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TradeZellaCharles Schwab Review
Written by Jessica Inskip
Director of Investor Research
Edited by Jeff Anberg
Senior Editor
Reviewed by Blain Reinkensmeyer
Managing Partner
Jessica InskipDirector of Investor Research
Jessica Inskip is Director of Investor Research at StockBrokers.com, bringing 15 years of experience in brokerage and trading strategy. Jessica focuses on investor education and brokerage industry research.
For most investors, the search for a brokerage firm ends at Charles Schwab. I still run a stock screen I built there, and it keeps handing me ideas worth a second look. For this review, I also pulled apart NVDA's quote page, stress-tested the XLK fund page, built options spreads in both of Schwab's apps, and priced a Treasury bill down to its yield.
Is Charles Schwab good? For investors who research before buying and want one login for an entire financial life, that's an easy "yes." Deep research for stocks, funds, and bonds is combined with both an easy-to-use flagship app and thinkorswim, a professional-grade platform for active traders.
Self-directed investors will feel at home right away with the flagship app, spread traders should use thinkorswim, and anyone who wants to automate small, fractional ETF purchases should look elsewhere.
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Minimum Deposit:
$0.00 -
Stock Trades:
$0.00 -
Options (Per Contract):
$0.65
| Range of Investments | |
| Mobile Trading Apps | |
| Advanced Trading | |
| Research | |
| Education | |
| Ease of Use | |
| Customer Service |
Check out StockBrokers.com's picks for the best stock brokers in 2026.
| #1 Overall | Winner |
| #1 Advanced Trading | Winner |
| #1 Mobile Trading Apps | Winner |
| #1 Ease of Use | Winner |
| #1 Customer Service | Winner |
| #1 Active Trading Desktop Platform | Winner |
| #1 High Net Worth Investors | Winner |
| #1 Stock Research | Winner |
| 2026 | #1 |
| 2025 | #1 |
| 2024 | #3 |
| 2023 | #5 |
| 2022 | #4 |
| 2021 | #3 |
| 2020 | #3 |
| 2019 | #3 |
| 2018 | #3 |
| 2017 | #3 |
| 2016 | #4 |
| 2015 | #6 |
| 2014 | #5 |
| 2013 | #3 |
| 2012 | #5 |
| 2011 | #3 |
Why you can trust us
Led by Jessica Inskip, Director of Investor Research, the StockBrokers.com research team collects thousands of data points across hundreds of variables. We evaluate features important to every kind of investor, including beginners, casual investors, passive investors, and active traders. We carefully track data on margin rates, trading costs, and fees to rate stock brokers across our proprietary testing categories.
Our researchers open personal brokerage accounts and test all available platforms on desktop, web, and mobile for each broker reviewed on StockBrokers.com. Learn more about how we test.
Table of Contents
Pros and cons
PROS
- Stock quote pages pair eight research providers with five years of statements
- Bond desk combines deep BondSource inventory with a quote page built for analysis
- Accounts for every life stage, from Teen Investor to retirement and business accounts
CONS
- Flagship app will not build a spread straight from the options chain
- Stock education skips the "what is a stock" starting point
- Direct crypto trading is not available yet
My top takeaways for Charles Schwab in 2026:
- For stock investors: The screener filters on forward estimates and stock pages stack eight research providers, so I can vet an idea without leaving Schwab.
- For market watchers: The daily Schwab Market Update, typically a sub-10-minute listen in the app, is the quickest way I have found to learn what moved and why.
- For options traders: Contracts cost $0.65, single-leg trades are simple in the Schwab app, and spreads belong on the web chain or in the thinkorswim app.
- For bond investors: Schwab says BondSource draws on 225-plus dealers, and every bond page splits bid and ask yields side by side, which makes comparing issues quick.
- For families: Teens earn $50 in stock for finishing a starter course within 45 days, which rewards learning before trading, and the lineup extends to trusts and business plans.
Asset classes reviewed: We review Charles Schwab for stock, ETF, options, and futures trading, along with bonds and fixed income. Schwab does not yet offer direct crypto trading to all retail traders, so our crypto review is pending until Schwab finishes rolling out their upcoming offering. Clients may request early access to direct bitcoin and ethereum trading, but the rollout to clients is still marked as "coming soon," and until that arrives, crypto exposure comes through ETFs and CME futures.
