Overview: Best free Investment Apps for 2022
(1)TD Ameritrade:
| Product | TD Ameritrade |
| Website: | https://www.tdameritrade.com |
| Logo |  |
TD Ameritrade is a free trading platform and app which provides an array of investment options, diversity in account types and is suited best for users who wish to perform diverse investing on the move.
Its standout features include free research (large variety of third party research from trusted sources).
The platform notably has a top of the line customer support system which stands out of the crowd making it a great plus point for their users.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% Commission fees on trade | No cryptocurrency trading |
| Diversity in investing vehicles | Users cannot invest in fractional shares |
| Great customer support. | Restricted to US markets |
(2) Fidelity:
| Product | Fidelity |
| Website: | https://www.fidelity.com |
| Logo |  |
FIdelity is a great free to use mobile stock broker for users who are not well versed in the field of trading and those who wish to do it on the go.
Its ease of use comes from the fact that it offers top-quality research tools, these include trading tips, data, etc. It allows international trading and is not limited to US markets, unlike TD Ameritrade.
It would be the perfect platform for investing if it wasn’t held down by this factor. Mutual funds often have high fees and high margin fees
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Excellent mobile app | Slow account verification |
| 0% commission fees on trade | High fees on some mutual funds |
| Users can invest in Fractional shares | Unavailability of certain products in free version |
(3)Robinhood:
| Product | Robinhood |
| Website: | https://robinhood.com/us/en/ |
| Logo |  |
Robinhood is an excellent mobile trading app for users who want to invest in ETFs, cryptocurrency, fractional shares and general stocks. It however does not offer mutual funds and IRA accounts.
Other great features offered by the app are cash management accounts, cryptocurrency limit orders and robinhood gold (Paid version).
It is worth mentioning that robinhood gold is of great value costing merely $5/mo and offering a bunch of extra benefits such as access to larger deposits, lower rates for margin investing, access to morningstar research reports and more.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission fees on trades | Trading restrictions (consumer perceptions) |
| Cryptocurrency trading | No access to fixed income products |
| Fractional shares investing | No IRA (investment retirement account) |
(4)E*TRADE:
| Product | E*TRADE |
| Website: | https://us.etrade.com/home |
| Logo |  |
E-trade is another worthy competitor to the top mobile trading apps and has a unique selling point. e*Trade offers not one but two free apps, namely, E*trade app and Power E*Trade app. The first is the regular app for beginner investors offering a place to trade, manage your profile, perform research and other activities that an average investor would be interested in.
The power app has more advanced features such as real-time analysis of stock, futures trading, top-notch charting abilities and advanced trading options. It does not come without any hitch.
The platform does not allow trading for all products as listed in the disadvantages and the android users may face some technical issues. At the end of it, It is a brilliant product as it offers a use for both beginner and advanced users,that too, completely free.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission fees on trade | No fractional shares investing |
| Advanced app for regular users | No cryptocurrency trading |
| Offers in-app research and news | Does not allow international trading |
(5)Merrill Edge:
| Product | Merrill Edge |
| Website: | https://www.merrilledge.com |
| Logo |  |
Formerly part of Merrill Lynch, Merrill Edge is a trading platform operated under the Bank of America offering users top of the line investing and trading services such as a variety of investment vehicles, national branch access, diverse account types and much more.
Like most platforms, users can access their accounts via the web as well as the mobile-app. The standout factor in favor of the platform is its customer service. Since it covers a large area (Bank of America), it is quite easy to find support in most metropolitan cities
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commision on stock trades | The trading platform is not as competitive. |
| Diverse account types | High margin rates |
| Preferred rewards programs | Only available to US consumers |
(6)Ally Invest:
| Product | Ally Invest |
| Website: | https://www.ally.com |
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Ally invest is not only a trading platform, it is a financial platform making it useful for users who wish to have their investments and bank accounts in the same place. It is particularly best for users who wish to cut down on stock-trading commissions.
On this list of free investment apps, Ally invest would not be among the cheapest because while it offers a competitive price it is not completely free. Ally Invest shines in offering a competitive mutual funds rate, margin rates as well as no minimums.
It is a great brokerage for users who do not require an in-person customer service and are relatively well versed traders to be able to use the trading platform comfortably.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission on stock and options | No fractional shares |
| No account minimums | Limited research available to users |
| Excellent web based platform | Complicated trading platform |
(7)SoFi Invest:
| Product | SoFi Invest |
| Website: | https://www.sofi.com/invest/ |
| Logo |  |
SoFi invest is a great place for beginner investors to start their journey as it is perfect for analyzing stocks and is designed as a low-frills platform. Furthermore, it does not include third party research making it of little use for advanced investors who wish to use all features.
SoFi invest shines in its app as products such as traditional and Roth IRAs can easily be accessed through the phone. More importantly, Social Finance is designed in a way that all financial tools and information can be handled in one place.
It offers other services such as loans, mortgages, student loans and many more financial services.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission fees | No mutual funds and options |
| Top-quality mobile app | Rigid account types |
| Low account minimum | Basic trading platform |
(8) Webull :
| Product | Webull |
| Website: | https://www.webull.com |
| Logo |  |
Webull is a brokerage perfect for active users to prefer mobile apps over web platforms. It offers an excellent mobile platform offering more features than most competitors.
Webull is also the best choice for options trading as it offers no per contract fees. Assignment or exercise fees are also exempt. Users can also take part in virtual games to win prizes as the platform allows for virtual trading of stocks and options.
It is a useful tool for users with a knowledge of investing who do not require tons of educational material and users who wish to invest small as it offers an account bonus at a much lower level as compared to competitors.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission on trades | No mutual funds |
| No accounts minimum | No fractional shares |
| Brilliant mobile app | Subscription required to access most data and research |
(9)Charles Schwab:
| Product | Charles Schwab |
| Website: | https://www.schwab.com |
| Logo |  |
Charles Schwab is hard to beat in most aspects. It is easily among the top options for investors to consider as it offers a large variety of investment and banking services, commissions as well as investment options.
Operating in over 30 international markets, a global account allows users to trade in 12 of the top markets globally including real-time rates. Even for mutual fund investors, this platform has all the answers ranging from no commission mutual funds to low-cost mutual funds.
Notably, it is useful for passive investors as the platform has excellent robo-advisors and users can access a network of financial advisors as well as managed portfolios.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission on trades | No cryptocurrency trading |
| Allows fractional shares trading | High margin rates |
| Abundance of features | Low default cash sweep rate |
(10)M1 Finance:
| Product | M1 Finance |
| Website: | https://m1.com |
| Logo |  |
M1 finance is a perfect fit for experienced users who wish to customize their portfolio while incurring zero to low-costs. It is largely focused on portfolio management with over 60 pre-built portfolios.
The platform supports their main focus by providing digital banking, cash flow allocation and credit card options. The platform doesn’t fall short on educational resources as it focuses on improving knowledge level instead of advisory services.
Furthermore, it provides cash management rules to complement the automation of your personal finance. It is the go-to place for extensive portfolio management and cash management.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| 0% commission on trades | Account minimum required |
| ) Extensive portfolio customization options | Advisory and financial planning is not given |
| Ease of use in both web and mobile app | Limited customer service options |
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