Beginners should consider starting off with swing trading, which means holding an investment for more than one day and less than a couple of months. It's less time-consuming and stressful than day trading. Stocks and crypto are great for beginners.
For our 2022 Review, we tested and scored 15 trading platforms, focusing on features that are essential for beginning investors. In addition to in-depth testing of each learning center, we looked at which brokers offer unique features like webinars, live seminars, videos, progress tracking, paper (or virtual) trading and interactive educational elements such as quizzes.
The best trading platforms for beginners all offer three essential benefits. First, the platform itself should be easy to use and beginner-friendly. Second is the provision of a variety of educational materials to get new investors off to a strong start. And third, the best platforms deliver access to quality stock market research.
Webull offers a unique community experience and easy-to-use trading platforms that will satisfy most young investors. Its educational materials, however, are lacking compared to leaders in this area. Read full review
Merrill Edge offers $0 trades with industry-leading research tools (especially ESG research) and customer rewards. Learning about investing is a pleasant experience, thanks to excellent organization, quality and in-house curated content. Read full review
Earning a recommendation based on its trading platform alone, E*TRADE is great for any beginner stock trader. Power E*TRADE is easy to use and offers features including paper (practice) trading and note-taking. Its educational content, though plentiful, can be a challenge to navigate. Read full review
Fidelity is a winner for beginners, thanks to its plethora of educational resources that includes a Learning Center stocked with videos, infographics, and even podcasts. Fidelity also offers an innovative Youth Account – a first-of-its-kind brokerage account for teens aged 13 to 17. Read full review
Winner: Fidelity - Best overall for beginners
Fidelity is our top pick for beginning investors, thanks to its extensive investor education library, quality research, ease of use and the ability to buy fractional stock and ETF shares. It also offers a Youth account, which led us to give it an award for Best Innovation for 2022. One feature that some beginners might miss at Fidelity is the ability to trade a simulated portfolio (“paper trading”) before risking real money. Read our full review of Fidelity.
Runner-up: TD Ameritrade - Excellent education
TD Ameritrade’s education is top-notch across the board. Aside from its breadth and depth – there’s something for everyone – it’s also high quality. For example, we watched a live beginning traders webinar and were startled to see the highly qualified presenter not only greet participants by name, but also remember them from other events. Unlike Fidelity, you can trade a simulated portfolio, but you can’t buy fractional shares. That is, at least for now. TD Ameritrade was bought by Charles Schwab in 2020 and Schwab intends to merge the two firm’s offerings. Read our full review of TD Ameritrade.
E*TRADE has the best trading app for beginners and has one of the best trading websites, too. New investors will appreciate the intuitive layouts and well-organized menus of portfolio and market information. The same can’t be said for its investor education, which we found to be a mixed bag in our review. E*TRADE does not allow clients to buy fractional shares, but does offer paper trading on its advanced trading platform, Power E*TRADE, at no cost. Read our full review of E*TRADE.
Merrill Edge - Best client experience
If you’re interested in investing in individual stocks or funds, Merrill Edge’s Stock Stories and Fund Stories do a phenomenal job presenting highly relevant info in a friendly way. There’s nothing quite like it elsewhere. When you’re ready to take a deeper dive beyond the “Story,” Merrill has an extensive selection of Bank of America Securities and third-party research at the ready. Merrill Edge doesn’t offer fractional shares or paper trading. Read our full review of Merrill Edge.
The Stock Story feature on the Merrill Edge mobile app.
Webull - Best investor community
Webull won our best investor community award. That’s great — but the best way to learn how to invest is to form your own ideas, try them out, and learn from your successes and mistakes. Happily, Webull has a stellar ease of use, paper trading, and the ability to buy fractional shares, putting its platform among the best for beginners. It would be even better if it offered higher-quality investor education; and, as you get your feet wet, you will notice it isn’t as feature-filled as the offerings of other brokers listed here. Read our full review of Webull.
Other trading platforms tested
In addition to our top five trading platforms for beginners in 2022, we reviewed 10 others: Ally Invest, Charles Schwab, Firstrade, Interactive Brokers, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, SoFi Invest, TradeStation, Tradier, Robinhood and Vanguard. To dive deeper, read our reviews.
Best Platforms for Beginners: Education Comparison
Here's a comparison of the most popular educational features offered by beginner trading platforms. To compare 150+ features and fees side by side, check out our online broker comparison tool.
Which online broker is best for beginners?
Based on our extensive testing, Fidelity takes the top spot this year as the best all-around choice for beginners, due to its fantastic ease of use and top rankings in education and research. Add in the option to trade fractional shares and its unique youth account offering (which captured our innovation award), and we have a winner. zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in
Which trading platform is best for beginners?
The best trading platform for beginners is Power E*TRADE. E*TRADE offers Power E*TRADE as both a browser platform and mobile app. The availability of paper trading, as well as HTML5 charts with automated technical analysis and screening tools for both stocks and options, make Power E*TRADE an excellent option for beginners. zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in
What is the best stock trading app for beginners?
For beginners, our favorite trading apps are Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Webull. Fidelity provides the best market research and stock analysis, alongside an in-depth learning center. TD Ameritrade offers the most comprehensive selection of trading tools, and provides access to its entire educational video library for beginners, which is easily navigable by topic. Webull's app stands out for simplicity of use. zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in zoom_in
Which type of trading app is best for beginners?
