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8 Best Stock Trading Apps for 2026

Advanced trading has gone mobile. Here are some of NerdWallet’s picks for the best stock trading apps this year.

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Updated Mar 4, 2026 · 2 min read

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What makes a good stock trading app?

All of the platforms listed below offer the following features, which we consider to be the table stakes for an app for advanced traders:

Free stock trades: Only a few of the brokers reviewed by NerdWallet still charge commissions for stock trades, and you won’t find any on this page (although Interactive Brokers gives users the option to pay very small commissions for faster order execution). Many of the brokers on this page also offer free option trades.

Free stock trades: Free stock trades: Only a few of the brokers reviewed by NerdWallet still charge commissions for stock trades, and you won’t find any on this page (although Interactive Brokers gives users the option to pay very small commissions for faster order execution). Many of the brokers on this page also offer free option trades.

Fractional shares: All of the brokers on this page allow you to buy less than 1 full share of a stock, thereby giving you more control over position sizing. Many brokers now allow investors to buy as little as $1 of a stock, although some have higher minimums.

Fractional shares: Fractional shares: All of the brokers on this page allow you to buy less than 1 full share of a stock, thereby giving you more control over position sizing. Many brokers now allow investors to buy as little as $1 of a stock, although some have higher minimums.

Strong UX: We didn’t just look at ratings to judge these brokers’ apps — we also tested them ourselves, opening accounts and placing trades on our own phones. All of the brokers here earned top or near-top scores on our mobile user experience rubric.

Strong UX: Strong UX: We didn’t just look at ratings to judge these brokers’ apps — we also tested them ourselves, opening accounts and placing trades on our own phones. All of the brokers here earned top or near-top scores on our mobile user experience rubric.

Beyond those criteria, the best stock trading app for you will vary based on which features you consider most important. So, we’ll start with the three apps that are all best-in-class for a particular feature. Read on to see what each one stands out for — and also where each one falls short.

Beyond those criteria, the best stock trading app for you you will vary based on which features you consider most important. So, we’ll start with the three apps that are all best-in-class for a particular feature. Read on to see what each one stands out for — and also where each one falls short.

Our three favorite stock trading apps

Lowest average margin rates → Robinhood

Lowest average margin rates Lowest average margin rates → Robinhood

Widest investment selection → Interactive Brokers

Widest investment selection Widest investment selection → Interactive Brokers

Cheapest option trades → Public

Cheapest option trades Cheapest option trades → Public

Lowest average margin rates: Robinhood

NerdWallet rating Learn More

on Robinhood's website

Robinhood has arguably done more than any other broker to make trading via phone app popular, and it continues to be a leader and an innovator among mobile brokers.

If you’re the kind of trader who likes to use leverage (that is, borrowed money) to enhance your potential returns, and you can tolerate the risks that come with it, there’s another reason to love Robinhood: it offers the lowest average margin rates of any broker we review. Both the high end and the low end of its rates (which vary based on balance) are almost as low as you can go. There are a couple of brokers whose lowest rates are lower, but these often require very high balances, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even higher.

If you’re the kind of trader who likes to use leverage (that is, borrowed money) to enhance your potential returns, and you can tolerate the risks that come with it, there’s another reason to love Robinhood: it offers the lowest average margin rates of any broker we review. Both the high end and the low end of its rates (which vary based on balance) are almost as low as you can go. There are a couple of brokers whose lowest lowest rates are lower, but these often require very high balances, in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even higher.

Here's how all of Robinhood's current margin rates shake out (rates are based on your total margin balance)

Here's how all of Robinhood's current margin rates shake out (rates are based on your total margin balance) Robinhood. Robinhood margin rates. :

$50K or less → 5%

$50K-$100K → 4.8%

$100K-$1M → 4.5%

$1M-$10M → 4.25%

$10M-$50M → 4.2%

Greater than $50M → 3.95%

Other trading features that stand out about Robinhood: Robinhood is also a standout for another kind of high-risk move that day traders often like: cryptocurrency trading. Robinhood has the widest crypto selection of any stockbroker we review, and it’s one of the few stockbrokers that offers features like staking and send/receive capabilities in its crypto offering.

