Charles Schwab vs. E*TRADE

In this guide, we’ll compare two online trading platforms: Charles Schwab and ETRADE. This is relevant for any options traders looking for a new trading platform that aligns with their goals, especially regarding fees, platform features, and support for options trading strategies. If you’re beginning in online trading or you are a trader who has considerable experience already, this comparison of Charles Schwab and ETRADE is just for you! Charles Schwab is a good option for newbies, while E*TRADE offers a more advanced trading experience.

Broker Overview

We’ll kick start our comparison guide by covering the main strengths of Charles Schwab and E*TRADE, plus a small condensed history of these platforms and their specialty when it comes to online options trading. Charles Schwab is better suited for certain traders, just as E*TRADE has its unique client that it caters to. Check out these broker overviews to get a quick snapshot of Charles Schwab and E*TRADE.

Summary of Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab got its start in 1971 and has always been a big part of the discount brokerage industry. They are notable for offering low prices for their customers as well as fast order execution. In 2020, Charles Schwab acquired TD Ameritrade, expanding its reach and influence in the market. It’s one of the best options for newer investors and traders who are looking for lower fees and commissions that work with a limited budget.

Key Strengths

• Commission-free stocks, options, and ETFs
• $0.65 per options contract
• Thematic investing with over 40 themes
• Unlimited worldwide cash withdrawals with ATM-free rebates
• Access research reports, equity ratings, and market commentary
• Robo-advisors for automated investing that monitors, builds, and rebalances an investor’s portfolio
• Joint brokerage accounts (Tenants in Common and Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship)
• $0 account minimum (appeal to beginners)
• $0 commission for stock and exchange-traded funds (appeal to advanced traders)
• Access to the thinkorswim trading platform
• CS offers many account types, including individual, joint, education savings, SEP IRAs, solo 401(k)s, and more
• 7,700 funds available
• Around-the-clock support via phone and live chat

Want to dive deeper into what Charles Schwab offers? Check out our comprehensive review for all the details.

Summary of E*TRADE

E*TRADE was founded in 1982 by its parent company Morgan Stanley, E-Trade has become a well-known name in the online trading world and is most notable for its low-cost trading and extensive global market access. E-Trade offers a wide range of investment assets like stocks and exchange-traded funds with zero commissions—they cater well to robust options and futures trading. The platform is suited for the following trading goals:

• You want ready access to financial consulting
• You are interested in active trading
• You want to get in on no-transaction-fee mutual funds
• You would like to use a robust trading platform that’s easy to use
• You need to gain access to research and educational materials
• You want to experience extensive bond trading

Key Strengths

• Low trading fees on stock and ETF trading
• Good range of tools and resources (stock screeners, analyst research, etc.)
• Plenty of educational content
• Pays interest on uninvested cash
• Get free market data streaming, real-time quotes, and live market commentary
• Prebuilt and automated portfolio options
• Strong customer service
• Automated investment management
• Options and futures specialists are available
• Transparent pricing
• Extensive bond trading
• IRAs with no annual fees
• Use watch lists to monitor stocks, options, and ETFs

For more detailed information about this broker, check out our E*TRADE review.

Account Types and Minimums

Whether you’re looking for cash accounts, margin accounts, or just a standard brokerage account, you’ll find them at both Charles Schwab and E*TRADE. But there are more account types to be found beyond these three staples. Keep reading to learn of all the account types you can use on these trading platforms as well as any minimal account balances that must be maintained for each.

Charles Schwab Account Types

What kind of account types are available at Charles Schwab and are there any minimum balance requirements that need to be maintained? Let’s run through the different accounts you can open first to give you a taste of the available options.

• Brokerage Accounts: This includes joint, individual, and taxable accounts for investing in options, bonds, stocks, and ETFs.
• Donor Advised Funds: These accounts are available for charitable giving.
• Cash Investments: These options allow investors and traders to invest in money market funds, sweeps, and CDs.
• Trust Accounts: Estate accounts through Schwab One manage and distribute an estate’s assets, while trust accounts through Schwab One manage and protect assets after a death.
• Retirement Accounts: Charles Schwab offers rollover IRAs, Roth IRAs, traditional IRAs, SEP-IRAs, inherited IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs.
• Custodial Accounts: These are Schwab One Custodial Accounts for education and college savings.
• Checking and Savings Accounts: Charles Schwab offers FDIC-insured accounts with overdraft protection, interest, and no deposit limits for traders and investors.

