Top online stock brokers canada

The world is becoming ever more interconnected and information is flowing at a rapid pace. We now have access to amazing tools on the screens of our phones and computers. This article is about one such tool - your brokerage account.

In particular, this article covers the best discount stock brokers in the US and Canada for Before we get to the broker review, here is a quote from Bruce Lee - "I fear not the man who has practiced 10, kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10, times. Much of the investment and trading world is repetition, and the earlier you start the more repetitions you can make.

Warren Buffett, one of the greatest investors of all time, started investing when he was just a child. The one advantage that Buffett did not have, was a plethora of online brokers at his expense. Here's an interesting story for you: A college student was given a book titled "Learn to Swim". He read that book every day for 30 days and then became an Olympic champion. How can reading a book make you good at swimming, let alone an Olympic champion? You can't learn if you don't jump into the pool!

Books are a great way to learn, but sitting at home reading a book is not going to prepare you for the markets.

A combination of the two is an ideal method for success. The same is true for trading and investing in stocks. You cannot learn to invest unless you start trading with real money. Practice accounts work well, but there is a certain pressure placed among investors who are involved in the markets with real money. You have to become familiar and comfortable with that pressure to succeed.

A lot of the discount brokers in this review offer zero minimum deposit to their clients for this very reason. First - there is no reason to pay the exorbitant high annual fees and potential front-end or back-end sales charges to mutual funds when ETF indexing is on the rise. Second - investing in stocks is a learnable skill and there are more resources now than ever to get you started.

We have one such resource on our website that teaches you how to buy stocks here. Third - the internet has made it possible for common folks such as you and I to have access to information that analysts a few years back could only dream of. This means that investing is an informed and calculated decision rather than a game of Russian roulette. Fourth - you have already been thinking like an analyst all these years whenever you bought something. The process of research, comparison, investment based on future potential etc.

Canadian Online Discount Stock Brokerage Comparison –

It is something that we do all the time! Investing and trading will only sharpen these skills and help you in other areas of your life. Finally, the most successful people on this planet own something; that is why they are successful. They have either money or people working for them around the clock. If you own a stock in a company such as Apple or Coca-Cola then you own something that will work you for you even when you are sleeping.

If you don't speak the language of the market then you won't know when your analyst is trying to sell you a sour deal. That is what led to the financial crisis of , and the dot com bubble of If people were aware of the basics of the markets then they would have never made those subpar investments. The only way to jump into the metaphorical pool is to have a pool in the first place, which in this case is a brokerage account.

Selecting a broker can be difficult task because there are a number of factors to take into consideration. However, we have made things easier for you by reviewing these discount brokers based on 4 main criteria:. This is important because high fees will eat into your profits. Extra tools research and reporting: Better information leads to better decisions. The dynamics in the business have changed considerably over the past few years and consumers are slowly and surely gaining the higher ground.

Gone are those days when a select group of individuals had control of the market. During those years, brokers depended on sales skills and demanded high commissions from both the consumer, and the exchanges. Technology and changes in government regulations led to an increase in competition and consequently, a decrease in the fees and commissions.

Life has become difficult for brokers and they are trying to beat each other by offering better services in every way possible. We are lucky to be alive in such a time of change and innovation. The market is not an exclusive playground for the rich anymore! There are hundreds of brokers and it would be inefficient to review all of them.

Managing your RSP is easier with Canada's no.1 broker

Therefore, we will focus only on the top 5 discount brokers in the US and Canada. It's important to know that most of these American brokerages are open to Canadians!

The top online discount brokers in Canada that made the list were: The top online discount brokers in the USA that made the list were: Any North American traded ETF is FREE! TD's fees are among the highest in the industry, but the customer service offered along with the platform are hard to beat.

Their research and trading tools are excellent and cater to the needs of everyone, whether it be a beginner or a seasoned investor. Also, TD recently acquired Scottrade which would make the conglomerate the biggest in terms of number of brick-and-mortar customer service outlets. Optionshouse and TradeKing are tied at number two.

OptionsHouse is an excellent discount broker with an exceptional user interface, but it might be a bit overwhelming for a newcomer. Also, it lost points to Ameritrade in the customer service and education for beginners departments.

