Best Online Broker for Beginning Investors

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

NerdWallet reviewed 16 online brokerages that offer self-directed accounts. These brokerages constitute the majority of that market based on their assets under management. Some of the providers are NerdWallet partners, but this did not influence our selection of the winner.

How we chose the winner:

NerdWallet evaluated each provider across the weighted criteria below to determine the winner for beginning investors:
  • Low or no account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) (30%).
  • Customer service, including hours of availability, website transparency and educational support offerings (30%).
  • Account minimum (10%).
  • Availability of fractional stock shares (10%).
  • Mobile app ratings in the Apple and Google Play app stores (10%).
  • Stock trading commissions (5%).
  • Research and data, including number of third-party providers and quality of research tools (5%).

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet writers sent detailed questions to all reviewed companies. NerdWallet writers and editors also confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each company's website.

Explore the List

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