Why trust NerdWallet
Our in-depth, impartial assessments of online brokerage firms sift through the noise to pinpoint and analyze the data investors need when selecting an account for stock trading.
Over 60 investment account
providers reviewed and graded by our expert team.
More than 50 years of collective experience reporting on the world of finance and investing.
Hands-on evaluation of account funding procedures, broker websites, and platforms for trading stocks.
If you’re looking to invest in the stock market, opening a brokerage account is essential. The top-tier brokers generally provide excellent and helpful customer support, rapid order processing, comprehensive and intuitive trading platforms, complimentary investment analysis, and diverse investment options. Beyond these qualities, the stock brokers featured here enable commission-free stock transactions.
How we select these brokerage accounts
The star rankings presented below indicate the overall score for each online broker. Our team of reviewers – comprised of professional investment writers and editors at NerdWallet – dedicate several months to examining brokerage accounts, thoroughly assessing each broker’s trading platform via real accounts that we personally open, fund, and use to execute trades. This approach enables us to thoroughly report on every facet of the user experience, from how quickly you can deposit funds into a new account and how seamless that process is, to what the stock trading experience is actually like, along with investing in other areas.
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Read our detailed methodology
NerdWallet undertakes a detailed evaluation process to assess and rank prominent brokerage companies within the United States, based on their managed assets, alongside emerging industry players. Our primary goal is to present an objective assessment of these service providers, equipping you with the knowledge needed to make well-informed choices that suit your particular needs.
We obtain information directly from brokerage houses through comprehensive questionnaires, and complement this with hands-on testing and observations gleaned from provider demos. The responses to these questionnaires, along with demonstrations, interviews with provider staff, and our expert team’s independent research, are incorporated into our exclusive assessment method, which evaluates each provider’s performance against over 20 distinct criteria.
We assign scores to each online brokerage by evaluating them according to a range of factors that take into account both the features available and the actual practical experience of using them. This includes how user-friendly the registration and account funding procedures are. It’s worth noting that while a broker might receive high marks for its stock trading platforms, analysis tools, or investment research, it could still be penalized for any difficulties encountered when putting those features to use. This means that even if a broker boasts an advanced trading platform, any clunkiness in its operation or unnecessarily complex account opening requirements will negatively affect its overall rating.
The final outcome is presented as star ratings, ranging from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). For an in-depth explanation of the factors considered in our broker ratings and a complete breakdown of our evaluation process,
read our full methodology.