Charles Schwab fees
Online stock and ETF trades cost $0 at Charles Schwab, options cost $0.65 per contract, futures cost $2.25 per contract, and bonds cost $1 each with a $10 minimum and a $250 maximum, while Treasury pricing varies and direct crypto trading is not offered. There is no minimum deposit, mutual fund trade fees vary by fund, and a broker-assisted trade costs $25.
Account fees: A full account transfer out costs $50, a partial transfer is free, and IRAs carry no annual or closure fee. Like almost all of the industry, Schwab accepts payment for order flow on stock and options orders, meaning market makers pay it to route those orders their way.
Margin rates: Borrowing is the expensive corner of Schwab's pricing. At the time of my testing, margin started at 12.58% for balances under $25,000, and the steepest step came at $50,000, where the rate dropped nearly a full point to 11.13%. After that it barely moves, reaching 10.83% for balances from $250,000 to $499,999.99, and the rate above $500,000 varies. Small accounts that borrow pay the most here.
Charles Schwab account types
One Charles Schwab login can hold an entire financial life, from a teenager's first stock to a trust or an estate, and every account type we track is available here.
Retirement accounts: Retirement savers will not find a gap. Schwab opens traditional, Roth, rollover, SEP, SIMPLE, inherited, and custodial IRAs. Limited margin in IRAs lets you trade on unsettled cash without borrowing.
Retirement planning: The retirement calculators start with the right question. When I tested them this year, a "Preparing for retirement?" prompt greeted me (why yes, Chuck, I am) with three paths, covering withdrawals, a Roth conversion's impact, and annual or beneficiary RMDs (required minimum distributions). The calculators count Social Security, but I wish they showed my number with and without that income, because so many people feel far less behind once they count Social Security and their 401(k).
Kids and teens: Families are covered from a child's first 529 plan to a teen's own trades, with Education Savings Accounts and custodial accounts in between. The Schwab Teen Investor account, a joint brokerage account a parent opens with a 13- to 17-year-old, has no subscription fees, maintenance fees, or minimum deposit. Teens who finish the Quick Start to Stock Investing course within 45 days get $50 split across the top five stocks in the S&P 500, a smart nudge toward learning first.
Business and managed accounts: Small business owners get a wealth of options. Small Business Solutions covers Individual 401(k)s, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, and Personal Defined Benefit Plans, and the Organization Account takes LLCs, partnerships, and investment clubs at a $250,000 minimum. The Schwab Intelligent Portfolios robo-advisor builds and rebalances a portfolio, and direct indexing holds an index's individual stocks so losses can be harvested one by one.
Cash management: A real bank sits beside the brokerage. Schwab Bank offers FDIC-insured checking, savings, a debit card, and CDs, and Investor Checking adds unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide with no foreign transaction fees.
Account maintenance: Routine chores are quick to find. I located beneficiary settings under my profile, and a Money Movement tab handles transfers, bill pay, and wires. The Tax Resource Center under Learn explains cost basis, wash sales (losses disallowed when you buy the same security within 30 days of selling it), and how to change your lot method for every trade or just one, and the 1099 Composite imports into TurboTax, TaxAct, and H&R Block.
Planning tools: The calculator shelf is easy to reach from two menus, Planning calculators under Products or Investing & Planning Tools, and it covers college, a home purchase, and estate planning.
Forex trading: Forex is available, but only on thinkorswim, where a futures-approved account can trade nearly 70 currency pairs across 11 currencies. There is no commission, so you pay the spread, which averaged 1.27 pips (hundredths of a cent) on EUR/USD in October 2025, which is on the high side for the industry, and the smallest trade, 10,000 units, ties up about $500 of margin at 20:1 leverage. Currency research and education are thin next to Schwab's stock coverage, so dedicated currency traders should start with our review at ForexBrokers.com.
Interested in forex trading?
If you intend to trade forex, check out our comprehensive Charles Schwab forex review focusing primarily on this market at our sister site, ForexBrokers.com.
One of the best for high net worth
We analyzed online brokers' offerings for clients with over $1 million of liquid, investable assets. See our guide to the Best Brokerage Firms for High Net Worth Individuals.