We’ve just gone through seven types of available accounts and the great news is that there aren’t any initial deposits required and no opening or maintenance fees. Plus, traders don’t have to worry about any account minimums.

E*TRADE Account Types

Because E*TRADE is the more advanced trading platform of the two, they naturally have a wider choice of account types available to their customers. When you visit the website or the mobile app, you’ll find your choices outlined in the menu as such

Brokerage Accounts

• Brokerage Account
• Coverdell ESA
• Custodial Account

Retirement Accounts

• Rollover IRA
• Roth IRA
• Traditional IRA
• Inherited Beneficiary IRA
• E-Trade Complete IRA
• IRA for Minors

Managed Portfolios

• Core Portfolios
• Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors

Small Business Retirement

• Traditional and Roth Individual 401(k)
• SIMPLE IRA
• SEP IRA
• Investment-Only Account

Bank

• Premium Savings Account
• Max-Rate Checking
• Checking
• Line of Credit

Like many of its peers, E*TRADE is a trading app that doesn’t require a minimum initial deposit to open a brokerage account. There’s also no minimum balance requirement as there are no monthly account fees. Though nearly all E*TRADE accounts don’t have a minimum deposit requirement, the margin accounts require a minimum balance of $2,000 to keep open. After opening any kind of new account, E*TRADE customers must fund their account within 30 days to keep it.

Trading Platform Features

What are the bells and whistles that come with each of these trading apps? That’s what we’ll address in this section: the user interface/design, any applicable customization options, and how these platforms work in their mobile and desktop forms.

Charles Schwab Platform

Interface and User Experience

The web versions and mobile apps for the Charles Schwab and its thinkorswim platforms are generally easy to use and have intuitive designs. The site and the app have simple menus, clear layouts, and easy-to-use functions. Another notable point of praise is that the Charles Schwab app is designed to function like the website it’s based on.

Customization Options

Charles Schwab is also well known for its robust customization options. These allow inventors and traders to choose how they want the information displayed on the app or the website. A lot of users comment on the usefulness of the tailored watchlists for custom strategies as well as the preferred column layouts.

Mobile and Desktop Compatibility

Awarded the Best Investing Platform Overall in 2024 by U.S. News, Charles Schwab caters well to a broad base of traders and investors. The mobile app, in particular, provides users with useful information like charts, research ratings, news, balances, and quote summaries with excellent accessibility. There aren’t too many differences between the two formats aside from some slight menu configuration changes.

E*TRADE Platform

Interface and User Experience

Though E*TRADE is a better fit for traders with much more experience, it does have a user-friendly design and it does a decent job of introducing how online trading works to newcomers. All kinds of traders or investors can navigate the site and app with ease as the menus and tabs are highly organized. You generally don’t see any complaints regarding the speed, functionality, and handling of the website or mobile app.

However, because of the sheer volume of account types, trading opportunities, and educational materials offered on E-Trade, the website, and mobile app can be a bit tricky to navigate when you use the platform for the first time, especially if you’re a newbie trader. What it really comes down to is learning how to conduct trades and how different features of the app or website work, which can be learned over time using the “Knowledge” tab.

Customization Options

E*TRADE offers its users the opportunity to create multiple watchlists that customize data fields like volume, price, bid/ask, etc. These watchlists can be customized with specific securities as well. Traders can also enjoy column customization where they can hand-select the data columns that appear in the security listings (change, volume, price, 52-week high/low, etc.).

Mobile and Desktop Compatibility

E*TRADE’s website can be accessed on your desktop computer and the mobile app can be used on multiple devices including iOS and Android:

• E*TRADE Web: This avenue is best for newer traders who want to access the best educational content and for passive traders who are looking for quotes and portfolio analysis.
• E*TRADE Mobile App: The main advantage of using the mobile app is its watchlist integration, a feature that’s not available on the website. In all other respects, the mobile app has the same features as the E*TRADE website.
• Power E*TRADE App: This is the next level up for anyone using the E*TRADE mobile app as this version directly mirrors the functionality of the E*TRADE website.
• Power E*TRADE: A more advanced version of the E*TRADE website, Power E*TRADE offers more sophisticated features like screening capabilities, technical analysis, and drawing tools.

Options Trading Tools

Let’s take a look at the trading tools that come with Charles Schwab and E*TRADE. As established before, E*TRADE is much better for advanced traders due to their more advanced trading tools. While both of these platforms offer robust tools and systems for their customers, you’ll tend to find the most sophisticated (and often harder to learn) features when using the E*TRADE app.

