Winners Summary
The best trading platform for beginners - Fidelity
| Company |
Minimum Deposit |
Stock Trades |
Options (Per Contract) |
 Fidelity
|
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.65 |
Why Fidelity has the best trading platform for beginners: Fidelity’s platform excels at catering to new investors. In my testing, I found its two mobile apps to be incredibly beginner-friendly, offering fractional shares and a well-organized dashboard that simplifies portfolio management. The extensive investor education library, Fidelity's Learning Center, and research tools provide the essential insights needed for making informed decisions. Fidelity’s commitment to user experience ensures a smooth learning curve, even for those just starting out.
Fidelity’s Youth account is another standout feature, offering a curated, parent-friendly investing experience for teens. This innovative app, which won our Best Innovation award in 2024, helps younger users learn the basics of saving and investing while giving parents peace of mind. Overall, Fidelity’s platform is designed to make investing accessible and educational for both beginners and young investors. The largest drawback to my mind is the lack of any paper trading account options, a feature that would certainly improve their Youth app by allowing beginner investors to practice using virtual money.
Visit my full review of Fidelity to learn more about its entire offering.
Screenshot tour of Fidelity's market research
Screenshot tour of Fidelity's educational resources
Best research for beginners - Merrill Edge
| Company |
Minimum Deposit |
Stock Trades |
Options (Per Contract) |
 Merrill Edge
|
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.65 |
Why Merrill Edge is the best for research for beginners: If you're just starting out with stock or fund investing, Merrill Edge offers some of the best research tools for beginners. I found that Merrill Edge’s Stock Stories and Fund Stories do phenomenal jobs presenting highly relevant info in a friendly way. I don’t think there’s a better way for everyday investors to learn how to research stocks than starting with Merrill’s Stock or Fund Stories. If I had these available when I taught stock investing at a business school, I would have used them in my class.
Once you've mastered the basics, Merrill’s platform goes deeper with access to proprietary research from Bank of America Securities, along with third-party reports. It’s the perfect blend of user-friendly features for beginners and advanced insights for those ready to dive deeper into their investments. Whether you're managing your portfolio via the browser or their sleek mobile app, Merrill’s tools are designed to simplify the process every step of the way.
Check out my comprehensive review of Merrill Edge to dive a bit deeper into their offering.
Screenshot tour of Merrill Edge's market research
Screenshot tour of Merrill Edge's educational resources
The Stock Story feature on the Merrill Edge mobile app.
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Best trading app for beginners - E*TRADE
| Company |
Minimum Deposit |
Stock Trades |
Options (Per Contract) |
 E*TRADE
|
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.65 |
Why E*TRADE is the best trading app for beginners: E*TRADE is an excellent choice for beginner traders thanks to its intuitive platform and easy-to-use mobile apps. I’ve found the layout clean and straightforward, making it simple for new investors to manage portfolios, monitor quotes, and access market research. E*TRADE Mobile works well for basic trading, while Power E*TRADE offers more advanced tools, perfect for those ready to explore options or futures trading. However, it lacks fractional shares and cryptocurrency trading, investment options that some might miss.
Another thing that sets E*TRADE apart is its access to detailed research from Morgan Stanley, giving investors a solid foundation for making informed decisions. The same can’t be said for its investor education, which I found to be a mixed bag in my testing. While the real-time data feature does require a $1,000 balance, the variety of customizable charts makes it worth considering. For me, the depth of Power E*TRADE’s charting and trading tools stands out, offering a perfect blend of functionality and simplicity for beginners stepping into more complex trades. The availability of free paper trading on the Power E*TRADE app is also a great benefit for beginners first trying out more complex strategies.
Read my entire E*TRADE review for more details about its platform suite.
Screenshot tour of E*TRADE's market research
Screenshot tour of E*TRADE's educational resources
Pricing and fees comparison
Here's a comparison of pricing across beginner trading platforms. To compare all our collected data side by side, check out our online broker comparison tool.
Beginner education comparison
Here's a comparison of the most popular educational features offered by beginner trading platforms. To compare all our collected data side by side, check out our online broker comparison tool.
Trading platforms tested, data findings
As part of our research process, we create a list of features, set strict definitions for each so our testing is uniform, collect the data, then extrapolate the resulting data to see how common each feature is across the industry as a whole. Here's our findings. To compare all our collected data side by side, check out our online broker comparison tool.
| Feature |
% of trading platforms that offer each feature |
| Education (Stocks) |
80% |
| Education (ETFs) |
56% |
| Education (Options) |
68% |
| Education (Mutual Funds) |
40% |
| Education (Bonds) |
36% |
| Education (Retirement) |
48% |
| Retirement Calculator |
36% |
| Investor Dictionary |
60% |
| Paper Trading |
46% |
| Videos |
64% |
| Webinars (Archived) |
60% |
| Progress Tracking |
28% |
| Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
28% |
FAQs
What is a trading platform and how does it work?
A trading platform, otherwise known as an online brokerage account, allows you to buy and sell investments via computer or mobile app. The brokerage holds your investments and deposited cash for you and provides activity reports and account statements. It also credits any interest accrued and dividends to your account. To open an online broker account in the United States, you will need a Social Security number and you will be required to enter basic financial information such as your name, address, phone number, and trading experience.
In the United States, brokers are regulated by both FINRA and the SIPC. The SIPC insures $500,000 per account including up to $250,000 in cash against theft or the firm going belly-up. It’s important to remember, however, that insurance does not protect any investor against losses due to market fluctuations.
Which type of trading is best for beginners?