Stock trading
Stock research is where Charles Schwab separates itself. Pricing largely reflects today's zero-commission norm, with online stock trades costing $0. OTC (over-the-counter) stocks cost $6.95 a trade, Stock Slices offers fractional shares of S&P 500 companies from $5, and a U.S. account reaches 12 international markets. The website serves investors who study a company before buying it, and thinkorswim serves active traders.
Stock research and the NVDA quote page
Schwab's web stock quote page is the best I have tested, and NVDA's page in June 2026 was arguably deeper than last year's IBM page. Its Ratings & Reports rail stacks eight providers, led by Schwab Equity Ratings, whose A-to-F grade and percentile rank gave NVDA an A, and backed by Morningstar's wide-moat call, CFRA, Argus, and an LSEG price target of $295.74.
The page's Earnings widget showed 36 analysts behind a $2.08 consensus and labeled the beat on every quarter, and a new Statements widget adds five years of financial statements. Stock Compare's index mode, which lines a stock up against its sector and the S&P 500, is the gem I keep coming back to. I would add one synthesized view of the consensus and its dispersion, so a newer investor is not left reconciling eight grading scales.
Jessica's take
"This is where Schwab flexes. The peer comparison surfaces the Schwab Equity Rating across NVDA's competitors too, so I can see how the whole neighborhood is graded. For depth of individual-security opinion, almost no one does it better."
Jessica Inskip
Director of Investor Research
On the app, the AAPL quote page carried forward P/E and margin requirements in September 2026, and its dividend field switches to the next pay date as an ex-date approaches.
Finding stock ideas with the screener and Investing Themes
The tool I reach for most at Schwab is the stock screener, because the screen I saved here last year is one I still run. My "Healthy Growth" screen filters on next year's estimated revenue and EPS growth, forward P/E, a Schwab Equity Rating of A, and cash flow per share, and it returned NVDA, TMUS, and ADBE. Those filters look at where a company is headed, not where it has been, and the screener explains each acronym as I build, a fantastic blend of power and teaching.
Predefined screens and the new Schwab Investing Themes, which turns a trend like autonomous driving into a stock basket, give newer investors a way in. The Research Tools entry is the flaw. It sits among the product tabs and reads like another product, and the menu holding the screeners and calendars is easy to miss.
Schwab’s web-based stock screener stands out with advanced filtering tools that include forward-year P/E ratios, projected EPS growth, and revenue estimates—ideal for forward-looking investors. The platform allows users to screen for S&P 500 stocks based on future performance metrics, earnings surprises, and Schwab Analyst Ratings. Unlike many screeners that focus solely on historical data, Schwab helps investors identify high-potential opportunities based on forward projections.
Charting and execution on thinkorswim
Active stock traders belong on thinkorswim, which is hard to learn but worth it. Its charts carry 374 indicators and studies and even pull in FRED economic data from the Federal Reserve. Level 2 quotes, which show the bids and offers stacked behind the best price, sit alongside basic and advanced backtesting.
The trade ticket shows margin impact and lets you pick tax lots before you commit, but there is no wash sale indicator, the flag that warns you a loss will be disallowed. One small quality of life improvement on TOS is that charts can be texted as pictures, which is a nifty feature for sharing analysis.
This screenshot showcases a desktop chart of U.S. unemployment rates alongside a live news feed and streaming headlines, enabling traders to track macroeconomic trends in real time. Access to this level of economic insight helps investors connect data with market movement.
Market context on the U.S. Markets page
In-house macro commentary is one of my favorite parts of Schwab, and I could read it all day. The Schwab Market Update sits pinned atop the U.S. Markets page in a punchy, podcast-style cadence, and the morning I tested in June 2026 it walked through chip stocks getting slammed ahead of Micron's earnings. A Top News Mentions widget ties each heavily mentioned stock to the macro reason behind it.
Seven calendars sit under Research Tools, and they took a real step up. Each economic release now shows the actual print against a Briefing forecast, market expectations, and the prior reading, and the Rating Changes calendar tracks upgrades and downgrades across five providers, from Schwab Equity Ratings to Briefing.com. I would still add a trend chart to the economic prints.
