How do I buy stocks online without a broker?

It's simple. Choose an online share trading platform and open an account. Follow the rest of the steps here in our guide on how to buy and sell stocks online .

Can anyone use online stock trading?

Yes. As long as you have a bank account, you should be able to sign up for online trading.

How do I buy and sell stocks?

Once you've registered for an online trading account, navigate to your dashboard to manage your account. From there, you should be able to look up various stocks and other assets. Once you've found a stock you want to buy, enter the quantity and your bid price and submit your trade. Selling stocks is very similar — you'll find your assets in your portfolio and should be able to select a stock to manage your shares. If you want to sell, you can enter the amount and the ask price, then submit the transaction.

How much does online trading cost?

Most online trading platforms don't charge a fee for regular stock trading but some will charge fees for commission, so you won't have to pay unless you are making trades. Commission prices can vary, so it's important to compare the fees of trading platforms before signing up with one.

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What's your main reason for investing?

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You don’t have to be a full-time day-trade warrior to make money buying and selling stocks. You can start with a few dollars and few clicks. The emergence of investing apps has pushed fees down as low as $0, and many of them offer sophisticated tools to help you learn the ropes or reach the next level.

10 of 28 results

Finder Score	Available asset types	Stock trade fee	Minimum deposit	Cash sweep APY	bullet point infobox
Finder score 9.4 Excellent Robinhood	Finder score 9.4 Excellent	Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Futures, Event contracts, High-yield cash account	$0	$0	3.50%	Get a free stock when you successfully sign up and link your bank account. T&Cs apply.	Trade stocks, options, crypto and more, with advanced trading tools, fractional shares and exclusive perks for Gold members.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 8.2 Great Zacks Trade	Finder score 8.2 Great	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, CDs	$0.01	$250	2.83%	Leverage powerful trading tools and low margin rates to trade stocks, options, ETFs, mutual funds and bonds.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9 Excellent Public.com	Finder score 9 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Investments, Retirement, Treasury Bills, High-yield cash account	$0	$0	3.6%	Get up to $10,000 and transfer fees covered when you move your portfolio to Public. T&Cs apply.	Build a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, ETFs and crypto, with a high-yield cash account and options contract rebates.	Important information *Yield as of 04/09/2025. Learn more.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9.4 Excellent Webull	Finder score 9.4 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, ETFs, Futures, Money market funds	$0	$0	3.60%	Deposit or transfer $100,000+ to earn a 4% Match Bonus, or $2,000+ to earn a 3% Match Bonus. Plus: Get a $100 transfer fee reimbursement on your first brokerage transfer of $2,000 or more. T&Cs apply.	Trade stocks, ETFs and equity options commission-free, with access to futures, advanced charting tools, a robo-advisor and event trading powered by Kalshi.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9.4 Excellent Interactive Brokers	Finder score 9.4 Excellent	Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Futures, Forex, Treasury Bills, Precious metals	$0	$0	3.83% Lite 4.83% Pro	Trade a wide range of assets, with global market access and pro-grade trading tools.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9.4 Excellent Robinhood Gold	Finder score 9.4 Excellent	Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Futures	$0	$0	3.75%	3% IRA match. T&Cs apply.	Try Robinhood Gold for 30 days risk-free upon signup and earn a 3.75% APY on your uninvested cash, a 3% match on IRA contributions, up to $50,000 in instant deposits and more. Accounts are auto-downgraded after the trial period. Robinhood Gold is $5/month.