10 Best Stock Trading Apps in 2024
Investments help you grow your income over time, but you need to put in some initial work. Luckily, the best trading broking apps have evolved to make the journey easier.
The best apps simplify the buying and selling of stocks from your mobile phone. They often have low or zero deposit requirements and keep fees at a minimum, or exactly $0. Moreover, they are intuitive and user-friendly.
This post looks at these best stock trading apps out there. And includes information to help you make the right choice.
Stock Trading Apps Tips
Investing in stocks can be risky because you are entrusting your money into someone’s hands. Still, many successful investors out there, such as the Oracle of Omaha, show that there is a method to winning in the chaos.
Here are some tips to help you win as well.
- Investing is a risky business. Always focus on minimizing your risk per investment.
- Do not invest with your emotions, invest with your head. Pick only companies that you understand their business and are sure have a bright future. This is called fundamental analysis.
- Learn to read financial charts and understand technical analysis. It will save you a lot of headaches. This is called technical analysis.
- Buying stocks and holding for the long-term, like many decades, is investing. Short-term trades are for speculation and quick profits.
- Start small, but be consistent.
- Robo-advisors can be helpful, especially when you are just starting.
- Keep an eye on those commissions. They can quickly add up.
- Never stop learning. The financial market is vast and you will need a minimum of 1 year to know what you are doing.
Top 10 Stock Trading Apps
Name | Best For | Fees | Deposit | Website |
---|---|---|---|---|
Robinhood | Overall | $0 | $0 | robinhood.com |
Fidelity | Advanced investors, research | $0 | $0 | fidelity.com |
Plus500 | CFD trading | $0 | $100 | plus500.com |
Public | Investor social network | $0 | $0 | public.com |
Stockpile | Gifting stock | $0 | $0 | stockpile.com |
eToro | Social trading | Varies | $50 | etoro.com |
SoFi | Automation, beginners | $0, 1.25% | $0 | sofi.com |
Webull | Options & crypto traders | $0 | $0 | webull.com |
Stash | Beginner friendly | $1/ month | $0 | stash.com |
TD Ameritrade | Intermediate investors | $0 | $0 | tdameritrade.com |
1. Robinhood
- Best-For: Overall, beginners
- Fees: $0
- Website: robinhood.com
Robinhood set out to bring investing to the public in 2013, with its pioneering commission-free stock trading. The company currently has 31 million+ users and was recently listed on the Nasdaq at a $38 per share IPO price.
Robinhood offers real-time market data, news, and relevant articles to help you reach a good investment decision. There are no trading fees and you can start investing with as little as $1 in fractional shares.
The app lets you invest in stocks, funds, startup IPOs, options, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. Keep in mind though, that crypto trading on the platform is not regulated. Else, the others are.
A cash management feature is also available, letting you cash your checks, pay bills, and earn interest on your un-invested savings up to 0.3% APY. The app is also very well designed and will appeal to both beginners and advanced investors.
The Robinhood app has over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store. You can get it for Android devices, as well as for iPhones and iPod touch devices with iOS 11.0 and later.
2. Fidelity
- Best-For: Research, advanced investors
- Fees: $0 minimum, $0 fees
- Website: fidelity.com
Established in 1946, Fidelity is a multi-national firm that operates brokerage, retirement services, investment advice, mutual funds, life insurance, and so on. The company currently has over $8 trillion of assets under management.
Although Fidelity’s app is geared towards more experienced investors, it is also beginner-friendly. The interface is clean and easy to understand, but it also packs some of the best features that you can expect from a professional brokerage.
There is simplified navigation, customized data feeds, customized news, and research information. There are also money management features to trade, transfer, and pay bills. As well as to deposit checks and other transactions.
Extra features include a debit card and portfolio monitoring, multiple views for your watch list, as well as all the relevant stock information from the P/E ratio, EPS, Div yield, etc.
If you are looking for a solid app from a firm with 70+ years of industry experience, then check out Fidelity. It is available for Android and iOS devices.
3. Plus500
- Best-For: CFD trading
- Fees: $0, others
- Website: plus500.com
Founded in 2008 by a bunch of Israelis, Plus500 is a fintech provider of CFD trading services. CFD stands for Contract For Difference. So, trading in CFDs does not buy you the physical stocks or securities, rather you are targeting only the cash profits.
The company offers 2,500 trading instruments, ranging from stocks to indices, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and options. There are tight spreads, leveraging up to 1:300, and you can trade either through the web or app.
The app offers you live market quotes, including commodities such as oil and gold, and cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Bitcoin, and Ethereum.
While Plus500 charges no trading fees or commissions, you should note that there are other fees, like currency conversion, overnight funding, and account inactivity fees. The minimum deposit is also set at $100.
The company operates in many countries and you can fund your account using PayPal, credit card, or bank transfer. It is available for Android phones and iPhone, iPad, and macOS.
4. Public
- Best-For: Social investing
- Fees: $0 commissions, $0 minimum deposit
- Website: public.com
Public combines stock-broking with a social network that helps beginners to gain more knowledge by following other more experienced investors.
You can also connect with companies that you have an interest in and discover insights surrounding them, thereby gaining deeper knowledge about their future outlook and value.
The Public app does not require any account minimums and trading is commission-free. However, it is only available to U.S. residents 18 and above. You can invest with as little as $1 into fractional shares, ETFs, and startups about to go public.
