The figures that matter for etfs, and the arithmetic that produced each position under this page’s weights. The same brokers rank differently elsewhere on this site because a different question is being asked; the sub-scores do not change, the weights do.
1.Interactive Brokers
9.1/10INTERACTIVE BROKERS LLC · CRD 36418 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- IBKR Lite $0; IBKR Pro from $0.0035/share (tiered) or $0.005/share (fixed)
- Mutual funds
- $0 on no-transaction-fee funds; otherwise the lesser of 3% of trade value or $14.95
- To open
- $0
Leads this ranking on 9.1/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 8/10 on account types and features adds 1.2 at 15%.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-47257), FINRA member, SIPC member, and part of a US-listed group. No headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Interactive Brokers2.Fidelity
8.9/10FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES LLC · CRD 7784 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- Mutual funds
- $0
- To open
- $0
Ranks 2nd on 8.9/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 10/10 on account types and features adds 1.5 at 15%.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-23292), FINRA member since 1979, SIPC member. Long operating history under a single entity, with no headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Fidelity3.Charles Schwab
8.7/10CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. · CRD 5393 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- Mutual funds
- $0
- To open
- $0
Ranks 3rd on 8.7/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 9/10 on account types and features adds 1.4 at 15%.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-16514) with one of the lowest CRD numbers in our set, indicating long registration history. SIPC member. No headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Charles Schwab4.E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley
8.2/10MORGAN STANLEY · CRD 149777 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- Mutual funds
- $0
Ranks 4th on 8.2/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 9/10 on account types and features adds 1.4 at 15%.
On safety and regulation: Accounts sit with an active SEC-registered Morgan Stanley broker-dealer (8-68191) that is a SIPC member. Marked one point below the long-single-entity firms because BrokerCheck lists the original E*TRADE Securities LLC registration as inactive, so clients have been through an entity migration.
Every fee, source and sub-score for E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley5.Merrill Edge Self-Directed
7.5/10MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED · CRD 7691 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- Mutual funds
- $0 no-load NTF and load-waived; $19.95 no-load transaction-fee funds
- To open
- $0
Ranks 5th on 7.5/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 8/10 on account types and features adds 1.2 at 15%.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-7221) — the lowest SEC file number in our set, indicating a very long registration history — and a SIPC member within Bank of America. No headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Merrill Edge Self-Directed6.tastytrade
7.5/10TASTYTRADE, INC. · CRD 277027 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
Ranks 6th on 7.5/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 6/10 on account types and features adds 0.9 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-69649), FINRA member and SIPC member. Scored below the incumbents on operating history — its CRD number places registration in the mid-2010s — with no enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for tastytrade7.Vanguard
7.2/10VANGUARD MARKETING CORPORATION · CRD 7452 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- Mutual funds
- $0 Vanguard and non-Vanguard NTF; $20 non-Vanguard transaction-fee funds
Ranks 7th on 7.2/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 8/10 on account types and features adds 1.2 at 15%.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-21570) with a low CRD number indicating long registration history, and a SIPC member. No headline retail enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Vanguard8.Public
7.1/10OPEN TO THE PUBLIC INVESTING, INC. · CRD 127818 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
Ranks 8th on 7.1/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.8 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-66049), FINRA member and SIPC member, with no enforcement matter identified in our sourced review. Its CRD number, 127818, is lower than those of Robinhood, Webull, tastytrade and eToro, which means the legal entity has been registered longer than the appâs launch date suggests. Still well short of the multi-decade registration records that earn a 9 here.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Public9.Webull
7.1/10WEBULL FINANCIAL LLC · CRD 289063 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- To open
- $0
Ranks 9th on 7.1/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 30% here and worth 2.7 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.8 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.
On fees and total cost: $0 on US-listed stocks, ETFs and standard options contracts, with regulatory fees itemised transparently. Held off a 10 by the $75 outgoing transfer fee, which is a real switching cost.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Webull10.TradeStation
6.9/10TRADESTATION SECURITIES, INC. · CRD 39473 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0 per share
- To open
- $2,000
Ranks 10th on 6.9/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 6/10 on account types and features adds 0.9 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.
On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-48711) and SIPC member with a registration history predating the newer app-first firms. No enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.
Every fee, source and sub-score for TradeStation11.Robinhood
6.5/10ROBINHOOD FINANCIAL, LLC · CRD 165998 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
- To open
- $0
Ranks 11th on 6.5/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.8 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.
On fees and total cost: $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs and $0.04 per equity options contract — the lowest per-contract fee we recorded — alongside the lowest margin rates in our set, from 5.00% down to 3.95%. Marked down from 9 on 30 August 2026 after we read the standard fee schedule, which charges $100 to move an account out, on partial transfers as well as full ones. That is the joint-largest exit charge among the firms we publish.
Every fee, source and sub-score for Robinhood12.eToro (US)
6.2/10ETORO USA SECURITIES INC. · CRD 298361 · SIPC member
- Stocks and ETFs
- $0
Ranks 12th on 6.2/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 3/10 on account types and features adds 0.5 at 15%, and is what holds it back here.
On fees and total cost: $0 stock and ETF commissions with no per-contract options fee for US users, and $0 withdrawal fees. The full brokerage fee schedule, read on 31 August 2026, shows the costs the headline does not: $75 to transfer the account out, $10 a month in inactivity fees, and a 0.25% FX spread on non-USD wires. With crypto at a flat 1% as well, that is a wider fee surface than the zero-commission framing suggests.
Every fee, source and sub-score for eToro (US)