Best brokers with no minimum

Best Brokerage Firms With $0/No Deposit/Low Balance/No Minimum To Open Account in 2012


5-star brokerage firm rating


TradeKing Commissions and Investment Products

  • Stocks and ETFs: $4.95 (for stocks/etfs priced over $2)
  • Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract (for up to 8 contracts) OR $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract (for over 8 contracts)
  • Short options valued at 5 cents or less, can be bought to close these positions for no charge (commission free)
  • Multiple legs will only be charged one base price of either $4.95 or $8.95, depending on how many total contracts are involved
  • Mutual Funds: $9.95
  • Bonds: $4.95 per bond ($14.95 minimum)
  • Treasuries: $24.95 per transaction
  • Certificates of Deposit (CDs): $24.95 per transaction
  • Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, treasuries, ETFs
  • Minimum to open TradeKing account: $0
  • All TradeKing fees

TradeKing Advantages

  • Great commissions
  • No minimums, maintenance or hidden fees
  • Free real time quotes
  • Award-winning trading tools
  • Best rated customer service
  • Low margin rates
  • Best online investor community
  • Fee-free IRAs
  • Extensive educational resources

TradeKing Disadvantages

  • Additional $0.01 per share on the entire order of stocks priced 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

Read Full TradeKing Review

TradeKing Review


5-star brokerage firm rating

OptionsXpress review

OptionsXpress Commissions and Investment Products

  • 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
  • Minimum to open OptionXpress account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
  • All OptionXpress 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 paper trading
  • No money down to open new account
  • Free account transfers
  • Free instructor lead online classes
  • Free broker-assisted trading
  • Free dividend reinvestment (contact customer service)
  • No platform fees

OptionsXpress Disadvantages

  • Higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs

Read Full OptionsXpress Review

OptionsXpress Review


4-star brokerage firm rating


Zecco Commissions and Investment Products

  • Stocks and ETFs: $4.95
  • Stocks and ETFs priced under $1: $6.95
  • Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $19.95
  • Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract
  • Options exercises and assignments: $4.95
  • Mutual Funds: $10
  • Forex: spreads as low as 1-2 pips for most major currency pairs
  • Bonds: $4.50 per bond, with $22.50 minimum per transaction
  • Treasury: $24.50 per transaction
  • Investments: stocks, mutual funds, options, Forex, Bonds, Treasury bonds, ETFs
  • Minimum to open Zecco account: $0
  • All Zecco fees

Zecco Advantages

  • Very low commissions
  • No account minimum, maintenance or inactivity fees
  • Free streaming data
  • Free dividend reinvestment
  • Great online community
  • Could open account with no money down
  • No surcharge for large orders

Zecco Disadvantages

  • $2 per trade surcharge on penny stocks
  • Extended hours trades have $0.005 per share surcharge on applicable commission
  • $30 annual IRA fee

Read Full Zecco Review

Zecco Review


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