Charles Schwab Review 2023

How we ranked fees

We ranked Charles Schwab's fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Charles Schwab for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing the most important fees are commissions.

We also compared Charles Schwab's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, E*TRADE and Fidelity. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Charles Schwab alternatives.

To have a clear overview of Charles Schwab, let's start with the trading fees.

Charles Schwab trading fees

Charles Schwab trading fees are low. The fee structure is transparent and easy to understand.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Charles Schwab charges no commission for stock and ETF trading, which is superb. 

If you prefer stock trading on margin, you should check Charles Schwab's margin rates.

Trading on margin basically means that you borrow money from your broker and can purchase more shares than you could with just the available cash in your account. You have to pay interest on this borrowed money – the interest rate is called the margin rate. It can account for a significant portion of your trading costs.

Charles Schwab's margin rates are high.

Fund fees

Charles Schwab fund fees are high except for around 4,000 mutual funds that are free to trade. This represents almost half of the more than 10,000 fund offering. The standard charge is $49.95 per purchase while redemption is free of charge. In our comparison table, we halved Charles Schwab's fee, in order to make it comparable with other brokers that charge for both buying and selling.

We really liked that Charles Schwab offers some 4,000 mutual funds whose trading is free. These include Schwab Funds and thousands of other funds included in the Mutual Fund OneSource Select List of quality funds. However, should you sell these funds within 90 days of purchase, you will be charged a $49.5 redemption fee.

Bond fees

Charles Schwab has generally low bond fees. The bond fees vary depending on the type of bond you purchase. There is no commission for Treasury bonds, Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)

For other bonds, like corporate bonds and zero-coupon Treasuries, the commission is $1 per bond with a $10 minimum and $250 maximum. Note however that the bond price itself in these cases may also include a markup that reflects the bid-ask spread and is not capped.

Options fees

Charles Schwab options fees are low, at $0.65 per contract.

Futures fees

Charles Schwab futures fees are high,.

Non-trading fees

Charles Schwab has low non-trading fees. There are no inactivity or account fees. IRA accounts are also free and there are no minimum balance requirements for any of those accounts.

There is no withdrawal fee if you use ACH transfer. Withdrawals to other banks by wire transfer cost $25. 

Can you open an account?

Visit broker

Charles Schwab is a US discount broker that primarily targets US clients, but its services are available to clients in more than 40 other countries as well, including for example the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The services available can vary by country. For example, clients from the UK and Hong Kong can't trade futures or mutual funds, only stocks, ETFs, options and bonds.

What is the minimum deposit at Charles Schwab?

The required Charles Schwab minimum deposit is different for US and non-US clients:

• $0 for US clients
• $25,000 for non-US clients

So for example, the Schwab UK minimum deposit is $25,000.

If you would like to use Charles Schwab's robo-advisor Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, you need to have a $5,000 minimum account balance even if you are a US resident. At Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium, the minimum is $25,000.

Account types

Charles Schwab has many different account types:

There are additional services that are not tied to account type. These include lending, annuities and insurance services. See all available services here.

In this review, we tested the Brokerage and Trading account, an individual account type.

How to open your account

The account opening process is user-friendly, fully digital and fast, and it took us 1 day to complete. This simplicity and speed is not usual at US brokers, we liked it a lot.

Steps for opening an account at Charles Schwab:

1. Choose an account type.
2. Add your personal information, like Social Security Number, residency and employment status.
3. Set the account features, like adding margin or options trading.
4. Acknowledge the terms and conditions.
5. Verify your identity by uploading an ID or driver's license.

The online application took roughly 20 minutes, and our account was verified the next day.

If you want to trade futures, you also have to complete a separate registration.

Deposit fees and options

Charles Schwab charges no deposit fees. US clients can use checks, electronic (ACH) and wire transfers for depositing funds. For clients outside the US, only wire transfer is available.

Unfortunately, there is no option to use credit/debit cards or electronic wallets for deposits.

We tested the ACH transfer and it took 2 business days.

You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

Charles Schwab withdrawal fees and options

Charles Schwab charges no withdrawal fees.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Charles Schwab? We tested the ACH withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How do you withdraw money from Charles Schwab?