On a phone, the flagship app's Markets tab carries the same read, with the Market Update as a podcast that usually runs under 10 minutes. A big drawback to the flagship app is the lack of any calendars. If you don't want to be deprived of the essential context of an economic or earnings calendar, you'll need to access them via the thinkorswim app or the website.
Schwab’s Market Research mobile homepage provides a quick snapshot of daily market performance, with real-time updates on major indices like the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq. Users can also access breaking news headlines, macroeconomic insights, sector performance breakdowns, and even listen to an audio market update—all in one streamlined view.
Trading stocks on the Schwab app
The Schwab app is easy to use, and I found research, quotes, charts, and trade tickets without hunting. After I checked the market, it prompted me to set a preferred start screen, a smart touch. Watchlists come in basic, custom, and heatmap versions that sync with the website, and the custom list takes up to 15 columns, including the next earnings date.
It is built for keeping up with the market on the go, not deep analysis, though it gives me enough to explain a stock when asked. Heavier users should add the thinkorswim app, with its fully customizable menu and trader chat rooms such as Swim Lessons, though I could not find Treasury, commodity, or sector data there.
Comparing Schwab Mobile and thinkorswim mobile
Schwab runs two mobile apps with very different order tickets. Our co-founder Blain Reinkensmeyer placed a limit order in each to compare them.
Learning to invest in stocks
Stock education at Schwab is excellent once you know what a stock is, and that is its one real gap. I ask every broker to explain what a stock is without overwhelming me, and no article, video, podcast, or course here fully accomplished the job, including the otherwise excellent Stock Income Investing course. The Schwab Starter Kit, which pairs fractional share trading with guided education for new stock investors, is the closest thing to an on-ramp.
Past that, the content is strong. A video explaining how the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite work is excellent, and the podcasts tie lessons to current markets. The basics sit on Schwab's public site, while the deeper, commentary-heavy material sits behind the login, where it can overwhelm a newcomer.
Taken as a whole, the Learning Center is broad and well made but hard to search. The eight courses run three to five hours each with progress tracking and a closing quiz, and my only complaint is that there should be more.
Homework-minded stock pickers belong here, and a true beginner should start with the Starter Kit.
Schwab’s value investing course offers a deep dive into the fundamentals of analyzing stocks, making it ideal for long-term, self-directed investors. This introductory screen explores the basics of fundamental analysis—like P/E ratios, earnings reports, and intrinsic value—to help investors identify undervalued opportunities.
ETF trading
ETF investors get research at Charles Schwab nearly as deep as the stock side, and ETF trades cost the same $0. Schwab offers no fractional ETF shares or recurring ETF investments, though dividend reinvestment is available, so it suits the fund researcher more than the investor automating small monthly buys.
ETF research and the XLK quote page
Fund research on the web is close to complete. On XLK, the Technology Select Sector SPDR, the top quote carried the intraday indicative value with a new info icon explaining it. That is the real-time value of the fund's basket, and a gap between it and the price tells you trading is pushing the fund around. The Fund Profile showed a 0.08% expense ratio, and the top 10 holdings make up 64.33% of the fund.
Last year's wish for benchmark context is answered by the Risk & Tax widget, with a beta of 1.42, alpha of 3.62, and upside and downside capture, and the yield section splits income from capital gains alongside the SEC 30-day yield, a standardized figure that makes funds comparable. Forward valuation on the basket, the way I get it on a single stock, is the only thing missing.
The app's fund page suits quick decisions. When I pulled QQQ and TQQQ in September 2026, the leveraged TQQQ opened with an explainer that it is built for day trading, which heads off the classic mistake of holding a daily-reset fund long term. The mobile page skips the top 10 holdings.
On the research page for an ETF like XLK, Schwab provides a Fund Profile and shows the top holdings, among many other metrics and information.
Finding ETFs by screen, list, and sector
Every style of fund hunting has a tool here. The ETF Screener runs on the same engine as the stock screener and offers predefined screens as an on-ramp, and the semiannual Schwab ETF Select List hands you an expert shortlist. Bitcoin and ether ETFs trade here like any other fund.
For sector bets, the Sectors & Industries heatmap on the U.S. Markets page runs from one day to one year. Dear Schwab, add a plain-English sentence on the day's rotation story, and that page is perfect.
