2013 best brokerage firms: top rated discount online stock broker companies.

It is important to find the best brokerage company that offers the lowest trading commissions without sacrificing customer service. We compared over 30 top US investment/trading online stock broker accounts and selected four best discount brokers in 2013.

OptionsHouse Commissions and Investment Products

Product	Price
Stocks and ETFs	$3.95
Stocks and ETFs broker assisted	$3.95
Options	Plan 1. Up to five contracts for $5; each additional contract $1 Plan 2. $8.50 + 0.15/contract (great if trading over 10 contracts)
Spreads	Plan 1. Up to 10 contracts for $10; each additional contract $1 Plan 2. $12.50 + 0.15/contract
Mutual funds	$9.95
U.S. Treasury bonds and listed corporate bonds	Orders are accepted by phone

Investments	stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, ETFs
Optionshouse minimum deposit to open account	$1,000 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
Fees	Optionshouse fees

OptionsHouse Advantages

Lowest commissions
Free streaming quotes
Efficient trading tools
No account minimums. Minimum initial funding size is $1,000 for a cash account and $2,000 for a margin account
No fee IRA accounts
No volume requirements, or maintenance or inactivity fees
Free check-writing privileges
Free DRIPs/Dividend Reinvestment (complete, non-fractional shares only)
No surcharges for large orders or extended hours trading
Very low margin rates
Free virtual trading

OptionsHouse Drawbacks

For stocks priced $2 or less that are not options eligible, add $0.005 per share for the entire order
Shortened after-hours trading: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST, instead of 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST
Basic charts

Full OptionsHouse Review

Optionshouse Review

Link To OptionHouse Promotion Offer - 150 free trades:

Scottrade Commissions and Investment Products

Product	Price
Stocks and ETFs	$7
Stocks and ETFs broker assisted	$32
Stocks and ETFs interactive voice response (IVR) telephone system	$32
Options	$7 plus $1.25 per contract
Mutual funds	3,000+ free mutual funds, $17 for others
CDs, OTC Secondary Corporates, OTC Secondary Municipals, U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds and STRIPS, New Corporate Offerings	subject to a markup or markdown
Listed Corporate Bonds	$35 fee plus $3 per bond (minimum investment $1,000)
Unit Investment Trusts (UIT)	$50 liquidation fee
Foreign Stocks Transferring In or Out	$60 per transaction

Investments	stocks, options, mutual funds, CDs, munis, U.S. Treasury, Canadian and foreign stocks, ETFs
Scottrade minimum deposit to open account	$500 for a cash account, $2,000 for a margin account
Fees	Scottrade fees

Scottrade Advantages

No inactivity, account maintenance or hidden fees
No-fee IRAs
500+ local branches for in-person assistance
Great support for beginner investors with a massive number of educational resources
Online user community
Good banking services: savings, CDs, money market and free checking accounts (free ATM withdrawals, VISA check card, and first order of checks free)
Only $500 minimum to open account
Free real-time streaming quotes and charts
Free dividend reinvestment for mutual funds (but not for stocks)
Largest number of mutual funds - over 14,500

Scottrade Drawbacks

Additional 0.5% of the principal value commission for stocks under $1
No electronic withdrawals, but you can use a debit card or check. Once you receive checks, you will have the routing number and account number, which you can use to withdraw money via ACH initiated from other financial institutions

Full Scottrade Review

Scottrade Review

Link To Scottrade Promotion Offer - $100 reimbursement of account transfer fees charged by a current broker when moving an account of $10,000 or more:

OptionsXpress Commissions and Investment Products

Product	Price
Stocks and ETFs	$8.95
Options (active traders)	$12.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.25/contract for over 10 contracts
Options (non-active traders)	$14.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.50/contract for over 10 contracts
Mutual funds	$9.95
Bonds	$5 per bond, $9.95 minimum
Futures	1-40 contracts $6.99; 41-100 contracts $5.99; 101-300 contracts $4.99; 301-1,000 contracts $3.99; 1,001 + contracts $2.99
Options on Futures	1-40 contracts $12.99; 41-100 contracts $8.99; 101-300 contracts $7.99; 301-1,000 contracts $6.99; 1,001 + contracts $5.99
Covered Calls	$22.90 up to 10 contracts
Penny Options	1-10 contracts $4.95 flat; 10 + $0.50/contract
Spreads, Straddles & Combos	2-10 contracts - $12.95 Flat (active traders) $14.95 Flat (non-active traders); 10 + contracts - $1.25/contract (active traders); $1.50/contract (non-active traders)

Investments	stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, futures, options on futures, covered calls, ETFs
OptionXpress minimum deposit to open account	$0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
Fees	OptionsXpress fees

OptionsXpress Advantages

Best customer service
Many well-designed trading tools and cutting-edge trading technology
Free streaming quotes
$100 bonus for opening new account
No fee IRA accounts
Great research
Free virtual trading
No money down to open new account
Free account transfers
Free instructor-led online classes
Free broker-assisted trading
Free DRIP: dividend reinvestment plan (contact customer service to set up)
No platform fees

OptionsXpress Drawbacks

Higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs

Full OptionsXpress Review

OptionsXpress Review

Link To OptionsXpress Promotion Bonus - $100 Bonus:

TradeKing Commissions and Investment Products

Product	Price
Stocks and ETFs	$4.95 (for stocks/etfs priced over $2)
Options	$4.95 plus $0.65 per contract
Mutual funds	$9.95
Bonds	$4.95 per bond ($14.95 minimum)
Treasuries	$24.95
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)	$24.95

Investments	stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, forex, treasuries, ETFs
TradeKing minimum deposit to open account	$0
Fees	TradeKing fees

TradeKing Advantages

Great commissions
No minimums, or maintenance or hidden fees
Free real-time quotes
Top-rated customer service
Low margin rates
Best online investor community
Fee-free IRAs
Free DRIPs (dividend reinvestment plans)
Extensive educational resources

TradeKing Drawbacks

Additional $0.01 per share on the entire order for stocks priced at less than $2
$50 annual inactivity fee if BOTH apply to an account(s):
- Combined account value of the household account(s) is less than $2,500
- No commission-charged trades have been executed in the account(s) during the last 12 months
International investors are not accepted
Shorter after-hours trading: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm EST, instead of 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST

Full TradeKing Review

TradeKing Review

Link To TradeKing Promotional Code:

This is the list of our top rated online brokerage firm accounts in 2012-2013. These discount stock trading companies accept USA-based customers (OptionsXpress is also open to international investors, but trading costs are much higher, so if you are one of them, read this). You can open new account or transfer your existing brokerage house account by clicking one of the links on this website.

The best online brokerage firm for beginner investors is TradeKing: it does not have surcharge on broker assisted trades, has award-winning customer service, and an online community for members to interact with each other.

The best online brokerage for IRA accounts is Scottrade - there are no IRA fees, not even retirement account closing fee, that almost all other brokers charge.

If you are only comfortable investing with large, well-known online brokerage firm, then either Scottrade or OptionsXpress (now owned by Charles Schwab) will be great choices.

Optionshouse has one of the best brokerage accounts for active traders, as well as investors looking for the cheapest trading costs. The firm charges just $3.95 per trade! It also offers lots of valuable services for free.

We believe that these four are the top brokerage companies in the United States, each with their unique strengths, that will appeal to various groups of customers. All these firms are members of SIPS and FINRA.

This article was updated on 01/02/2013.

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