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9.2 Excellent Interactive Brokers GlobalTrader	Finder score 9.2 Excellent	Stocks, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Cryptocurrency	$0	$0	3.83% Lite 4.83% Pro	Trade in a simulated trading environment and access a wide range of tradable assets.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9 Excellent SoFi Active Invest	Finder score 9 Excellent	Stocks, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Alternatives	$0	$0	0.01%	Get up to $1,000 in stock when you open and fund a new account. T&Cs apply.	Trade stocks, ETFs, and options with zero commissions, invest in IPOs or automate your portfolio, with exclusive perks available through SoFi Plus.	Important information INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees. Investing in alternative investments and/or strategies may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, including the risk of loss. An investor should consider their individual circumstances and any investment information, such as a prospectus, prior to investing. Interval Funds are illiquid instruments, the ability to trade on your timeline may be restricted. Brokerage and Active investing products oﬀered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA (www.finra.org) /SIPC(www.sipc.org). There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event. Options involve risks, including substantial risk of loss and the possibility an investor may lose the entire investment Before trading options please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options Advisory services are oﬀered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Utilizing a margin loan is generally considered more appropriate for experienced investors as there are additional costs and risks associated. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment when using margin. Please see https://www.sofi.com/wealth/assets/documents/brokerage-margin-disclosure-statement.pdf for detailed disclosure information SoFi Plus members can schedule an unlimited number of appointments with a financial planner during periods in which the SoFi Plus member meets the eligibility criteria set forth in section 10(a) of the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions. SoFi members who are not members of SoFi Plus can schedule one (1) appointment with a financial planner. The ability to schedule appointments is subject to financial planner availability. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this benefit at any time with or without notice. Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth’s advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth’s current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Probability percentage is subject to decrease Robo Advisor: Automated investing is oﬀered through SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. 0.25% fee is based on your account value. The wrap program fee may cost more or less than purchasing brokerage, custodial, and record keeping services separately. Terms and conditions apply*. For 401k rollovers, existing SoFi IRA members must complete 401k rollovers via this link For SoFi members without a SoFi IRA, a SoFi IRA must first be opened, and 401k rollover must be completed utilizing Capitalize via this link. SoFi and Capitalize will charge no additional fees to process a 401(k) rollover to a SoFi IRA. SoFi is not liable for any costs incurred from the existing 401k provider for rollover. Please check with your 401k provider for any fees or costs associated with the rollover. For IRA contributions, only deposits made via ACH and cash transfer from SoFi Bank accounts are eligible for the match. Click here for the 1% Match terms and conditions.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9 Excellent Moomoo	Finder score 9 Excellent	Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency	$0	$0	Up to 8.1%	Up to $1,000 in Nvidia stock plus 8.1% APY on uninvested cash. T&Cs apply.	No commission stock, ETF and options trades, with $0 equity options contract fees, low margin rates and advanced trading tools.	Go to site More info	loading
Finder score 9 Excellent Wealthfront	Finder score 9 Excellent	Stocks, ETFs, High-yield cash account	$0	$500	3.75%	Get a $50 bonus when you sign up and fund a taxable automated investing account with at least $500. T&Cs apply.	Automate your stock and bond portfolio or trade individual stocks for as little as $1 apiece. Plus, earn 3.50% APY on your cash.	Go to site More info	loading