Building and analyzing a fund portfolio
Fund investors who research first and then hold will be happy here. Portfolio Checkup is useful and a little rigid. It had me complete an Investor Profile Questionnaire, then measured my holdings against an allocation built on my own risk tolerance. The risk table, with standard deviation, beta, and R-squared against benchmarks, was the best part, but I could not compare my sector mix to the market.
Mutual funds: Mutual fund research is thorough, though trade costs depend on the fund. The Find ETFs and Mutual Funds tool filters by transaction fee, and the research covers the prospectus, holdings, and third-party ratings, with no downloadable PDF report.
Options trading
Charles Schwab holds up well for options, with setting up spreads in the flagship app as the clear weak spot. Contracts cost $0.65, with $0 exercise and assignment fees, a dime buyback program that waives the commission on short options bought back at $0.10 or less, up to four legs per order, and spreads allowed in IRAs.
Jessica's take
"If you know anything about me, options is my niche. I spent a lot of my career mastering the world of options, which means I am a harsh judge in this category, and I should be. Options are complex and are not for everyone, and not everyone can explain the complexity. It's an art."
The web options chain and Trade & Probability Calculator
The web options chain got real attention since my last visit, and a What's New tour flagged the changes in June 2026. Three tabs now sit up top, Options Chain, Greeks, and a new Pricer, and the Greeks view lays out theoretical value, implied volatility, delta, gamma, theta, and vega for calls and puts. My favorite touch is the labeling of the bid and ask columns as "Bid Bearish" and "Ask Bullish" on the correct sides, which teaches a newer trader that every single-leg option is a directional bet.
The new options chain on the website provides two new tabs to quickly access the Greeks when analyzing the chain and setting up spreads.
The new Trade & Probability Calculator fixed my complaint from last year, when adjusting an iron condor's legs was cumbersome. Analyze Buy or Analyze Sell, on any multi-leg strategy's More menu, now plots profit and loss against a probability-of-expiring curve, with inputs for implied volatility, dividends, interest rates, and target prices. It is not a strategy screener, and the chain now lives under the Trade menu rather than Research, but this is a great web chain for the options-curious.
Trading options on the Schwab app
The flagship Schwab app is excellent for single-leg options and a chore for spreads, which is fine, because Schwab built a second app for day traders.
Single-leg orders: Buying a call or put was easy when I tested this year. The mobile chain takes every Greek and IV as columns, labels each expiration weekly, monthly, or quarterly with its weekday and days to expiration, and tucks tiny profit and loss charts above the bid and ask. You can trade straight off the chain or use the drop-downs.
Multi-leg orders: Spreads take more work than they should. Building a bull call spread on AAPL from the chain failed, because once I selected the ask on my long leg, the chain would not let me select the bid on my short leg. The Trade tab handled a bull put spread, but I had to set each leg's expiration by hand for a vertical that by definition shares one. The ticket shows each leg's bid and ask, and a profit, loss, and breakeven diagram hides behind the Trade Calculator button.
Building spreads on the thinkorswim app
Spreads are a pleasure on the thinkorswim app, and it is where I would send anyone trading multi-leg options from a phone. Tapping a bid or ask on the chain adds the leg to the order and tapping again removes it. The chain is fully customizable with all the Greeks, IV, and VWAP (volume-weighted average price). The one piece missing is net Greeks, the combined delta, gamma, theta, and vega of every leg, and the flagship app's ticket lacks them too.
On the thinkorswim app, I built a two-leg AAPL position straight from the options chain. Tapping the ask on the 305 call and the bid on the 312.5 put added both legs to a custom spread above the chain, with quantities you can edit before tapping Next.
Options education and the application test
Options education passes the application test, which is the one I weigh most. The material I reviewed tied each concept to Schwab's own tools, showing strike selection and trade management on the platform, and paper trading is available to practice without risking money. The article that hooked me was "Understanding the Gamma Squeeze," which explains how a wave of speculative call buying forces market makers to hedge, then shows how you might spot a squeeze forming.
Three courses run from Options for Beginners: Income Strategies to Non-Directional Options: Advanced Spreads. The way they are organized can be confusing, however. Articles appear by publish date rather than in a learning sequence, and the strategy pieces are thorough but not an easy read. For a first-timer, the options landing page adds an Options Checklist and an explanation of approval levels.
