11 Best Online Brokers for Free Trading of January 2025
All of the online brokers below offer free trades, so investors can bypass commissions and build portfolios free of charge. They also charge low or no account fees.
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Our deep, independent analysis of online brokers sorts through key account details to find and evaluate the information investors want when choosing an account. To see our full methodology and learn more about our process, read our criteria for evaluating brokers.
Over 60 investment account providers reviewed and rated by our expert Nerds.
More than 50 years of combined experience writing about finance and investing.
Hands-on testing of the account funding process, broker websites and stock-trading platforms.
Dozens of objective ratings rubrics, and strict guidelines to maintain editorial integrity.
Commission-free trades for stocks, exchange-traded funds and options are the industry standard among top online brokerages. That means investors looking for the best free stock trading platform need to compare their options on other factors — things like investment selection, trading platform and options contract fees.
We've done that work for you. Here are NerdWallet’s picks for the best brokers for free trading. In addition to not charging commissions on stock, ETF or options trades, all of the brokers below offer fractional shares and solid execution quality.
Note: Increasingly, brokers are doing away with their options contract fees in addition to commissions. Below, we've flagged the brokers that don't charge commissions for options trades.
Best Online Brokers for Free Trading
| Broker | NerdWallet rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5/5 | $0 per trade | $0 | 1 Free Stock after linking your bank account (stock value range $5.00-$200) | Learn moreLearn more on Robinhood's website | |
4.3/5 | $0 per trade. Other fees apply. | $0 | Get up to $1,000 when you open and fund an E*TRADE account | Learn moreLearn more on E*TRADE's website | |
5.0/5 | $0 per trade | $0 | Get up to 40 free fractional shares ( each valued up to $3,000) when you open and fund an account with Webull. | Learn moreLearn more on Webull's website | |
4.8/5 | $0 per online equity trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreLearn more on Charles Schwab's website | |
5.0/5 | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreLearn more on Interactive Brokers' website |
Our pick for
no options contract fee
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
1 Free Stock
after linking your bank account (stock value range $5.00-$200)
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
Get up to 40 free fractional shares ( each valued up to $3,000)
when you open and fund an account with Webull.
Fees
$0
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
Earn up to $10,000
when you transfer your investment portfolio to Public.
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
Get up to $1,000
in stock when you fund a new account.
Fees
$0
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0
per online equity trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0
per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Fees
$0
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
N/A
Last updated on January 3, 2025
Methodology
How do we review brokers?
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers by assets under management, along with emerging industry players. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.
NerdWallet's Best Online Brokers for Free Trading of January 2025
- Robinhood: Best for no options contract fee
- E*TRADE
- Webull: Best for no options contract fee
- Charles Schwab
- Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite
- Public: Best for no options contract fee
- Fidelity
- SoFi Active Investing: Best for no options contract fee
- Firstrade: Best for no options contract fee
- Moomoo: Best for no options contract fee
- tastytrade