Showing 10 of 20 results

What is the Finder Score?

The Finder Score crunches 147 key metrics we collected directly from 18+ brokers and assessed each provider’s performance based on nine different categories, weighing each metric based on the expertise and insights of Finder’s investment experts. We then scored and ranked each provider to determine the best brokerage accounts.

We update our best picks as products change, disappear or emerge in the market. We also regularly review and revise our selections to ensure our best provider lists reflect the most competitive available.

Read the full Finder Score breakdown

What is stock trading?

Stock trading is simply the buying and selling of stocks (also known as “shares”) of a specific company in order to make a profit. Think of stocks as small individual pieces of a company. If you own stocks you own part of that company. Stock values change with each sale, depending on whether more people are buying (because they think its price will rise) or selling (because they think it will fall).

How do I make money trading stocks?

Here’s an example: a company is trading at $5 per share on January 1st and you buy 100 shares for a total of $500. By February 1st, the shares are trading at $5.50, so you decide to sell your shares, giving you a 50-cent return on each share for a profit of $50. This also works in the opposite direction: if the stock price was $4.50 when you decide to sell, you’d be losing 50 cents per share for a net loss of $50.

WATCH: How does the stock market work?

7:00

Who is most likely to be researching stock trading?

Finder data suggests that men aged 35-44 are most likely to be researching this topic.

Response	Male (%)	Female (%)
65+	9.56%	5.75%
55-64	10.64%	6.64%
45-54	11.34%	7.39%
35-44	11.60%	7.94%
25-34	9.74%	6.43%
18-24	8.29%	4.69%

Source: Finder sample of 4,560 visitors using demographics data from Google Analytics

How do I start trading on the stock market?

Newbie investor? Never placed a trade before? Don’t worry, it’s never been easier to start trading. You simply choose a stock trading platform, open and fund an account then make your trades. Check out our guide on how to buy stocks online to get started.

Our top picks for online brokers

Go to site

Trade stocks, options, ETFs, mutual funds, alternative asset funds
$0 commission on stocks, ETFs and options with no options contract fees
Get up to $1,000 in stock when you open and fund a new account within 45 days
Access to a financial planner

Disclaimer

Go to site

Trade stocks, ETFs, options, futures and bonds all in one place
$0 commissions on stocks, ETFs and equity options, with low contract fees
Deposit or transfer $10,000+ to earn a 2% Match Bonus. Plus: Get a $100 transfer fee reimbursement on your first brokerage transfer of $2,000 or more. T&C apply.

Go to site

Trade $0 commission stocks, ETFs, futures and options with as little as $1
After-hours trading available
Earn 3.75% interest on uninvested cash with Gold
24/7 customer support

Must read: Best stock trading apps of the year

Where do you trade stocks?

Traders buy and sell stocks throughout the trading day on the NYSE and Nasdaq, and other markets around the world. Here are some of the world’s biggest stock markets by market capitalization:

Stock exchange	Short name	Market capitalization
New York Stock Exchange (US)	NYSE	US$25.62 trillion
Nasdaq (US)	NASDAQ	US$19.51 trillion
Hong Kong Exchanges	HKEX	US$6.76 trillion
Shanghai Stock Exchange	SSE	US$6.56 trillion
Japan Exchange Group	JPX	US$6.54 trillion

Here is a map of some of the world’s biggest exchanges

7 tips for beginner investors

Know your risk tolerance. Are you ok with taking big risks with potential losses? Your personal risk tolerance should dictate your investment strategy.
Do your homework. Research the financial health of companies, review annual reports and follow the news. Get familiar with popular indices like the S&P 500 which give an idea of how the market is performing.
Buy what you know. Begin investing in industries and businesses you understand or that produce products that you use everyday.
Diversify. Spread your investments across a range of industries. This is called diversification — a fancy way of saying: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You can be better protected against losses if one particular industry experiences a sharp downturn.
Explore blue-chip companies. Blue-chip stocks are America’s biggest, best-established companies. They’re typically a source of reliable returns and minimal risk.
Consider index funds. Index funds, like ETFs and mutual funds, offer you a way to invest in multiple companies at once rather than in just one company’s stocks. You invest in the shares of the fund instead of all the individual companies themselves that make up the fund.
Practice new strategies. Play stock trading games to master your craft. Or take an online trading course to advance your knowledge about different trading strategies.