• Log into your account.
• Go to 'Transfers & Payments'.
• Select the withdrawal method.
• Select your Charles Schwab account as 'Transfer from'.
• Select the account you want to withdraw the money to as 'Transfer to'.
• Enter the amount you wish to withdraw.
• Initiate the withdrawal.

Charles Schwab has three trading platforms which differ in the products they offer and the device they are available on. For example, futures can only be traded on StreetSmart Central.

In this review, we tested the Schwab.com web trading platform. This trading platform is available only in English.

Look and feel

The Charles Schwab web trading platform is user-friendly and has a clean design. On the negative side, it is not customizable.

Login and security

Charles Schwab provides one-step login authentication as a default, but you can enable two-step authentication.

Two-factor authentication can be enabled via a mobile device, desktop app or a physical token. If you would like to use a physical token, you have to order one through the 'Security Admin' page or on 'Schwab Advisor Center'. 

Mobile and desktop alternatives use Symantec VIP, which you have to download to your mobile device or desktop.

1. When done, log in to 'Schwab Advisor Center', click on your name and select 'Authentication Device'.
2. Open Symantec VIP and enter your 'Credential ID' and 'Security Code' to complete the process.

Upon first login, you have to register a new device, i.e. laptop, phone, etc. During the registration, you will receive a code via text, email or phone for registering your new device. After the registration, you can access your account using your regular ID and password combination.

Search functions

The search functions are OK. You can search both by company name or asset ticker.

However, the search results are not fully relevant. For example, when we searched for Apple, it appeared only in third place.

Placing orders

You can use the following basic order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop Limit

To get a better understanding of these terms, read this overview of order types.

There are also order time limits you can use, including more sophisticated ones:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til end of the day (GTD)
• Immediate or Cancel (IOC)
• Fill or Kill (FOK)
• All or Nothing (AON)

Alerts and notifications

You can set a wide range of alerts, including price or research alerts, as well as many others.

You can get notifications via email or SMS. If you downloaded the mobile trading app, you can also set mobile push notifications. 

The alerts can be found in the 'Services/Alerts' section.

Portfolio and fee reports

Charles Schwab has clear portfolio and fee reports. These can be found in the 'Accounts' section. 

You can download the reports, but only in CSV format.

Visit broker

This table shows which platforms are available for mobile devices at Charles Schwab.

In this review, we tested the Schwab.com mobile trading platform. It is available both for iOS and Android devices. We tested it on Android.

In functionality and design, it is very similar to the web trading platform. It offers the same order types, search functions and has one-step and two-step login options.

The major difference is that you cannot set alerts. It would be much easier if you could set mobile push notifications not only on the web trading platform but on mobile as well.

Visit broker

In this table, we summarized which platform is available for the different devices. At Charles Schwab, StreetSmart Edge is the only available desktop-based trading platform.

Before downloading StreetSmart Edge, you can also try a free demo of the platform, which is a great option.

StreetSmart Edge is available only for Windows. If you have a Mac, you can use StreetSmart Edge's web trading platform, which is cloud-based.

The platform is available only in English.

Look and feel

The Charles Schwab desktop trading platform is well-designed and highly customizable.

On the negative side, we found it to be quite slow to load when clicking on the various tabs.

Login and security

Similarly to the web and mobile trading platforms, StreetSmart Edge provides only a one-step login by default. With Symantec VIP, you can enable two-factor authentication.

Search functions

The search functions are OK. You can search for assets by their name or ticker. However, the search results are not fully relevant. For example, when you search for Apple, it appears only in third place.

Placing orders

You can use the following order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop Limit
• Trailing Stop

To get a better understanding of these terms, read this overview of order types.

There are also sophisticated features, like an option to set orders as Smart, Pre-Market or After Market. You can also select cost basis methods for handling orders, such as First In First Out, Last In First Out, High Cost, etc.

You can choose from many order time limits:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC)
• Good 'til end of the day (GTD)
• Immediate or Cancel (IOC)
• Fill or Kill (FOK)
• All or Nothing (AON)

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts on StreetSmart Edge. There are fewer alert options than on the web trading platform, but both price alerts and order confirmations are available.

