Best Broker for Beginning Investors

How we picked the companies to evaluate:

NerdWallet reviewed 17 online brokerages, a mix of established firms with the greatest market share and younger companies. Some of these are NerdWallet partners; some are not.

How we chose the winner:

NerdWallet evaluated each provider across the weighted criteria below to determine the winner for beginning investors:
  • Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) (30%).
  • Customer service options (30%).
  • Account minimum (25%).
  • Trading platform (7.5%).
  • Stock trading commissions (2.5%).
  • Research and data (2.5%).
  • Mobile app (2.5%).

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet writers sent detailed questions to all reviewed companies. NerdWallet writers and editors also confirmed fees, rates, policies and other key features on each company's website.