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Charles Schwab is a consistent advocate of the individual investor, whether it's seasoned vets or beginners making their first trade. It has aggressively slashed fees on its mutual funds, removed common account fees, and eliminated its per-trade commissions, making it one of the most affordable places to open an account and trade stocks, ETFs, and funds.
In the Charles Schwab review below, we'll show you how the brokerage compares on commissions, fees, margin rates, trading platforms, and more.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab pioneered the low-cost brokerage model decades ago, and that legacy continues with its lineup of no-commission-fee offerings. The robust lineup of account types, investment vehicles, and high quality app round out the stacked feature set.
$0 stock, ETF, and Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource® trades. No fees to buy fractional shares.
$0, ($5 minimum per fractional share transaction)
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
Author's note: I've been investing for more than 20 years, and became a Schwab user after the acquisition of TD Ameritrade, which I've used since college. I'm a particularly big fan of the thinkorswim trading platform, which Schwab thankfully retained after moving all TD Ameritrade accounts to its platform. I invest in stocks, ETFs, and occasionally use options strategies in my portfolio, and Schwab is a solid choice for all of them.
Charles Schwab is one of our favorite brokerages. It ranks among the best brokers we've seen in these categories:
"I opened my Charles Schwab account as a brand-new investor who knew almost nothing about investing, and I've learned a lot through their educational resources. While the website isn't the most modern, it's easy to use. I've spent a good amount of time using their customer service support as well as a Schwab Financial Consultant and both have been tremendously helpful. I like the active trading experience but have also enjoyed using their robo-investing option, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios."
- The Ascent SEO Manager Brooklyn Sprunger
When it comes to a variety of investment choices and account types, Charles Schwab is a clear standout. Here's a quick rundown of what is available
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Schwab also offers several banking products and services beyond its brokerage platform:
To be sure, Charles Schwab wasn't the first investment platform to offer commission-free stock trades, but it was the first big brokerage to eliminate commissions on online stock and ETF trades, and it certainly helped spark the commission-free revolution of late 2019. Nearly all of Charles Schwab's competitors followed suit, slashing commissions to zero.
Here are Charles Schwab's trading fees based on the type of investment:
Investment type or service | Commission/fee |
---|---|
Stocks and ETFs | $0 |
Options | $0.65 per contract |
Mutual Funds | Up to $74.95 (thousands for free) |
Futures | $2.25 per contract |
Cryptocurrencies | Not available |
As of May 2024, here are Charles Schwab's effective margin rates by margin balance:
Margin balance | Margin rate |
---|---|
Less than $25,000 | 13.575% |
$25,000 - $49,999 | 13.075% |
$50,000 to $99,999 | 12.125% |
$100,000 to $249,999 | 12.075% |
$250,000 to $499,999 | 11.825% |
$500,000 or more | Call 877-752-9749 for rate details |
Investors who use margin as a key part of their trading or investing strategy will find that Charles Schwab margin rates are toward the middle of the brokerage pack. It isn't a particularly cheap place to trade with margin, but the costs are in-line with most of its peers.
Charles Schwab sometimes offers promotions that could save you money. Click below to go to our dedicated page covering current Charles Schwab promotions:
Whereas large wirehouse brokers have large research arms to supply their research internally, most discount brokers instead offer research from third-party services like Morningstar and S&P, for example. Below, we'll run through a few notable research and screening tools available to Schwab brokerage customers.
Most large discount brokers offer more research and screening tools than ever before. It's fair to say that if you wanted to spend hours each day reading stock market research or tinkering with screeners, you wouldn't run out of research to read or screeners to play with, a statement that applies to virtually any of the household-name discount brokers.
Schwab also offers an extensive library of educational resources. For example, if you want to learn the basics of options trading, or how to buy stocks that trade on international exchanges, Schwab has you covered.
This discount broker has several platforms aimed at different types of investors. Basic trading functionality is available through its web-based trading platform, and it also offers a mobile app that facilitates trading on the go.
In addition, Schwab offers the thinkorswim advanced trading and charting platform on both desktop and mobile. Schwab acquired this from TD Ameritrade in 2022 and has integrated it into the Charles Schwab platform. It's known for its charting, which helps traders make data-informed investing decisions, especially options trades.
As long-term buy-and-hold investors, we don't actively trade in our accounts and therefore don't need many of the bells and whistles. If a robust platform is especially important to you, we'd recommend using a demo account to try Schwab's platforms out for yourself.
Schwab's mobile app is among the best available from a big brokerage house. It has an iOS rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. While its Android rating of 2.3 out of 5 stars is lower than average, our research has found the ratings aren't aligned with the apps high quality overall. Many brokerage apps are slimmed down, less versatile versions of their online experiences. But Schwab's apps closely mirror its robust online experience, including for trading, account access and management, and banking.
Discount brokers can offer cutthroat commission prices because they eliminate many of the expenses associated with traditional brokerages. But big brokers still provide all the customer service you might need, whether over the phone, online, or through a branch office.
Schwab offers 24/7 support over the phone, as many discount brokers do. But thanks to its vast brick-and-mortar branch network, customers can also get help in person at offices scattered across the U.S. It has more than 340 branches in 46 states, so the vast majority of Americans live within a short drive of one of its offices.
Here are the various ways you can contact Schwab's customer service:
Schwab uses some of the most advanced methods in the industry to keep client accounts secure. While accounts are protected by SIPC insurance in the event of the firm's failure, just like any other brokerage account, Schwab takes things a step further and guarantees that the firm will cover any losses due to unauthorized activity in your account.
Charles Schwab (the person) started an investment newsletter in 1963 and formed a broker-dealer securities business in 1971.
The company's current form truly began in 1975, when the SEC de-regulated brokerage commissions. Schwab did the opposite of what most full-service brokerage firms were doing and decided to create the first discount brokerage. It has achieved several other industry firsts along the way, such as the first 24-hour quotation service and the first 24/7 order entry interface.
Schwab ended up being acquired by Bank of America in 1983, but management bought the company back in 1987 and completed an IPO the same year. The company's discount model grew rapidly in popularity, and today Schwab is one of the largest brokerage firms in the world, with $8.85 trillion in client assets.
Keep reading about Charles Schwab on these pages:
At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and account types; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and highly rated mobile apps. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.
See our full methodology here: Ratings Methodology
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We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
Robinhood disclosure
All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible.
Securities are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Cryptocurrency services are offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840). Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Cryptocurrency held through Robinhood Crypto is not FDIC insured or SIPC protected. For more information see the Robinhood Crypto Risk Disclosure.
Trades of stocks, ETFs and options are commission-free at Robinhood Financial LLC. Other fees may apply. Please see Robinhood Financial’s Fee Schedule to learn more.
Fractional shares are illiquid outside of Robinhood and are not transferable. Not all securities available through Robinhood are eligible for fractional share orders. For a complete explanation of conditions, restrictions and limitations associated with fractional shares, see the Fractional Shares section of our Customer Agreement.
Robinhood Gold is an account offering premium services available for a $5 monthly fee. Not all investors will be eligible to trade on Margin. Margin investing involves the risk of greater investment losses. Additional interest charges may apply depending on the amount of margin used. Bigger Instant Deposits are only available if your Instant Deposits status is in good standing.
Fidelity disclosure
Fractional share quantities can be entered out to 3 decimal places (.001) as long as the value of the order is at least $1.00. Dollar-based trades can be entered out to 2 decimal places (e.g. $250.00)