Best Discount Broker | Online Discount Brokerage Firms 2013
What is a discount broker?
A Discount Broker is a stock broker who carries out buy and sell orders at a reduced commission compared to a full-service broker. But it provides no one-to-one investment advice. Now-a-days, major online discount brokers have started to provide quality research to their clients. Most retail investors and traders are increasingly choosing discount brokers over traditional full service brokerages. In the past decade, there has been a proliferation of online discount brokers firms in the recent years. With the rise in the number of online discount brokers, competition has risen. The competition has forced innovation in trading platforms, low commissions, and additional features such as educational and training centers, and more.
The list below is the list of discount brokers compiled by our team who are the best in this category:
Which discount brokerage is the best?
As you see the rankings, it is advised to take a look at their individual reviews before coming to a final conclusion. I recommend you to also visit the broker's websites to determine which online discount brokerage is the best for your needs.
Discount Broker Comparison
Our goal is to show you some of the best values in the discount brokerage space, and show you some of the top features they offer. We have focused on the more popular firms that consistently appear in the industry awards reviews, including those by Barron's, SmartMoney, and Kiplinger’s. Our brokerage comparison will give you some basic information on pricing structures, and the unique features about each of these online brokerage firms. Hopefully you can use this information to find the discount online brokerage that is best for your needs.
- 126 retail outlets across US
- Excellent in-house and 3rd party research
- Powerful, easy-to-use trading tools
- #1 Broker for Novices and Long Term Investing - Barron's 2013
- Stocks Trading Fee: $9.99
- Options Trading Base Fee: $9.99
- Per Contract Options Fee: $0.75
- Best Customer Service: "SmartMoney's Annual Broker Survey
- Broker Assisted Trade at no additional cost
- #1 online discount broker by SmartMoney Magazine
- Free real-time quotes
- Stocks Trading Fee: $4.95
- Options Trading Base Fee: $4.95
- Per Contract Options Fee: $0.65
- Free Independent research from leading sources
- A saving account from etrade bank possible
- Access to foreign markets
- 31 retail locations in the US
- ACAT available
- Stocks Trading Fee: $9.99
- Options Trading Base Fee: $9.99
- Per Contract Options Fee: $0.75
- Free virtual trading
- Refer to a friend and win $150 or 30 free trades
- Cheapest Stock Trading Commission
- No up charge for Broker-Assisted Trading
- Ranked 6 overall By Barron's 2013
- Orders are accepted by phone
- Stocks Trading Fee: $3.95
- Options Trading Base Fee: $8.50
- Per Contract Options Fee: $0.15
- Over 500 physical offices for customer service
- Easy transfer of an account from any other broker to Scottrade
- Great emphasis on in-Person online education
- Excellent Mobile Trading and Account Access
- Stocks Trading Fee: $7.00
- Options Trading Base Fee: $7.00
- Per Contract Options Fee: $1.25
- Excellent trading platform
- Virtual Trading Available
- Top notch mobile trading apps
- Great education resources for all levels of traders
- Stocks Trading Fee: $8.95
- Options Trading Base Fee: $0.00
- Per Contract Options Fee: $1.50
- Powerful Trading Tools & Research
- Superior value on Commission
- Free Account Transfer
- Experienced Customer & Trade Support
- Stocks Trading Fee: $7.5
- Options Trading Base Fee: $7.5
- Per Contract Options Fee: $0.5
Which is the Best Discount Broker?
The above list comprises of the top online discount brokers. We analyzed each in six broad areas. First, the obvious: trading fees and commissions; and then others such as investment products, research quality, trading platform and tools, customer service, and trader education. We also measured the ease of navigation and functionality of their Web sites and apps. We must say at this point that no broker aced all of the areas, but surely Tradeking stands out tall amongst other discount stock brokers.
Tradeking
With just $4.95 in commissions and superb customer service and trading platform, Tradeking is a top choice for a retail-investor among the discount stock brokers online.
ETrade
E*Trade is the star of this year’s rankings. It is the best discount broker according to our research. It charges $9.99 per transaction, and scores relatively low for that reason — but what amazes us is its wide range of investment choices, good research, and excellent trading platform & tools. These areas really made ETrade to stand ahead of the others. . To read the in-depth analysis, please visit Editorial Review and Ratings of ETrade.
TD Ameritrade
When it comes to investment choices, the winner for ETFs is TD Ameritrade, which offers 101 ETFs without commission. The mobile apps from TD Ameritrade also stand aside as compared to others. The downside: TD Ameritrade charges $9.99 per trade. To read our in-depth analysis, please visit Editorial Review and Ratings of TD Ameritrade.
Cheapest Discount Broker
While choosing the cheapest discount broker, we not only considered the trading commissions, but also the quality of the trading platform and customer service. According to us, Tradeking is the cheapest discount broker.
Popular Brokerage Offers
Refer your friends to OptionsHouse and get your choice of $150 or 30 commission-free trades.