Best Trading Platforms 2022

Do you want to buy shares of stocks like Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), Netflix (NFLX), or Tesla (TSLA)? If so, you'll need to set up a trading account with an online broker.

Every stock trading platform is unique. And now — with every broker offering $0 stock and ETF trades — deciding which one to use comes down to differences in the overall trading experience. Investment options, trading tools, market research, beginner education, customer service, and ease of use are all factors investors should consider when choosing a broker.

Our review process at StockBrokers.com is exhaustive: This year we measured more than 200 individual variables across multiple brokers for a total of 3,075 data points.

Best Trading Platforms 2022

Here are the best online brokers for 2022, based on 205 variables.

• Fidelity - 5 stars - Best overall, best for beginners
• TD Ameritrade - 5 stars - Best trading platforms and tools, best customer service
• E*TRADE - 5 stars - Best mobile trading, best for ease of use
• Charles Schwab - 4.5 stars -Best IRA accounts, best broker podcast
• Interactive Brokers - 4.5 stars - Best for professionals, best offering of investments

Other Trading Platforms

In addition to our top five trading platforms for 2022, we reviewed 10 others: Ally Invest, Firstrade, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, Merrill Edge, SoFi Invest, TradeStation, Tradier, Robinhood, Vanguard and Webull. Here are our high-level takeaways for each. To dive deeper, read our reviews.

Ally Invest - For current Ally customers looking to invest in stocks, Ally's universal-accounts experience and easy-to-use website is a convenient solution.

Firstrade - While Firstrade is easy to use and terrific for Chinese-speaking investors, its overall offering struggles to stand out against brokers that also offer $0 stock trades.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing - J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing gives Chase Bank customers easy access to investing, and its all-in-one platform makes money and asset management simple and straightforward.

Merrill Edge - Merrill Edge offers $0 trades with industry-leading research tools — especially for ESG research — and excellent customer service. Better yet, the Preferred Rewards program at Bank of America, Merrill Edge’s parent, offers eligible clients the best rewards of any bank broker we tested in 2022.

SoFi Invest - SoFi Invest offers a wide range of services, is relatively easy to use, and gets high marks for its mobile app. Its lack of research, as well as its lagging education and trading tools, leave it a step behind industry leaders.

TradeStation - As a trading technology leader, TradeStation supports casual traders through its web-based platform and active traders through its award-winning desktop platform, all with $0 stock and ETF trades.

Tradier - Tradier is aimed at the advanced trader, but one who is not interested in cryptocurrencies or futures trading. To get the most out of being a Tradier client, investors must also be willing to pay for a premium platform.

Robinhood - Robinhood used to shine thanks to its easy-to-use mobile app and $0 trades. However, today, all of the largest online brokers offer free stock and ETF trades. As a result, it is much more difficult for Robinhood to outduel the competition.

Vanguard - Vanguard is aimed squarely at buy-and-hold investors and its platform reflects that focus. Vanguard is known for its low-cost funds, and the investment platform is really built for those looking to invest solely in mutual funds and ETFs.

Webull - Webull offers a unique community experience and easy-to-use trading platforms that will satisfy most newer investors. However, for everyday investing, Webull lacks the trading tools and features to compete with industry leaders who also offer $0 stock and ETF trades.

2022 Industry Awards

For the StockBrokers.com 2022 Review, all online broker participants were assessed on 205 variables, with 3,075 data points collected in total. Here are the 2022 main category, secondary category, and industry award winners. Here's how we tested.

  

What is the best stockbroker for beginners?

Based on over 30 variables, the best stockbroker for beginners is Fidelity. Alongside top-rated research, Fidelity offers a vast and diverse selection of educational content. Highlights include over 200 videos, progress tracking, quizzes, and over 100 monthly webinars, among others. Add to this its unique Youth Account, a legitimate investing account for teens ages 13 to 17, and Fidelity is a winner.

   

Which online trading platform is best?

Online trading platforms come in one of three forms: desktop (download), web (browser), and mobile (app). After testing 15 brokers and collecting 3,075 data points, we found that TD Ameritrade has the best desktop trading platform, E*TRADE has the best web trading platform, and Fidelity has the best investor app.

