E*TRADE® is one of the most popular and well known online discount stock brokerages. Many of you are probably familiar with their advertising campaign which features the “E*TRADE Talking Babies” to help promote their services. E*TRADE is a publicly traded company under the symbol ETFC, and has a market capital of around $3 billion.
- Inactivity Fees: None (recently updated)
- Minimum to Open: $500
- Penny Stock Friendly: Yes
- Stock Commission: $7.99-$9.99 Depending on activity
optionsXpress® is an award winning online brokerage that has some quite unique features. This is one of the few brokers that offers futures trading, helping investors diversify into yet another market type.
- Inactivity Fees: None
- Minimum to Open: None
- Penny Stock Friendly: Yes
- Stock Commission: $8.95 flat rate (up to 1 million shares)
TD Ameritrade® is one of the brokerages you will often see on TV commercials. Their large size and advertising budget enable them to do this. The problem with this type of broker is that additional budget results in higher commissions.
- Inactivity Fees: None
- Minimum to Open: None
- Penny Stock Friendly: Yes and No
- Stock Commission: $9.99 Flat (Unlimited Shares)
Our review of thinkorswim is in progress and coming soon. Check back soon! TDAmeritrade now owns thinkorswim, and offers it’s impressive platform to its clients. If you wish to learn a little about the thinkorswim trading platform, check out our TDAmeritrade review. Feel free to submit your own review below.
- Inactivity Fees: None
- Minimum to Open: $3500
- Penny Stock Friendly: Yes - $9.99 per trade
- Stock Commission: $.015 per share ($5.00 minimum) or $9.95 per trade (market or limit orders; 5,000 shares maximum)
NOTE: Brokers are always ranked on the page by overall ratings, the position on the page doesn't necessarily reflect a broker's merits within a specific category. Please read the category description for our top category brokers. If you do not see a specific broker here we have not yet completed a full review, it hasn't made the cut, or does not fit within the category. Please check back for future updates!