Other trading features that stand out about Robinhood: Other trading features that stand out about Robinhood: Robinhood is also a standout for another kind of high-risk move that day traders often like: cryptocurrency trading. Robinhood has the widest crypto selection of any stockbroker we review, and it’s one of the few stockbrokers that offers features like staking and send/receive capabilities in its crypto offering.

Where Robinhood falls short for traders: Unlike some of its competitors, Robinhood does not have any kind of basket-trading feature. You can only buy or sell one investment per order. Also, if you like to trade bonds, you may find Robinhood lacking: They’re only available in the form of bond ETFs.

Where Robinhood falls short for traders: Where Robinhood falls short for traders: Unlike some of its competitors, Robinhood does not have any kind of basket-trading feature. You can only buy or sell one investment per order. Also, if you like to trade bonds bonds , you may find Robinhood lacking: They’re only available in the form of bond ETFs.

You can learn more about this mobile trading pioneer in our full Robinhood review.

You can learn more about this mobile trading pioneer in our full Robinhood review .

? See how we rate Robinhood's fees, features, and minimums

Account minimum

$0 for brokerage accounts, Robinhood Gold accounts and IRAs.

Stock trading costs

$0.

Options trades

$0 for equity options. $0.50 for index options, or $0.35 for Gold accounts.

Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity)

No annual or inactivity fees. $100 ACAT outgoing transfer fee. Robinhood Gold costs $5 a month or $50 per year. Matching funds in IRAs may be taken back if money is withdrawn in less than five years. Instant withdrawals cost 1.75% of the amount withdrawn, with a minimum fee of $1 and a maximum of $150.

Interest rate on uninvested cash

0.01% for free accounts, 3.5% for Gold accounts (as of November 2025).

Tradable securities

Stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptocurrency, American Depositary Receipts for over 650 global companies, Futures, Fractional shares. Bonds only available in the form of bond ETFs.

Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds

Not rated; no mutual funds.

Trading platform

Robinhood's mobile and web platforms are known for their smooth sign-up, funding and trading processes. The broker now also offers a desktop platform, Robinhood Legend.

Mobile app

Mobile trading platform includes customizable alerts, news feed, advanced charting and ability to listen live to earnings calls for some companies. Reviews are mostly positive, although the average star rating on both iOS and Android is below the 4.5 star line.

Research and data

Access to professional research from Morningstar and Level II market data from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange (with Gold subscription).

Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)

24/7 chat support. Phone support available from 7:00 a.m. ET to 9:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday. Decent suite of educational articles and webinar events, and an easily-navigable website.

IRA match

1% match on IRA contributions for free accounts, 3% for Gold accounts.

Widest investment selection: Interactive Brokers

NerdWallet rating Learn More

on Interactive Brokers' website

This article is oriented towards advanced traders. Interactive Brokers is oriented towards really advanced traders. Want to buy South African stocks? Malaysian agricultural futures contracts? Options on French bonds? Interactive Brokers has you covered.

This article is oriented towards advanced traders. Interactive Brokers is oriented towards really really advanced traders. Want to buy South African stocks? Malaysian agricultural futures contracts? Options on French bonds? Interactive Brokers has you covered.

It has, by far, the widest investment selection of any broker we review, thanks to its variety of asset classes (including stocks, bonds, options, ETFs, mutual funds, futures, currencies, crypto, event contracts and physical precious metals) as well as direct access to dozens of international exchanges.

Other trading features that stand out about Interactive Brokers: IBKR also has the widest research and data offerings of any broker we review, with more than 140 services available from more than 40 providers. However, not all of those are free; some require a paid subscription.

Other trading features that stand out about Interactive Brokers: Other trading features that stand out about Interactive Brokers: IBKR also has the widest research and data offerings of any broker we review, with more than 140 services available from more than 40 providers. However, not all of those are free; some require a paid subscription.

Where Interactive Brokers falls short for traders: IBKR is one of only a few brokers on this list that still charges a per-contract fee for option trades. IBKR Pro users also pay commissions of a fraction of a cent on stocks in exchange for faster and more efficient order execution, although free accounts don’t.

