Intro and winners
Find below the strengths of the best brokers for mutual fund investing available in the United States, updated for 2025:
- Charles Stanley Direct is the best broker for mutual fund investing in 2025 - Low fund fees. Great customer service. Easy deposit and withdrawal.
- Ally Invest - Low trading and non-trading fees. Easy and fully digital account opening. Great education.
- Firstrade - Free stock, ETF, fund and options trading. Solid research tools. Quality educational tools.
- Interactive Brokers - Extremely low fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- AJ Bell Youinvest - Fast account opening. Easy to use trading platforms. Great customer service.
- Hargreaves Lansdown - Easy-to-use trading platforms. High-quality educational tools. Interest paid on uninvested cash.
- Interactive Investor - User-friendly trading platforms. Fast and easy deposit and withdrawal. Pays interest on cash balances.
- Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.
- E*TRADE - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). User-friendly mobile trading platform. Great research tools.
- TradeStation Global - Low stock and ETF fees. Wide range of products. Easy-to-use web trading platform.
Comparison of top brokers for funds in 2025
While many brokers and trading platforms offer an excellent service, the ones in our toplist go the extra mile.
| Broker | Minimum deposit | Time to open account |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Stanley Direct | $25.2 | 1-3 days |
| Ally Invest | $0 | 1-3 days |
| Firstrade | $0 | 1-3 days |
| Interactive Brokers | $0 | 1-3 days |
| AJ Bell Youinvest | $0 | 1 day |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | $0 | 1 day |
| Interactive Investor | $0 | 1 day |
| Charles Schwab | $0 | 1 day |
| E*TRADE | $0 | 1-3 days |
| TradeStation Global | $0 | 1 day |
Popularity of the best broker for funds
Interested in what others think? Here's how many people chose these brokers at BrokerChooser in the last 6 months.
Fee comparison of the best brokers for funds
How much you have to pay for a trade in spreads, commission and other trading costs is a key broker selection criteria. Check out how much you have to pay in fees for trading mutual funds at these top brokers.
| Broker | Fund fee class |
|---|---|
| Charles Stanley Direct | Low |
| Ally Invest | Low |
| Firstrade | Low |
| Interactive Brokers | Average |
| AJ Bell Youinvest | Low |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | Low |
| Interactive Investor | Low |
| Charles Schwab | High |
| E*TRADE | High |
| TradeStation Global | High |
Our calculations exclude ongoing fees (expense ratio), front-load and redemption fees, short-term redemption fees, and performance fees.
If you are unsure how brokerage fees work, check out our article on the various fees, charges and costs.
Non-trading fees at the best brokers for funds
Non-trading fees are charges not directly related to a given trade and typically include the account maintenance fee, deposit/withdrawal fees, and the inactivity fee.
| Broker | Account fee | Inactivity fee |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Stanley Direct | ||
| Ally Invest | ||
| Firstrade | ||
| Interactive Brokers | ||
| AJ Bell Youinvest | ||
| Hargreaves Lansdown | ||
| Interactive Investor | ||
| Charles Schwab | ||
| E*TRADE | ||
| TradeStation Global |
Recommended for beginners and buy-and-hold investors focusing on the UK market
| Charles Stanley Direct snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $25.2 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 3.7 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Charles Stanley Direct services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for investors and traders looking for low fees and focusing on the US market
| Ally Invest snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.9 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Ally Invest services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for beginners and investors looking for zero-commission trading, focusing on the US market
| Firstrade snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.5 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Firstrade services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for traders looking for broad market access and a professional trading environment
| Interactive Brokers snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.5 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Interactive Brokers services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for beginners and investors with small and medium portfolios focusing on the UK market
| AJ Bell Youinvest snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.1 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of AJ Bell Youinvest services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for beginners and buy-and-hold investors looking for an easy-to-use trading platform
| Hargreaves Lansdown snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 3.9 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Hargreaves Lansdown services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for beginners and investors focusing on the UK market
| Interactive Investor snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.3 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Interactive Investor services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research, low fees and great customer service
| Charles Schwab snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.5 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Charles Schwab services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research and a great mobile trading platform
| E*TRADE snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 4.5 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of E*TRADE services, check out our review for 2025 |
Recommended for traders and investors looking for low fees and a wide selection of products
| TradeStation Global snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal method | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 |
| Trading platform score | 3.6 stars |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of TradeStation Global services, check out our review for 2025 |
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How did BrokerChooser pick the best brokers for Funds?
- We made sure that each broker on our toplist is regulated by a trusted regulator,
- Compared fees (including commissions, non-trading fees),
- Paid special attention to mutual fund fees,
- Checked inactivity and custody fees,
- Looked at the range of funds available,
- Opened an account and tested the platform (charting, features, usability) with real money.
Save hours of research!
Our expert team has done all the work for you, and reviewed brokers based on BrokerChooser's unique methodology
BrokerChooser evaluates 9 key areas for all brokers including fees, safety, ease of account opening, education, and trading platforms. We check more than 600 criteria for each broker and finetune our methodology every year based on our own and our users' experiences. We have more than 100 brokers reviewed on our site and our team of analysts examines more than 60,000 data points overall.
FAQ
What makes a good broker for funds?
At BrokerChooser, we test online brokers along more than 500 criteria, using real accounts and real money. The following considerations weighed more heavily when our experts compiled the top list of the best brokers for funds:
- Trading fees charged for funds
- Non-trading fees such as inactivity fee
- Wide range of products, especially mutual funds
- Broker safety
Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.
