Robinhood vs. Charles Schwab

You’re looking for a new trading platform to help you meet your trading goals, and you’ve narrowed your choices down to Robinhood and Charles Schwab. While these two trading apps have quite a bit in common, they also have some significant differences, which are worth pointing out. We’ve put together this comparison guide to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each trading platform and what kind of trading goals each is best suited for.

Right up front, it’s worth noting that, generally speaking, Robinhood has a greater appeal with newer traders or traders who are more passive in their approach, opting for guided help from the app in their trading decisions. Charles Schwab has an appeal with newer investors due to its educational tools and user-friendly design, but it’s more suited for intermediate or advanced traders.

Audience Relevance

Robinhood and Charles Schwab can be used by newer investors and traders, while Charles Schwab does have an appeal with traders who have considerable experience. This comparison guide between the two platforms is relevant to beginners, intermediate traders, and active traders considered more advanced or sophisticated in their trading approach.

Broker Overview | Robinhood vs. Charles Schwab

Before getting into the fine details of Robinhood and Charles Schwab, let’s start our comparison by covering a brief history of each platform, some of the key advantages of using each, and the intended customer who stands to gain the most from using the platform.

Robinhood Summary

Brief History

Founded in 2013 by roommates Vladimir Tenec and Baju Bhatt, Robinhood was created and launched in an attempt to deliver options trading to the average American person with no commissions. Over ten years later, Robinhood is seen as a trailblazer due to it being the first platform in the online trading sphere (at the time) to offer this kind of trading for the everyday person. As a result, many other competitors began to push commission-free options and EFTs in the mid-2010s. Today, it’s an industry standard for online options trading apps to offer commission-free stocks, ETFs, etc.

Target Audience

The ideal investor for Robinhood is someone who is looking for minimal commissions or fees in their trading experience. After testing the app for a few weeks and reviewing user feedback, we discovered it’s a popular choice with passive investors who want to get into investing or trading, but with a lot of guidance and oversight from the platform. It’s not a great choice for traders looking for the intense experience that more advanced traders are looking for.

Key Strengths

• Commission-free stocks, options, and ETFs
• Easy to learn and use for investments/trades
• Fractional share trading is available
• No account minimum
• No monthly fee
• High interest rate on uninvested cash
• IRA with 1% match
• Solid cash management
• Use cryptocurrencies
• Access deposited cash instantly
• Streamlined user interface
• Recurring investment functionality

Thinking about Robinhood? Our detailed review walks you through its features, perks, and why active traders love its powerful tools.

Charles Schwab Summary

Brief History

The history of Charles Schwab goes back to 1971 when it was founded by Thomas Peterfy, a guru in the trading and investment world. Over fifty years, Charles Schwab has evolved into a great low-cost and accessible trading app for new and advanced traders alike. It has a competitive cost structure and features fast order execution. In addition to its trading tools, Schwab has Thinkorswim trading tools that were acquired in 2020 when they purchased TD Ameritrade for $26 billion.

Target Audience

Newer traders can gain some experience using Charles Schwab due to their top-notch educational tools and lower fees, but the platform is largely geared toward advanced traders with plenty of experience who need the instruments and trading tools needed to pull off successful active trading sessions. Experienced traders, however, can benefit greatly from the lower fees and commissions, especially if they find themselves short of capital but would still like to actively trade.

Key Strengths

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

Explore our complete Charles Schwab review, showcasing its best features, trading advantages, and platform tools for modern investors.

Account Types and Minimums

What kind of accounts can you use when trading with Robinhood or Charles Schwab? Keep reading to learn about the account types available and any minimum balance requirements that need to be maintained to keep them open. Schwab offers a wider range of accounts to investors and has fewer minimum requirements to keep them open, making them the clear winner in this comparison category.

Robinhood Account Types

Types of Accounts

• Cash Accounts: Before buying or selling securities, traders can fund these cash accounts with their own money. There’s no minimum requirement to begin investing or trading. The cash from stock sales has a two-day waiting period, and the money generated from option sales has a one-day waiting period.
• IRA Accounts: Limited margin and cash IRA accounts are both available on the Robinhood app. Traders cannot borrow against the value of their IRA holdings or create a debit balance, but they can trade unsettled funds from their stock sales and options.
• Margin Accounts: Robinhood margin accounts have a $2,000 minimum to open, and they allow traders to borrow money to purchase securities. Traders must pay interest on the money borrowed, which includes a 12% rate for regular members and an 8% rate for Gold members.

