Equity trading fees Alpaca Trading

My key findings in a nutshell

My key findings in a nutshell

Adam Nasli

Trading • Safety • Market Analysis

I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.

Learn about our methodology

Adam Nasli

Trading • Safety • Market Analysis

I've thoroughly tested Alpaca Trading services with our analyst team by opening a real-money account and these are my most important findings:

• At Alpaca Trading, you can trade US stocks commission free
• Commission-free stock trading is increasingly common among stock brokers
• Commission-free stock brokers often charge users via a wider buy/sell spread

You can view stock trading fees charged by Alpaca Trading in the most popular trading locations in the table below.

Data updated on August 26, 2024

At BrokerChooser, we only publish objective analyses based on live testing. Every recommendation is unbiased and based on first-hand experience: we open a live account anonymously at each broker, deposit real money and test every important feature.

Are you worried that stock trading commissions will put a dent in your investment performance? There's an easy remedy for that: commission-free stock trading. Yes, you heard that right. Many brokers in the US, and now also increasingly in Europe, charge you nothing for buying or selling stocks (or ETFs).

Some of you must be wondering, how can brokers make a living if they offer stock trading for free? First of all, while stock trading may be free, these brokers often charge fees for trading assets other than stocks (such as bonds or mutual funds), or for other services such as money withdrawals or currency conversion.

Also, did you notice that tiny spread between the buy/sell prices of a stock? That spread goes toward the profit of so-called market makers - basically large traders that help execute everyone's buy/sell orders. Brokers can receive a slice of this profit in exchange for channeling your buy/sell order to a specific market maker; this is called payment for order flow. Because of this, you may get slightly less favorable price quotes than at non-commission-free brokers.

Like with all things free, watch the fine print. Commission-free trading sometimes applies to US stocks only, not international stocks. Be mindful of conversion fees, which may apply if you trade an asset in a currency other than that of your account. In general, don't let a tiny stock commission deter you from a broker if its other fees are low and its services overall are great.

To read more about possible expenses you may face as a long-term investor, check out our summary of the most common brokerage fees.