         

Who are the top 10 brokerage firms?

Ranked by total assets under management, or AUM, the top 10 brokerage firms in 2022 are as follows:

• Fidelity - $11.1 trillion AUM (source)
• Charles Schwab - $8.14 trillion AUM (source)
• TD Ameritrade - Over $1 trillion in AUM (source)
• E*TRADE- $1.52 trillion in AUM via Morgan Stanley (source)
• Merrill Edge - $353 billion AUM via Bank of America (source)
• Interactive Brokers - $373 billion in AUM (source)
• Ally Bank - $139 billion in AUM (source)
• Robinhood - $95 billion in AUM (source)
• TradeStation - $12.65 billion via Monex Group (source)
• Firstrade AUM not published; est. $4 billion (source)

What is the most profitable trading platform?

The most profitable trading platform for you depends on your needs — whether you're a day trader, active investor, or passive investor employing a long-term buy-and-hold strategy. Fidelity is our top all-around pick for 2022 for its industry-leading research, excellent trading tools, and easy-to-use mobile app.

People often mistake trading platforms — like Robinhood or TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim — for companies that place trades for you; in reality, these platforms are meant for self-directed trading (though they may offer educational tools and materials). If you're looking for hands-on guidance with your investments, you can search for a trusted financial advisor on investor.com.

It bears noting that trading profits are never guaranteed; for every potential reward there is an equal amount of risk.

Which online broker has the lowest fees?

When it comes to buying stocks online, our research found that Fidelity has the lowest fees overall. Fidelity is the only online brokerage to offer $0 stock trades without profiting from the industry practice of payment for order flow, or PFOF. In a world where every online broker offers free stock trades, hidden costs matter.

What does a stockbroker do?

There are two types of stockbrokers. Online stockbrokers, companies like TD Ameritrade and Fidelity, allow you to buy and sell stocks. Traditional stockbrokers — who are individuals — buy and sell stocks on behalf of clients. Traditional stockbrokers often work for corporations, as opposed to individual investors.

If you are looking to buy and sell stocks on your own, you are looking for an online stockbroker. When you open an account with a regulated brokerage, you can deposit money and make investments in the stock market.

If you want someone to manage your money for you, you might benefit from looking for a Registered Investment Advisory on sites like investor.com.

Should I hire a stockbroker?

It depends on your needs. If you want to handle your own investments, there's no need to hire an individual stockbroker; opening a free brokerage account with a broker such as TD Ameritrade provides you with the services needed to trade in the stock market, usually for free or for a small commission per trade.

On the other hand, if you want someone to manage your money for you, then you may consider hiring a financial advisor for a fee. Financial advisors can buy and sell stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and other financial assets for you based on your financial goals and risk tolerance. Our sister site, investor.com, ranks the best financial advisor firms in the United States.

2022 Overall Ranking

Here are the Overall rankings for the 15 online brokers who participated in our 2022 Review, sorted by Overall ranking.

Brokers	Customer Service	Commissions & Fees	Research	Platforms & Tools	Mobile Trading Apps	Offering of Investments	Education	Ease Of Use	Overall Rating	Visit Site
Fidelity
TD Ameritrade
E*TRADE
Charles Schwab
Interactive Brokers										Visit Site
Merrill Edge
Firstrade
Ally Invest
TradeStation
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed
Tradier
Webull
Robinhood
Vanguard
SoFi Invest

Read Next

Explore our other online trading guides:

Methodology

For the StockBrokers.com 12th Annual Review published in January 2022, a total of 3,075 data points were collected over three months and used to score 15 top brokers. This makes StockBrokers.com home to the largest independent database on the web covering the online broker industry.

As part of our annual review process, all brokers had the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones and complete an in-depth data profile, which we hand-checked for accuracy. Brokers also were offered the opportunity to provide executive time for an annual update meeting.

Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test.

More from the editor

Alongside the StockBrokers.com Annual Review, we also published our sixth annual forex brokers review on our sister site, ForexBrokers.com, reviewing 39 forex brokers from across the globe. And be sure to check the latest ratings of financial advisors and reviews of cashback credit cards and high-yield savings accounts on investor.com.