- If you are looking to start investing money or selling stocks, we have a few excellent, newbie-friendly platforms to showcase – Public, Robinhood, and Webull. Each of these stock trading platforms is great for beginners, but in its own way.
- Without further ado, let’s have a general overview of what our picks have to offer. They are all very distinct, so you are likely to find something interesting after you are done with this post!
1. Public App
First up, we have Public, which we think is going to be the best stock trading app for many newbies. This platform is easy to use and has plenty of benefits.
Like many other stock trading platforms at this level, Public doesn’t have any account minimums – you aren’t forced to deposit any money onto your account and are free to start investing any time you feel like it.
Speaking of investing, Public allows for free investments too – most Public users to not impose any investment fees, which is nice if you don’t have much money to invest at the moment.
On the other hand, if you do have uninvested cash on your account, then you will earn 2.5% interest on it. So while keeping money on the account isn’t mandatory, there is one big reason to do so, right?
In terms of functionality, Public is pretty decent – it supports fractional investments, stock trades, and ETFs, but it doesn’t support options or mutual funds.
What we kind of dislike about Public too is that you can only manage your account via the Android or iOS app – no way to do this from a desktop browser.
The support is pretty nice with Public though – you get phone and live chat, which can be considered a luxury at Public’s level.
The community of Public is awesome as well – the app allows you to chat with other traders for experience sharing and learning.
And the last thing to note about Public is its insurance – securities up to $500,000 and cash up to $250,000 are SIPC-insured. For added safety, Public employs 128-bit encryption to protect users’ accounts.
✅ PROS:
- Supports fractional shares.
- Rich investing community to learn from.
- 2.5% interest on uninvested cash.
- SIPC-insured for up to $500,000 securities and $250,000 cash.
⛔️ CONS:
- Can only be managed through Android and iOS apps.
2. Robinhood App
Robinhood is a little different kind of beast – it has no savings functionality, but it has a few other things that may interest you more.
First and foremost, Robinhood supports options (which Public does not). Not only that, but it allows cryptocurrency investment, so if you still have faith in this currency kind, Robinhood probably is worth a try.
Apart from these assets, Robinhood also supports ETFs, fractional shares, and, of course, stocks.
Just like Public, Robinhood requires no deposits and minimum investment amounts for stocks and options. Notably, this platform also doesn’t charge ACH transfers, and it allows you to perform scheduled deposits as well.
Unlike Public, Robinhood works with desktop web browsers – probably a big plus for many of our readers. Not only that, but it also supports the Apple Watch, allowing you to check on your stats and even make investments right from your wrist. That’s pretty cool in our book.
Another interesting feature is the Robinhood Gold membership – starting at $5 per month, this plan allows you to buy and sell stock on credit, access extended trading hours, and do a few other things.
Note, however, that federal regulations require that you have $2,000 on your account at all times for the Gold plan.
For safety, Robinhood is a member of SIPC and thus provides protection for securities up to $500,000 and cash up to $250,000. Know that cryptocurrency investments aren’t protected though.
What we dislike about Robinhood is that its support is limited to email – no live chat or phone support. This will slow down things a bit, and given recent app failures (most notably, a few of them in March 2020), live support would be really nice when you are dealing with large sums of money.
✅ PROS:
- Supports fractional shares, options, and cryptocurrencies.
- ACH transfers with no fees.
- Works on web browsers and even on Apple Watch!
- Subscription-based plan available with additional features.
- Up to $500,000 securities and $250,000 cash insured via SIPC.
⛔️ CONS:
- Only email customer service.
3. Webull app
Finally, we have Webull, which is rather different from the previous two picks.
The most remarkable feature of Webull is that it supports both taxable brokerage and IRA retirement accounts. The latter is going to be especially useful for active brokers who are intending to trade a lot.
Another awesome thing about Webull is its support of virtual trades where you can practice trading without investing real money. This is a nice toy for testing your skills or just having fun.
When it comes to assets though, Webull is relatively limited – it supports options and ETFs, but it doesn’t have mutual funds, cryptocurrencies (although these are to be added to the platform), and fractional shares.
Option trading as of this post’s writing was available at Levels 1 and 2, with Level 3 planned to come out in the future.
Although Webull can be used for free – just like Public or Robinhood – it offers faster and more advanced quote details once you buy a subscription. Buying membership from Webull isn’t a must, but it will give you an edge over others.
Webull also boasts SIPC insurance for up to $500,000 security and $250,000 cash protection. Apex Clearing Corp provides additional protection for securities and cash up to $37.5 million and $900,000 per customer respectively.
All in all, Webull definitely is for more serious traders, though it’s certainly not the most advanced trading platform available out there either.
✅ PROS:
- Supports options.
- Has both taxable brokerage & IRA accounts.
- Allows you to do virtual trades.
- SIPC- and Apex-insured.
⛔️ CONS:
- Not many learning resources available.
- Doesn’t support fractional shares.
Final Thoughts
Investing is a pretty challenging endeavor – if you are going to do it, make sure that you are working with a trustworthy company. Our picks should be safe, but if you have any specific worries, make sure to get in touch with the desired platform’s customer support or give their terms & conditions a good read.