The alerts can be found in the 'Account Details/Alerts' section.

Portfolio and fee reports

StreetSmart Edge has clear portfolio and fee reports. 

These can be found in the 'Account Details' section. You can also export these reports in XLS, TXT and CSV formats.

Visit broker

Charles Schwab offers a wide selection of funds and bonds. The range of options and futures available is average.

The offered products can vary by country. For example, UK and Hong Kong clients can only trade stocks, ETFs, options and bonds; mutual funds and futures are not provided.

Stocks and ETFs

Charles Schwab covers only North American markets. You can trade stocks on the following stock exchanges: 

• NYSE
• NYSE MKT
• NASDAQ
• OTC

Practically all Canadian stocks can be traded online or through a broker via phone. Online quotes on most Canadian securities are provided by the Toronto Stock Exchange and are displayed in USD.

At Charles Schwab, you can buy fractional shares of S&P 500 stocks instead of buying a whole share of a given stock. This way you can buy a "slice" of stock that represents a partial share, for as little as $5. For example, if a company's stock is trading at $100 a share and you buy $20 worth of it, you would own 0.2 shares (20% of 1).

A separate Schwab Global Account allows you to trade on foreign exchanges like Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK, and most major European markets. To establish a Schwab Global Account, you must have a Schwab One Account.

Funds

There is a great range of mutual funds available. You can find funds from the biggest fund providers, such as BlackRock or Vanguard, as well as many smaller ones.

Bonds

Charles Schwab has a wide bond selection. You can access both government and corporate bonds.

Options

Charles Schwab offers an average range of options to trade. The following exchanges are available: 

• BATS
• BOX
• C2
• CBOE
• EDGX
• MIAX
• MPRL
• EMLD

Futures

Similarly to options, the selection of futures is average as well. You can trade futures on the following exchanges: 

• CBOT
• CFE
• CME
• ICE
• MGE
• NYMEX
• COMEX
• EUREX

You can also trade Bitcoin futures.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

Charles Schwab offers a robo-advisory service called Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. It is great if you need an automated solution to manage your investments.

First, you have to answer questions about your investment goal, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Based on your preferences a portfolio is created and the robo-advisor will automatically rebalance the portfolio when needed. There is a $5,000 minimum amount to start, while there is no commission charged for this service.

If you choose Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium you will also get guidance from a personal financial expert. The minimum to start this premium account is $25,000 and there is also a $300 one-time fee. After this, a $30 monthly fee is charged.

We tested Charles Schwab's research tools on the web trading platform, except for the charting tools. We tested the latter on the desktop trading platform, as it seemed better than other platforms' charting tools.

In general, the research tools are great, but sometimes you can get lost in the web trading platform's abundance of riches.

Charles Schwab offers real-time quotes without a subscription. Similarly to the trading platforms, the research tools are available only in English.

Trading ideas

Charles Schwab provides trading ideas for stocks and ETFs.

Trading ideas for stocks can be found in the 'Ratings' and 'Reports' sections. The Ratings section gives ideas on whether to buy, hold or sell the given stock. Charles Schwab provides a rating for every US-traded equity based on its own quantitative rating model. For some stocks there are also reports from third parties like Credit Suisse. Morningstar provides fundamental, bottom-up analyses for most stocks. For some sectors, a top-down sector analysis is also available.

Other available trading signals include third-party reports from Ned Davis Research, Market Edge Second Opinion, CFRA and Argus.

Fundamental data

Charles Schwab offers a wide range of fundamental data. You can find a host of data for various assets, from stocks to funds. For example, you can see financial statements for the past six years, peer group companies and a dividend calendar, just to mention a few.

Charting

Charles Schwab has good charting tools, with easily editable charts. There are 56 technical indicators available, which is a high enough number, although it is lower than what you can find at some competitors.

News feed

The news feed is OK. It is easy to read but lacks visual elements like charts or pictures. It is provided by third parties such as Reuters and Briefing.com.

Other research tools you may enjoy

There are great screeners for stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. This is one of the most sophisticated screener tools we have seen. You can use a wide range of filters, from basic company information to technical indicators.