However, the low fees offered by the company are hard to beat, and the platform will become a lot more enjoyable once you get a feel of the interface. If this inactivity fees is not a deal breaker for you then Tradeking should be your first choice. At number three we have Merrill Edge. Merrill Edge has an excellent and informative interface but a higher fee structure than those of other brokers. Questrade wins our broker review again.

With our Questrade review, we have found it is a very well-rounded broker accessible to most investors. We aren't the only ones either.

Most Questrade Reviews rank them number one of all the discount brokers available. In our Interactive Brokers review we found they were a very a close second to Questrade. In the year , RBC was our top pick among the big banks.

Furthermore, RBC was pouring huge amounts of money into further developing its trading platform, and we expected things to continue in a positive direction. However, that has not been the case. As a result, we do not have RBC Direct Investing on the list anymore. TD and Scotia ITrade were honourable mentions in , but now, Scotia Itrade is among our top picks.

The reason - an extremely easy-to-use and intuitive interface that cannot be matched by any of the big banks, and a competitive free structure. BMO InvestorLIne, another great trading platform with a state-of the art user interface, but extremely high fees. Unless you make a good amount of profit on each of your trades, the fees will always eat into your profits. However, in the end, big banks are no match for other discount brokerages on our list for one big reason - a complicated fee structure.

Even though the fee may be advertised as "flat-fee", that is true only when you make a certain number of trades. Hence it would be best to shy away from the big banks for now but keep a close eye on the changes that they are making to their platforms and fee structures.

In the end, we want to point out that what may be the best for a retiree may not be the best for a young college student.

Which trading platform or broker would you recommend for a new trader?

However, you should not get bogged down in an attempt to pick the perfect broker. The longer you wait the more opportunities you miss. Imagine being someone who had invested in Microsoft or Netflix at the right time. Many people did it, and made a huge profit! Below are some more criteria that you can use to make a decision.

But you may be someone who wants specific order routing, and in this case Virtual Brokers is the right choice. Scottrade may have a low rating in our table but no one can compete with them in terms of the number of local branches they have and the personalized service.

If you are a social butterfly then TradeKing has an online network where you can interact, learn and make friends with other traders.

Just like buying everything in life, whether it is a car, or a meal at a restaurant, you have to weigh in the pros and cons of each of the options. If you want even more information then we encourage you to register for an account and get a feel of what these brokers have to offer.

You can do so by clicking on the logo of the broker of your choice in the above tables. After that, make your first trade! You don't have to be a millionaire to do that. There are plenty of penny stocks that you can trade with just a small amount of capital.

The top 5 brokers in the US and Canada. We hope that you found this article useful and if you think that someone else could benefit from it then click on one of the buttons below to share. View all posts by: Stocks Investing Personal Finance. Investing Investing Glossary Bond Investing Dividend Investing Economics ETF Investing Investing Interviews Investment Diversification IPOs Mutual Fund Investing Online Brokers Retirement Stock Order Types The Stock Market Trading Trading Day Trading Penny Stocks Trading Options Stock Analysis Financial Documents Financial Ratios Stock Picking Reviews Disclaimer.

Online Discount Brokers Review For Canada And The US. Doesn't make sense, Right. Stocktrades reviews the top 5 online discount brokers of in Canada and the United States, ranking each out of 5 stars and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of each system.

Featured articles , Reviews. Written by Writing Team View all posts by: Virtual Brokers used to offer penny a share trading commissions Only grandfathered accounts have that commission rate now too bad. Any minimum on that drizzy? Questrade offers penny a share trading but of course the minimum kind of takes that feature away. I'd like to see how the brokers handle trade orders when there aren't sufficient funds in that trading account in future comparisons.

Some brokers only care that the account is funded by the settlement date while others will cancel the order before it gets executed regardless of the total funds available in one's other accounts. It's hard to set out a bunch of buy limit orders for once-a-year corrections or other reason with such funding restrictions while I'm off working or vacationing especially when the likelihood of all of them being executed are slim to none and even if they did, that would be great!

It's something I overlooked when switching online brokers and am now regretting it. It's odd that rbc direct investing is the best canadian bank brokerage here when other sites have it ranked the worst of the big 5. Unless this were from years ago, TD and Scotia should be the top 2 for banks. Thanks for the input. RBC has made some drastic changes to its pricing and trading platform although still outdated. Along with its solid platform and it's public investing community we felt it was the best place to start for a new trader.

