10 Best Robinhood Alternatives You Should Know About

With all the negative buzz around Robinhood following their decision to freeze GameStop trading in early 2021, many investors are choosing other brokerages. But Robinhood paved the way for more beginner-friendly investing with features like an easy-to-use app, commission-free trading, and fractional shares. 

So which apps are comparable to this broker? In this article, I’ll review the best Robinhood alternatives and investing platforms so you can find a suitable replacement for you and start trading.

Overview of the Best Robinhood Alternatives

Best for Small-Time Investors: Public

• Free investment platform
• Fractional investing
• Social components

Public is a free investment app that’s primarily aimed toward new investors. They concentrate on helping individuals make investments that align with their principles and social choices. Public does this by involving social media in the investment process. 

Additionally, they offer fractional investing, which allows you to buy less than a whole share of any certain stock. This lets you invest right away in companies with a high cost per share (think, Tesla, Google/Alphabet, Apple). You can also keep track of other users and their investment strategies, follow specific companies, and get market news live from experts.

The Public platform is free and beginner-friendly.

Public says that they’re trying to make the stock market more inclusive. And because the app has a social feed, you can invest right alongside other more experienced investors as well as your friends. This is where the social aspect comes in.

On top of that, Public includes (verified) public figures (hence the name) within the app. This is a lot like how Twitter and Instagram verify celebrities and high-profile individuals. You can then see what these people are investing in, watch their trading activity, and either pull ideas from their moves or copy their portfolios completely. 

Right now, Public is offering a $10 bonus for signing up and making an initial deposit. You can also gift fractional shares to others you refer to the app. 

Learn more about Public or read our full Public review.

Best for Frequent Traders: E*TRADE

• 250 fee-free ETFs
• Hybrid investment options
• Access to E*TRADE bank

E*TRADE is one of the most advanced trading platforms out there. Their app is incredibly intuitive and lets you trade not only stocks and ETFs, but also options and mutual funds. You’ll have the ability to do extensive research if you want to or simply use an ETF screener to find a match for your investment needs. 

These options make this app great for beginners and more advanced investors alike. Speaking of advanced investors, you can upgrade to the Power E*TRADE app, which gives you access to more intricate trading strategies, as well as the ability to trade futures.

I also really like the educational information E*TRADE provides for free. If you’re a new investor, these resources will help teach you how to research a stock, diversify your portfolio, do technical analysis, actually buy stocks, and more. 

Additionally, you can get access to options and more investment research since E*TRADE has now purchased OptionsHouse. E*TRADE has retirement options including IRAs, so you can invest for the long haul in a tax-advantaged account.

Learn more about E*TRADE or read our full review.

Related: How Smart Investing Could Significantly Lower Your Taxes

Best for Seasoned Investors: M1

• No minimum balance requirement
• No fees
• Hybrid between self-directed and a robo-advisor

M1 is a well-known free investment service as well as an interesting rival to Robinhood. With M1, you can get both traditional investment services and professional investment guidance. And what I love is that the app lets you control where your dollars will go.

This platform is like a hybrid between a traditional brokerage and a robo-advisor. However, as opposed to some other apps or robo-advisors that invest your money automatically and tell you the details, this app uses its cutting-edge “pie” system to explain all of your investment options in detail and help you make choices for yourself. Here’s the way it works.

First, the app asks about your investing plans. Depending on the information you give, M1 makes a “pie.” This pie is broken into “slices” that represent individual investments. But instead of requiring you to buy the full share, you can buy a fractional share for each. That way, you are able to diversify your investment portfolio and invest in a wide array of investments without performing any grueling research.

After that, M1 will rebalance your portfolio every time you make an investment, keeping the percentages of each slice on track with what you set. So if you have four investments (four slices) each at 25% allocation, M1 will make sure that ratio stays consistent as you add more money to your account.

In comparison to Robinhood, M1 fails to buy and sell stocks speedily. In fact, there is only one window of time during the day where M1 purchases stocks. You can upgrade your account to get two time windows, but it’s still limited. Nevertheless, it does provide you with IRA solutions and a $0 commission level. In summary, it’s an easy-to-use solution to get started with long-term investment.

Learn more about M1 or read our full M1 review.

Related: M1 vs. Robinhood: Which Is Better for You?

Best for Those Eager To Learn: Webull

• Lots of analysis resources
• No commissions
• No minimum balance

Webull is an investment platform, designed for both new and seasoned investors. It has no fees – including commissions – with the exception of some minor wire transfers and SEC fees. This makes it a viable alternative to Robinhood.

There are a lot of things to like about Webull when compared to Robinhood. One feature that’s incredibly valuable is that Webull’s app will analyze investments for you, based on your financial situation, to help determine which investments are the best choices for you. This way, you don’t spend all day deciding on each investment and can instead make quick, informed decisions.