Single-leg traders can stay in the flagship app. Anyone building spreads on a phone should install the thinkorswim app before placing the first order.
Futures trading
Futures at Charles Schwab make the most sense as an add-on for a stock or options trader already using thinkorswim, since the charting covered under Stock trading carries straight over. Contracts cost $2.25 each, and options on futures are available as well.
Trading tools: The core futures order tools are in place. thinkorswim offers ladder trading, which lets you place and adjust orders by clicking a price level, and CME bitcoin and ether futures are the closest Schwab comes to direct crypto trading.
The Futures Trader tab on thinkorswim desktop puts /ES, /NQ, /YM, and /QM side by side, each with a five-minute chart below it. Every contract has its own Sell and Buy buttons showing the bid and ask, with the quantity set to one contract. Ladder trading is one tab over, under Active Trader.
Watching futures: Futures quotes sit where a stock investor will see them. The Futures panel on the U.S. Markets page added a 10-Year Treasury Note quote alongside the E-minis, gold, and crude when I checked in June 2026, and the flagship app's Markets tab showed gold, WTI crude, and the 10-year yield in September 2026, a quick read on what is moving outside regular hours.
Learning futures: New futures traders get a proper course. Fundamentals of Futures Trading is one of Schwab's eight structured courses, and thinkorswim's paper trading functionality lets you practice before real margin is on the line.
Traders whose whole book is futures should still weigh a dedicated futures platform.
Bonds and fixed income
For bond investors, Charles Schwab's fixed income desk is the first place I would send you. Bonds run $1 apiece, subject to a $10 minimum and a $250 maximum, Treasury pricing varies, and you can buy at Treasury auctions. Schwab says its BondSource platform now draws on more than 225 dealers and 200,000 CUSIPs (the identifier assigned to each bond issue) a day, up from roughly 200 dealers and 60,000 CUSIPs a year earlier.
Bond research and the Treasury bill quote page
I can analyze a bond on this quote page, not just price it. I clicked a rate in the rates matrix, and a Treasury bill maturing October 6, 2026, opened in a new tab so I never lost my place. Quote Details split bid and ask across price, current yield, yield to maturity (3.792% and 3.781%), yield to call, and yield to worst, the lowest yield you can receive short of a default. Security Details listed the CUSIP and the Act/360 day count.
A Market Depth tab shows dealer-level quotes, and for a corporate or muni the same page surfaces the credit rating and watch status.
Finding bonds, CDs, and income ideas
Idea generation is just as strong. The fixed income overview opens with a best-available-rates matrix running from three months to 30-plus years across CDs, Treasurys, agencies, AAA-to-A corporates, and munis, and every rate clicks through to the bond. I love that bond funds and bond ETFs sit right beside the individual bonds, because a fund is sometimes the smarter way to add fixed income.
Schwab's Bond & CD Yields matrix lists the best available rates for CDs, Treasurys, agencies, corporates, and munis at maturities from three months to 30 years. Darker cells mark higher yields, on a scale that ran from 2.970% to 7.391% in this snapshot. Clicking any rate opens the matching bond in a new tab.
The CD & Treasury Ladder Builder is a simple, useful way to explore the offering, and I could build a ladder from CDs or even Treasurys. A Treasury yield curve charted against one month and one year ago shows whether the curve is steepening, and a tax-equivalent yield calculator shows what a taxable bond must pay to match a tax-free muni. Retirees and income investors who want to compare a bond with a bond fund on one screen will not find a better desk.
Customer service
To score customer service, StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research firm Confero to conduct phone tests from locations throughout the United States. In our 2026 testing, 132 customer service tests were conducted over six weeks, with wait times logged for each call.
Customer service representatives were asked for assistance or details for prospective customers in several areas of broker services, including account opening, trading tools, apps, crypto offerings, active trading, and more. Here are the results for Charles Schwab.
