Best Discount Brokers For Cheap Online Stock Trades, 2009
The following is a list of top discount brokers focused on cheap online stock trading for active traders. It is sorted from the lowest commission cost to the highest. Recommended brokers are selected based on users’ votes and reviews. In addition, special offers and features for these discount brokers are listed to help you decide. Since brokers can change their offers at any given time, it’s highly recommend that you visit the site and review the most recent information carefully.
Best Discount Brokerages For Active Stock Traders
| Broker Name | Commission ($)* | User Rating | Special Offers and Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scottrade | $7.00 | 5.00 | User’s Choice. Access your account, get quotes, and place orders using any Internet-enabled mobile device |
| Zecco Trading | $4.50 | 4.71 | User’s Choice. No minimum to open. Get 10 free stock trades every month with $25,000 balance or 25 traders each month — $4.50 per trade otherwise. |
| E*Trade | $9.99 | 4.25 | User’s Choice. 100 commission-free stocks and options trade for new Power E*TRADE accounts opened with $1,000 minimum deposit. To qualify for Power E*TRADE, you must execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter. |
| Just2Trade | $2.50 | - | $2,500 minimum account balance |
| OptionsHouse | $2.95 | 5.00 | $100 ACAT transfer rebate, $25 Wire fees rebate, and Refer-a-friend bonus. Offers Virtual Trading let you experiment, learn, test, evaluate, practice, explore, and play. $9.95 flat-rate options and $14.95 flat-rate spreads. Barron’s 4.7 stars rated.
Limited time offer: Get 100 commission free trades when open an account with $3,000 or more using promo code FREE100. |
| SogoTrade | $3.00 | - | Transfer your account to SogoTrade get up to $100 back. Open a new account and get 100 free trades good for 30 days. |
| Firstrade | $6.95 | - | Free transfer. |
| TradeKing | $4.95 | 4.14 | TradeKing will refund transfer fees on NON IRA accounts charged by your current broker up to $150. No additional cost for broker assisted stock trades. |
| TradeMonster | $7.50 | - | Real Time Streaming Data, Easy Customization/Drag and Drop Functionality, Built-in Educational Resources, Technical Analysis Studies & More. $0.50 per options contract. Barron’s 4 start rated. |
| OptionsXpress | $9.95 | - | Free transfer. No additional cost for broker assisted stock trades.
Limited time offer: Get $100 When You Open a New Account! |
| ShareBuilder | $9.95 | - | Buy stocks for $4 with Automatic Investing |
| TD Ameritrade | $9.99 | - | 30 Days of free trades, plus $100 cash when you fund your non-retirement account with $25,000 or more (expires 12/30/2009) |
| WallStreet-E | $9.99 | - | |
| Fidelity | $10.95 | - | |
| Charles Schwab | $12.95 | - | |
| Bank of America | $14.00 | - | Get 30 commission-free online equity trades per month with a self-directed brokerage account or a combined balance of at least $25,000 in all of your Bank of America, N.A. deposit accounts (including checking, savings, and CDs) |
| Muriel Siebert | $14.95 | - | |
| WellsTrade | $19.95 | - |
* For clients with a brokerage balance of $50,000 making up to 20 trades per year.
My top choice from the list is E*Trade, because it’s best all around and the price of $9.99 per trade is still inexpensive. Additionally, E*Trade gives you access to full banking services through its Complete Savings Account without added charges. This includes the ability to pay bills online, make instant cash transfers, and have fees for ATM withdrawals automatically rebated to your account.
Stock Trading Resources
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We’ve been using E-Trade for our trading for the past few years now however we have been inactive for a little bit and are now being charged $40 a month. E-Trade calls it an “inactivity fee”.
Pinyo, if you have one to choose from, which one would you use?
@Mr. Smith – That’s not good. I don’t like paying fees. I have few brokerage accounts, but if I have to choose just one, I would choose TD Ameritrade because it’s most compatible with my finances. It is current my main brokerage account, I don’t trade that often (may be once a year) and I do a lot of transfers in and out (e.g., direct deposit, bill payments, etc.). There’s no fee whatsoever.
But there are also a few negatives — i.e., the interest payment for cash is non-existent, margin interest is high, commission on non-no transaction fee is really expensive ($50). This is where high yield savings account and other brokerage accounts come in.
You’ve only written a list of functions and what the broker claims these do but not how good or not they actually are from your personal experience which means you actually own / use this broker.
@Wef wef — It would be silly for me to use all of these brokers — that’s not how I want to manage my finances. If you want to see my personal experience with some of these brokers, please read: Which Discount Broker Is Best?
I think SOGOTRADE
is pretty good. It only cost $3 to make a trade (unlimited shares). They have good online and phone support, quick execution and a good inventory of shares that you can short! Oh and you only need $500 to open your account. Can’t beat that.
I agree with Jeremy SogoTrade is pretty good.
The interest payment for cash is non-existent, margin interest is high, commission on non-no transaction fee is really expensive ($50). This is where high yield savings account and other brokerage accounts come in.