Stock trading strategies you should know

This the most common type of trading is where investors buy and sell company shares through stock markets and then monitor continuous updates on the prices of those shares. The value of a company’s shares changes daily, so shareholders aim to buy shares when they cost less and sell when they cost more to make a profit. You can expect transaction fees for buying and selling.
Example: Company X is trading at $5 per share on January 1st and you buy 100 shares for a total of $500. By February 1st, the shares are trading at $5.50, so you decide to sell, giving you a 50-cent return on each share for a profit of $50. This also works in the opposite direction: If the stock price was $4.50 when you decide to sell, you’d be losing 50 cents per share for a net loss of $50.
Options are essentially a bet on how you think a stock will move within a set time. If you purchase a contract of 100 shares, that gives you the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a stock at a certain price, called the strike price, within a certain time frame. Here are two options:
Call. If you believe the price of a stock will go up by the expiry date, you buy a call option contract. This gives you the right to buy shares at the strike price. If the share price is higher than the strike price, either buy the shares at a discount when the contract expires or buy and immediately sell the option for a profit.
Put. If you think the price of a stock will go down by the expiry date, buy a put option contract. This gives you the right to sell the shares at the strike price. If the share price drops below the strike price, you could buy shares at market price and sell them at the strike price.
Example: Company Y is trading at $20 per share on January 1st and you can buy a six-month options contract with a strike price of $20 and a premium of $5 per share.
If you expect the market price of the share to reach $25 — the strike price plus premium — or higher by the expiry date, buy a call option. Since this contract gives you the right to purchase the stock at the strike price, you could either sell the contract for a profit or purchase shares at below market value.
However, if you expect the market price of the share to drop to $15 — strike price minus premium, or below — by the expiry date, buy a put option. This contract gives you the right to sell shares at the strike price, meaning you could either sell your contract for a profit or purchase the shares at market value and sell them for more than you paid.
Bonds are issued by companies or governments to generate cash flow, finance debt, fund investments and more. Bonds have predetermined term lengths and pay interest (also called the coupon rate) at set intervals for the length of the term. Once the bond reaches maturity, it can be cashed for the principal amount.
Example: Company A is looking to raise money for the development of a new product, so it issues five-year bonds with a $1,000 principal and 5% coupon rate, paid annually. If you purchase 10 bonds for a principal investment of $10,000, you’ll receive a $500 interest payment each year until the bond reaches maturity. After five years, you would have accrued a total of $2,500 of interest on an initial investment of $10,000.
Foreign exchange (forex) trading is the process of buying and selling currencies. Unlike the stock market, the forex market is not one central exchange but rather a network of transactions between traders. In this market, buyers purchase one currency in exchange for another. Since exchange rates change throughout the day, traders are able to make money by buying low and selling high, just like the stock market.
Example: Say the Canadian dollar is trading at $1.35 against the US dollar. Expecting the value of the Canadian dollar to increase, you sell $10,000 USD in exchange for $13,500 CAD. Later that month, the exchange rate drops to $1.30 CAD/USD, meaning that it now costs $1.30 Canadian to buy one USD. If you decide to sell, you would make a profit of $307.
Swaps are an agreement between two parties to exchange currencies at the spot rate. They are done as over the counter transactions between traders, businesses or financial institutions. In most cases, one cash flow is fixed, while the other is variable, often based on a benchmark interest rate, floating currency exchange rate or index price.
Example: Company A loaned one of its distributors $1 million over five years with a variable annual interest rate of 1% + 5.25% prime rate. The company believes that the prime rate is going to decrease within the next five years, affecting its interest payments. It wants to enter into a swap on its loan. Company B believes the interest rate will rise, so it pays company A a fixed rate of 7% per year in exchange for the variable cash flow from A’s loan. Company A is happy if prime stays below 6%, whereas company B is happy if prime goes above 6%.
CFDs, or contracts for difference, allow advanced traders to profit from the change in price of underlying assets like stocks, stock indices, currencies, commodities and more. Similar to swaps, the underlying asset does not actually change hands. In this type of transaction, the trader buys or sells a contract with a specific number of units of a particular instrument. If you buy a CFD and the price of the underlying asset goes up, you earn money. If you buy a CFD and the price goes down, you lose money.
Example: Stock XYZ is trading at $5 per share and you buy a CFD of 100 shares. The price of XYZ goes to $5.25 per share and you sell your position, earning you 25 cents per share or $25 in total. However, if the price dropped to $4.75, you would have lost 25 cents per share for a net loss of $25. While you won’t actually be purchasing the underlying assets, brokers may charge a commission on CFDs or require you to buy and sell slightly above or below market price so that they can profit.
Cryptocurrency trading is very similar to stock trading in that it involves buying or selling assets to make a profit. Just like stocks, there are numerous cryptocurrencies allowing you to choose where to invest your money. Once you purchase cryptocurrency on an online exchange, you can either sell it, hold on to it, or buy other assets like stocks, other cryptocurrencies or even goods and services.
Short selling is a bet that a stock price is going to fall. Traders borrow shares and sell them, anticipating they can buy them back later to settle the loan at a lower price and pocket the difference. But if the share price rises instead, they have to buy at the higher price and take a loss.
Example: Company X is trading at $5 per share on January 1st and you think it will go to $0. You borrow and sell 100 shares for a total of $500. By February 1st, the shares are trading at $1, so you buy 100 shares to close your position for $100, and pocket $400. This also works in the opposite direction: If the stock price rises to $10, repaying the loaned shares costs you $1,000 and you lose $500. If the stock hits $20, you lose $1,500. The most you can gain is $500, but your potential loss is unlimited.