Where Interactive Brokers falls short for traders: Where Interactive Brokers falls short for traders: IBKR is one of only a few brokers on this list that still charges a per-contract fee for option trades. IBKR Pro users also pay commissions of a fraction of a cent on stocks in exchange for faster and more efficient order execution, although free accounts don’t.

See our full Interactive Brokers review for more information on what the platform can do.

? See how we rate Interactive Broker's fees, features, and minimums

Account minimum

$0.

Stock trading costs

IBKR Lite: $0. IBKR Pro: choice of fixed commission of $0.005 per share, or variable commission of $0.0005 - $0.0035 per share. Select ETFs are commission-free for Pro users.

Options trades

$0 per trade. IBKR Lite: $0.65 per contract. IBKR Pro: $0.15 to $0.65 per contract, depending on volume.

Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity)

Annual fees: $0. Inactivity fee: $0. Transfer/closing fee: $0.

Interest rate on uninvested cash

0% on the first $10,000. IBKR Lite: Up to 2.37% after $10,000, depending on account value. IBKR Pro: Up to 3.37% after $10,000, depending on account value.

Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds

Over 21,000.

Tradable securities

Stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, bonds, futures, event contracts, forex, crypto, precious metals.

Trading platform

Eight: IBKR Desktop, Web (Client Portal), IBKR Mobile app, GlobalTrader app, IMPACT app, Trader Workstation (desktop), ForecastTrader and APIs.

Mobile app

Available for iOS and Android; advanced features.

Research and data

Over 140, some requiring a paid monthly subscription, some free.

Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)

Phone, email and chat support is available 24/5, plus email and live chat from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET Saturdays.

IRA match

No match.

Cheapest option trades: Public

NerdWallet rating Learn More

on Public's website

Several brokers reviewed by NerdWallet now offer free option trading, sans commissions or contract fees — but Public is the only one that puts a negative cost on options trading; in other words, it pays you to trade options.

Several brokers reviewed by NerdWallet now offer free option trading, sans commissions or contract fees — but Public is the only one that puts a negative negative cost on options trading; in other words, it pays you you to trade options.

Public, like most of the other brokers on this page, makes money by selling customer order data to high-frequency trading firms, which use it to inform their own trading decisions — a business model known as payment for order flow (PFOF). Unlike the other brokers on this page, however, Public shares a portion of the PFOF revenue from option trades with its customers, in the form of a rebate of between $0.06 and $0.18 per contract traded, depending on your trading volume.

Other trading features that stand out about Public: If you’re the type of trader who likes to keep some cash on the sidelines to buy dips, Public stands out for its uninvested cash management options. It offers a high-yield cash account with a 3.3% APY at the time of last update, as well as a Treasury account that automatically invests your money in T-bills, offering potentially-higher yields and exemption from state taxes.

Other trading features that stand out about Public: Other trading features that stand out about Public: If you’re the type of trader who likes to keep some cash on the sidelines to buy dips, Public stands out for its uninvested cash management options. It offers a high-yield cash account with a 3.3% APY at the time of last update, as well as a Treasury account that automatically invests your money in T-bills, offering potentially-higher yields and exemption from state taxes.

Where Public falls short for traders: Public offers fractional shares on most assets — 75% of stocks, all Treasuries, and about 100 other bonds, to be precise — but the fact that its fractional share offering isn’t universal puts it at a disadvantage relative to its competitors. Also, it has a $5 minimum for fractional shares, which is on the high end among brokers that offer this feature.

Where Public falls short for traders: Where Public falls short for traders: Public offers fractional shares on most most assets — 75% of stocks, all Treasuries, and about 100 other bonds, to be precise — but the fact that its fractional share offering isn’t universal puts it at a disadvantage relative to its competitors. Also, it has a $5 minimum for fractional shares, which is on the high end among brokers that offer this feature.

Check out our full Public review to learn more.

? See how we rate Public's fees, features, and minimums

Account minimum

$0.

Stock trading costs

$0 ($2.99 per trade for after-hours trades or OTC stocks, for non-Premium members.)