Charles Schwab

This platform comes with a wide range of options-specific features like strategy builders and profit-loss calculators as well as some unique charting tools or technical analysis aids for options.

• Schwab Network: Discover interpretations of market news and data-driven analysis using the Schwab Network—these tools can be accessed through live-streaming shows and on-demand clips.
• Streaming Market Data: Access real-time market data through watchlists or during trade ticket preparation.
• Conditional Orders: Use this tool to set the terms and conditions on the entry and exit points of any trade. They’re good for automating risk management decisions and streamlining profit-taking strategies.
• Watchlists: Save as many as 50 watchlists and view up to 300 symbols on each of them.
• Trading Hours: Trade securities 24 hours a day and 5 days a week.
• Access to thinkorswim: Charles Schwab offers charting, technical indicators, drawing tools, analysis tools, and in-depth studies. PaperMoney is another major part of thinkorswim—it’s a virtual trading environment where traders can practice strategies before using their own money.
• All-in-One Trade Ticket: Build orders for a wide range of products and enter them into your portfolio. Conduct options strategies and equity trades in one single window. Traders can simultaneously add as many as eight stocks or ETFs in a single ticket.

E*TRADE

E*TRADE has some great features for options analysis, including the Options Strategy Lab, plus there are some good charting tools, algorithmic options trading capabilities, and research tools.

• Research Material: Enjoy stock screeners and analyst research to inform your trading and investment picks.
• Excellent Trading: Execute online trades through commission-free U.S. stocks, options, ETFs, and mutual funds.
• Market Data: Use the E-Trade app to get live market commentary, free market data streaming, and real-time quotes.
• Automated Investment Management: Automated technology and the E-Trade team manage your core portfolios.
• Retirement (IRAs): Develop a retirement plan with no annual fees using the free tools and guidance that E-Trade provides for those who want to open an IRA.
• Developer Platform: E-Trade customers can manage trading, review account information, authenticate customers, and retrieve price information.
• Watch Lists: Develop a watch list from the E-Trade dashboard to monitor stocks, options, and ETFs.
• Two Mobile Apps Available: The regular E-Trade app provides charts, streaming quotes, portfolio information, research, education, tools, and screeners. The Power E-Trade Advanced Trading app is geared toward stocks, options, futures, and ETFs, where traders can employ anything from basic to advanced strategies.

Fees and Commissions

How much does it take for traders and investors to use these platforms? We’ll discuss the fees and commissions that come with operating an account with Charles Schwab or E*TRADE below. You can get an idea of how much operational overhead you’ll incur that comes off the top of any profits you make trading with these platforms.

Options Trading Fees

Check out our comprehensive comparison of per-contract fees for each platform. The general rule of thumb here is that Charles Schwab is better for low-to-moderate-volume traders, while E*TRADE is much more suited for high-volume traders. Charles Schwab has a much better price structure that makes for a more cost-effective experience for the trader. E*TRADE comes with more advanced features and it comes at a higher cost.

Charles Schwab Fees

• Listed Stocks and ETFs: $0 online commission
• Options: $0 online based commission + $0.65 per contract fee
• Exercised and Assigned Options: $0 online commission
• US Over-the-Counter Equities: $6.95
• Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource: $0
• All Other Mutual Funds: up to $74.95 per purchase
• Futures: $2.25 per contract
• Futures Options: $2.25 per contract
• Forex: $0 online commission (trade costs seen in the bid/ask spread)
• New Issues (Including CDs): Selling concession is in the offering price
• Foreign Stock Transactions (US OTC Market): $50 foreign exchange fee
• Treasuries: $0
• Other Secondary Trades: $1 per bond, $10 minimum, and $250 maximum
• Preferred Listed Stocks and REITs: $0

E*TRADE Fees

• Minimum Balance: $0.00
• Cost Per Stock Trade: $0.00
• Cost Per Options Trade: $0.65 per contract or $0.50 per contract with 30+ trades per quarter
• Commission-Free ETFs: All
• Non-Transaction-Fee Mutual Funds: 6,000+ NTF mutual funds
• Account Fees: $75 for full transfers
• $1 per bond ($10 minimum and $250 maximum)
• $25 per broker-assisted trade and commission-free Treasury trading
• $6.95 commission on over-the-counter stock trades
• $4.95 commission on OTC stock trades if you make 30 or more trades per quarter
• $1.50 per fixed futures contract
• $2.50 per cryptocurrency futures contract
• The margin rate for less than $10,000 is 11.95%
• The margin rate for $250,000-499,999 is 9.95%

Account Fees and Miscellaneous Charges

Neither Charles Schwab nor E*TRADE have inactivity fees, withdrawal fees, or account management costs. The one exception to this is that E*TRADE has some transactions that might cost more than the basic withdrawal fee of $0.

