3+ best Charles Schwab alternatives & competitors in 2025

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eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

Unlike some other brokers – like Interactive Brokers and Robinhood – Charles Schwab didn’t completely halt trading of GME shares amid market volatility. They did, however, make certain changes to how users were allowed to trade these stocks that left a lot of people unhappy. So, what are the best alternatives to Charles Schwab?

Compare the cost of trading and the available range of financial markets to learn if you can trust Charles Schwab, or whether it’s better to find the best Charles Schwab alternative.

Quick take: best alternatives to Charles Schwab 2025

Top 10 Charles Schwab alternatives & similar sites

1. eToro. Best for beginners, copy-trading & demo-account

4.5

Ratings

$100

Min. deposit

0% commission

Fees

3,600

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love eToro because it’s a crypto trading platform built with beginners and casual traders in mind. The platform combines an interactive, social trading experience with an easy-to-use interface, making it ideal for novice traders.

The far-reaching catalog of 100 cryptocurrencies includes big names like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as smaller crypto tokens with high growth potential. Some supported tokens can be seamlessly transferred to the eToro Money crypto wallet for safekeeping.

One feature we particularly appreciate is the ability to interact with eToro’s 35 million users on any asset, market, or portfolio page. If you find traders whose strategies match your risk tolerance, you can copy their portfolios automatically using eToro’s flagship copy trading functionality. eToro crypto’s Smart Portfolios offer a great entry point into digital currencies, an opportunity to learn and potentially benefit from the expertise of more experienced traders.

If you don’t feel comfortable investing your cash straight away, you can use a free demo account, credited with $100,000 virtual dollars. This offers plenty of opportunities to try out a trading strategy that works for you across the 100 crypto tokens available.

Highlights

No. of tradable assets	3600+
Min. Deposit	$100
ID verification required	Yes
Free demo account	Yes
Supported assets	Stock CFDs, ETF CFDs, Forex CFDs, Index CFDs, Commodity CFDs, NFTs, Crypto
Mobile trading app	Yes
Web trading platform	Yes
Regulatory bodies	ASIC, FCA, CySEC, FinCEN

Fees & Costs

Trading fees	Yes, on certain assets
Inactivity fees	Yes
Rollover/overnight fees	Yes, on CFDs
Withdrawal fees	Yes
Spreads	Yes, on certain assets
Conversion fees	Yes, for non-USD currencies

Pros & Cons

Great for beginners, simple to set up and get started Competitive, industry-leading commissions Popular ‘Copy Portfolios’ function lets you follow top traders Excellent customer service, with live chat support provided

Comparatively high fees for withdrawals and account inactivity Does not integrate with the MetaTrader platform High spreads on some assets

Read review Visit eToro

Cryptocurrency is offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance. Invezz.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the MSB.

2. Plus500. Best for international trading*

4.5

Ratings

$100

Min. deposit

From 0.08%

Fees

2,800

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love Plus500 because it is one of the industry’s most transparent and reliable brokers. Its fees are clear and you’ll know exactly what you will be paying before you trade. Its technology driven platform gives access to futures for the two biggest cryptos, Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Plus500 has something for all types of crypto trader, no matter what level of experience. Its low margin requirements of $20 for Ether and $100 for Bitcoin make it a top choice for day traders. At the same time, its trading academy is packed with educational content, perfect for beginners just starting. 

For accurate instrument availability, visit plus500.com.

The fees: Plus500 charges a commission of $0.49 per Micro contract and $0.89 per Standard contract (per side). There is an Auto-Liquidation fee of $10 per contract. Other exchange fees may be applicable and can be found on the CME group website. 

*Based on a comparison of 60+ leading brokers and trading platforms.

Highlights

No. of tradable assets	2800+
Min. Deposit	$100
ID verification required	Yes
Free demo account	Yes
Supported assets	Stock CFDs, ETF CFDs, Forex CFDs, Crypto CFDs, Index CFDs, Commodity CFDs
Mobile trading app	Yes
Web trading platform	Yes
Regulatory bodies	FSA, ASIC, FMA, FCA, CySEC

Fees & Costs

Trading fees	No
Inactivity fees	Yes
Rollover/overnight fees	Yes
Withdrawal fees	No
Spreads	Yes
Conversion fees	Yes

Pros & Cons

Free demo account for every user Secure broker, licensed by top-tier regulators Wide variety of CFDs to trade Several good risk management tools

No support on trading information and education Website isn’t brilliantly designed to help users find answers to their questions No MetaTrader trading platform compatibility

Read review Visit Plus500

This information is NOT relevant to EU residents who are to be serviced by EU subsidiaries of the Plus500 Group, such as Plus500CY Ltd, authorized by CySEC (Reg. 250/14). Different regulatory requirements apply in Europe, such as leverage limitations and bonus restrictions.

