Compare Discount Stock Brokers and Online Stock Brokers

Which stock broker does trade WISER recommend for you? Every investor has different trading styles and investment preferences that can be used to help rate top online brokers to find a great match. Several of the currently best stock brokers include:

1. OptionsHouse - 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.

Current Offer: Receive 100 free trades by opening a new account today.

Open an Account at OptionsHouse

2. - TradeKing offers $4.95 stock trades and options trades for $4.95 + $.65 per contract. TradeKing was rated Best Customer Service 2010 by SmartMoney.

Current Offer - Have up to $150 in transfer fees reimbursed when you switch to TradeKing.




3. 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

4. Scottrade - Scottrade offers $7 flat fee trades and nearly 450 branch offices around the world. Traders can take advantage of Scottrade Elite and the OptionsFirst platform (provided by OptionsHouse) for more advanced trading tools and indepth investment research.


Open an Account at Scottrade

5. 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: Trade free for 60 days (500 free trades max) with your new account!

Open an Account at Etrade

There are specific things you will want to consider when you choose a stock brokerage. The cost of trade commissions, ease of site use, flexibility of the trade platform, access to investment research, and quality trade execution are just a few. Customer service, mobile trading, banking, international trading, and support for other trade types (options, futures, forex, bonds) are others.

It is also important not to limit yourself to only one top stock broker. Since most brokers focus on different segments of trading, mixing and matching may be useful. For example, some discount brokers focus on low cost trade commissions while other brokers may focus on trade tools and their platform. For day traders, having multiple accounts set up just to take advantage of extra tools and to simply have a backup is key.

Online Brokers Comparison Chart

Compare online brokers with the trade WISER comparison chart! Included are easy to read star ratings, pricing and fees information, and even a features overview section to see what every broker has to offer.

View the stock brokers comparison page now.

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, mostly all brokers offer IRA accounts with no setup fees and no annual maintenance fees.

For international investors seeking to trade the U. S. Stock Markets, most major online stock brokers like Etrade Financial and MB Trading welcome foreign accounts.