Our Verdict
You’re here because you want to know which trading platform—Robinhood or TD Ameritrade—is preferable. In this comparison, Robinhood wins the trophy. Robinhood is remarkable for the following reasons:
- Sleek and simple interface, especially if you’re a beginner.
- Availability of cryptocurrency trading.
- Zero-commission for stocks, and ETFs.
On the other hand, TD Ameritrade is remarkable for offering a wealth of education resources, reliable customer support, and a wide range of features. Ameritrade goes beyond simplicity to provide a broader range of investment options, such as futures and forex.
The bottom line: Your choice depends on your current trading knowledge and what you value most. Remember, simplicity, low cost, and reliability are key features to look for. The choice is yours to make.
Why Choose Robinhood
Who Robinhood is Best For
Opt for Robinhood if you:
- Want a clean, sleek, and intuitive user interface that allows you to easily navigate $0 for commissions on stocks, ETFs, and options, helping you to save more money.
- Love to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and much more.
- Need fractional shares trading on high-priced stocks.
- Desire market data and alerts in real-time, keeping you informed and ready to take the next action.
- Seek interest rates on uninvested cash.
- Want no account minimums, so you can trade on any amount that falls within your budget.
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Who Robinhood isn’t Right For
Avoid Robinhood if you:
- Love advanced tools, detailed charts, and sophisticated research.
- Seek in-depth market analysis and comprehensive research reports.
- Desire to trade on mutual funds or bonds.
- Want robust learning and research tools.
Why Choose TD Ameritrade
Who TD Ameritrade is Best For
Prioritize TD Ameritrade if you:
- Seek an advanced trading platform that offers sophisticated charting tools and real-time data.
- Require an extensive library of educational resources to help you stay informed and make educated trading decisions.
- Want to diversify your investment options by leveraging assets such as mutual funds, bonds, futures, forex, and options.
- Plan for the future by choosing from a variety of retirement accounts, such as Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, and more.
- Prefer a platform that is known for having reliable customer support, allowing you to reach support through phone, email, or chat.
- Want to practice your trading strategies without having to lose real money by leveraging Thinkorswim’s paperMoney feature.
- Love a trading platform that doesn’t require a minimum deposit to open an account.
- Intend to stay connected to the markets at all times, trading on the go, and accessing real-time quotes using the available mobile app.
Who TD Ameritrade isn’t Right For
Steer clear from TD Ameritrade if you:
- Prefer a simple trading platform that has no steep learning curve.
- Don’t want to pay charges for options contracts, mutual funds, and other kinds of investments.
- Want to trade on crypto such as Bitcoin, or Ethereum.
- Don’t want to pay charges for various accounts, such as wire transfers, and more.
Robinhood vs. TD Ameritrade: The Main Difference
| Robinhood | TD Ameritrade |
Ideal For | ● Trading multiple assets. ● Commission-free trading. ● Beginner traders. | ● Advanced traders. ● Commission-free trading. ● Retirement plans. |
Pricing | Account opening: $0 Account maintenance: $0 You’re paying fees for the Financial Industry Authority (FINRA), issuing banks, and the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC). | TD Ameritrade charges $0 commission fees on stocks and ETFs. You’re, however, paying $0.65 per option contract. $0 account or trade minimums.
|
Account Integration | Google Sheets Mint Banks Plaid | Plaid Thinkorswim Banks. Mint |
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Robinhood vs. TD Ameritrade: Product Offerings
Robinhood
Robinhood’s diverse product offerings include a wide range of options for you to trade with. The offerings include:
Investment: Invest in stocks and ETFs (such as real estate ETFs, commodities, indexes, growth ETFs, and more).
Crypto: Trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dodge.
Retirement: Earn 3% extra anytime you subscribe to Robinhood Gold and contribute to your IRA.
Options: Trade options with no commissions and no trading fees.
TD Ameritrade
This platform offers a variety of products such as:
- Mutual Funds
- ETFs
- Stocks
- Options
- Futures
- Bonds, CDs, and Fixed Income
- Money Market Funds
- Cash Solutions and Rates
- Annuities
- Cryptocurrency
Robinhood vs. TD Ameritrade: Standout Features
Robinhood
Robinhood is exceptional in its trading and investment solutions for several reasons, which include:
- Instant deposits of up to $1,000 with which you can start trading immediately, and seizing investment opportunities without waiting for funds to settle.
- Robinhood Gold which takes a monthly fee to access premium features, such as margin trading, larger instant deposits, and more.
- Variety of educational content that gives you the information you need to help you make informed decisions.
- Robust mobile app that allows you to trade on the go, and manage your investments from anywhere in the world.
- Intuitive platform design you can find easy to use, and its layout helps you stroll through trading and managing your portfolio without much stress.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade differs from other trading and investment platforms for the following reasons:
- The Thinkorswim platform, being one of the professional trading platforms you can find on the internet, is unique. The feature offers sophisticated tools for charting, and customizable layouts, giving you leverage especially if you’re an active trader.
- Wide range of investment options to help you diversify your portfolio. You can invest in stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, futures, bonds, forex and options.
- Zero account minimums, especially if you’re on a tight budget, or want to start investing without needing a large sum of money.
- The simulated trading environment allows you to do paper trading with Thinkorswim’s paper money.
- Variety of retirement accounts that include traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and rollover IRAs, allowing you to manage retirement savings.
- The advanced mobile app helps you place trades, access quotes in real time, and manage your portfolio from anywhere with the total assurance of staying connected to the market.
