Best online brokers of 2022

The biggest drawback to Webull's platform is its limited range of securities — those seeking mutual funds, bonds, futures or forex trading will be disappointed. And it doesn't offer retirement or joint accounts, narrowing its target market to investors seeking an individual brokerage account to swap stocks and options.

Ally Invest's mobile app is well reviewed, and traders can buy and sell a respectable lineup of securities, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds and options. It even offers access to more than 50 currency pairs in the forex market with no commission costs. And no major service outages have been reported.

But no platform is perfect — even those with the highest ratings. Ally Invest charges $0.50 per options contract, and we uncovered a small number of complaints citing refresh rate delays on the mobile app.

So, what's not to like? Traders complain of a buggy Android mobile app and the platform doesn't offer access to forex or cryptocurrency.

In addition to its five available trading platforms, TD Ameritrade offers commission-free stock trading, access to 75 currency pairs on the forex market and — thanks to Thinkorswim — some of the most robust research and analytics tools in the industry. TD Ameritrade also won itself a bonus star for its paper trading feature.

The drawbacks? Investors report a steep learning curve navigating the Thinkorswim platforms, and Google Play users report mobile app freezes.

High mobile app ratings, responsive customer support and the absence of any major service outages make SoFi a well-rounded platform for new to intermediate traders. But SoFi isn't without its drawbacks.

SoFi's tradable security lineup is limited to stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. And its charting tools aren't quite comprehensive enough to cater to active traders who rely on technical analysis.

All in all, SoFi is a solid, excellently priced choice for those new to the stock market, though derivatives traders will need to explore options elsewhere.

A Zacks Trade account comes with 23 free research subscriptions through IBIS with the option to add up to 80 additional subscriptions for a fee. The platform offers many analytics tools, including 120 technical chart indicators and portfolio rebalancing by risk tolerance. Among the platform's standout features are its free broker-assisted trades — a useful perk for those seeking professional support during the trading process.

But Zacks Trade falls short when it comes to account minimums and trading fees. Unlike many of its competitors, Zacks Trade still charges commissions on stocks. And its options fees are among the highest we've seen at $0.75 a contract. You also need at least $2,500 to open an account. But it does offer free broker-assisted trades, which is pretty much unheard of in the industry.

For a flat annual rate of 0.25%, Betterment will create and manage your investment portfolio. You’ll answer a financial questionnaire when you sign up, and Betterment uses the responses you provide to determine your asset allocation strategy and risk tolerance. Simple as that.

But Betterment won’t be for everyone. You don’t really have any control over what goes into your portfolio when you use a service like a robo-advisor. So if you prefer an investment platform that offers you full control over your portfolio, you’ll want to skip this one.

First-time investors looking for long-term stocks will find that Robinhood's platform is intuitive, easy-to-learn and entirely commission-free. In fact, Robinhood trades have been zero-commission since its 2015 launch, putting pressure on numerous competitors to follow suit.

It loses points for service outages and limited research tools, but neither of these is likely to take much from the newbie investor trading experience. This makes Robinhood a solid platform for beginners and worthy of an honorable mention.

Annual portfolio fees, commissions and mutual fund minimums of $1,000 to $3,000 make Vanguard somewhat prohibitive for small-dollar investors. It also isn't particularly designed for high-volume trading. But Vanguard rewards big portfolios with perks that include personal adviser services, waived service fees, reduced commissions and access to financial specialists.

Interactive Brokers offers access to a whopping 135 markets. This figure blows Fidelity's 25 markets and Charles Schwab's 12 markets — two brokers known for their international accounts — straight out of the water. No broker comes close to Interactive Broker's international market access, and most don't offer access to foreign exchanges at all.

That said, Interactive Brokers is known for its complex fee structure and steep learning curve, so new investors may want to look elsewhere.