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 in 2023? 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!

What's interesting to see this year is Vanguard taking a big drop and Robinhood seeing big gains. 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 >>

Robinhood has always been a controversial online broker: it was in the top 5 two years ago, dropped out last year, and has resumed its spot back in the list. 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.

Open an account at Robinhood >>

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

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!

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.

Schwab Bonus Offers: They do offer a refer-a-friend bonus of up to $1,000 if you can get an invite!

Open an account at Schwab >>

E*TRADE moved up 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).

They do have a pretty loyal following, and it will be interesting to see how J.P. Morgan handles them now that they are part of the company.

Open an account at E*TRADE >>

Vanguard was the runner-up last year, and this year saw its rankings significantly plummet - and it makes sense for a variety of reasons.

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).

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 >>

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.

M1 Finance

M1 Finance is a relative new comer but they've been doing some amazing things with low cost investing and banking.

What makes M1 Finance so great is that it allows you to setup a low cost portfolio for free. This portfolio can be one of their automated portfolios, or you could setup one of your own with almost any combination of ETFs and stocks. And for stocks, that includes investing in fractional shares as well.

Once you setup your portfolio, M1 helps you automatically re-balance when you deposit more money into your account. And when you sell, it also helps you re-balance by selling overweight items in your portfolio.

Plus, they offer a great banking product and even allow you to borrow against your portfolio with M1 Borrow.

The only real drawback to M1 is that it doesn't consider all of your portfolios - you need to do that. Also, it doesn't connect with platforms like Quicken or Personal Capital. You need to use their dashboard to track your portfolio.

M1 Finance Bonus Offer: You can get up to $10,000 if you transfer an account over. They also offer a "seed fund" bonus offer of up to $500 just for being a new M1 customer and funding your new account within 14 days.

Open an account at M1 Finance >>

TD Ameritrade is another company that was in the Top 5 last year, but has since fallen off. That’s okay, because many people are realizing that TD is merging with Schwab - and some account types have already moved over.

We love TD Ameritrade's app, which we previously named to our list of best free investing apps. Plus, their Thinkorswim platform is top-notch for traders.

TD Ameritrade is also on the commission-free bandwagon, offering $0 commissions on stock, option, and ETF trades.

If you’re thinking about TD Ameritrade, it might be worth it to just stick with Schwab.

Open an account at TD Ameritrade >>