finder.com’s rating: 4.3 / 5.0
★★★★★
$0
or $25 if it is a broker-assisted trade
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit to open
| Intro or bonus offer | Receive a $500 account bonus with a $100,000 minimum deposit |
|---|---|
| Stock trade fee | $0 or $25 if it is a broker-assisted trade |
| Option trade fee | $0 + $0.65/contract, or $25 if it is a broker-assisted trade |
| Asset types | Stocks, Bonds, Mutual funds, Index funds, ETFs, Futures |
| Account types | Brokerage, Individual, Joint |
| Government bond trade fee | $1 |
| Corporate bond trade fee | $1 |
| Minimum deposit to open | $0 |
Review by
Cassidy Horton is a writer for Finder, specializing in banking and investments. She has a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia Southern University. Cassidy enjoys educating people about financial services, exploring the Pacific Northwest and watching endless reruns of The Office.
Charles Schwab is a popular online broker offering commission-free trades with no investment minimums. These low barriers to entry make it a great option for most investors — both new and experienced. Plus, it has 24/7 customer support and an extensive suite of educational resources.
But it has a B- rating with the Better Business Bureau and several customers complain about Charles Schwab closing their account without warning.
| Fees | ★★★★★ 4/5 | Stocks are commission-free and fees for options, bonds, funds and futures are competitive. |
| Available securities | ★★★★★ 5/5 | Schwab brokerage accounts can trade everything but forex and crypto. |
| Customer support | ★★★★★ 5/5 | Support can quickly be reached in three ways. |
| Mobile app | ★★★★★ 4.7/5 | Charles Schwab’s mobile platform is well-liked by both Google and Apple users. |
| Research and tools | ★★★★★ 5/5 | Schwab’s investment tools and research offerings are robust. |
| Reliability | ★★★★★ 3/5 | A couple of service outages have been reported for this platform. |
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read the methodology at the bottom of the page.
Charles Schwab caters to a wide range of investors including:
Charles Schwab offers quite a few benefits over competing brokers, including:
Although Charles Schwab has a host of attractive features, there are a few things to watch out for:
Before you make a decision, shop around for trading platforms until you find one that suits you.
In 2019, Charles Schwab announced its plans to acquire TD Ameritrade in a transaction valued at $26 billion. The acquisition is moving forward as planned, with shareholders and US Justice Department officials both voting in favor of the merger.
The process is expected to take 18 to 36 months to complete. Until then, both platforms will continue to operate independently.
Customer reviews of Charles Schwab are generally mixed. Positive reviews on TrustPilot as of November 2020 highlight customer service, while negative ones claim customer service is lacking.
Charles Schwab is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but it earns an A based on the BBB’s internal criteria. It earns an average score of 1.22 out of 5 based on 18 customer-submitted reviews.
Negative ones mention poor customer service and issues transferring money to accounts. Other reviewers say they had trouble closing accounts and felt like they were being scammed. Happier customers note low fees and good products.
Reviews on Reddit are generally positive and align with sentiment found elsewhere, both praising Schwab for low fees and investment options and criticizing its poor customer service.
Sign up for an account with Charles Schwab either online or by visiting a branch location.
To sign up online:
You must meet the following requirements to open an account with Charles Schwab:
Have the following information ready when you set up your Charles Schwab account:
Once you open an account, make the most of it by:
There are three ways to contact Charles Schwab customer service:
★★★★★ 5/5 — Excellent
★★★★★ 4/5 — Good
★★★★★ 3/5 — Average
★★★★★ 2/5 — Subpar
★★★★★ 1/5 — Poor
We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability.
For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate trading platforms.
