Want to buy your first shares, compare investments or practise an order? These 12 apps do different jobs. Start with your country and the task you want to complete.
We make the apps marked "Made by our team". Some links earn us a commission. This never decides a product's place in a list. How we choose and make money.
Practise first: Trading Game Explore eToro
Consider for: Active traders who want full charts on a phone
Schwab's thinkorswim app brings its full charting and trading tools to your phone. Layouts sync with desktop and web, and paperMoney lets you practise with pretend money.
Consider for: Long-term investors who want research and fractional shares
Fidelity's app combines trading with research, watchlists and alerts. Stocks by the Slice lets you buy part of a share from $1.
Consider for: Choosing between a simple app and an advanced one
E*TRADE, owned by Morgan Stanley, has two apps: E*TRADE Mobile for everyday investing and Power E*TRADE for active traders, with paper trading.
Consider for: A very simple first app for US stocks
Robinhood keeps buying and selling simple. It offers stocks, ETFs, options and crypto in the US, and 24-hour trading on some stocks and ETFs five days a week.
Consider for: Investors outside the US, or anyone trading many markets
IBKR Mobile combines international shares and other markets with currency conversion. GlobalTrader is a simpler stock-focused alternative. A multi-currency account does not automatically permit leveraged forex; check the legal entity and trading permissions.
Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 58.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Interactive Brokers (shown on interactivebrokers.co.uk, checked 21 October 2026). The figure differs by country and changes every quarter.
Consider for: Active traders who want detailed data and paper trading
Webull combines detailed charts, options data and paper trading on a phone. It has separate services in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, with different products and prices.
Consider for: Beginners who already bank with SoFi
SoFi puts investing next to banking and loans in one app. You can buy fractional shares or choose automated investing.
Consider for: Social investing and options rebates
Public combines investing research and a community feed with a stock/ETF options rebate programme. Enrolment and the underlying security affect the rebate; a rebate is not a reason to make an extra trade.
Consider for: Options traders who want low, capped fees
tastytrade is built for active options and futures traders. It has live learning videos in the app and caps what you pay to open an options trade.
Consider for: Bank of America customers
Merrill Edge links investing with Bank of America banking, so moving money is quick. Its app includes Bank of America research and an Idea Builder tool.
Consider for: Exploring social investing and copying in a virtual portfolio
eToro adds a social feed, CopyTrader and a virtual portfolio to a mobile investing account. It is a choice for studying how copied positions fit together. Products differ between its US, UK and Australian services; it is unavailable in Canada.
Risk warning: outside the US, eToro also offers CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 55% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with eToro (shown on etoro.com, checked 21 October 2026). The figure differs by country and changes every quarter. Copied trades and crypto can lose money too.
Learning and practice: Practising stock and currency decisions before opening an account
Trading Game, made by our team, combines a virtual market simulator, lessons and AI chart feedback. It suits readers comparing shares with currencies who want to practise without funding a brokerage account.
For a first US stock account, compare Robinhood or SoFi with Fidelity’s research-led approach. If you already use Bank of America, Merrill Edge is worth a look. For detailed charts, compare thinkorswim, Power E*TRADE and Webull. Public and tastytrade deserve a separate look if you already understand options.
Outside the US, start with Interactive Brokers and the local Webull service. eToro adds social investing in eligible countries, including the UK and Australia; Canadian residents cannot open accounts there. Country access does not mean every investment is available.
Still learning what the Buy button does? Trading Game is the virtual practice option in this list. For lessons focused on currency pairs, see GoForex. We own both apps. Neither is a broker.
For a shortlist focused on owning shares, including Canadian choices, see stock trading apps for beginners. The matcher below separates investing from practice.
Try it yourself
Pick your country, what you want to buy and what matters most. See which apps match, then check the licence link.
For stocks: ten US brokers, plus eToro where it is available. Canada: Interactive Brokers and Webull. UK: Interactive Brokers, Webull, Robinhood and eToro. Australia: Interactive Brokers, Webull and eToro. EU access varies by country. For virtual practice: Trading Game, made by our team.
What would you expect?
What this shows: Start with the account you can open, then compare the task you need. Practice apps do not require a brokerage deposit.
