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Best online brokers for long-term investing

Written by
Gyula L.
Fact checked by
Tamás D.
Updated
11h ago
Dive into our toplist of regulated and trusted brokers that we tested with real money. Every broker is available in the United States.

Find below the strengths of the best brokers for buy-and-hold investors available in the United States, updated for 2024:

  1. Interactive Brokers - the best broker for buy-and-hold investors in 2024. Low trading fees and high interest on cash balances. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
  2. Ally Invest - Low trading and non-trading fees. Easy and fully digital account opening. Great education.
  3. Interactive Investor - User-friendly trading platforms. Fast and easy deposit and withdrawal. Interest on cash balances.
  4. Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.
  5. Fidelity - Commission-free US stocks and ETFs. Great trading platforms and research. US and international stocks.
  6. TradeStation Global - Low stock and ETF fees. Wide range of products. Easy-to-use web trading platform.
  7. TD Ameritrade - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). Superb desktop trading platform. Great customer support.
  8. E*TRADE - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). User-friendly mobile trading platform. Great research tools. Pays interest on uninvested cash.
  9. Firstrade - Free stock, ETF, fund and options trading. Solid research tools. Quality educational tools.
  10. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing - Commission-free US stocks, ETFs, funds and bonds. Fast and fully digital account opening. Well-established parent company. Pays interest on uninvested cash.
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Top brokers for investors

Key features of the top brokers for long-term investing

The best brokerage accounts for long-term investing need to meet several criteria. We picked what we deemed the most relevant and important for buy-and-hold investors.

Broker
Stock fee class
Bond fee class
Interactive Brokers
Low
Low
Ally Invest
Low
Low
Interactive Investor
Low
Low
Charles Schwab
Low
Low
Fidelity
Low
Low
TradeStation Global
Low
Low
TD Ameritrade
Low
Low
E*TRADE
Low
Low
Firstrade
Low
Low
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Low
Low
Top brokers for long-term investing data compiled for March 2024

Popularity of the best online brokers for buy-and-hold

Interested in what others think? Here's how many people chose these brokers at BrokerChooser in the last 6 months.

Fees and products

Trading fees at the best brokers for long-term investing

See how much you would have to pay in commissions and other charges if you invested $2,000 in one of these asset classes.

Broker
US stock
UK stock
Interactive Brokers
$1.0
$3.8
Ally Invest
$0.0
-
Interactive Investor
$5.0
$5.0
Charles Schwab
$0.0
-
Fidelity
$0.0
$11.3
TradeStation Global
$1.5
$2.0
TD Ameritrade
$0.0
-
E*TRADE
$0.0
-
Firstrade
$0.0
-
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
$0.0
-
Fees at top brokers for long-term investing in 2024
All commissions are for a $2,000 trade.

Non-trading fees at the best brokers for long-term investing

Broker
Account fee
Inactivity fee
Interactive Brokers
Ally Invest
Interactive Investor
Charles Schwab
Fidelity
TradeStation Global
TD Ameritrade
E*TRADE
Firstrade
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Non-trading fees at top brokers for long-term investing in 2024

Product selection at the best brokers for long-term investing

Broker
Stock markets (#)
ETFs (#)
Interactive Brokers
90
13,000
Ally Invest
5
2,300
Interactive Investor
16
1,680
Charles Schwab
4
2,300
Fidelity
25
2,500
TradeStation Global
90
13,000
TD Ameritrade
4
2,300
E*TRADE
5
2,800
Firstrade
5
2,300
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
3
2,000
Product selection at top brokers for long-term investing in 2024

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Interactive Brokers snapshot
Recommended for Traders looking for broad market access and a professional trading environment
Overall score 4.9 stars
US stock fee $1.0
Stock markets (#) 90
Fund providers (#) 550
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 4.8 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Interactive Brokers, check out our review for 2024.

