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Best online brokers for long-term investing

Top online brokers for long-term investing in the United States in 2023


  1. Interactive Brokers - the best broker for buy-and-hold investors in 2023. Low trading fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
  2. Charles Schwab - Free stock and ETF trading. Outstanding research. Great customer service.
  3. Ally Invest - Low trading and non-trading fees. Easy and fully digital account opening. Great education.
  4. TD Ameritrade - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). Superb desktop trading platform. Great customer support.
  5. E*TRADE - Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading). User-friendly mobile trading platform. Great research tools.

How did BrokerChooser pick the best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023?

  • 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
  • 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 500 data points for each broker. Now let's jump straight to the results.

Check out the best brokers in another country

Best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023
Key features of the top brokers for long-term investing

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

Top brokers for long-term investing data compiled for March 2023
Broker Stock fee class Bond fee class Inactivity fee Custody fee Minimum deposit
Interactive Brokers Low Low No No $0
Charles Schwab Low Low No No $0
Ally Invest Low Low No No $0
TD Ameritrade Low Low No No $0
E*TRADE Low Low No No $0

Best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023
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.

Interactive Brokers Charles Schwab Ally Invest TD Ameritrade E*TRADE
US stock $1.0 $0.0 $0.0 $0.0 $0.0
UK stock $3.4 - - - -
Mutual fund $15.0 $25.0 $10.0 $50.0 $20.0

All commissions are for a $2,000 trade.

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

Interactive Brokers Charles Schwab Ally Invest TD Ameritrade E*TRADE
Account fee No No No No No
Inactivity fee No No No No No
Withdrawal fee $0 $0 $0 $0 $0

Product selection at the best brokers for long-term investing

Interactive Brokers Charles Schwab Ally Invest TD Ameritrade E*TRADE
Stock markets (#) 83 4 5 4 5
ETFs (#) 13,000 2,300 2,300 2,300 2,800
Fund providers (#) 400 600 600 740 600
Bonds (#) 38,321 60,000 221,000 40,000 88,000
Crypto Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023
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And now, let's see in detail the best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023, one by one.

Interactive Brokers Logo

#1 Best online broker for investors
Interactive Brokers

Recommended for traders looking for broad market access and a professional trading environment

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Interactive Brokers snapshot
Overall score 4.9 stars
US stock fee $1.0
Stock markets (#) 83
Fund providers (#) 400
Inactivity fee No
Minimum deposit $0
Deposit methods Bank transfer
Research score 4.3 stars
Read review For a detailed analysis of Interactive Brokers, check out our review for 2023
Charles Schwab Logo

#2 Best online broker for investors
Charles Schwab

Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research, low fees and great customer service

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Charles Schwab snapshot
Overall score 4.8 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 2023
Ally Invest Logo

#3 Best online broker for investors
Ally Invest

Recommended for investors and traders looking for low fees and focusing on the us market

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Ally Invest snapshot
Overall score 4.7 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 2023
TD Ameritrade Logo

#4 Best online broker for investors
TD Ameritrade

Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research and a well-equipped desktop trading platform

Visit broker

TD Ameritrade snapshot
Overall score 4.9 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 2023
E*TRADE Logo

#5 Best online broker for investors
E*TRADE

Recommended for investors and traders looking for solid research and a great mobile trading platform

Visit broker

E*TRADE snapshot
Overall score 4.7 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 2023

Best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023
Further reading for long-term investors

Best online brokers for long-term investing in 2023
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.

Author of this article

Gyula Lencsés, CFA

Author of this article

Gyula has more than 10 years of experience in the financial industry. He spent most of his career in the wealth management business as a portfolio manager of mutual funds. He has trading experience in a wide range of asset classes, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, commodities, forex and derivatives markets.

Gyula Lencsés, CFA

Head of Content

Gyula has more than 10 years of experience in the financial industry. He spent most of his career in the wealth management business as a portfolio manager of mutual funds. He has trading experience in a wide range of asset classes, including stocks, ETFs, bonds, commodities, forex and derivatives markets.

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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