Minimum Balance Requirements

The minimum balance requirement depends on what kind of account you have open at Robinhood. Check out how much money must be in these accounts to keep them open on the app:

• Margin Accounts: Maintain a minimum balance of $2,000
• Instant Deposits (Basic Account): Primary accounts must maintain a minimum balance of $1,000
• Instant Deposits (Robinhood Gold): Maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 for a portfolio value of $50,000, a minimum balance of $25,000 for a portfolio value of $25,000, a minimum balance of $10,000 for a portfolio value of $10,000, and a minimum balance of $5,000 if a portfolio value is under $10,000

Charles Schwab Account Types

Types of Accounts

• Brokerage Accounts: There are the standard trading accounts found at Charles Schwab and they come in three flavors—individual (single owner), joint (two owners), and taxable accounts. Each one offers great opportunities for traders or investors to buy and sell securities such as options, bonds, stocks, and ETFs.
• Cash Investments: Charles Schwab traders can use cash investments to trade within money market funds, sweeps, and CDs.
• Checking and Savings Accounts: These FDIC-insured accounts offered at Schwab come with overdraft protection, interest, and no deposit limits.
• Custodial Accounts: Designed for education or college savings, traders or investors can use theseSchwab One Custodial Accounts to set aside money for future schooling needs.
• Donor-Advised Funds: Schwab users can use the donor-advised funds for charitable giving.
• Retirement Accounts: Investors can access traditional IRAs, rollover IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP-IRAs, inherited IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs using the Schwab platform.
• Trust Accounts: Schwab One estate accounts can be used by traders to manage and distribute an estate’s assets. On the other hand, trust accounts can be used to effectively manage and protect assets after a death in the family.

Minimum Balance Requirements

By comparison, Schwab doesn’t have nearly the amount of minimum balance requirements that you would find at Robinhood. They include the following:

• Schwab Advisor Network: $500,000 minimum balance
• Schwab Managed Portfolios: $25,000 minimum balance

Trading Platform Features

Now, let’s look at the platform features that come with the trading experience at Robinhood and Charles Schwab. Between the two, Robinhood has the most user-friendly and intuitive design, though Schwab does a decent job in this arena as well even though it’s more suited for intermediate or advanced users. We’d say a fair comparison is that each trading app is well-suited proportionally to the type of trader or investor that it’s designed for.

Robinhood Platform

Interface and User Experience

Designed as a trading app for newcomers to options trading, Robinhood is best for newbies who want to learn the basic ins and outs of options trading and other securities like stocks, bonds, or exchange-traded funds. The design of the user interface is straightforward and more user-friendly than the average trading app, which makes for intuitive, more manageable trading sessions.

Look no further than the Robinhood stock screeners. Traders can find the stocks or ETFs they want to trade quickly using more than 20 unique filters. Charting tools are a great, easy-to-navigate feature of Robinhood where users can enjoy accessing moving averages, relative strength index (RSI), and moving average convergence divergence (MACD) to inform their trading decisions.

Customization Options

• Choose timeframe selection (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
• Drawing tools like horizontal and trend lines
• Select chart types like candlestick or line
• Choose color themes
• Adjust the size or placement of different screen elements
• Watchlist custom—add specific stocks or ETFs
• Choose technical indicators (moving averages, relative strength index, Bollinger Bands, etc.)

Mobile and Desktop Compatibility

The Robinhood mobile app is available at the App Store and Google Play. It can be used on a number of iOS and Android devices including smartphones, tablets, and others. However, downloading the app isn’t needed on mobile as traders can still use Robinhood by visiting the website using their web browser.

Charles Schwab Platform

Interface and User Experience

The Schwab website and mobile app have a clear layout, simplified menus for optimum user-friendliness, and easy-to-use functions. The same goes for the Thinkroswim tools. Traders using the mobile app can view all the relevant information for great trading sessions like research ratings, balances, news, charts, and quote summaries. Another terrific element of the user experience is being able to tailor your watchlists for customized strategies and design a personalized column layout that works best for your trading sessions.

Customization Options

Charles Schwab comes with plenty of customization options where traders can choose how they want their user interface to look. They include the following:

• Balances: Displays basic balance information for your account (buying power, change in value, margin available, etc.).
• Indices: Display a customizable indices list and the price in the software title bar. This also includes the change from close and the percentage change from close for each.
• Order Status: View the status of your open orders.
• Quick Quotes: Provides access to Level I quotes for stocks, options, and indices.
• Quick Trade: Allows you to quickly enter a stock or option trade in StreetSmart.com without going through the Trade tabs.