This app already has 500K+ downloads on the Android Play Store and you can download it. You can also get it for iOS 11.0 and onward Apple devices.
5. Stockpile
- Best-For: Gifting stock shares
- Fees: Free
- Website: stockpile.com
The Stockpile platform makes it easy to invest in companies that you love and to gift their stocks to your loved ones as well.
If you want to introduce your kids to investing, for instance, then you can buy stocks from Stockpile and gift them to the kids. They can now monitor the assets on their own and learn. Trading on Stockpile is commission-free.
Over 4,000 stocks and ETFs are available for purchase on the app. And it lets you buy fractional shares as well, starting from $5. There are, however, no real-time quotes, no options trading, and margin accounts are not available. The system is geared towards long-term investments only.
Stockpile is available on the Play Store for Android devices with versions 8.0+. Apple iOS users from version 11.0 can also get it from the app store.
6. eToro
- Best-For: Social trading
- Fees: $0, $50 minimum deposit
- Website: etoro.com
eToro is an investment social network like the Public app, but it comes with a twist; it also offers copy trading, a method of automatically trading with experts.
The platform has millions of traders from 140+ countries. All you have to do is register, search for social investors, pick the ones you like, and copy their trades.
There are over 2,000 tradeable instruments on eToro, with different experts specializing in a handful at a time. There is Forex, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and the ability to even copy entire portfolios.
eToro is available on the web and as smartphone apps. While trading is free without commissions, the minimum deposit depends on your country. For the U.S. and UK, it stands at $200 for the very first deposit and $50 for subsequent ones.
You can get the Android app and the Apple iOS app. eToro has over 10 million downloads on the app store and requires Android versions from 5.1 upward.
7. SoFi Invest
- Best-For: Automation, beginners
- Fees: $0 commission, 1.25% for cryptocurrencies
- Website: sofi.com
The SoFi Invest app combines three important features to create an app that is perfect for beginner investors. These 3 features are SoFi INVEST, SoFi MONEY, and SoFi RELAY.
SoFi INVEST lets you buy and trade stocks manually or automatically. There are no commissions and no account minimums. You can also buy bonds and cryptocurrencies with it, plus fractional investments are possible.
With SoFi MONEY, you get an online bank that offers money management features to help you better manage your finances. There is a debit card with zero fees, no annual fees, and no overdrafts. Plus, you earn interest on your un-invested funds.
SoFi RELAY is a budget planner and finance tracker to help you keep track of things on the go. And it will additionally monitor your credit score, free of charge.
You can get the app for Android 8.0 upward and for iPhones and iPads with iOS 13.0 and later.
8. Webull
- Best-For: Options and crypto trading
- Fees: $0 commission, $0 deposit
- Website: webull.com
Most other stockbrokers charge a fee for trading options, even when stocks are $0 commission. Webull, on the other hand, lets you trade stocks, options, and ETFs for free.
That means a $0 contract fee for options trading and a $0 brokerage account minimum deposit. You can also buy and sell cryptocurrencies starting from $1, and they include BTC, Dogecoin, ETH, Bitcoin Cash, and lots more.
The app offers real-time data, free Nasdaq Level-II access, voice trading control, 12 charting tools, and over 50 technical indicators. You can also practice trading on Webull for free, without investing real money.
Webull is available for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and macOS from versions 11.0. While Android users can get it from version 7.1. It has 10 million+ installs with a 4.4-star rating.
9. Stash
- Best-For: Beginner-friendly
- Fees: Starts from $1 per month, $0 commissions
- Website: stash.com
For a very beginner-friendly approach to investing, check out the Stash app. It can help you to bank, invest, and insure simply and affordably.
There are three plans here: Stash Beginner for $1 per month, Stash Growth for $3 per month, and Stash+ for $9 per month.
Stash Beginner includes investment advice, a debit card with 2-day early payments, a $1,000 life insurance, and an investment portfolio.
The Stash Growth account adds better investment advice and access to a smart portfolio. While Stash+ includes more features, family investing, kids’ portfolios, and a $10,000 life insurance.
You should note that while you can manually invest with the Beginner account, only the Growth and Stash+ accounts let you invest automatically with the Smart Portfolio, starting from $5.
You can get it for iOS 11.0+ and for Android 7.0+.
10. TD Ameritrade
- Best-For: Intermediate investors
- Fees: $0
- Website: tdameritrade.com
TD Ameritrade is a reputable stockbroker, operating in the financial markets since 1975. It offers online trading, as well as a mobile app, with plenty of features and $0 commissions.
You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, Forex, and fixed income securities on the platform. There are real-time streaming quotes, Level-II quotes, charts, and relevant news to keep you informed and up to date.
The app lets you transfer your funds, use mobile check deposits, and authenticate your transfers and trades using the fingerprint and facial identification features of your smartphone.
There are also alerts and notifications to help you keep up to date with trading opportunities, price targets being met, and breaking news events.
Users of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch from iOS versions 13.0 onward can get it from the app store. While Android users can get it from the play store.
Conclusion
We have reached the end of this list of the top 10 stock-broking apps out there. And as you can see, they are varied in their features.
Since we all have different needs, there is simply no single best app for everyone. But if you are still undecided or need some help, then the recommendation is Robinhood.