Discounts for High-Volume Traders

Charles Schwab offers some special pricing and handling for large block transactions (orders of 10,000 shares or more), specifically for traders who are using the Pro Plan. Taking advantage of the Pro Plan’s tiered pricing, high-volume traders can enjoy discounts on per-contract options trading.

E*TRADE also offers discounts for high-volume and active traders. The standard price for contracts on E*TRADE is $0.65, but high-volume traders get a discount of $0.50 per contract as long as they are making at least 30 traders per quarter (ETFs, stocks, or options).

Market Access

What kind of markets do Charles Schwab and E*TRADE cover and will their offerings work for you? Let’s dive into the market access for these platforms to learn if they have the trading and investment opportunities that you’re interested in dealing with.

Charles Schwab

• US Stocks: Not only can you trade stocks on listed US exchanges, but you can also trade over-the-counter stocks.
• International Stocks: Trade foreign ordinaries, Canadian stocks, and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).
• REITs: Invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts and other non-traditional investments.
• Mutual Funds: Another significant investment opportunity at Charles Schwab is being able to invest in mutual funds with concentrations in international holdings.
• ETFs: Trade internationally invested exchange-traded funds online.
• Cryptos: Although they’re highly speculative and carry a higher level of risk, crypto trading is offered at Charles Schwab including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

E*TRADE

• Stocks, Mutual Funds, and ETFs: Traders and investors at E*TRADE can buy and sell these securities on the platform.
• Futures: Invest in futures markets like energy, interest rates, gains, livestock, equity index, currency, and cryptos.
• Options or Bonds: Trade stock options and bonds at E*TRADE as well.
• Bitcoin ETFs: Although direct crypto investing isn’t offered at E*TRADE, the platform offers information on Bitcoin ETFs as well as the benefits/risks and how to invest.

Educational Resources and Support

The market’s best trading platforms come with top-notch support for their customers as well as educational resources that can help traders learn about strategies and other concepts regardless of their skill level or expertise. Charles Schwab and E*TRADE are no exception! This section of our comparison guide will talk about how investors and traders can enhance their current skills and get support when needed on these two platforms.

Charles Schwab

Educational Resources

• Charles Schwab Asset Management: Access the fee impact simulator, use the fund explorer, and take advantage of the construction framework.
• US Investing Education Center: Read articles and other relevant content on subjects like how to pick stocks, apply investment skills correctly, and portfolio diversification/management.
• Learn to Trade: The PaperMoney tools are there for newer traders who want to gain virtual trading practice without risking their own money.
• Market News: Traders can get reports on market news and how it will affect options trading prospects.
• Schwab MoneyWise: Through “MoneySkill,” there are complimentary courses for middle school, high school, or college students that focus on personal finance.
• Schwab MoneyWise: With “Take Charge Today,” traders can enjoy a free course that teaches finance and economics to families with children in grades 7 to 12.
• Schwab MoneyWise: “Money Math: Lessons for Life” is a great course that uses examples in the real world to teach math concepts to investors and traders.

Customer Support

• Live Chat Available: Yes
• General Phone Number: 877-519-1403
• Brokerage Services: 800-435-4000
• Banking and Mortgage: 888-403-9000
• Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: 855-694-5208
• Trading Services: 888-245-6864
• IRA: 877-229-2884
• Retirement for Small Business: 877-243-9274
• Workplace Retirement: 800-724-7526

