The Best Online Brokerage Accounts for Beginner Investors in 2024

Risk factors and complicated jargon can make the stock market scary for beginners. This is where online brokers come in handy.

Online brokers offer easy-to-use apps, low fees, and plenty of educational resources to help beginners navigate the stock market’s difficulties.

But with plenty of options, selecting an online broker could be daunting. To simplify this daunting task, this article conducts a detailed examination of the best brokerage accounts for beginners.

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Now that you know our list of best brokerage accounts for beginners, let’s understand what makes them the best.

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1. eToro – Best for social trading

Overview

eToro is a multi-asset online brokerage and social trading app that allows investors to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and other securities. The platform is known for its low fees and ‘social trading’ approach.

Why eToro is one of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

eToro is a user-friendly, feature-rich platform, which makes it a great choice for less experienced traders. The platform has among the lowest fees on the market and is free to open and hold an account, making it popular among novice traders.

eToro’s innovative copy trading feature, which allows beginners to copy trades of experienced traders on the platform, makes it even more popular among beginners. The platform allows the purchase of fractional shares to make it easier for beginners with limited capital to participate in the market.

Moreover, the platform has no management fees or custody charges, and doesn’t charge any trading fees when buying or selling most investments. There are, however, a few hidden charges, including currency conversion fees and charges for CFD positions held overnight.

Since all trading on the platform is done in U.S. dollars, investors in regions such as the UK will have to pay currency conversion fees when paying into or withdrawing money from their accounts.

Pros and cons of eToro

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2. FP Markets – Best for trading CFDs

Overview

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, FP Markets (First Prudential Markets) is an online retail forex and CFD broker. It is a multi-regulated broker allowing investors to trade shares, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies via several platforms.

Why FP Markets is one of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

FP Markets stands out for its low commissions and tight spreads, providing a cost-effective trading experience for beginners. Further, the broker supports many platforms, including cTrader, TradingView, and more, all of which are equipped with advanced charting tools and fast execution speeds.

FP Markets offers a wide selection of CFD products in forex, shares, indices, and commodities. It also offers 24/7 multilingual customer support to provide beginners with a seamless and comprehensive trading experience.

Additionally, the platform excels at providing tailored trading solutions and offers several types of trading accounts to meet varying trading styles and cost preferences.

Pros and cons of FP Markets

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3. Admiral Markets – Best for diverse account offerings

Overview

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, Admiral Markets is an online trading platform that allows users to securely trade more than 8,000 instruments, including stocks, bonds, forex, commodities, and indices.

Why Admiral is one of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

Admiral offers a secure trading environment and a diverse range of tradable products, making it perfect for beginners. Moreover, its competitive fee and commission structure appeals to cost-conscious traders.

Admiral’s platforms and tools, especially MetaTrader 4 and 5, offer strong technical support to meet varying trading needs. Its research and analysis tools, including Trading Central and Premium Analytics, are also adept at meeting the needs of beginners and experienced traders.

The broker offers a smooth and intuitive user experience, while its educational resources, including webinars and tutorials, support traders at all levels. Lastly, Admiral has robust safety and security measures in place to protect clients’ funds and data.

Pros and cons of Admiral

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4. Vanguard – Best for long-term investing

Overview

Founded by legendary investor John Bogle, who is credited with inventing the index fund, Vanguard is a pioneer in index investing. The company launched its UK retail platform in 2017, and claims to have gained 30 million users since then.

Why Vanguard is one of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

Vanguard is a great option for beginners, considering it is a reputable brand that has been in business for almost five decades. The platform gives investors the opportunity to develop a diversified investment portfolio at a very low cost.

Vanguard has largely earned its reputation for the well-below-average expense ratios on its index funds and exchange-traded funds. The low cost makes the platform super attractive for beginners who want to stay invested for the long term.

Though Vanguard offers a limited investment range, this also means investors have an easier time selecting an investable fund. Additionally, Vanguard offers a stocks and shares ISA, which is easy to open and has low fees. Investors can pick their own funds or choose from Vanguard’s Managed ISA.

Pros and cons of Vanguard

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5. Robinhood – Best for low-cost trading

Overview

Founded in 2013, Robinhood gained massive popularity in the US after launching its low-cost mobile trading app in 2015. The platform made its debut in the UK in March 2024.