Risks of stock trading

Losses. No investment is risk-free and any stock, no matter its performance history, carries the risk of loss. Stock prices can fall dramatically and even drop down to zero. This can mean significant financial losses for investors.
Time. Online trading can be a time-consuming process — especially when you hand-pick each of the securities in your portfolio. The more active your trading strategy, the more time you’ll need to be ready to invest in monitoring the performance of your stocks and staying abreast of impactful market news.
Stress. The stock market is always moving and can be volatile — a significant source of stress for those with investments that hinge on its performance and direction. If you can’t weather the ups and downs, you might be better off pursuing a more passive investment strategy, like a robo-advisor or managed portfolio.
Market events. Even after thoroughly researching a company, you can’t predict the future. Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics, bad company news and even changes in government policy can all occur unexpectedly and adversely affect the price of shares.
Lack of expertise. While investing in the stock market sounds easy in theory, it can get quite complicated if you don’t know what you’re doing. First-time investors should exercise caution while building their portfolio.

Will you be investing in stock?

Do you plan to buy stocks in 2023?

Response	% of investors
Yes	49%
No, other reason	3%
No, I'm not optimistic about the market in 2023	13%
No, I'm just not interested	13%
No, I want to buy other investments	4%
No, I do not understand stock trading	4%
No, I do not have any spare money to invest	14%

Source: Finder survey by Qualtrics of 2,033 Americans

Just under half (49%) of American adults said they planned on investing in stocks in 2023. For those that didn’t, not have the spare money to invest was the top reason for not investing at 14%.

Bottom line

Investing in the stock market has never been easier. But before you dive in, make sure you compare trading platforms and carefully research the companies you want to invest in. Get familiar with your personal level of risk tolerance and make sure you diversify your portfolio in order to minimize losses. Ready to begin?

Compare online brokers

Frequently asked questions about stock trading

Once you've registered for an online trading account, navigate to your dashboard to manage your account. From there, you should be able to look up various stocks and other assets. Once you've found a stock you want to buy, enter the quantity and your bid price and submit your trade.
Selling stocks is very similar — you'll find your assets in your portfolio and should be able to select a stock to manage your shares. If you want to sell, you can enter the amount and the ask price, then submit the transaction.

Stock trading glossary

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Paid non-client promotion. Finder does not invest money with providers on this page. If a brand is a referral partner, we're paid when you click or tap through to, open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider. Partnerships are not a recommendation for you to invest with any one company. Learn more about how we make money.

Finder is not an advisor or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.

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Written by

Matt Miczulski

Investments editor and market analyst

Matt Miczulski is an investments editor and market analyst at Finder. With over 450 bylines, Matt dissects and reviews brokers and investing platforms to expose perks and pain points, explores investment products and concepts and covers market news, making investing more accessible and helping readers to make informed financial decisions. Before joining Finder in 2021, Matt covered everything from finance news and banking to debt and travel for FinanceBuzz. His expertise and analysis on investing and other financial topics has been featured on Yahoo Finance, CBS, MSN, Best Company and Consolidated Credit, among others. Matt holds a BA in history from William Paterson University. See full bio

Matt's expertise

Matt has written 201 Finder guides across topics including:

Trading and investing
Broker and trading platform reviews
Money management

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