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Ally Invest snapshot
Recommended for Investors and traders looking for low fees and focusing on the US market
Overall score 4.5 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 5
Fund providers (#) 600
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 4.8 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Ally Invest, check out our review for 2024.

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Interactive Investor snapshot
Recommended for Beginners and investors focusing on the UK market
Overall score 4.6 stars
US stock fee $5.0
Stock markets (#) 16
Fund providers (#) 190
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards
Research score 3.0 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Interactive Investor, check out our review for 2024.

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Charles Schwab snapshot
Recommended for Investors and traders looking for solid research, low fees and great customer service
Overall score 4.6 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 4
Fund providers (#) 600
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 4.3 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Charles Schwab, check out our review for 2024.

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Fidelity snapshot
Recommended for Investors and traders looking for solid research and great trading platforms
Overall score 4.7 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 25
Fund providers (#) 550
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay
Research score 4.5 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Fidelity, check out our review for 2024.

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TradeStation Global snapshot
Recommended for Traders and investors looking for low fees and a wide selection of products
Overall score 4.5 stars
US stock fee $1.5
Stock markets (#) 90
Fund providers (#) 550
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 4.3 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of TradeStation Global, check out our review for 2024.

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TD Ameritrade snapshot
Recommended for Investors and traders looking for solid research and a well-equipped desktop trading platform
Overall score 4.7 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 4
Fund providers (#) 740
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 5.0 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of TD Ameritrade, check out our review for 2024.

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E*TRADE snapshot
Recommended for Investors and traders looking for solid research and a great mobile trading platform
Overall score 4.5 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 5
Fund providers (#) 600
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 4.8 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of E*TRADE, check out our review for 2024.

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Firstrade snapshot
Recommended for Beginners and investors looking for zero-commission trading, focusing on the US market
Overall score 4.4 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 5
Fund providers (#) 450
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 5.0 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Firstrade, check out our review for 2024.

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J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing snapshot
Recommended for Beginners and buy-and-hold investors focusing on the US stock market
Overall score 4.5 stars
US stock fee $0.0
Stock markets (#) 3
Fund providers (#) 60
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 3.0 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, check out our review for 2024.

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How did BrokerChooser pick the best online brokers for long-term investing in 2024?

Safety, cost efficiency, and the ability to diversify are the most important for long-term investors. Therefore,

  • we checked whether the broker is overseen by a trusted regulator;
  • We examined the selection of assets favored by long-term investors (i.e. bonds, stocks, funds);
  • We looked at long-term product fees;
  • We 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. This includes collecting more than 600 data points for each broker.

FAQ

Which broker is best for beginners?

If you're considering long-term investments and are just starting your investment journey, you should pick a broker that, in addition to low fees, offers an easy-to-use mobile trading platform and good educational materials. A free demo account is also handy if you want to practice trading with virtual money first. To make your choice easier, we collected the best brokers for beginners.

Which is the best platform for stock trading?

When deciding where to buy stocks, you should look for low stock commissions, low inactivity and withdrawal fees, and smooth deposit and withdrawal functions. Here's our list of the best online stock brokers.

What is the safest trading platform?

There are many aspects to safety, but perhaps the most important is for the broker to be regulated by a top-tier financial authority, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, or one of a handful of similar regulators worldwide. We at BrokerChooser only recommend brokers where a majority of clients belong to an entity overseen by a top-tier regulator.

Further reading for long-term investors

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Author of this article

Gyula Lencsés, CFA
Gyula Lencsés, CFA

Gyula is a former analyst expert and Head of Content at BrokerChooser. With over a decade in finance, he led content creation at BrokerChooser and personally evaluated some of our 100+ listed brokers. He opened real-money accounts, executed transactions, and engaged with customer services, offering firsthand assessments. Prior to BrokerChooser, he managed mutual funds in wealth management, trading stocks, ETFs, bonds, commodities, forex, and derivatives. His goal: simplify the hunt for top brokers in a dynamic investment landscape.

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.

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