Compare research pros and cons

You can contact Charles Schwab in English via:

• live chat
• phone
• email

Charles Schwab has a fast live chat, which provides mostly relevant answers.

Phone support was very helpful and gave relevant answers. The response time was OK as we connected with an agent within a few minutes.

The Charles Schwab support team is available 24/7, which is a big plus.

Visit broker

At Charles Schwab you can learn in the following ways:

• Platform tutorial videos
• General educational videos
• StreetSmart Edge demo account
• Webinars
• Quality educational articles

We really liked the webinars. There are a lot of them, around 4-5 each day, and they cover a wide range of topics, from stock to options trading.

On the negative side, the educational content is not well-structured and specific information might be hard to find.

Visit broker

Is Charles Schwab regulated?

Yes, it is regulated in the US by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and abroad by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

If you live in the UK, your account will be domiciled in the US and your account agreement will be with Schwab's affiliate, the US-based broker dealer Charles Schwab & Co, Inc. (CS&Co). Charles Schwab, U.K., Limited informs and helps clients access the services provided by CS&Co.

Is Charles Schwab safe?

To be certain if a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• what the background of the broker is

How you are protected

Charles Schwab operates several legal entities globally, but all customers are covered by the US investor protection scheme, called the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). This is because Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., the US legal entity, holds the assets on behalf of all other legal entities.

SIPC investor protection protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bankrupt. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. This amount is substantially higher than the amount most investor protection schemes provide. 

Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual fund and other investment company shares, and other registered securities. It does not cover instruments such as unregistered investment contracts, unregistered limited partnerships, fixed annuity contracts, currency, and interests in gold, silver, or other commodity futures contracts or commodity options.

For an overview of the different regulators, legal entities and investor protection amounts, see the table below:

Additional brokerage insurance, beyond SIPC protection, is provided to Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. accounts through underwriters in London. Charles Schwab’s coverage with Lloyd's of London and other London insurers, combined with SIPC coverage, provides protection of securities and cash up to an aggregate of $600 million, and is limited to a combined return to any customer from a Trustee, SIPC, and London insurers of $150 million, including cash of up to $1,150,000. This additional protection becomes available in the event that SIPC limits are exhausted.

Charles Schwab does not provide negative balance protection. However, this is only relevant if you're trading futures or shorting equities or options.

Background

Charles Schwab is based in the US, was founded in 1971 and carries the name of its founder, Charles R. Schwab. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

Company history: When trading and commissions on Wall Street were deregulated in 1975, company founder Charles Robert Schwab seized the opportunity to create a new kind of brokerage – a discount brokerage. He didn’t offer any frills such as stock recommendations or investment advice, simply concentrating on the execution of trades. This was a novel approach back then. Even when the company became bigger, Schwab retained the image of a "West Coast outsider".

In 1983, Bank of America acquired the company, but four years later Charles Schwab bought it back. In September 1987, the company went public, just one month before the market crashed. The Charles Schwab Corporation was added to the S&P 500 Index in 1997.

Charles Schwab has a banking license, and as such is subject to tougher regulations than brokers.

It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, which is a big plus for safety as the company releases financial statements regularly and transparently.

Having a banking license, being listed on a stock exchange, providing financial statements, and being regulated by a top-tier regulator are all great signs for Charles Schwab's safety.

Find your safe broker

We recommend Charles Schwab for investors and traders looking for solid research, low fees and great customer service.

Below you can find links to all aspects of Charles Schwab in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our Charles Schwab fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the Charles Schwab minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your Charles Schwab account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the Charles Schwab account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the Charles Schwab trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the Charles Schwab customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is Charles Schwab legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether Charles Schwab is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is Charles Schwab good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on Charles Schwab?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on Charles Schwab guide

I want to trade options, are they available at Charles Schwab?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on Charles Schwab?

What is the minimum account balance at Charles Schwab?

Check out the current account balance requirements at Charles Schwab in our What is the minimum account balance at Charles Schwab article.

Looking for commission and fees data for Charles Schwab?

We collected them in Charles Schwab commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from Charles Schwab?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on Charles Schwab.