3. Public. Best for AI analysis

4

Ratings

$20

Min. deposit

Spreads

Fees

9,000

No. assets

No

Demo account

Overview

We love Public because it makes use of cutting-edge AI technology to enhance your trading and investing experience. Public’s AI-powered feature, Public Alpha offers personalized insights and recommendations through its natural language interface in real time. 

Public’s AI technology helps you make more informed decisions by analyzing massive amounts of data and providing actionable insights. These AI-driven insights are easily accessible and give users access to the latest advancements in crypto analysis and trading. 

Not only do can you use AI to help your crypto investments, Public is one of the lowest cost brokerage firms out there. You can invest in a selection of cryptocurrencies without breaking the bank or having to invest large sums. Public charges 1.25% of your order amount, which is considerably cheaper when compared to similar platforms. 

The fees: There are no fees for investing in stocks during regular trading hours in the US – 9.30am-4pm EST. There is a $2.99 fee for trades outside of regular hours. Alternative investments, including cryptocurrency, are charged a 1.25% fee per transaction.

Highlights

No. of tradable assets	9,000 +
Min. Deposit	$20
ID verification required	Yes
Free demo account	No
Supported assets	Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, , ,
Mobile trading app	Yes
Web trading platform	Yes
Regulatory bodies	SEC, FINRA, SIPC

Fees & Costs

Trading fees	Yes
Inactivity fees	Yes
Rollover/overnight fees	No
Withdrawal fees	No
Spreads	Yes
Conversion fees	Yes

Pros & Cons

Commission free stock and ETF investing Share and compare your portfolio on a social trading platform Trade crypto, fractional shares, and alternative investments

You can't trade on margin or use leverage No forex, options, funds, metals, or bonds

Read review Visit

Cryptocurrency execution and custody services are provided by Apex Crypto LLC (NMLS ID 1828849) through a software licensing agreement between Apex Crypto LLC and Public Crypto LLC. Crypto trading on Public platforms is served by Public Crypto LLC and offered through APEX Crypto. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved before trading.

Compare similar apps to Charles Schwab

We have assigned each Charles Schwab alternative a rating to give you an idea of the overall service each trading platform provides. The score, alongside a snapshot of some important features, allow us to quickly summarise Charles Schwab’s top competitors.

How the best Charles Schwab alternative was found

We found alternative stock brokers to Charles Schwab by reviewing what most closely matched Charles Schwab in terms of the business model, licensing & operations, cost of trading, target audience, and financial markets available.

We ranked each alternative on these factors while taking into account all available user-reviews across services like Trustpilot, Reviews.io, and Sitejabber, to find the services that offered similar apps to Charles Schwab.

Here are some more of the features we used to identify the best Charles Schwab alternatives.

• Best low fee Charles Schwab alternatives. The main cost of using a stock broker comes from trading fees or commissions but there may be other fees as well. We considered the overall cost of using a different trading platform, including inactivity fees, spreads, and conversion fees.
• Best Charles Schwab alternatives for beginners. Beginner-friendly Charles Schwab alternatives provide an intuitive app and trading experience that helps you make your first steps in trading. The most important feature it must offer is a free demo account, while features like copy or social trading can be useful as well.
• Best Charles Schwab competitors with similar products. We picked out trading platforms where the markets and number of assets available most closely resembled Charles Schwab. Good Charles Schwab alternatives offer a large, varied range of financial products.
• Most secure Charles Schwab alternative. All the Charles Schwab competitors we recommend are regulated by top tier financial regulators to protect you and your money. We also look for similar apps to Charles Schwab that are transparent about their finances and how they store customer funds.
• Best Charles Schwab competitors with highest user reviews & customer ratings. Real life experience of using a trading platform is important. We identified the most popular platforms by comparing those with the best average ratings and most positive user reviews.

Best low fee alternatives to Charles Schwab

You don’t want to switch trading platforms only to pay more for the service. Here’s how Charles Schwab alternatives compare in terms of how they make their money:

Best Charles Schwab alternative for beginners

Charles Schwab is targeted towards beginners, so any competitor should provide a helpful experience to new users as well. Here is a comparison of beginner-friendly features available from Charles Schwab’s competitors:

Charles Schwab competitors with similar products

A Charles Schwab alternative should allow you to invest into a similar range of stock assets and financial markets. That way, you can invest in the same products even if you switch brokers. Here’s how the competitors compare to Charles Schwab:

Most secure Charles Schwab alternative

Regulation is important because it offers you financial protection in the event that something happens to the broker, like a bankruptcy. Here are how the top alternatives fare against Charles Schwab in terms of regulatory protection.

Best Charles Schwab competitors with highest user reviews & customer ratings

We gathered data from independent review platforms to show what the experience of using a Charles Schwab alternative was like for other people. 

This information can be a useful tool to help you decide which trading platform to use, but remember that there are many reasons why someone might have a good or bad experience with a service – and not all of them are the platform’s fault.

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