E*TRADE

Educational Resources

• Market News: Access various articles to gain insights into investing, trading, and retirement planning. Learn the core tenets of how everything works at E*TRADE.
• Investing Basics: Find investing ideas, tutorials on placing a stock trade, and information on risk tolerance under this section.
• Thematic Investing: This is a great resource to teach traders how to deal with companies, entities, and organizations that share their values, principles, and beliefs.
• Advanced Trading: Use the market dashboard to get a recap of the previous week every Monday. Use the “Monthly Sector Rotation” to view how investors moved in and out of the S&P 500 sectors monthly. You can also see a comprehensive FAQ list under “Trading In-Depth” to learn more about options, stocks, futures, and margin accounts offered at E*TRADE.
• Morgan Stanley Thought Leadership: Traders can form actionable insights by accessing key market insights and updates. It’s the best place to learn investing essentials.
• Events: Take advantage of E*TRADE’s live and on-demand educational events. Traders can also enjoy online investing and trading webinars.
• Life Stages: Investors can use this educational tool to gain insights about saving for significant life events like education, retirement, family finances, or elder care. It’s found under the “Knowledge” menu.
• Retirement Planning: Use the compounding interest tool, which allows you to establish a timeline and adjust your rate of return for your retirement. Traders can use the FAQ menu to get tips and tricks on how to successfully save.
• Tax Planning: Learn about capital gains and how investments are taxed. Access resources for dealing with child tax credits, personal exemption, standard deduction, and deductions for home ownership.

Customer Support

• Phone Numbers:
• • E-Trade from Morgan Stanley or Morgan Stanley Private Bank: 800-387-2331
  • Morgan Stanley at Work Stock Plan Account: 800-383-0908 (12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday)
  • Designated Brokerage: 855-432-6834 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday)
• Regular Mail:
• • For Bank: Morgan Stanley Private Bank
  • For Brokerage: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley
    PO Box 484
    Jersey City, NJ
    07303-0484
• Overnight Mail
• • For Bank: Morgan Stanley Private Bank
  • For Brokerage: E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley
    Harborside 2
    200 Hudson Street, Suite 501
    Jersey City, NJ
    07311-1113

Trading Experience and User Reviews

Not only have we tested both of these trading apps and websites, but we took the time to consult some review sites to see how the public feels toward these platforms.

Trader Sentiment Toward Ease of Use

We looked over customer review sites like SiteJabber and Trustpilot to get a good summary of customer reviews with specific insights into options trading. As you’ll see, there are good and bad reviews for each, so we included a mix to give you an idea of the experiences that traders have had in the past using these services.

The general consensus we’ve seen online from firsthand users is that E*TRADE is easier to use than Charles Schwab, even though E*TRADE is more suited for advanced traders and has many more advanced features that are more difficult to learn. This speaks to the setup and design of the E*TRADE app compared to Charles Schwab. It might have more sophisticated features with a higher learning curve, but using the site or the mobile app itself is much easier due to its intuitive design.

Charles Schwab User Feedback

Trustpilot Review—Dated November 5, 2024

“I love this bank! No fees for having an account, free ATM withdrawals, full refunds for ATM withdrawals outside the US, and an easy-to-use mobile app. Zelle is also great because I can receive donations from others who are associated with different banks. Their customer service is awesome. Of the 4 or 5 times I’ve had to call them for an issue, whether it was for a user interface problem or an unauthorized purchase, they have been wonderful and were eager to help me solve the issue (and got it solved right there and then).”

–Kathryn Cedeno

Trustpilot Review—Dated December 13, 2024

“This is my latest interaction with the CS web platform. Over the past four years, I have had nothing but headaches dealing with issue after issue that other investment platforms I utilize provide in just a few clicks. The latest one was the fact that the platform will not provide consolidated accounts statements. That’s asinine! Rather they suggest that I download each account statement individually and collate in .pdf.”

–Alex

SiteJabber Review—Dated May 18, 2023

“Avoid Schwab at all cost. They are the most crooked brokers and bankers in the industry. They do not have the client’s best interest and only enrich themselves. They block access to your money and fail to make timely trades or distributions. They lure you in with phony IPO’s that immediately lose half their value and never recover. Stay away!”

–Ron R.

E*TRADE User Feedback

Trustpilot Review—Dated January 16, 2024

“E*Trade has gone downhill since Morgan Stanley took them over as they are using E*Trade as a cash cow. Customer Service is bad and takes a long time to respond. They used to offer very good sweep options into Money Market accounts – now all cash balances yield 0.1% and there are no direct sweeps into Money Market available anymore. The trading software is quite good and executions fast, however I do not feel valued as a client and will consider my options in the future.”

–EFJ

Trustpilot Review—Dated September 5, 2024

“Had log in issues and Nick helped me today by providing access. I hung up at the end by accident so if someone from the company reads it, please tell him how helpful and professional he was.”

–Kathrin

SiteJabber Review—Dated October 10, 2023

“Great platform for trading. Very straightforward and not at all scammy like a lot of trading sites can be. Test test test.”

–Traci G.