Webull also works hard to ensure its customers understand the stock market well. For example, you’ll have access to a really helpful practice account that lets you make trades with fake money. This way, you can practice certain investment strategies before you take them live in your real Webull account. Then once you’re happy with a plan of attack, you can use those tactics on real investments with real money.

Webull also has additional features for increased flexibility, like after-hours trading (for certain account types) and detailed information on pretty much any asset you want to invest in. Their charting and other research options are also fairly robust, especially considering it’s a free platform. And lastly, like Robinhood, Webull has no minimum balance to get started.

Learn more about Webull or read our full review.

Best for Intermediate-Level Traders: TD Ameritrade

• Great for new or experienced investors
• Comprehensive trading options
• No commissions

I find TD Ameritrade to be one of the best overall brokerages out there – not just compared to Robinhood. That said, TD Ameritrade is an excellent alternative to Robinhood, for the right investor. TD Ameritrade got rid of commissions back in 2019, too. So it only made this platform more desirable.

I like to think of TD Ameritrade as a middle-ground between something like Webull (more for beginners) and E*TRADE (where beginners can invest, but it’s probably a bit too powerful and complex). TD Ameritrade finds a nice balance between usability and research options so you can quickly choose stocks to invest in.

The platform is easy to navigate and works perfectly on both the app and desktop/laptop computers. With the research tools you’ll have at your fingertips (like screeners, charting, and more) you can quickly find anything you’re looking for and invest right away.

Learn more about TD Ameritrade or read our full review.

Best for Hands-Off Investing: Betterment

• Complete investment management
• Tax-loss harvesting on taxable accounts
• $10 minimum initial investment required

Betterment is a true robo-advisor, so it’s a bit different than some others on this list. That said, they’re a good replacement for Robinhood purely because of the simplicity they offer. Betterment requires a $10 minimum deposit — so people coming from Robinhood will probably like that

Betterment also offers a checking and cash management account (called Cash Reserve) at no cost. When you sign up, you’ll go through a series of questions that help Betterment understand your goals and overall risk tolerance. 

From there, Betterment will craft a unique portfolio of ETFs that they’ll automatically manage for you. And as your life changes, your goals will change. So you can modify your investment strategy at any time in the future.

The Betterment app is easy to use, too. On the downside, you can’t pick individual stocks as you can with Robinhood, and the platform isn’t totally free (Betterment charges a 0.25% management fee for the Digital plan). But this platform is a lot easier to use than Robinhood.

Learn more about Betterment or read our full review.

Checking accounts and the Betterment Visa Debit Card provided and issued by nbkc bank, Member FDIC. Checking made available through Betterment Financial LLC. Neither Betterment Financial LLC, nor any of their affiliates, is a bank. Betterment Financial LLC reimburses ATM fees and the Visa® 1% foreign transaction fee worldwide, everywhere Visa is accepted.

Cash Reserve is only available to clients of Betterment LLC, which is not a bank, and cash transfers to program banks are conducted through the clients’ brokerage accounts at Betterment Securities.

Related: Are Robo-Advisors Worth It? A Complete Guide

Best for Self-Directed Investors: Ally Invest

• No commissions
• Simple dashboard
• Robo portfolios option

Ally Invest’s simplified investment platform makes it a viable alternative to Robinhood. While you don’t need to be an Ally Bank customer to sign up, having multiple accounts with this bank allows for complete integration.

There are no fees with Ally Invest and it has many of the features that Robinhood doesn’t have. First is the ability to have either a self-directed account or a managed account. If you want to choose your own stocks as you can with Robinhood, you can elect to use the Self-Directed portfolio. Alternatively, if you want to have a more hands-off approach you can use the Robo Portfolio option, which gives you a pre-built portfolio and acts more like a robo-advisor.

The dashboard is clean and easy to navigate, too. From the dashboard, you can see your profits and losses and easily make investments. 

Additionally, you can buy not only stocks and ETFs but also mutual funds, bonds, and options with Ally Invest. All are completely commission-free, though options contracts do have a small fee for executing.

Learn more about Ally Invest or read our full review.

Best for Non-Savers: Stash

• Full banking solutions
• Automated options
• Helpful guidance

Stash isn’t totally free like some of the others on this list. Its entry-level plan is $3 per month, and you’ll need at least $5 to start investing (not much, but still worth noting). That said, the Stash app is awesome. It’s easy to use and reminds me a lot of Robinhood in the way it’s designed. You can buy stocks and ETFs with Stash and take advantage of fractional shares for better diversification at a lower cost.

Stash has two types of accounts – Growth ($3/month) and Plus ($9/month). Each has additional features that may or may not apply to you (like investing for children with the Plus level). However if you’re just looking for a Robinhood replacement, the $3 Growth level should more than suffice.

Stash is excellent for beginners because you’ll get a spare change investment app, banking options (like checking and savings), as well as a debit card. Having everything housed in a single app makes managing your finances a breeze.

Learn more about Stash or read our full review.

Related: The Pros and Cons of “Spare Change” Investment Apps