finder.com’s rating: 4.3 / 5.0
★★★★★
TD Ameritrade is an online brokerage service designed for beginner investors and active traders. It features user-friendly trading platforms and a variety of mutual funds, but look out for costly short-term exchange-traded fund (ETF) and broker-assisted trade fees.
$0
or $25 broker-assisted
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit to open
| Stock trade fee | $0 or $25 broker-assisted |
|---|---|
| Option trade fee | $0 + $0.65/contract, or $25 broker-assisted |
| Asset types | Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Currencies |
| Account types | Brokerage, Retirement |
| Mutual fund trade fee | $0 |
| Minimum deposit to open | $0 |
Review by
Shannon Terrell is a senior writer for Finder who has written over 400 personal finance guides. With a focus on investments and personal finance, she breaks down jargon-laden topics to help others make informed financial decisions. She studied communications and English literature at the University of Toronto.
TD Ameritrade offers a host of attractive perks for a wide range of investors.
There’s no minimum deposit to open an account and no commissions on online trades. Plus, you get access to free educational resources and 24/7 online support.
But you may pay costly brokerage and short-term ETF fees. And you’ll pay a small fee for options contracts.
| Fees | ★★★★★ 3.5/5 | No commissions on stocks and fees are fair for other securities. |
| Available securities | ★★★★★ 5/5 | The only thing a Thinkorswim brokerage account can’t trade is cryptocurrency. |
| Customer support | ★★★★★ 5/5 | Support can quickly be reached in three ways. |
| Mobile app | ★★★★★ 4.6/5 | The app gets high marks in the Apple App Store but Google users report app freezes. |
| Research and tools | ★★★★★ 5/5 | A comprehensive suite of research and analytics tools are available. |
| Reliability | ★★★★★ 3/5 | One major outage has been reported. |
| Bonus star | ★ 1 | We awarded a bonus star for access to paper trading. |
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read the methodology at the bottom of the page.
TD Ameritrade offers access to just about everything on the market, including OTC bulletin boards, pink sheets and penny stocks.
TD Ameritrade imposes no account minimums and boasts a robust library of educational content and market research. It may be a practical fit for:
TD Ameritrade’s prices are competitive. It doesn’t charge commissions on stocks or ETFs, and its contract fees for options and futures are on par with most other online brokerages. That said, its $49.99 fee for no-load mutual funds is steep — Interactive Brokers only charges $14.95.
| Minimum deposit to open | $0 |
| Annual fee | $0 |
| Stock trading fee | $0 |
| Options trading fee | $0.65 per contract |
| Futures trading fee | $2.25 per contract |
| No-load mutual fund trading fee | $49.99 |
| Account transfer fee | $75 |
TD Ameritrade has two options for those interested in having their portfolio managed for them: Selective and Personalized Portfolios. Both portfolio options are managed by human financial advisers but carry different account minimums and management fees.
| Account minimum | Annual management fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Selective | $25,000 | 0.75% to 0.90% |
| Personalized | $250,000 | 0.60% to 0.90% |
Visit a local TD Ameritrade branch to speak with a representative who can help you get started.
Whichever account you choose to open, you’ll need to meet a few eligibility requirements:
TD Ameritrade offers a variety of investing platforms targeted at different types of investors from beginners to advanced traders.
TD Ameritrade web platform: This is TD Ameritrade’s all-inclusive web-based trading platform. It provides investors with what they need to screen and trade investments, build diversified portfolios, monitor their investments and access educational resources. Here are some features:
TD Ameritrade Mobile App: TD Ameritrade’s web-based tools and features extend to its mobile platform. Both currently have ratings of 3 out of 5 and 4.5 out of 5 on the Google Play and Apple App stores, respectively. Here’s some of what you can do:
Thinkorswim: This is a separate platform designed for experienced investors who want access to powerful research and analytical tools. You can access Thinkorswim online, on your desktop and via a mobile app. Here are some of its highlights:
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.
*Signup bonus information updated weekly.
TD Ameritrade was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. It’s a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects securities for customers up to $500,000 or $250,000 for claims for cash.
TD Ameritrade also provides every customer with $149.5 million protection for securities and $2 million protection for cash through supplemental coverage which you can purchase through London insurers.
There are two complaints about TD Ameritrade on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but both complaints are about the company’s mortgage services.
TD Ameritrade is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and holds a B rating with an average of 1.33 out of 5 stars after 15 customer reviews as of March 2021.
Trustpilot gives TD Ameritrade 1.5 stars out of 5 based on 137 reviews. Of the 77% who rated the company “bad,” several appear to be scammers who are advertising services to help customers recover invested funds. Other users complain that they couldn’t connect with a human and had to solve issues with automation. Others found the app or website challenging to navigate.
Positive reviews touted the variety of products, free educational resources and affordability.
★★★★★ 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.
Our Top Pick
TD Ameritrade
