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When rating brokerages, we focus on the features that matter most to everyday investors. That means keeping costs low, making investing easy to access, and offering the tools and account types people actually use.
We don’t try to reward complexity or niche features that most investors will never need. Instead, we look for brokerages that make investing straightforward, affordable, and flexible.
Our core objectives for our recommended selections are:
Each brokerage we review receives a raw score from 0 to 10, based on the features that matter most to self-directed investors. That raw score is then converted to our 5-star rating scale.
Our scoring emphasizes low costs, strong usability, and broad access to investments and account types.
Low costs are one of the biggest drivers of long-term returns, so this is a core part of our scoring.
Brokerages earn full points when they offer commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, options, and mutual funds. Partial credit may be awarded if some, but not all, of these are commission-free.
A brokerage’s platform should make investing easier, not harder.
We evaluate whether the broker offers a high-quality mobile app and desktop platform, and whether the interface is intuitive for most users. Highly rated platforms typically have strong app store ratings and a user-friendly design.
We look at whether a brokerage helps investors learn.
Points are awarded for offering robust educational tools, research, and learning resources, either built in or through reputable third-party providers. Limited or minimal education offerings receive fewer points.
Most investors want flexibility in what they can buy.
Brokerages score highest when they offer access to stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and bonds. Fewer available asset types can reduce a brokerage’s score.
We reward brokers who support real-life financial needs.
Top scores go to firms offering a wide range of accounts, including:
Brokerages with fewer account types receive partial credit.
High minimums can be a barrier for new investors.
Brokerages earn the most points for having no minimum deposit. Partial credit may be given for low minimums, while higher required deposits reduce a score.
Fractional shares make it easier to invest in high-priced stocks and stay fully invested.
Brokerages that offer fractional share trading earn full points. Those that don’t — or only offer it in limited cases — earn fewer or no points at all.
Some brokers go beyond the basics.
We may award a small bonus to brokerages that offer standout features like:
These bonuses have a limited impact and are never the main driver of a rating.
We combine the factors above with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you’re seeing strong brokerage recommendations on each of our pages.
Our goal is to maintain balanced Best Of lists featuring high-scoring brokerages from reputable providers.
Ordering within our lists may be influenced by advertiser compensation, including featured placements at the top of a given list. However, our product recommendations are never influenced by advertisers.
Our Ratings team operates completely independently from our Partnerships team.
Motley Fool Stock Disclosures
The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuit. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
