Here's our annual list of the best stock brokers and trading platforms for 2025.

The investing landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years. We've seen new technology drop commissions and expenses substantially (to $0 for most), new tools helping investors, and a whole lot of competition to stay at the top of the pack.

So, with all these changes, who do you (the readers) think is the best online stock broker going into 2025? We have been polling our audience annually and we're excited to share the best investing platforms with you!

We break down the top five online stock brokers chosen by readers, along with some notable mentions, especially for certain use cases. We also highlight any bonus offers these companies currently have. If you're not using a top online stock brokerage firm yet, now is the time to make the switch!

Here's your picks for the top online stock brokers and trading platforms:

Fidelity took the top pick again this year among all the brokerage and stock trading apps. They have a large amount of commission-free funds, low expenses, and a full range of account types to choose from. Even if you don't invest with a commission-free fund, they are $0 for commissions for stocks, ETFs, and options trades.

Furthermore, many people are familiar with Fidelity because (along with Vanguard) they are one of the largest 401k plan administrators. That's why we name Fidelity our Best Online Broker for Retirement.

Plus, unlike Vanguard, Fidelity has offices nationwide. While almost everything can be done online, being able to easily go to an office can be helpful every now and then.

Fidelity Bonus Offers: Fidelity is offering various bonus offers for their products, including the Fidelity Youth Account.

Open an account at Fidelity >>

Schwab has been moving up the rankings for the last few years - reaching second place this year in our list of the best online stock brokers. Last year it was third.

What people love about Schwab is their great trading platform (which is commission-free) combined with a solid banking product, which other than Fidelity, most of the others here don't offer. Plus, they finally added an HSA account to their lineup!

With their acquisition of TD Ameritrade, Schwab also now has a great trading platform with thinkorswim.

Furthermore, they have no purchase minimums for their mutual funds, so you can build an extremely low cost portfolio at Schwab using popular funds like Schwab Total Stock Market Index (SWTSX). And they also moved to $0 account minimums for most products.

Open an account at Schwab >>

Robinhood has always been a controversial online broker: it has bounced in and out of our top brokerage list several times. This is likely driven by a huge surge of traders who took to investing on the platform in the last year. Plus, they’re offering cool features like a retirement contribution match!

Robinhood offers truly commission-free trading. Like $0. Nada. Nothing. They were the first to offer this, but now everyone does.

It does come with some drawbacks beyond the media. You are limited in your trading, and the mobile app can be annoying to use if you prefer desktop access.

However, it's free!

Robinhood Bonus Offers: Get a random share of stock when you refer a friend. They also have transfer and retirement match offers.

Open an account at Robinhood >>

Vanguard has been seeing rankings plummet over the last - and it makes sense for a variety of reasons, from the app usability, to lackluster customer service. However, this year they rose one spot to land at number 4.

Vanguard is still consistently the low-price index fund leader - and when you invest directly with Vanguard, you can potentially avoid commissions and fees on your mutual fund purchases. However, Vanguard had several hiccups with its online platform and app (even though the re-designed app is modern and easy to use). They also recently announced they were slashing expense ratios on many of the mutual funds.

Vanguard does offer the full range of account types, from IRAs to Solo 401k's, to 529 plans and HSAs.

The big drawback to Vanguard is that they aren't as great to use for products outside of their own. Plus, their website and customer service has been struggling to keep pace the last year. Also, if you dive into the details of some of their products (like their Solo 401k), it's not always the most robust available.

Vanguard Bonus Offers: Vanguard doesn't run any bonus offers... maybe they're just too good for that they don't need to entice you?

Open an account at Vanguard >>

E*TRADE dropped a spot this year in the rankings. E*TRADE has been working hard to compete with the other companies on this list, dropping to commission-free pricing and improving its interface.

However, we would say they still generally lag in terms of usability compared to the companies above, and their customer service is lacking (they even eliminated online chat last year for many features).

Open an account at E*TRADE >>

Honorable Mentions

These honorable mentions didn't make the top 5, but they are really worth a look if you want someone else to do the work for you when it comes to investing and setting up your portfolio.

These are companies that got votes and interest from our audience but not enough to crack the top of the list.