Our broker review will be updated in mid January for the version and you're welcome to check back,they may very well drop off the list. Stay tuned for our completely revised edition of our broker review. It should be coming out probably in late January. We did some very intensive research on all the discount brokers and the big banks, and this list is sure to change. Thanks for the input Sunny Jack's.

We definitely agree BMO just couldn't make the cut. Unless you have a ton of capital they just aren't good enough right now. I have BMO Investorline since 2 yrs , Questrade since 5 yrs as well as TD Direct Investing ssince 1 yr. Not suitable if you do not qualify under above 3 conditions. They do not have any option to buy data feed or change platform if you do not qualify above 3 conditions.

Very rigid and not recommended. The chart does not fill the entire screen!

It is total grabage with bugs and very user unfriendly. I find questrade platform very easy to use and very user friendly.

Apart from their commission price, data package, i find their commission free ETF one sided only ie when you buy. You still have to pay ETF commission when you sell it. Other than trading commissions, platform, data package there are other fees for options i. BMO does not support multileg and they charge commissions for each leg. Over all, i would say, BMO ends up very rigid and expensive, TD - cheaper for options but the free platform is total GARBAGE Questrade: I appreciate the thoughtfulness and breadth you have put into your reply.

Does not cover US users trading in the TSX, or Canadians trading in the NYSE. I did not know this. I heard, today, that BMO allowed DRIP for Canadian stocks, but not U. I haven't confirmed it, though. The information wrt Questrade is incorrect. Only BUY on the ETFs is free. You pay fees when selling.

Also there is ECN fees. Both these costs don't apply thru' Qtrade 60 Free ETFs. Hey Sam thanks for the information! We are going to look into this and get it corrected asap. I have used Questrade for the last 6 months or so and am not very impressed. I have been trying to set up a corporate account for months and weeks go by without any response.

Even after the last document were sent in, after talking with service reps, I get more emails that more info is needed, and when I ask what, I receive no response for weeks, despite renewed mails. Very frustrating, but from reviews I see no better platform, otherwise I would be long gone. Alex, that is so disappointing! We are huge advocates of Questrade, I have been a client of theirs for over 5 years. You have tried to contact them via phone? I have never once had any problems with Questrade customer service, often getting the problems I have had solved within the hour.

Based on this and other reviews I opened a Questrade account. I installed the app on my iPhone to see how that would go and upon opening the app was greeted by a message saying the developer need to update the app because it's slowing down my phone. Not a great first impression. Immediately after when trying to use the app it would just crash over and over, rendering it completely useless. I tried all the usual tricks, nothing worked, and after a few minutes the app was deleted.

Ain't nobody got time for that. Then I tried to do some research on the Questrade website, but every time I tried to look up a fund or stock, the page would freeze and crash. A quick Google search revealed that the webpage was written using Microsoft Silverlight. My browser Google Chrome no longer supports Silverlight because there are too many security holes, so Questrade's answer to those who use Chrome is to use another, less secure browser that will still run the Silverlight plugin.

It appears they have been talking for a long time about updating their website to conform to modern internet standards, but when or if that will drop is anyone's guess.

Part of the reason I went with Questrade is because of the low fees, but I will pay a little more if I have to for something that actually works. After 1 day and no transactions I withdrew my funds and closed the account. The whole experience was a big waste of time.

If they can't be bothered to update their code to keep it current on the exterior of their platform then I can't be bothered to give them my business.

In the review above, this is what it says about the Questrade user interface: Clean, modern and friendly with a rich set of features. Definitely wins this category. Sorry to hear that Larry. Me personally, I have never had a problem with the Questrade mobile app I have a Samsung S7 and Chrome is the only browser I use, and have never had a single crash on my computer. I was going to say contact customer support but I assume you've already done that. Everyone has bad experiences with certain companies, I had a Virtual Brokers account and had nothing but problems with it before I switched to Questrade, and a lot of people love VB.

If you have the capital, maybe you could go to Interactive Brokers. In my opinion, they would be number one IF their account minimums weren't so high. Simple Things You Require To Know About Questrade and Locations In which You Can Find Questrade Evaluations — lamm39bro's blogs.

