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There are a ton of brokers for traders to choose from so we put together a detailed list of the best online stock brokers for 2024.

Finding the right brokerage firm for your trading demands just got a little simpler, thanks to our research. We poured through a long list of brokers and compared them in the most important areas. Here are the winners by category:

  • Active trading
  • Commissions
  • Platform
  • Account size

Best for Active Traders: LightSpeed Trading

For high-volume traders, we have chosen Lightspeed, a division of Lime Brokerage.

Lightspeed is known for its many trading platforms, day-trading services, and discounts for frequent traders. Although it doesn’t yet provide trading in cryptocurrencies, it does offer futures and options.

Lightspeed’s trading platforms are designed for different types of traders.

Here they are with their highlights:

  • Eze EMS (the former RealTick Pro): This one is designed for futures traders. And in fact, it’s the only platform at Lightspeed capable of trading the asset. It comes with streaming Level II data, watchlists, hot keys, direct-access routing, and basket order entry.
  • Livevol X: This platform offers market scanners and window linking, features that Eze EMS doesn’t offer. But it doesn’t come with extended-hours trading, which is available on Eze EMS.
  • Sterling Trader Pro: This software offers API functionality and is capable of handling multiple accounts. It has a high number of market venues.
  • LS Trader: If you need 40 custom layouts, then LS Trader is your platform. The program also has a very good option scanner.

Although Lightspeed does charge software fees for some of the above platforms, a few of them are eligible for rebates based on monthly volume.

Speaking of monthly volume, Lightspeed’s commission schedule for stocks, ETFs, and options varies by volume. Accounts that trade more than 15 million equity shares in a month pay just 0.1¢ per share. Options are as low as 20¢ per contract, and futures contracts are a flat $1.29 each per side.

Best for Cheapest Commissions: ThinkorSwim via Charles Schwab

The ThinkorSwim platform is one of the most powerful and intuitive platforms on the market. Combine that with commission-free trading, and you have a big win for retail traders with accounts above $25,000.

I recently compared ThinkorSwim to several other free-commission platforms, including Robinhood. You can read the full Commission-Free Broker Comparison blog post, but long story short, I found that ThinkorSwim is the clear winner.

It is packed full of sophisticated features, including robust charting, advanced order entries, direct access routing, and plenty more customizable features.

There is a bit of a learning curve, but there are plenty of tutorials on the internet to help you get started.

Best for International Trading: TradeZero or Capital Markets Elite Group

The cheaper of the two options for international traders is TradeZero. They offer commission-free trading when you use non-marketable limit orders. In contrast, Capital Markets Elites Group (CMEG) charges commission regardless of order type. Both brokers offer 6:1 leverage with $500 min account size. They do not enforce the Pattern Day Trader rule. However, TradeZero International does not accept US Residents. In the episode below you can see a deep dive comparison between ThinkorSwim, TradeZero, Interactive Brokers and Capital Markets Elite Group.

Best for Small Accounts: Capital Markets Elite Group

If you want to day trade but don’t have $25,000 to deposit, we have a solution for you. Say hello to Capital Markets Elite Group (CMEG).

This broker doesn’t have any pattern-day trading requirements.

To get started, you need a $500 deposit. Even better, the brokerage firm offers 6:1 day-trading leverage for stocks priced at $5 and higher.

Besides its excellent margin numbers for small accounts, CMEG also provides access to DAS Trader Pro. This software platform is not available at Lightspeed.

Highlights include:

  • Hot keys
  • Almost 20 routes
  • Order execution in milliseconds
  • Level II quotes

Although CMEG does charge for DAS Trader Pro, rebates are available for active traders.

CMEG offers two account types: active and standard. DAS Trader Pro is only available in an active account. Standard accounts aren’t left out in the cold, though, as they can use Traders Elite Terminal. This platform is the same software that Interactive Brokers uses.

We recently updated our complete review of CMEG with a new video. Check it out if you’d like to learn more about CMEG.