- Average Connection Time: Under a minute
- Average Net Promoter Score: 9.4 / 10
- Average Professionalism Score: 9.1 / 10
- Overall Score: 9.28 / 10
- Ranking: 1st of 11
Final thoughts
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Minimum Deposit:
$0.00 -
Stock Trades:
$0.00 -
Options (Per Contract):
$0.65
| Range of Investments | |
| Mobile Trading Apps | |
| Advanced Trading | |
| Research | |
| Education | |
| Ease of Use | |
| Customer Service |
Check out StockBrokers.com's picks for the best stock brokers in 2026.
| #1 Overall | Winner |
| #1 Advanced Trading | Winner |
| #1 Mobile Trading Apps | Winner |
| #1 Ease of Use | Winner |
| #1 Customer Service | Winner |
| #1 Active Trading Desktop Platform | Winner |
| #1 High Net Worth Investors | Winner |
| #1 Stock Research | Winner |
| 2026 | #1 |
| 2025 | #1 |
| 2024 | #3 |
| 2023 | #5 |
| 2022 | #4 |
| 2021 | #3 |
| 2020 | #3 |
| 2019 | #3 |
| 2018 | #3 |
| 2017 | #3 |
| 2016 | #4 |
| 2015 | #6 |
| 2014 | #5 |
| 2013 | #3 |
| 2012 | #5 |
| 2011 | #3 |
Charles Schwab serves the long-term investor best, particularly one who researches stocks, funds, and bonds before buying them, and it grows with a family from a teen's first account to a trust. Its #1 finish for Stock Research in our 2026 Annual Awards matches what I found on the NVDA page.
The drawbacks are clumsy spreads in the flagship app and a stock education path that makes beginners hunt for the basics. Margin is expensive for small balances, and direct crypto has not yet arrived. Stock, ETF, and bond investors should seriously consider opening an account; options traders who build spreads on the go should too as long as they use the thinkorswim app.
Charles Schwab Star Ratings
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StockBrokers.com Review Methodology
Why you should trust us
Jessica Inskip is Director of Investor Research at StockBrokers.com, bringing 15 years of experience in brokerage and trading strategy. A former FINRA-licensed rep, she held Series 7, 63, 66, and 4 licenses. Jessica focuses on investor education and brokerage industry research, appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, The Schwab Network, Fox Business, and Yahoo! Finance, and hosts the Market MakeHer podcast.
Blain Reinkensmeyer, co-founder of StockBrokers.com, has been investing and trading for over 25 years. After having placed over 2,500 trades in his late teens and early 20s, he became one of the first in digital media to review online brokerages. Today, Blain is widely respected as a leading expert on finance and investing, specifically the U.S. online brokerage industry. Blain has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Fast Company, among others. Blain created the original scoring rubrics for StockBrokers.com and oversees all testing and rating methodologies.
How we tested
- We used our own brokerage accounts for testing.
- We collected thousands of data points across the brokers we review.
- We tested each online broker's website, desktop platforms, and mobile app, where applicable.
- We maintained strict editorial independence; brokers cannot pay for inclusion or a higher rating.
Our research team meticulously collected data on every feature of importance to a wide range of customer profiles, including beginners, casual investors, passive investors, and active traders. We carefully track variables like margin rates, trading costs, fees, and platform features and use them to help rate brokers across a range of categories measuring ease of use, range of investments, research, education, and more.
At StockBrokers.com, our reviewers use a variety of computing devices to evaluate platforms and tools. Our reviews and data collection were conducted using the following devices chosen to reflect the everyday hardware our readers are likely to be using rather than top-tier configurations: iPhone SE running the latest iOS version, 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.
Each broker was evaluated and scored on over 200 different variables across seven key categories: Range of Investments, Platforms & Tools, Research, Mobile Trading, Education, Ease of Use, and Overall. Learn more about how we test.
Trading platforms tested in 2026
We tested 14 online trading platforms in 2026:
Read next
Fidelity charges $0 stock and ETF trades and won #1 for Research and Education in 2026. See our tested review of its fees, platforms, IRAs, and apps.
Jessica Inskip September 30, 2026
Our Robinhood review tests $0 stock and options trades, #1-ranked prediction markets, and AI agent trading, plus where its website research falls short.
Jessica Inskip October 01, 2026
Read our Interactive Brokers review and see why it's a top choice for active traders with low costs, cutting-edge platforms, and global reach.
Jessica Inskip July 31, 2026
Read our 2026 E*TRADE review to see how powerful research, versatile platforms, and diverse investments make it a top choice for all investors.
