eToro

Best Stock Trading Apps

Based on current reviews and usage trends, here are the top stock trading apps people actually rely on, organized by what they're best for:

Best Overall

• Fidelity – Fidelity Investments is considered the best overall stock trading app thanks to its low fees, variety of order types, comprehensive research tools and intuitive interface. It's frequently cited alongside Schwab and Interactive Brokers as a top pick in 2026 rankings.
• Charles Schwab & Interactive Brokers – Independent testing by StockBrokers.com found that Charles Schwab, Interactive Brokers, and Fidelity lead the 2026 rankings, based on evaluations covering commissions, account minimums, account types, and investment selection alongside how each app performed during market hours.

Best for Beginners

• Robinhood – Robinhood is recognized as one of the best stock trading apps for beginners because of the platform's accessibility, driven by commission-free trading for stocks, ETFs and options, along with fractional share purchases that make it easy to get started for less. It also offers 24/7 support directly within the app for users who need extra help.
• eToro – Some reviewers rank this as the top overall app, noting eToro is the single best app to buy stocks for most users because it offers access to stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrency, and other assets regardless of where you live in the world, with a low minimum deposit: $50 USD (depending on your residency).

Best for Active/Day Traders

• thinkorswim (Charles Schwab) – thinkorswim is the best stock app for day traders, designed for active, day-trading stock pickers. It lets you chart with drawing tools, add volume and momentum indicators, check time and sales data, and execute orders from inside the app.
• TradeStation – Highlighted by Money.com as ideal for experienced traders, complementing Fidelity and Robinhood in their top picks.

Best for Low-Cost Trading

• SoFi Invest – Noted specifically for low-cost trading among top overall picks.

Newer/Alternative Option

• Kraken – Known primarily as a crypto exchange, Kraken has expanded into stocks: Kraken has long been known as a major crypto exchange, but its expansion into equities makes it stand out among the crowd of trading apps, now offering a unified platform where users can manage both cryptocurrencies and traditional stocks seamlessly with over 11,000 stocks and ETFs without commission fees.

International Options (if outside the US)

• Trade Republic – A European favorite that charges €1 per order and applies no fees on scheduled investment plans, and no custody fees.
• Trading 212, XTB, Degiro, IG – Also commonly listed among Europe's top trading platforms.

Quick Recommendation

• New to investing? → Robinhood or eToro
• Want the most well-rounded, research-heavy platform? → Fidelity or Schwab
• Active/day trader? → thinkorswim or Interactive Brokers
• Want crypto + stocks in one place? → Kraken
• Based in Europe? → Trade Republic or Trading 212

The "best" app really depends on your priorities — fees, asset variety (stocks/options/crypto), and whether you want a beginner-friendly interface or advanced charting tools for active trading.

Choosing the right stock trading app depends entirely on your experience level, how active you plan to be, and your long-term goals. The brokerage landscape is dominated by a few powerhouse brands, each excelling in a different style of investing.

The top stock trading apps that people actually use are categorized below by their strengths:

1. The Best All-Rounders & Long-Term Giants

These platforms are the "boring in a good way" options. They are highly secure, offer access to almost every financial product imaginable, and are ideal for building long-term wealth.

• Fidelity Investments
  • Best For: Overall investing, retirement accounts, and customer support.
  • Why people use it: Fidelity is widely ranked as a top online broker. It charges $0 commission on stock and ETF trades, offers fractional shares (allowing you to buy stock by the dollar amount), and has zero-expense-ratio index funds. Its customer support actually answers the phone, and they do not "gamify" the user experience.
  • Downside: The app interface, while highly functional, is more utilitarian and less flashy than modern fintech apps.
• Charles Schwab
  • Best For: High-quality research and intermediate-to-advanced tools.
  • Why people use it: Since Schwab integrated TD Ameritrade and its legendary thinkorswim platform, it has become a powerhouse for both passive investors and professional traders. It offers robust educational resources, fee-free trading, and deep-dive market research.

2. Best for Beginners & Casual Investors

If you want a sleek, modern interface, low barriers to entry, and a highly intuitive user experience, these are the market leaders.

• Robinhood
  • Best For: Ease of use and clean user interface (UI).
  • Why people use it: Robinhood pioneered commission-free trading and remains the most user-friendly app on the market. It is incredibly easy to buy fractional shares, set up recurring investments, and trade crypto. It also offers competitive perks, like a high interest rate on uninvested cash and IRA matching.
  • Downside: Its simplified interface can sometimes encourage impulsive "gamified" trading rather than long-term investing.
• Public
  • Best For: Social investing and alternative assets.
  • Why people use it: Public has a social-media-style feed where you can see what other investors are buying and read community perspectives. It also allows you to invest in fractional shares of stocks, ETFs, and alternative assets (like fine art, collectibles, and music royalties) all in one app.

3. Best for Advanced & Active Traders

If you want to day trade, swing trade, use advanced technical charts, or trade on margin, you need platforms designed for speed and technical depth.

• Webull
  • Best For: Tech-savvy traders and technical analysis.
  • Why people use it: Webull bridges the gap between Robinhood's simplicity and a professional trading terminal. It offers advanced charting, technical indicators, and Level 2 market data, yet manages to keep everything commission-free and packaged into a very powerful mobile app.
• Moomoo
  • Best For: Pro-level charting and global trading tools.
  • Why people use it: Moomoo is a fast-growing competitor to Webull, offering incredibly fast execution speeds, highly advanced charting tools, and free Level 2 market data. It is also highly popular for global market access.
• Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
  • Best For: Serious professionals and global investing.
  • Why people use it: IBKR is the gold standard for institutional-grade trading. It offers the lowest margin loan rates in the industry, access to over 150 global markets, and unparalleled order execution.
  • Downside: It has a notoriously steep learning curve and a very complex interface that is not beginner-friendly.

4. Best for Hands-Off / Passive Investors

If you want to automate your portfolio and let software do the heavy lifting, these platforms excel at passive investing.

• M1 Finance
  • Best For: Automated "Pie" investing.
  • Why people use it: M1 Finance uses a unique "pie chart" system. You decide what percentage of your portfolio you want in different stocks or ETFs (e.g., 50% VOO, 20% Apple, 30% bonds). Whenever you deposit money, the app automatically splits and invests the funds to maintain those exact percentages, taking the manual math out of dollar-cost averaging.
• Acorns
  • Best For: Micro-investing.
  • Why people use it: Acorns is great for people who struggle to save. It links to your bank cards, automatically "rounds up" your daily purchases to the nearest dollar, and invests the spare change into a diversified ETF portfolio.

Global & International Alternatives

Because brokerage availability is highly dependent on where you live, here are the top-tier apps if you reside outside the United States:

• In Australia:
  • CommSec is the most popular, trusted bank-backed broker, though its fees are higher.
  • Stake and Pearler are highly popular, low-cost alternatives. Stake is excellent for cheap US and ASX trading ($3 flat fees), while Pearler is specifically built for long-term, community-minded passive ETF investing.
• In Europe & the UK:
  • Trading 212 is highly popular for commission-free stock and ETF trading.
  • Trade Republic is a leading European app that offers zero-fee scheduled savings plans.
  • eToro is globally popular for its "CopyTrader" feature, which allows you to automatically copy the trades of top-performing investors.

Summary: How to Choose?

1. "I want a safe, reliable, long-term account with great service:" Go with Fidelity.
2. "I'm a beginner and want something simple and beautiful:" Go with Robinhood.
3. "I want to actively trade and look at charts all day:" Go with Webull or Interactive Brokers.
4. "I want to automate my long-term portfolio and forget about it:" Go with M1 Finance.