Compare Discount Stock Brokers and Online Stock Brokers

Which stock broker does TradeWiser.com recommend for you? Every investor has a different trading style that can help determine which online broker is best for you. Several of the currently best discount stock brokers include:

1. Zecco - Looking for free stock trades? Earn 10 free trades each month you make 25 trades per month or maintain a $25k balance. All trades are otherwise $4.50 and only $.50 per options contract. Zecco also is home to the ZeccoShare Community and recently began offering forex trading.

Open an Account at Zecco

3. Etrade - Etrade was voted the #1 Online Broker 2009 by SmartMoney. Commissions are as low as $7.99 with a variety of professional trading tools including Power Etrade and Etrade Mobile Pro. Current Offer - Get 100 free stock trades or a free BlackBerry when you open a new account.

Open an Account at Etrade

4. Scottrade - Scottrade was #1 for Customer Loyalty 2009 by Brand Keys. With over 400 branch offices around the world and $7 flat fee trades Scottrade provides an all around fantastic deal for its clients. Traders can take advantage of Scottrade Elite and OptionsFirst for more advanced trading tools and indepth investment research.

Open an Account at Scottrade

5. OptionsHouse - Ranked as one of the Best Online Brokers for Options Traders 2009 by Barron's. OptionsHouse offers $2.95 flat fee stock trades and options trades for either $8.50 + $.15 per contract or up to 5 contracts for $5. Receive 100 free trades by opening a new account today.

Open an Account at OptionsHouse

Don't limit yourself to only one stock brokerage. Some discount brokers focus on different segments of trading. For example, some stock brokerages don't offer option trading, others don't offer the Level II Quotes that daytraders require. Some full-time day traders like to have multiple accounts set up just as a safeguard in case their favorite broker experiences trouble of some sort. Margin is also a necessity for active traders.

There are several things you will want to consider when you choose a online broker. Some otherwise excellent brokers do not have competitive margin rates. Compare rates! A few brokers have hidden fees: Read the fine print -- there are plenty of places they can tack on miscellaneous fees to drive up the overall cost. Most brokers will pay you interest on the money in your account when you don't hold any positions and some will even sweep your funds into a money market to get you a better rate.

For daytraders, swing traders, and all active investors fast execution speeds to achieve the best price is key. The ability to trade options, short, and invest through a retirement account is also important.

At one time most of the brokerages that offered IRA accounts charged an annual fee of $50 or more, to deal with the regulatory hassles of holding your IRA assets. Today, more and more of them are offering IRA accounts with no setup fees, and no annual maintenance fees.

Given the large number of traders that are trading online, you can find traders with any brokerage that are unhappy and have concerns about poor service. As with any human endeavor, there is always the possibility of error. If you or your brokerage should make a mistake, you will find most brokerages have a courteous, professional support staff. They will answer your questions and will help you any way they can.

For international investors seeking to trade the U. S. Stock Markets, most major online stock brokers like Etrade Financial and OptionsXpress welcome foreign accounts. The only countries where most online brokers are still unable to service accounts are Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Sudan, Serbia, and Yugoslavia.

Other discount stock brokers include: TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, Firstrade, ShareBuilder, Thinkorswim, Trade MONSTER, Interactive Brokers, SogoTrade, forex.com (forex trading), and FXCM (forex).