The matcher is a shortlist from this article. It does not check your age, state, province, account approval or device.
Many US brokers on this list advertise $0 online stock and ETF . That is not a worldwide price promise: Interactive Brokers has different plans, eToro prices depend on product and country, and Trading Game is practice software. Compare the other costs for the same transaction.
| App | Options fee |
|---|---|
| Robinhood, SoFi Invest | Check the current contract and regulatory schedule |
| Webull | $0 on stock/ETF options; $0.50 on certain index options |
| Public | $0 on stock/ETF options; $0.35 on index options; rebates require enrolment |
| tastytrade | $1 to open (max $10 per leg), $0 to close |
| Interactive Brokers Pro | $0.15 to $0.65 |
| Fidelity, Schwab, Merrill Edge | $0.65 |
| E*TRADE | $0.65, or $0.50 with 30+ trades a quarter |
Example: buying 10
At $0.65 a contract, you pay $6.50 to buy and $6.50 to sell. At tastytrade you pay $10 to open and $0 to close before other fees. Webull and Public charge no contract fee for stock or ETF options, but their index-option fees differ. Small regulatory fees apply almost everywhere.
Other costs to check:
Also ask how the app makes money. Some US apps are paid by trading firms for sending them your orders. This is called payment for order flow. It is allowed in the US, but it is one reason a $0 trade is not always the cheapest. Our brokerage fee guide helps you add up every cost.
A phone makes trading fast. That is good, but it also makes mistakes fast. Before you tap Buy, check five things on the review screen:
Turn your phone sideways and make the text bigger. Can you still see the quantity and the price? If an important number is hidden, that app may not suit you.
Learn the order types in our lesson on market, limit and stop orders.
Don't tap Buy again straight away. A frozen screen does not tell you whether your order was sent, accepted or filled. A second tap can create a second order.
Practise this once in a demo or mode, so you know where the history page is before you need it. Never place a real order just to test what happens when the connection drops.
The Apple App Store and Google Play are where you download apps. They are not trading platforms. The broker supplies the service and holds your money.
Read the privacy details and the in-app purchases before you install. A high star rating alone does not prove the app is real.
Protection schemes help if a broker goes bust and your shares or cash are missing. They never cover losses when prices fall.
Interactive Brokers and Webull use a different company in each country, so the protection depends on which one holds your account. Ask the broker which scheme applies before you deposit.
Limits apply per customer at each firm. If you hold a lot of money at one broker, read the scheme's rules for your type of account.
We compared ten US broker apps, eToro for social investing and our Trading Game for virtual practice using public information and each provider's official pages: what it offers, where you can open an account, what it costs, what account and security information it publishes, and what users report. Only then do we check whether an affiliate programme exists. We do not accept payment for placement. Each card shows when we last checked its details; we rechecked the changes on this page on 21 October 2026.
The ten US broker apps come first and are not ranked from best to worst. eToro follows for social investing where it is available, then Trading Game for practice. We did not open accounts or test order execution, withdrawals, uptime, support or security. We make the apps marked “Made by our team”. Our About page explains how we choose recommendations.
For a first US share purchase, compare the order screens of Robinhood, SoFi and Fidelity. For social investing, eToro is another option where eligible. If you want to practise first, Trading Game uses virtual money and is made by our team. Your country and intended investment decide the useful shortlist.
Not completely. You may pay options contract fees, regulatory fees, margin interest, monthly plans and transfer fees. Apps also earn money in other ways, such as interest on your cash and payments for sending orders to trading firms.
Interactive Brokers and local Webull businesses serve Canada, the UK and Australia. eToro serves eligible UK and Australian readers but not Canadian residents. Robinhood has a UK service, and tastytrade accepts some international accounts. Check the specific product and company before applying.
It can be, if you protect the account and check each order. Turn on two-factor login, install apps only from the broker's official link, and read the review screen before you tap. Avoid trading on public Wi-Fi.
Yes. thinkorswim has paperMoney, Power E*TRADE and Webull have paper trading, and Interactive Brokers offers a free paper account. Simulator apps also let you practise with virtual money.
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