Why Robinhood is one of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

Robinhood is a popular trading app that doesn’t charge anything for buying or selling investments, nor does it have any service charges or other ongoing management fees, making it one of the lowest-cost trading platforms.

Additionally, unlike many other platforms, Robinhood doesn’t charge high foreign exchange (FX) fees, and gives users the ability to schedule a stock trade outside market hours. All such things make Robinhood a good entry point for beginners, who want to invest small amounts of money in US stocks.

Pros and cons of Robinhood

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6. Plus500 – Best for ease of use and simplicity

Overview

Founded in 2008, Plus500 is a publicly traded company that is regulated by several major financial authorities. The Israel-based company primarily deals in online trading of contracts for difference (CFDs).

Why Plus500 is one of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

Plus500 is well-suited for beginners who require a simple interface for executing trades without any advanced functionality. Moreover, its competitive spreads allow it to keep its costs low, while its proprietary WebTrader platform is intuitively functional.

Along with a simplified trading platform, beginners get access to a growing selection of educational content, including beginner-friendly educational videos.

Reliability is another positive aspect of the platform, as it is regulated by multiple financial bodies. Moreover, unlike many other platforms, Plus500 is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), suggesting that all its information is public.

Plus500’s other distinguishing feature is its diverse range of trading options, which is significantly more than the industry average. This makes it an attractive option for traders looking to explore various markets.

Pros and cons of Plus500

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Summary of the best brokerage accounts for beginners

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How do brokerage accounts work?

Brokerage accounts are primarily an investment account that allows investors to buy and sell securities, such as stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, and more. Such accounts connect investors with a brokerage firm, which in turn serves as an intermediary between the investor and the financial markets.

It won’t be wrong to say that a brokerage account works like a basket that holds your investments. You can collect different financial assets in your investment basket, or trade those investments using your brokerage account.

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How much money do you need to use an online brokerage account?

Depending on your broker, you can start trading with as little as $1. Some brokerage accounts, for instance, don’t have minimum initial investment requirements, while others require investors to deposit $100 in their brokerage account to start trading. It must be noted that some brokers levy fines if users fail to meet minimum investment requirements.

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How to withdraw money from a brokerage account

All brokerage accounts have more or less the same method to withdraw money. Follow the below steps to withdraw money from a brokerage account:

Step 1: Log in to your brokerage account or open the broker’s app on your mobile device.

Step 2: Go to the transfers page, which is usually on the main navigation bar (three horizontal lines in the top-right corner).

Step 3: Select transfers and enter the amount of money you want to withdraw.

Step 4: Lastly, select the withdrawal method, such as a transfer to a bank account, a wire transfer for an additional fee, or a physical check.

It usually takes one to three business days for a transfer to a bank account, less than 24 hours for a wire transfer, and about seven to 10 days for a check.

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Methodology – How we chose the best brokerage accounts for beginners

We compared more than 20 leading brokers on over 100 different features and variables. Moreover, we opened live accounts with each of the brokers we considered to gain first-hand experience.

Some of the most important features and variables that we used to compare brokerage accounts for beginners are:

Costs: A broker that charges no commissions for online stock and ETF trades ranked high on our list. However, we have considered a few brokers with above-average fees primarily because of their reliability and performance superiority. 

Investment options: Brokers that offer investors access to varied investment options, such as stocks, ETFs, and more, are considered to be more beginner-friendly. More investment options mean investors can select where to put their money depending on their risk appetite.

Educational content: Best brokers are usually the ones that offer loads of educational resources, including webinars, videos, and reading materials, to beginners to help them learn more about investing and gain confidence

Trading simulators: Some brokers provide demo trading or trading simulators to give beginners a feel of trading without risking their hard-earned money. Using a demo account is a great way for beginners to learn about trading, the platform and test their skills.

Customer support: Beginners usually have many questions about trading and the platform. Thus, it is very important that brokers have efficient and responsive customer support that is available 24/7.

Technology and platform: Brokers that use state-of-the-art technology and an easy-to-use platform ranked high on our list of best brokerage accounts for beginners.

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Conclusion

Though all the above-mentioned brokers are great for beginner investors, they all have platforms and products catering to different audiences. For instance, if cost is your primary concern and you are ready to compromise on some features, Robinhood could be a better choice than Vanguard.

It is also important that the platform you select supports you in your trading journey to move away from the ‘beginner’ tag to an ‘expert’ investor.

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FAQs