes premier financial centers such as New York, London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, allowing traders to capitalize on global opportunities, day or night.

Interactive Brokers is known for boasting impressive liquidity across a cost-effective trading environment.  This is particularly advantageous for U.S. investors seeking efficient, low-cost trading options.  The platform's cutting-edge trading technologies and tools offer advanced charting capabilities, real-time market data, and comprehensive analytical resources to support informed trading decisions.

For those interested in stock trading, Interactive Brokers has the ability to invest in an extensive selection of over 40,000 stocks.  This includes the benefit of participating in U.S. extended-hours trading, giving traders the flexibility to respond to market changes outside of standard trading hours.

Moreover, the platform's wide range of ETFs, exceeding 8,300, enables investors to swiftly and economically diversify their portfolios.  By investing in ETFs that track various indices and sectors, U.S. traders can easily spread their investment across different market segments, enhancing their portfolio's potential for growth while managing risk.

Based in the United States and adhering to the strict regulations of NYSE, FINRA, and SIPC, Interactive Brokers assures a high degree of investor protection and credibility.  This regulatory framework establishes a secure and reliable trading environment, making Interactive Brokers a trusted choice for U.S. investors navigating the global financial markets.

Interactive Brokers is part of the U.S. market under the name ‘Interactive Broker LLC.’  It is regulated by the United States's SEC, CFTC, and FINRA.

2. Firstrade

If you are looking for an experienced broker in the industry backed by one of the most respected reputations around, and filled with great trading features and options, you need look no further than Firstrade. They are a pioneer in offering commission-free, low-cost trading and have been around since 1985.

Over the course of their more than 35 years in the sector, they have not stood still. Continuing to evolve they now offer a highly-intuitive and proprietary trading platform where you can take advantage of trading thousands of stocks, ETFs, and bonds from some of the world’s foremost exchanges.

They also provide a top-rate educational section packed with articles, videos, and tutorials to help you grow your knowledge around trading at every level.

Trading Costs: You will find no commissions or trading fees anywhere within Firstrade. Uniquely among top brokers this also applies to trading in mutual funds, often a huge plus for more experienced traders.

Read our Firstrade Review or visit Firstrade.

3. Moomoo

Moomoo is a FINRA regulated trading platform that enables the trading of stocks in USA  market. Moomoo is a trading platform offered by Moomoo Inc. Investment products and services on moomoo are offered by Futu Inc. They are regulated by the Security Exchange Commission (SEC), the brokerage accounts here are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

They offer a wide assortment of trading options including US stocks, HK stocks, China-A shares, U.S. stock options, Futures, ADRs, Exchange Traded Fund (ETFs) . More financial products are coming soon.

They offer free level 2 market data, this enables investors to access real-time bids and asks to execute trades more accurately.  They also offer 24/7 news to allow investors to easily access detailed analysis of stocks and price fluctuations.

Read our Moomoo Review or visit Moomoo.

4. M1 Finance

M1 Finance has quickly established as one of the most unique stock broker choices in the sector. They combine some of the best elements of a low-cost online broker while offering a popular robo-advisor trading experience. This has seen them become a top choice for many stock traders since launching in 2015.

If you want to start trading fractional shares and build a diverse portfolio at the same time, M1 offers the ideal solution. Here you can choose from thousands of stocks, ETFs, and other assets to build your portfolio through fractional shares, or from dozens of curated portfolios called “pies” the broker has put together. Once invested, these pies can then automatically trade and rebalance just like a robo-advisor to optimize your investment.

Beyond just trading, this FDIC insured and regulated service provides a whole ecosystem where you can save at high-interest rates and even borrow against your portfolio at low cost through M1 Spend with no hassle or credit check and a low-interest rate from 2%.

Trading Costs: Extremely good value is provided for trading with M1 Finance. There are no trading fees, commissions, or mark-ups added at all. There is also no account minimum to worry about. A perfect environment for first time traders looking to save big on fees.

Read our M1 Finance Review or visit M1 Finance.

5. Public.com

Public.com is one of the fastest-growing app-based stock brokers in the industry. They have been around in some form for many years and have well-respected regulation in place from FINRA while providing a very innovative trading and investment environment for the modern stock trader.

You will find thousands of major US stocks and ETFs available to browse and buy with theme-based classifications making it very easy to find the perfect investments for you. A big advantage in the market of today is that you can invest in fractional shares with Public, and all through the convenience of their easy to use mobile app. This can be quickly downloaded on your iOS or Android device and puts all the trading power you need right in your hand.

Additionally, you will have access to many great social trading features that enable you to communicate and share information with other groups and traders, even though a direct messaging system so you never miss a move.

Trading Costs: As with many others, there are no commissions or fees on any trades with Public.com. Add this to the many non-trading features like deposits and withdrawals that can be fee-free and it is possible to trade with great value here.

Read our Public.com Review or visit Public.com.

6. TD Ameritrade

Another major name in the industry when it comes to stockbrokers and wider financial services, TD Ameritrade is a cornerstone of the sector. They combine their longstanding good reputation with an evolution into commission-free trading on a huge range of assets.

Trading these assets with the broker is a very smooth process using their own Thinkorswim trading platform that has gained a great reputation for being both easy to use, very powerful, and detailed when it comes to charting tools and capabilities.

Not only backed by reputation and a tremendous offering of assets including many in crypto, TD Ameritrade goes to the next level in providing access to a wide range of helpful educational resources. This is why many of their traders tend to sign up and stay with the broker as a long-term choice.

Trading Costs: You can trade all stocks and ETFs here commission and fee-free. There are also thousands of mutual funds and more than you can access on a fee-free basis keeping pace with the industry. Options can be traded at $0.65 per contract with no minimum.