Options trades

$0. Public pays options traders a rebate of $0.06 to $0.18 per options transaction, as a share of their payment-for-order-flow revenue, depending on volume

Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity)

$75 ACAT outgoing transfer fee (partial or full). No annual fee for non-Premium members — Public Premium costs $10 a month or $96 a year.

$3.99 monthly inactivity fee for accounts with no activity for six months and balances below $70. Instant withdrawals cost 3.5% of the amount withdrawn, with a minimum of $1.

Interest rate on uninvested cash

New users can opt into a high-yield cash account with yield of over 4% by checking a box at sign-up.

Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds

Not rated.

Tradable securities

Stocks, ETFs, options, cryptocurrency, American Depositary Receipts, fractional shares and bonds.

Trading platform

Public's mobile and web platforms offer a smooth sign-up, funding and trading experience, but are fairly basic when it comes to tools like charts and screeners.

Mobile app

Public's iOS and Android apps are both well-liked by users and offer virtually the same features as the web trading platform.

Research and data

Research from Morningstar, TradingView and S&P Global. Public offers earnings call playback, as well as bespoke company metrics like subscriber numbers.

Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)

Email and chat support available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern, Monday through Friday. Responses prioritized for Premium members. Website is fairly easy to navigate.

IRA match

1% match on all rollovers and contributions.

5 other stock trading apps we really like

The three apps listed above each have unique advantages for traders, but they’re not the only good stock trading apps out here. Below is a list of five other brokers that scored highly on a mix of trading- and mobile-app-related metrics in NerdWallet’s review process.

Fidelity: Fidelity often tops our lists of all-around best investing platforms, and its big investment selection, vast research library and handy basket trading feature will appeal to traders. However, it charges for option trades and has relatively high margin rates. [Read full review]

Fidelity: Fidelity: Fidelity often tops our lists of all-around best investing platforms, and its big investment selection, vast research library and handy basket trading feature will appeal to traders. However, it charges for option trades and has relatively high margin rates. [Read full review]

Webull: Webull offers advanced charting tools, flexible basket trading and a decent research selection, but it has a limited OTC stock offering and pays little interest on smaller balances of uninvested cash. [Read full review]

Webull: Webull: Webull offers advanced charting tools, flexible basket trading and a decent research selection, but it has a limited OTC stock offering and pays little interest on smaller balances of uninvested cash. [Read full review]

Charles Schwab: Schwab has a wide investment selection, a big library of research and a useful basket-trading feature, but it charges for option trades and not everyone loves the Android version of its mobile app. [Read full review]

Charles Schwab: Charles Schwab: Schwab has a wide investment selection, a big library of research and a useful basket-trading feature, but it charges for option trades and not everyone loves the Android version of its mobile app. [Read full review]

SoFi Brokers: SoFi has a decent investment selection, and the unique perk of access to a financial advisor, but it doesn’t offer basket trading and has a thin research library. [Read full review]

SoFi Brokers: SoFi Brokers: SoFi has a decent investment selection, and the unique perk of access to a financial advisor, but it doesn’t offer basket trading and has a thin research library. [Read full review]

Moomoo: Moomoo boasts low margin rates and a decent research selection, but their investment selection is somewhat limited and our testers think the app’s user experience has gone downhill recently. [Read full review]

Moomoo: Moomoo: Moomoo boasts low margin rates and a decent research selection, but their investment selection is somewhat limited and our testers think the app’s user experience has gone downhill recently. [Read full review]

Article sources

NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary, trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high standards for journalism by reading our editorial guidelines. Reviews.org. Cell Phone Usage Stats 2026. Robinhood. Robinhood margin rates. About the author Sam Taube Sam Taube Sam Taube writes about investing for NerdWallet. He has covered investing and financial news since earning his economics degree in 2016. See full bio.

Helpful resources

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8 Best Stock Trading Apps for 2026

You’re our first priority. Every time.

8 Best Stock Trading Apps for 2026

What makes a good stock trading app?

Our three favorite stock trading apps

Lowest average margin rates: Robinhood

Widest investment selection: Interactive Brokers

Cheapest option trades: Public

5 other stock trading apps we really like

You’re our first priority.
Every time.