- Third-party integration with popular tools like Quicken Mint, and TurboTax with which you can manage your finances, track your investment, and streamline your tax preparation process.
Pros and Cons of the Robinhood
- Pros
- Has an easy-to-use user interface.
- Requires no account minimum.
- Takes no monthly fee.
- Trades on cryptocurrency.
- Grants instant access to deposited cash.
- Trades on fractional shares.
- Cons
- Delays in providing price quotes.
- Has limited learning and research tools.
- Takes payment for order flow.
- Has no access to bonds and mutual funds.
Pros and Cons of Public.com
- Pros
- Offers free research.
- Delivers a top-notch trading platform.
- Has excellent customer support.
- Provides a wide range of investment options.
- Takes no commission for trading stocks and ETFs.
- Requires no account minimum.
- Cons
- Doesn’t trade fractional shares.
Robinhood vs. TD Ameritrade: Customer Reviews
While Robinhood and TD Ameritrade are both incredible platforms, it is important you know what other customers are saying about these platforms.
On Forbes Advisor, Robinhood has a user rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, while having a 1.3 out of 5 stars rating coming from over 3,700 users. More so, Robinhood has a high customer rating score of 4.3 out of 5 stars on NerdWallet, and 4.4 out of 5 stars on Finder.com. These reviews are expressions of the good, the bad, and the ugly experiences of customers on the platform.
On the other hand, TD Ameritrade has quite several user ratings available online—consisting of both positive and negative customer expressions.
On Trustpilot, TD Ameritrade has a user rating of 1.3 out of 5 stars coming from 293 customers. On ForexPeaceArmy, Ameritrade scores 2.1 out of 5 stars coming from 4 reviews. Meanwhile, the platform scores 4.0 out of 5 stars on Investing.com, 4.4 out of 5 stars on Forbes, and 5.0 out of 5 stars on NerdWallet.
Clearly, TD Ameritrade wins the trophy in this section.
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TradeStation vs. Public.com Competitors
When it comes to choosing the right trading and investment platform for you, there are a couple of options you must factor in. Some of these platforms offer similar services to Robinhood and TD Ameritrade. Considering these alternatives helps you broaden your search limit, and choose the option that’s best-suited for you.
Fidelity: Fidelity is a mix of simplicity and sophistication—making it a great option whether you’re new into trading or have years of experience. As a registered user of the platform, you can enjoy commission-free trading on U.S. stocks, and ETFs, options, and mutual funds.
You’ll find Fidelity quite beneficial for the fact that it offers strong research tools, excellent customer service, and a simple user interface.
For pricing, Fidelity offers $0 commissions on online U.S. stocks, ETFs, and options trades. Ensure that the platform currently offers the products you see to trade on, considering the fact that change is constant.
TradeStation: Choose TradeStation if you seek a platform that supports a variety of asset classes, including stocks, ETFs, options and more. You’ll also find the platform suitable if you’re a professional trader seeking grade A trading experience. You may find the platform frustrating, if you’re not an active trader, especially for the inactivity fee you get to pay.
When it comes to pricing, TradeStation offers zero commissions on stocks and ETFs. You can increase your buying power by accessing $6 margin rates. You’re also paying $5 for the return mail fee per item, and $50 for un-cashed checks.
Public.com: Like Robinhood, Public.com offers a simplified platform that allows you to trade on stocks and ETFs without paying commissions. If you’re new to trading, Public.com is a great option to consider. Plus, you won’t pay a cent to route your orders to market markers.
However, you may not find Public.com suitable if you love trading outside standard market hours. You can only trade outside the standard scheduled time if you subscribe to a premium plan.
Speaking of subscriptions, Public.com comes with a variety of fees you should take note of. The platform allows you to trade without paying commissions. However, if you want access to VIP account management, advanced trading features, and enhanced data, get ready to pay $8/month.
Pro Tips
- Take advantage of fractional shares so you can diversify your portfolio without necessarily having to invest with huge capital.
- Use market limit orders to protect yourself from volatility, helping you avoid risky trade executions, especially during unstable market conditions.
- Set a price alert to stay informed on any important updates, particularly on price movements so you can get the most from the market.
- Automate your investment—if necessary—to help you maintain discipline and consistency in your investing.
- Take advantage of Robinhood’s cash management features to earn interest on your uninvested cash.
- Use Robinhood’s IPO Access feature to know when to invest in new and potentially high-growth companies during the initial offering price.
- Consider upgrading to Robinhood Gold, so you can access advanced tools and resources, such as margin trading, larger instant deposits, and premium research reports.
- Stay updated on market trends and company-specific news, so you can make better investment decisions, and adapt to market changes.
- Don’t neglect educational resources, such as articles, and tutorials, to help you navigate the market more confidently.
Recap
Opting for either Robinhood or TD Ameritrade largely depends on your financial goals and preferences. Remember, though, that both platforms serve different kinds of traders. If you’re new to trading and need a sleek, and simple interface to start your trading and investment journey, Robinhood is preferable. The platform comes with a variety of trading assets, including cryptocurrency, and offers zero trading commissions.
Meanwhile, if you’re seeking a platform with more sophisticated tools and features (maybe because you’re an experienced trader), TD Ameritrade is your ally. The platform outperforms Robinhood by offering Futures and Forex trading assets.
Well, the choice is yours to make between these two platforms. The goal is to choose a platform that aligns with your goals and values.
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