Beginners should consider starting off with swing trading, which means holding an investment for more than one day and less than a couple of months. It’s less time-consuming and stressful than day trading. Stocks and crypto are great for beginners. Wait until you have more experience before using options, short selling and buying on margin.
Can I teach myself how to trade?
Yes, you can teach yourself to trade, provided you have realistic expectations and stay at it through a full market boom-and-bust cycle. Don’t invest more than a fraction of your trading capital at once and keep a trading journal of why you entered and exited each trade and how well that trade performed. Most traders fail because they focus on chasing upside more than managing their risk. (You can learn more about trade journaling on our sister site, StockTrader.com.)
How do I start trading for beginners?
To start trading as a beginner you must have a brokerage account, an investment strategy and an expected time horizon that you plan to hold. Scan the market for trading ideas while taking baby steps to size your trades appropriately. Trading platform: A demo or virtual account from a broker is a great way to learn the trading software you are using and understand how order types can help you manage risk while entering and exiting positions. Trading strategy: After opening a brokerage account, there are several decisions you will need to prepare for when trading as a beginner, such as what to trade and when to trade it, and how much money to budget. Time frame: Whether investing for the long term as a passive investor or trading more actively, you must focus on present market conditions and recent price activity when deciding how long you want to hold. Baby steps: Fractional shares are another way to ease your way into the world of stock trading while taking less risk, allowing you to focus on percentage returns before taking steps to increase your trading budget. Interested in more stock trading education? Dive deeper with StockTrader.com's 10 Great Ways to Learn Stock Trading .
How do I start a trading account for beginners?
Once you decide which broker is best for you, fill out its online application and deposit money either through a transfer from your bank (usually the easiest method), mailing a check or transferring assets from another brokerage account. You can open an account in as little as five or 10 minutes on your phone or laptop and you may be able to get instant credit from an ACH bank transfer.
How do beginners trade stocks?
Here are common steps for beginners when learning how to trade stocks online: Open a self-directed brokerage account. Decide how much money you can afford to risk. Deposit or transfer the money to your new account. Learn how to place an order and view your stocks at the broker you’ve chosen. Practice trading, either through a virtual portfolio or very small amounts of your own money with each trade. Keep a trading journal. Read, read, read. Have a look at the recommended reading list on our sister site, StockTrader.com, to get a headstart. Follow market news and practice forming your own opinions. Monitor your results closely and adjust when it’s not working. Stay with it.
How do you buy stocks online?
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To buy stocks, first, you need to open and fund an online brokerage account. Next, research which stock you want to buy. Last, go to the order ticket, enter the stock symbol — along with the number of shares — you want to buy, then place your trade.
What is paper trading?
Paper trading, or virtual trading, is a trading platform feature that enables the trading of stocks, ETFs, and options with virtual currency (fake money). This helpful learning tool is popular with beginners and is a great way to practice stock trading without risking real money. The two top-rated brokers that offer paper trading are TD Ameritrade and E*TRADE.
What are fractional shares?
A fractional share is a portion of a full share of a publicly-traded company. Fractional shares enable investors with smaller budgets buy a stake in companies with high stock prices. For example, instead of spending over $3,000 to buy one Amazon (AMZN) share, a trader could purchase a $100 fractional share – and then own a proportional fraction of that share (in this example, roughly 1/30th of a share). Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Interactive Brokers, Webull, SoFi Invest and Robinhood offer fractional shares.
What is a market order?
A market order is an order to buy or sell a security (such as a stock) at the current best-available market price. Market orders are the most common type of order, as they are the fastest and easiest way to buy and sell shares.
What is a limit order?
A limit order is an order to buy or sell a security at a pre-specified price or better. Since limit orders are fixed to a pre-specified price, they will only fill when the limit price is reached. Limit orders are best when you know the exact price at which you want to buy or sell a stock.
Is online trading safe?
Online trading is safe if you use a regulated online stock broker and never invest more than you are willing to lose. Trading stocks online is inherently risky. Start with a small amount of money, read investing books, and keep it simple by buying and holding for the long term rather than trying to time the market.
StockBrokers.com 2022 Overall Ranking
Here are the Overall rankings for the 15 online brokers who participated in our 2022 Review, sorted by Overall ranking.
Explore our other online trading guides:
Also explore educational content for various topics at our sister sites:
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.
In order to assess the overall trading experience and to evaluate the ease of use of online trading platforms for beginner traders, we test across a wide range of devices and operating systems.
Testing was done on devices for both Apple and Android operating systems. For Apple: iPhone XS with the most current iOS. For Android: Samsung Galaxy S9+, 6.2" 4K Super AMOLED (2960x1440) 64-bit Octa-Core Snapdragon 835 Processor 2.7GHz, 6GB RAM 6.2" with the most current operating system.
Our research team rigorously tests the most important features sought by beginner traders, such as the quality and variety of educational resources, the ease of use of any available trading platforms and the value of the broker’s actionable market research. We looked at which brokers offer unique features like webinars, live seminars, videos, progress tracking, paper (or virtual) trading and interactive educational elements such as quizzes.
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.
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