SiteJabber Review—Dated December 13, 2024

“My Roth IRA account has been restricted since 2019. This whole year, I have been trying to either get it unrestricted or transfer my money out. It is ridiculous that this issue is still unresolved. It is worth filing a complaint with FINRA, moving my accounts elsewhere, and passing along knowledge of this long-running issue to others so they can be aware.”

–Tamara L.

Community and Resources

There is currently no dedicated forum section on the Charles Schwab website or mobile app. However, Charles Schwab is highly active on their social media platforms which provides an avenue for traders and investors to share ideas or ask questions about the Charles Schwab trading platform.

E*TRADE differs greatly from Charles Schwab in this area. Because their emphasis is on investment research tools, E*TRADE doesn’t have any elements of community interaction, though there are ways to contact the support center for individual inquiries (phone, live chat, or email).

Pros and Cons Summary

If you’re interested in knowing the best and worst parts of these two online options trading apps, look no further than our helpful pros and cons list where we lay everything out to bear. Particularly, E*TRADE tends to have about the same number of pros and cons, but you have to check out the platform for yourself and read the review to correctly determine if it’s right for you.

Charles Schwab Pros and Cons

Pros

• Commission-free stocks, options, and ETFs
• Extensive research tools
• Large selection of funds
• $0 account minimum (appeal to beginners)
• $0 commission for stock and exchange-traded funds (appeal to advanced traders)
• Access to the thinkorswim trading platform
• $0.65 per options contract
• CS offers many account types, including individual, joint, education savings, SEP IRAs, solo 401(k)s, and more
• 7,700 funds available
• Around-the-clock support via phone and live chat

Cons

• Clunky user interface
• Low interest rate on uninvested cash
• Smaller choice of fractional shares
• Fractional shares require a $5 minimum
• Transfer out fees

Interactive Brokers

Pros

• Best mobile app for online investors and traders
• Low trading fees on stock and ETF trading
• Pays interest on uninvested cash
• Prebuilt and automated portfolio options
• Plenty of educational content
• Good range of tools and resources
• Strong customer service
• Options trading for Levels 1-4
• Options and futures specialists are available
• Transparent pricing
• Extensive bond trading

Cons

• No international trading exchange/No forex
• Low interest on uninvested cash
• No direct crypto investing
• No fractional shares
• Only bank transfers are available
• The website can be challenging to navigate
• No live chat
• Margin rates are higher than other platforms
• The Android mobile app isn’t the best

Who Should Choose Which Broker?

So, which broker should you choose? We’ve provided a quick answer to that question here where we outline and highlight what kind of customers these trading apps best cater to. We hope that you can find out if Charles Schwab or E*TRADE is the better pick of the two.

Charles Schwab

This trading platform is best for newer traders and those with some baseline or intermediate experience with online trading. Charles Schwab is also notable for being a good option for traders who want to prioritize customization and access advanced tools for continual learning and improvement in their trading routine.

E*TRADE

E*TRADE is best for traders focused on low-cost trades and global market access. It’s also well-designed for the following kind of traders and investors:

• Gain access to financial consulting
• You’re interested in active trading
• Enjoy no-transaction-fee mutual funds
• Experience a robust trading platform that’s easy to use
• Gain access to research and educational materials
• Experience extensive bond trading

Summary of Charles Schwab vs. E*TRADE

So, which trading app is best for your trading goals and objectives? We’ve outlined a summary of the key differences between these platforms to give you a clear idea of what kind of trading and investing each caters to—this is a great summation of the entire comparison guide!

Summary of Key Differences

• Although Charles Schwab and E*TRADE offer options, mutual funds, bonds, and ETFs, E*TRADE doesn’t offer fractional shares and Charles Schwab has a smaller selection of investments compared to other online brokers.
• E*TRADE has much more advanced charting and analysis tools when compared to Charles Schwab.
• E*TRADE is much better for advanced traders, while Charles Schwab is more suited for beginners or those with intermediate knowledge or experience.
• Despite the more advanced tools and systems, E*TRADE is more intuitive from a design standpoint than Charles Schwab.
• Charles Schwab has a better price structure making it more price effective than E*TRADE.

Final Recommendation

Budget-conscious traders, new traders, and traders with some decent (but not advanced) experience will enjoy Charles Schwab for its easier-to-use trading tools and its price structure that’s better suited to traders with limited resources. Advanced traders who are looking for the most advanced analysis and charting tools will enjoy E*TRADE better.

If you enjoyed this side by side matchup be sure to check out our other trading platform comparisons.