Jessica Inskip September 29, 2026More Guides
The best free stock trading platforms and commission-free apps for 2026. Interactive Brokers, Fidelity, Ally, J.P. Morgan and E*TRADE tested on the true cost of $0 trades, hidden fees and how free brokers make money.
Jessica Inskip September 02, 2026
Find the best brokerage for high-net-worth investors. Compare Fidelity, Schwab, Merrill, and more for premium services and tailored investment tools.
Jessica Inskip January 27, 2026
Find the top bank brokerages. From Merrill Edge to Ally, discover brokers that combine banking, investing, and rewards in one account.
Jessica Inskip April 16, 2026
The best day trading platforms and apps for 2026. Interactive Brokers, Schwab thinkorswim, Fidelity, E*TRADE and TradeStation tested on execution speed, Level 2 data, hotkeys, margin rates and the pattern day trader rule.
Jessica Inskip October 05, 2026
Find the best crypto trading platform for 2026. We rank eToro, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, Webull, and Robinhood on fees, security, and coin selection.
Steven Hatzakis May 27, 2026
We tested 14 brokers with real accounts. See the best options trading platforms for beginners, low fees and advanced traders, with contract fees compared.
Jessica Inskip September 09, 2026
Find the best IRA accounts. Compare Fidelity, Schwab, Merrill Edge, E*TRADE, & J.P. Morgan for retirement planning, fees, tools, and account flexibility.
Jessica Inskip March 31, 2026
Explore the best international brokers for U.S. investors. Compare Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity for global stock trading access.
Jessica Inskip May 22, 2026
Discover the best brokers for trade execution. Compare Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, and more for price improvement, speed, and transparency.
Jessica Inskip October 12, 2026
Find top U.S. forex brokers. From tastyfx to OANDA, explore platforms with strong regulation, great tools, and user-friendly trading.
Steven Hatzakis May 29, 2026
Find the best rollover IRA accounts. Compare Fidelity, Schwab, and E*TRADE for easy transfers, low fees, and smart retirement investing tools.
Andrea Coombes May 15, 2026
We tested the 5 best futures trading platforms of 2026. IBKR wins overall, and TradeStation has the lowest day-trade margins we found. Compare commissions, margins, and micros.
Jessica Inskip October 05, 2026
The best brokerage accounts of 2026, tested by our team. Compare Schwab, Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, E*TRADE and more online stock brokers on fees, platforms and research.
Jessica Inskip August 06, 2026
Fidelity, E*TRADE, and Schwab top our 2026 list of trading platforms and apps for beginners, with $0 minimums, $0 stock trades, and built-in education.
Jessica Inskip October 15, 2026
Find the best Roth IRA accounts. Fidelity, Schwab, and E*TRADE lead with low fees, smart investing tools, and retirement planning support.
Andrea Coombes April 27, 2026
Practice trading risk-free with the best paper trading apps and simulators of 2026. Compare Webull, Schwab thinkorswim, Interactive Brokers, E*TRADE and TradeStation, plus how paper trading works.
Jessica Inskip July 24, 2026
Find the best penny stock brokers. Compare Fidelity, Firstrade, Schwab, E*TRADE, and TradeStation for OTC access, fees, and tools.
Jessica Inskip August 02, 2026About Charles Schwab
Headquartered in Westlake, Texas, Charles Schwab was founded in 1971 and is one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States, with more than 36 million active brokerage accounts, 5.4 million workplace plan participant accounts, 2.0 million banking accounts, and more than $13 trillion in client assets as of July 2026. Schwab is a member of FINRA and SIPC, and in October 2020 it acquired TD Ameritrade, now a Schwab subsidiary.
About the Editorial Team
Jessica Inskip is Director of Investor Research at StockBrokers.com, bringing 15 years of experience in brokerage and trading strategy. A former FINRA-licensed rep, she held Series 7, 63, 66, and 4 licenses. Jessica focuses on investor education and brokerage industry research, appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, The Schwab Network, Fox Business, and Yahoo! Finance, and hosts the Market MakeHer podcast.
Jeff Anberg is a Senior Editor at StockBrokers.com. Along with years of experience in media distribution at a global newsroom, Jeff has a versatile knowledge base encompassing the technology and financial markets. He is a long-time active investor and engages in research on emerging markets like cryptocurrency. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from San Francisco State University.
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 25 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.