Alpaca Trading vs Charles Schwab compared

Alpaca Trading
Charles Schwab
Alpaca Trading
4.7
Charles Schwab
4.8

Alpaca Trading

Key score differences
We took 8 criteria of our comparison (fee, account opening, customer service, markets&product, research, trading platform, deposit&withdrawal) and listed the angles with the greatest difference here below.
  • Customer service score3.7/5.0
  • Research score5.0/5.0
  • Fees score4.8/5.0
Good to know
Recommended for
  • beginners 4.40/5
  • equity 4.25/5
You can open an account at Alpaca Trading

Charles Schwab

Key score differences
We took 8 criteria of our comparison (fee, account opening, customer service, markets&product, research, trading platform, deposit&withdrawal) and listed the angles with the greatest difference here below.
  • Customer service score5.0/5.0
  • Research score4.3/5.0
  • Fees score4.2/5.0
Good to know
Recommended for
  • beginners 4.15/5
  • equity 4.36/5
You can open an account at Charles Schwab
Why trust BrokerChooser?
  • Live account testing we open live accounts at each broker and test their services based on our unique methodology
  • Safety above all we only recommend safe brokers (certified and regulated)
  • Unbiased and independent our partnerships do not affect our scoring and verdicts
  • Regular data updates information on our site is up-to-date at all times
  • Fully accessible you can always reach us if you have questions: [email protected]

Basic data of broker

Overall Score
4.7

Recommended for Traders interested in algorithmic stock trading

Overall Score
4.8

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

Country of origin
Broker's country of establishment

USA

Country of origin
Broker's country of establishment

USA

Fees

Fees score
4.8
Fees score
4.2
Fees summary
BrokerChooser's qualitative summary on the broker's prices

Free stock and ETF trading, low non-trading fees

Fees summary
BrokerChooser's qualitative summary on the broker's prices

Low trading and non-trading fees, high fund fees

Stock and ETF fees

Forex fees

Fund fees

Bond fees

Options fees

Futures fees

Crypto fees

CFD fees

Non-trading fees

Deposit and withdrawal

Deposit and withdrawal score
1.8
Deposit and withdrawal score
2.2
Number of base currencies
How many account currencies you can choose from

1

Number of base currencies
How many account currencies you can choose from

1

Deposit type

Withdrawal type

Account opening

Account opening score
4.8
Account opening score
4.6
Account opening fully online
Account opening fully online
Minimum deposit
The minimum amount you have to deposit for using the account
$0 for retail account, $30,000 for business accounts
*

$0

*
Minimum deposit
The minimum amount you have to deposit for using the account
$0 for US clients and $25,000 for non-US clients
*

$0

*
Time to open account
BrokerChooser estimation on time needed to access account after all documents are provided by customer

1 day

Time to open account
BrokerChooser estimation on time needed to access account after all documents are provided by customer

1 day

Required documents
Documents required for opening an account

Social security number, other proof of residence

Required documents
Documents required for opening an account

Proof of identity: SSN and national ID / passport / driver's license Proof of residency: bank statement / utility bill

Trading platform

Web platform score
3.7
Web platform score
4.3
Mobile platform score
4.2
Mobile platform score
4.2
Desktop platform score
-
Desktop platform score
4.0

Markets and products

Markets and products score
2.6
Markets and products score
3.1
Stocks
Stocks are available
only US stock exchanges
*
*
Stocks
Stocks are available
Fractional shares
Fractional shares are available
$1 is the minimum
*
*
Fractional shares
Fractional shares are available
$5 is the minimum
*
*
ETFs
ETFs are available
only US
*
*
ETFs
ETFs are available
Forex
Forex is available
Forex
Forex is available
Funds
Funds are available
Funds
Funds are available
Bonds
Bonds are available
Bonds
Bonds are available
Options
Options are available
Options
Options are available
Futures
Futures are available
Futures
Futures are available
Crypto
Crypto is available in any form (e.g. as a CFD or ETF)
Crypto
Crypto is available in any form (e.g. as a CFD or ETF)
Futures, ETFs, Coin Trusts,
*
*
CFDs
Any CFD is available, e.g. stock CFD or commodity CFD
CFDs
Any CFD is available, e.g. stock CFD or commodity CFD

Research, education

Research score
5.0
Research score
4.3
Charting quality

Great

Charting quality

Great

Education score
5.0
Education score
4.5
Demo account
Demo account

Customer service

Customer service score
3.7
Customer service score
5.0
Phone
You can reach the broker by phone
Phone
You can reach the broker by phone
Live chat
Live chat is available
Live chat
Live chat is available
Email
Email support is available
Email
Email support is available
24/7 availability
At least one customer support channel, i.e. live chat, phone or email, is available even on the weekend
24/7 availability
At least one customer support channel, i.e. live chat, phone or email, is available even on the weekend

Security

Investor protection amount
The protection amount depends on the country where you opened your account. In the US, forex trading and commodity-related contract (e.g. futures or options) are generally not covered.

$500,000 (securities up to $500,000, cash up to $250,000)

Investor protection amount
The protection amount depends on the country where you opened your account. In the US, forex trading and commodity-related contract (e.g. futures or options) are generally not covered.

$500,000 (securities up to $500,000, cash up to $250,000)

Banking background
Whether the broker has a banking background
Banking background
Whether the broker has a banking background
Listed on stock exchange
The broker is listed on a stock exchange
Listed on stock exchange
The broker is listed on a stock exchange
Foundation date

2015

Foundation date

1971

Country of regulation
Which countries' regulators oversee the broker

USA

Country of regulation
Which countries' regulators oversee the broker

USA, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore

Alpaca Trading

For detailed information and hands-on experience, read our review of this broker.

Charles Schwab

For detailed information and hands-on experience, read our review of this broker.

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.

Alpaca Trading's service is on par with Charles Schwab's and a comparison of their fees shows that Alpaca Trading's fees are slightly lower than Charles Schwab's.

Account opening takes about the same effort at Alpaca Trading compared to Charles Schwab, deposit and withdrawal processes are somewhat more complicated at Alpaca Trading, while customer service quality is lower than Charles Schwab's.

Our experts rated the trading platform of Alpaca Trading as being of the same quality as the platform of Charles Schwab, found that clients have access to slightly less markets and products with Alpaca Trading, while Charles Schwab provides somewhat lower-quality research and education.

Back to Top

About

Discover

Follow us

Highest rated brokers

Highest rated vs best alternative

Country specific recommendations

Regional settings

Automatic (United States)
×
I'd like to trade with...
Forex / CFDs
Visit broker
Equities / ETFs / Funds / Bonds / Options / Futures
Visit broker