Note: This is an archive of Investopedia's 2020 Best Online Broker Awards, you can find the 2022 Best Online Broker here.
When we started our 2020 online broker reviews six months ago, no one knew how the world would change. We recognize that we all are living through a particularly volatile time as we deal with this global crisis, and financial markets have also seen unprecedented change, impacting all investors. Our mission has always been to help people make the most informed decisions about how, when and where to invest.
Given recent market volatility, and the changes in the online brokerage industry, we are more committed than ever to providing our readers with unbiased and expert reviews of the top investing platforms for investors of all levels, for every kind of market.
Here are our picks for the Best Online Brokers of 2020:
Best Overall: Fidelity Investments
Fidelity earned our top spot for the second year running by offering clients a well-rounded package of investing tools and excellent order executions. In 2020, Fidelity continued to enhance key pieces of its mobile-responsive website while committing itself to lowering the cost of investing for its clients. Read Full Review
Best for Beginners: TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade wins our best for beginners by having the features that help new investors learn as they are starting their investing journey. It has top-notch educational resources, easy navigation, clear commission and pricing structures, and portfolio construction tools. Read Full Review
Other honorees:
- MERRILL EDGE Read Full Review
- E*TRADE Read Full Review
- TRADESTATION Read Full Review
Best for Options Traders: tastyworks
tastyworks is our best broker for options trading in 2020. It has a wide range of tools that help you measure and manage risk as you determine which trades to place. It also includes valuable education that helps you grow in sophistication as an options trader. Read Full Review
Other honorees:
- E*TRADE Read Full Review
- eOption Read Full Review
Best for Advanced Traders: Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) earns this award due to its comprehensive set of tools for sophisticated investors and its wide pool of assets and markets. The firm makes a point of connecting to as many electronic exchanges as possible and you can trade equities, options, and futures around the world and around the clock. Read Full Review
Other honorees:
- Fidelity Investments Read Full Review
Best for ETFs: Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab is the best broker for ETFS in large part thanks to their ETF screener on the StreetSmart Edge platform, which is extremely customizable and can be saved for future re-use. They also offer particularly high-quality streaming data and the ability to find ETFs that are optionable. Read Full Review
Other honorees:
- Interactive Brokers Read Full Review
Best for Mobile: TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is the best broker for mobile experience with the combination of the thinkorswim mobile platform along with the regular mobile app. TD Ameritrade's regular mobile platform is almost identical in features to the website, so it’s an easy transition. With thinkorswim, there are additional extensive features for active traders and investors alike. Read Full Review
Other honorees:
- tastyworks Read Full Review
- Interactive Brokers Read Full Review
Best for International Trading: Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers is the best broker for international trading by a significant margin. Interactive Brokers allows investors to access 125 exchanges in 31 countries across the globe. This reach is combined with a massive inventory of assets and 60 different order types to plan your trade entries and exits. Read Full Review
Best for Low Costs: tastyworks
tastyworks scored well on 16 different cost categories and, combined with our overall rating of the platform, it's our best broker for low costs. Read Full Review
Other honorees:
- eOption Read Full Review
- Interactive Brokers Read Full Review
Finding the right online broker that integrates your financial goals is more challenging than ever given the abundance of products available today. The explosion of new fintech companies and growth in the variety of simplified investments like ETFs and index funds can create a dizzying array of choices for the individual investor.
To find out more about how we picked our top brokers, see our methodology.