Mobile and Desktop Compatibility

You can download the Schwab mobile app for free from Google Play or the App Store, but you can also visit the website using your mobile device if you prefer not to use the mobile app. A fun fact about the Charles Schwab app is that it was awarded the Best Investing Platform Overall in 2024 by the U.S. News. Like Robinhood. Another option is visiting the Schwab website from a home computer, which offers the best overall experience minus the disadvantage of not being able to take it on the go.

The desktop trading experience and the on-the-go trading sessions you can enjoy from your smartphone or tablet are relatively the same from a functional standpoint. You don’t experience many differences between the two formats aside from some minor menu configurations that are better suited for the smaller screens of mobile devices.

Options Trading Tools

Comparing trading tools at Robinhood and Charles Schwab is like comparing apples and oranges because they are designed with two different kinds of traders in mind. Overall, Charles Schwab has the best trading features, but that’s only because they are suited to trading professionals versus novice traders. We’ve included a rundown of the top trading tools you’ll find with both trading platforms below.

Robinhood

• Commission-Free Trading: You don’t have to pay commissions at Robinhood when trading stocks, options, cryptos, ETFs, and other securities, much like you can with other investment platforms.
• Early Pay: Get paid up to two days early with direct deposit.
• Stock Screeners: Use these helpful search tools to find stocks or ETFs. They come with more than 20 unique filters.
• Automated Investing: Get your portfolio automatically managed by Robinhood based on your risk tolerance, financial situation, and goals.
• Charting Tools: Access tools and resources like moving averages, relative strength index (RSI), and moving average convergence divergence (MACD).
• Fractional Shares: If you’re an investor with a smaller amount of capital, you can buy stock based on the amount you want to invest, versus being limited to whole shares.
• Robinhood Gold: Investors can enjoy 5% on uninvested cash, bigger instant deposits, and margin investing at a better interest rate by trading at this upgraded level of Robinhood.
• Trade Cryptocurrencies: Access cryptos like Bitcoin, USD Coin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and others.

Charles Schwab

• All-in-One Trade Ticket: Use a single trading window to conduct options strategies or equity trades. Build orders and enter them into your portfolio, plus add as many as eight stocks or ETFs using this convenient ticket feature.
• Conditional Orders: Use these orders to set the terms and conditions on the entry and exit points for all trades. Use them to automate risk management and make streamlined profit-taking strategies.
• Schwab Network: Get data-driven analysis and market news interpretations by accessing the Schwab network through live-streaming shows and on-demand clips.
• Streaming Market Data: View real-time market data through watchlists and during trade ticket preparation.
• Thinkorswim Products and Tools: Access Thinkorswim’s drawing and charting tools. They also offer some great technical indicators, analysis tools, and some in-depth studies. Another notable feature is PaperMoney, a virtual trading environment for practicing strategies.
• Trading Hours: Trade securities 24 hours a day and 5 days a week.
• Watchlists: Keep an eye on the securities you’d like to buy or sell during your trading sessions by saving as many as 50 watchlists and viewing up to 300 symbols on each.

Fees and Commissions

While Robinhood and Charles Schwab have commission-free stock and ETF trading, Robinhood is the platform that has the lower fees of the two choices. For instance, Robinhood charges $0 per option contract, while Charles Schwab charges $0.65 per option contract. If you’re looking for lower operation costs when it comes to fees and commissions, we’d recommend Robinhood over Charles Schwab. This is another reason why Robinhood is so much better for newer traders than Schwab.

Options Trading Fees

Robinhood Fees

Commission Structure

Commission Structure

• Returned Check: $25
• IRA Rollover: $25
• Outgoing Wire Transfer: $25
• Instant Bank Transfer: Up to 1.75%
• Paper Statements (Monthly): $2
• Paper Trade Confirmations: $2

Withdrawal Fees

• 1.75% fee on transfers from the Robinhood account to a bank account or an outside debit card
• Minimum fee up to $2

Crypto Fees

• Robinhood doesn’t charge for crypto transfers
• They don’t charge a commission for trading cryptos on the app
• Use the Robinhood Connect tool to transfer cryptos to wallets for a fee of 0.5% to 1.5%
• Crypto miners and validators charge network fees for processing blockchain transitions (Robinhood passes these charges along without collecting a portion)

“Hidden” Fees

• $8 per $1 million of principal sells only, rounded to the nearest penny (regulatory fee)
• $0.01 per options contract for buys and sells (options regulatory fee)
• $0.02 per options contract for buys and sells up to 2,750 contracts (OCC clearing fee)
• $55 flat rate per trade on trades with over 2,750 contracts
• $0.000166 per share for equity sells and $0.00279 per option sell contract, rounded to the near penny and no greater than $8.30 (trading activity fee)

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

Account Fees and Miscellaneous Charges

Schwab only charges the fee for options contract, but they don’t deal with account management costs or activity/withdrawal fees. Robinhood doesn’t have inactivity fees or account management costs, but they do have some withdrawal fees:

• External Debit Card Account Withdrawals—A fee of 1.75% is charged by Robinhood with these kinds of withdrawals.
• ATM Withdrawals—In-network and out-of-network ATM withdrawals have a fee of $2.50. Robinhood refunds ATM withdrawal fees if there are direct deposits of $300 or more within 24 days before the withdrawal.