If you open up a single, you are going to obtain entry to awesome characteristics this sort of as investing of EFTS, stocks and even cherished metals. Margin accounts arrive in individual, duo and organization measurements. Interactive Brokers Review […].

My choice Margin ib Tfsa vb ib Rrsp vb Rrsp national. As a new "want to be" online investor, which is the better company so I can get advise on how to online invest?? Do any one of them tell you how to go about it?? Questrade offers professional help obviously at a cost, but they have a promotion right now where you get your first month free when you open a professionally managed account with them. But that is them managing your funds. As far as teaching you how to invest, that is a very broad spectrum.

Lot's of them will have free guides and such but if you want in-depth knowledge most of them are going to want money, or manage your funds themselves for a fee. Leave a comment Click here to cancel reply. You May Also Like Passive Investing vs Active Investing. How To Trade Options Tutorial. Penny Stocks — Buyer Beware. You Have Options — What Is A Put Option?

Stocktrades Weekend Roundup — May 19th. What is Day Trading? Home Investing Trading Retirement Penny Stocks How To Buy Stocks In Canada Broker Review About us Contact us Disclaimer Glossary. Amazing user interface for both mobile, desktop and web based. Minimum cap for trades might not suit all investor types.

Full featured with plenty of depth. Clean and easy to use web platform, the focus is on simplicity. Up there with the best of them in terms of usability. Multiple desktop platforms available depending on the level of data you need and other features e. Most expensive trades of the group. Fully fledged research centre for equity, mutual funds, bonds , technical analysis etc.

A bit more of a plain looking user interface. It does the job, without some of the extra frills. Has the extra financial planning tools to supplement as well as a good mobile app and support for the apple watch if that is important to you.

In depth research and analyst reports. A carefully designed interface that is easy to navigate and quite comparable to that offered by Questrade.

The fees are low only when you make a certain number of trades. Otherwise commission structure is tiered. Check it out here. If you are trading with Scotia, you are trading with one of Canada's biggest banks, which in turn means excellent customer service.

They also offer real time streaming with their flight desk platform. There is a choice between two platforms based on your level of experience.

One is for experienced traders which provides tools such as back testing and a huge array of features. The other is a lighter version aimed towards beginners. The fees are on the high side in all areas. In terms of ETFs the company will levy a fees for short term trades less than 30 days.

Access to high-quality research and data without any extra cost. Only one base charged per Spread The spread is simply the difference between a stocks ask price and its bid price. Web-based platform that is designed for fast and easy execution. The interface is state of the art as the services were exclusively focused on professionals in the beginning. Very thin on commission free ETFs. This broker is specifically geared towards options traders and offers professional grade tools for that genre.

A virtual trading platform where you can trade with virtual money to test the waters. Again, no minimum like TD, which is great for beginners. Suitable for active traders as there is no penalty if minimum number of trades is not achieved. Offers a web based platform which means that you can trade from different computers with ease. A highly customizable and user friendly interface without compromising on features. Limited commission free ETFs.

Ability to make charts and technical analysis, which is great for the visual learners. A number of calculators to help you come up with the right numbers. If you trade more than 10 times a month then you get customizable data and real-time streaming quotes.

Website trading and an active trader platform called Merrill Edge Market Pro.

Online Discount Brokers Review For Canada And The US - Stocktrades

Both of these options are carefully created to provide an interactive and intuitive feel. Merrill Edge is a subsidiary of the Bank of America. As a result, if you have a BOA account then you can have benefits such as real-time transfers and checking balances with a single login.

Access to research from the broker's own research house called BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. E-Trade and E-Trade Pro. Basic users and beginners who want to track their accounts, watch stocks, view steaming market data and make trades will be more than happy with E-Trade The commissions are among the highest and access to the advanced trading platform is contingent on requirements that a beginner cannot or may not want to afford.

Users can install a Google Chrome plug-in which allows them to research and trade from their browsers. The extension is pretty intelligent as it can scan news stories and stocks symbols, process the information and then display the price and other data in real-time.

Offers a number of educational resources such as online seminars on topics related to retirement planning, stock market basics and analyzing trade ideas.