The Best Online Brokerages (In My Opinion)

One of the questions that I am most commonly asked is - what is the best online brokerage?

My answer - it depends on what you are looking for.

Here are four brokers that I think at least warrant a look, as well as what I like about them:

TradeKing

-$4.95 flat rate for Stock Trades
-65 cents/per contract, + $4.95 Base for Options trades
-rated #1 broker for customer service in SmartMoney magazine in both 2010 and 2011
-four star broker in Barron's online brokerage report six years in a row (2007-2012)
-Trader network that lets you connect with other traders
-will reimburse you up to $150 in transfer fees if you are transferring at least $2,500 from another broker

Click Here To Open an Account at TradeKing

OptionsXpress

-a Charles Schwab company
-four star rating from Barron's 11 years in a row (2002-2012)
-named "Best for Costs" by Kiplinger's
-$8.95 flat fee for stock trades for US customers
-$1.25 per contract for options trades ($12.95 minimum)
-free streaming quotes
-no platform fees, no account minimums, no assistance fees

Click Here To Open an Account at OptionsXpress

Questrade

-Canadian company, deals with Canadian clients
-start an account and receive 10 free trades
-$4.95 minimum for stock trades, maximum of $9.95
-$9.95 + $1/contract for options trades
-forex and gold trading also offered through Questrade

Click Here To Open an Account at Questrade

ThinkorSwim

-recent purchased by TD Ameritrade
-tied for "Best for Options Traders" award from Barron's
-$9.99 flat commission for all stock trades done online
-$9.99 + $0.75/contract for options trades
-forex, fixed income and mutual fund trading also offered through the site
-offers automated trading and realistic paper trading against historical data

Click Here To Open an Account at ThinkOrSwim

Filed under: General Market News