Best Low-Cost BrokersUpdated August 2026 · 12 brokers, every figure sourced

FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES LLC · CRD 7784 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

None published

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$0

Leads this ranking on 9.0/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 5.0 of the total. Its 8/10 on investment selection adds 0.8 at 10%.

On fees and total cost: $0 equity and ETF commissions, $0.65 per options contract, no account minimum, no published account service or inactivity fee, and $0 to transfer assets. Options pricing is mid-pack rather than lowest.

INTERACTIVE BROKERS LLC · CRD 36418 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

IBKR Lite $0; IBKR Pro from $0.0035/share (tiered) or $0.005/share (fixed)

Account fee

None published

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$0

Ranks 2nd on 9.0/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 5.0 of the total. Its 8/10 on account types and features adds 0.8 at 10%.

On fees and total cost: IBKR Lite is $0 on US listed equities for US residents. IBKR Pro tiered starts at $0.0035 per share with a $0.35 order minimum and a 1% of trade value cap, which is the cheapest published schedule in our set for large orders. Small Pro orders hit the per-order minimum, so it is not universally cheapest.

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. · CRD 5393 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

$0

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$50 full, $0 partial

Ranks 3rd on 8.5/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 4.4 of the total. Its 9/10 on account types and features adds 0.9 at 10%.

On fees and total cost: $0 listed equity and ETF commissions, $0.65 per options contract, $0 account minimum and $0 opening and maintenance fees. Marked down from 9 on 30 August 2026 after we read the April 2026 pricing guide, which adds three costs the headline schedule does not show: a $6.95 OTC equity commission, $50 to transfer a full account out, and a currency conversion markup of up to 3% of principal. Fidelity charges none of the three.

MORGAN STANLEY · CRD 149777 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Ranks 4th on 8.1/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 4.4 of the total. Its 8/10 on investment selection adds 0.8 at 10%.

On fees and total cost: $0 on stocks, ETFs and mutual funds with a $0.65 options contract fee that falls to $0.50 at 30 trades per quarter. Futures at $1.50 per contract are the most expensive futures rate we recorded, and crypto at 0.50% is mid-pack.

WEBULL FINANCIAL LLC · CRD 289063 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

None published

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$75

Ranks 5th on 7.8/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 5.0 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.5 at 10%, 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.

TASTYTRADE, INC. · CRD 277027 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

None published

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$75

Ranks 6th on 7.7/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 4.4 of the total. Its 6/10 on account types and features adds 0.6 at 10%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: Free equity trades and a $10 per leg cap that makes large multi-leg options orders unusually cheap, with nothing charged to close a position. Scored below the flat-zero firms because a single equity option contract costs $1 to open, against $0.04 at the cheapest firm in our set, and — read on 30 August 2026 — closing the account costs $75 on the way out.

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED · CRD 7691 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

None published

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$49.95 full account; $0 partial

Ranks 7th on 7.5/10. The largest single contribution is 7/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 3.9 of the total. Its 6/10 on investment selection adds 0.6 at 10%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 online stock, ETF and options base commissions with a $0.65 contract fee and no balance minimum. Marked down for a $49.95 full account transfer fee, $24.95 wires, $19.95 transaction-fee funds and a $29.95 broker-assisted charge — a fee surface materially larger than the cheapest firms in our set.

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC INVESTING, INC. · CRD 127818 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

$0

Inactivity

$3.99 per month

To transfer out

$100

Ranks 8th on 7.5/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 4.4 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.5 at 10%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 on US-listed stocks and ETFs in regular hours, $0 per stock and ETF options contract, and margin from 4.90% falling to 3.95% — the cheapest margin schedule we recorded, undercutting the next firm by more than six percentage points at the entry tier. Held to an 8 by three charges the headline pricing does not show: $2.99 per extended-hours or OTC trade without Premium, $100 to transfer the account out, and a 0.30% fee on currency conversion.

ROBINHOOD FINANCIAL, LLC · CRD 165998 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

$0

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$100

Ranks 9th on 7.0/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 4.4 of the total. Its 5/10 on account types and features adds 0.5 at 10%, 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.

VANGUARD MARKETING CORPORATION · CRD 7452 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

$25 per year

Inactivity

None published

To transfer out

$100

Ranks 10th on 7.0/10. The largest single contribution is 6/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 3.3 of the total. Its 6/10 on investment selection adds 0.6 at 10%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 online stock and ETF trades and $0 on Vanguard and no-transaction-fee funds. Marked down twice: it carries the highest options contract fee in our set at $1.00, a $25 annual account service fee unless waived, $20 per trade on non-Vanguard transaction-fee funds, and — read on 30 August 2026 — a $100 processing fee to close the account and transfer assets out, the largest exit charge of any broker we publish. A low-cost fund house is not automatically a low-cost brokerage account.

ETORO USA SECURITIES INC. · CRD 298361 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0

Account fee

None published

Inactivity

$10 per month

To transfer out

$75

Ranks 11th on 7.0/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 4.4 of the total. Its 3/10 on account types and features adds 0.3 at 10%, 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.

TRADESTATION SECURITIES, INC. · CRD 39473 · SIPC member

Stocks and ETFs

$0 per share

Inactivity

$10 per month

To transfer out

$125

Ranks 12th on 6.6/10. The largest single contribution is 6/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 55% here and worth 3.3 of the total. Its 6/10 on account types and features adds 0.6 at 10%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: Lowest score among the firms we publish. Share commissions are $0, but options and futures are priced per side on volume tiers that start above the flat-fee competitors, a $10 monthly inactivity fee applies unless waived, and the desktop platform with RadarScreen costs $99.99 a month for non-professionals.