Beginners should consider learning the ropes first by buying and holding stocks, ETFs, or mutual funds. Delving immediately into day trading or complicated investing strategies like options before getting the hang of basic order types is a recipe for disaster. Wait until you have more experience before using options, short selling, or buying on margin. Get acquainted with the most important things to know about the stock market for beginners.
Practice first: It is always a great idea to try out any new trading strategies or learn more about your trading platform in the completely risk-free environment of a demo account, also known as paper trading. Offered by most brokers, paper trading accounts allow you to use fake currency in a simulated trading environment, usually using real-time stock charts and prices. While you should be wary of using the results of trades made in such an account to judge the success or failure of any one strategy, it will give you invaluable experience in the logistics of implementing those trades.
Can I teach myself how to trade?
Yes, you can teach yourself to trade, provided you have realistic expectations and stay at it through a full market boom-and-bust cycle. Don’t invest more than a fraction of your trading capital at once, and keep a trading journal noting why you entered and exited each trade and how well that trade performed. Most traders fail because they focus on chasing the upside more than managing risk. Dive deeper and learn more about using trading journals for stock trading.
Can I buy stocks without a broker?
There are two types of stock brokers. Online stock brokers, meaning companies like E*TRADE and Fidelity, allow you to buy and sell stocks. Traditional stock brokers — individuals who pass a series of exams and work at brokerages — buy and sell stocks on behalf of clients. Traditional stock brokers often work for corporations and may earn commissions on the products they sell you (they are salespeople), and that may affect their advice.
If you are looking to buy and sell stocks on your own, you are looking for an online broker. When you open an account with a regulated brokerage, you can deposit money and make investments in the stock market.
If you want someone to manage your money for you, you will want to hire a financial advisor. We prefer registered investment advisors who are paid a predictable fee over registered representatives who charge commissions. Get started finding a registered investment advisor over on our sister site, investor.com.
Can I start trading with $100?
Yes. Nowadays, most online brokers require no minimum deposit to open an account, commission-free stock and ETF trades, as well as the availability of fractional shares. As a result, new traders can start trading with a small investment such as $100.
To compare features and pricing, use our online broker comparison tool.
What is paper trading?
Paper trading, or virtual trading, is a trading platform feature that enables the trading of stocks, ETFs, and options with virtual currency (fake money). This helpful learning tool is popular with beginners and is a great way to practice stock trading without risking real money. Explore my top picks for the best brokers for paper trading.
What are fractional shares?
A fractional share is a portion of a full share of a publicly traded company. Fractional shares enable investors with smaller budgets to buy a stake in companies with high stock prices. For example, instead of spending over $180 to buy one Amazon (AMZN) share, a trader could purchase a $10 fractional share – and then own a proportional fraction of that share. A real-world example is Charles Schwab's Schwab Stock Slices, which are fractional shares of any company in the S&P 500 and carry a minimum purchase of $5. Discover my top picks for the best brokers who offer fractional shares.
Is online trading safe?
Online trading is safe if you use a regulated online stock broker and never invest more than you are willing to lose. Trading stocks online is inherently risky. A good rule of thumb is to never invest more than you can afford to lose or that you might need within the next three months. Start with a small amount of money, read investing books, and keep it simple by buying and holding for the long term rather than trying to time the market.
Our Research
Why you should trust us
Sam Levine, CFA, CMT, formerly a lead writer for StockBrokers.com, has over 30 years of investing experience and actively trades stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and options on futures. He's held roles as a portfolio manager, financial consultant, investment strategist and journalist. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designations and served on the board of directors of the CMT Association.
Blain Reinkensmeyer, head of research at StockBrokers.com, has been investing and trading for over 25 years. After having placed over 2,000 trades in his late teens and early 20s, he became one of the first in digital media to review online brokerages. Blain created the original scoring rubric for StockBrokers.com and oversees all testing and rating methodologies.
For this guide:
- Whenever possible, we used our own brokerage accounts for testing. For several brokers, we used a test account that was provided to us.
- We collected more than 3,000 data points (196 per broker).
- We tested each online broker's website, browser-based trading platform (where applicable), downloadable desktop trading platform (where applicable), and of course, the mobile app (or apps in the case of several brokers).
How we tested
Our research team rigorously tests the most important features sought by beginning investors and traders, including the quality and variety of educational resources, ease of use of any available trading platforms and the availability of of market research and commentary suitable for novices. We also looked at which brokers offer unique features like webinars, live seminars, videos, progress tracking, paper trading (aka a stock market simulator) and interactive educational elements such as quizzes.
StockBrokers.com uses a variety of computing devices to evaluate trading platforms. Our reviews were conducted using the following devices: iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, MacBook Pro M1 with 8 GB RAM running the current MacOS, and a Dell Vostro 5402 laptop i5 with 8 GB RAM running Windows 11 Pro. In testing platforms and apps, our reviewers place actual trades for a variety of instruments.
As part of our data check process, we sent a data profile link to each broker summarizing the data we had on file and the data they provided us last year, with a field for entering any data that had since changed. For the brokers that filled out these profiles, we audited the information for any discrepancies between our data and the broker’s data to ensure accuracy.
As part of our review process, all brokers had the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones in a live meeting that took place in the fall. Meetings with broker teams also took place throughout the year as new products rolled out. Insights gathered from these calls helped steer our testing efforts to ensure every feature and tool was assessed.
Trading platforms tested
We tested 17 online trading platforms for this guide:
Fidelity
Merrill Edge
E*TRADE
TradeStation
Interactive Brokers
Charles Schwab
tastytrade
eToro