Discounts for High-Volume Traders

There aren’t any tiered pricing structures at Robinhood for active traders, and you won’t find any discounts for high-volume traders. Due to Robinhood being designed for commission-free trading on options, stocks, and ETFs, regardless of how much volume the investor is doing, you won’t find any such discounts.

The Charles Schwab Pro Plan offers special pricing and handling for large block transactions (orders of 10,000 shares or more). These high-volume traders or investors can enjoy discounts on per-contract options trading through the Pro Plan and its tiered pricing structure.

Market Access

Charles Schwab is definitely the winner when it comes to the number of markets they offer access to their users. Advanced investors and traders can enjoy a larger array of investment vehicles and securities at Schwab compared to Robinhood, which is more suited to beginners and novice traders.

Robinhood

• American Depositary Receipts: Robinhood offers an impressive 650 global stocks through American Depository Receipts (ADRs).
• Cryptos: Commission-free trading on cryptos, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, is available at Robinhood.
• Stocks and ETFs: Buy and sell US stocks and exchange-traded funds on Robinhood that are listed on US exchanges.
• Stock Options: Access options contracts on stocks and ETFs on US exchanges using the Robinhood platform.

Charles Schwab

• Cryptos: Just like Robinhood, Schwab offers crypto trading on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a few other decentralized assets. It’s a speculative form of trading and carries a higher level of risk compared to either trading vehicles available.
• ETFs: Schwab traders can access internationally invested exchange-traded funds.
• International Stocks: Charles Schwab offers traders plenty of international investment opportunities, including American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Canadian stocks, and foreign ordinaries.
• Mutual Funds: An interesting offering from Schwab, traders can invest in mutual funds with concentrations in international holdings.
• REITs: Invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts and other non-traditional investments.
• US Stocks: Trade stocks on listed US exchanges and over-the-counter stocks.

Educational Resources and Support

Both trading apps are relatively evenly matched when it comes to educational/learning tools and customer service options, but we’ll have to give the slight edge to Charles Schwab, and that’s only because they are designed for more experienced investors, so they naturally have higher-end education tools at their disposal. Each is proportionally substantial for the specific customer base that each platform serves.

Concerning customer service options, Schwab offers many more ways for customers to reach them, including multiple phone lines.

Robinhood

Educational Resources

• Wall Street Journal market coverage
• Videos from Reuters, Cheddar, and CNBC Business
• Robinhood video content
• News from Reuters and Barron’s
• Three-minute newsletter posted daily called Robinhood Snacks
• The Robinhood podcast

Customer Service

• Phone Number: +1 (650) 761-7789
• 24/7 Live Chat
• FAQ Menus (for troubleshooting)

Charles Schwab

Educational Resources

• Schwab MoneyWise: “Take Charge Today” is a free course that teaches finance and economics to families with children in grades 7 to 12, “MoneySkill” is a complimentary course for middle school, high school, or college students that focuses on personal finance, and “Money Math: Lessons for Life” is a course that uses real-world examples to teach math concepts to investors and traders.
• Learn to Trade: PaperMoney is Schwab’s answer to paper trading simulators, and this tool lets traders from all skill levels practice using virtual trading without risking their own money.
• Charles Schwab Asset Management: There are a few different educational resources found under this section of the website/mobile app, including the fee impact simulator, the fund explorer, and the construction framework.
• US Investing Education Center: Access learning materials on how to pick stocks, apply investment skills correctly, and portfolio diversification/management.
• Market News: This tool lets traders and investors get reports on market news and how it will affect options trading portfolios.

Customer Service

• 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

Trading Experience and User Reviews

Another significant part of our analysis of Robinhood and Charles Schwab was looking through reviews online from current and former users. Not only did we take the time to test out each app ourselves, but we also wanted to consult these firsthand experiences to compensate for any blind spots we might have had in our overall analysis. We looked at review sites like SiteJabber and Trustpilot to get a mix of good and bad reviews for firsthand users.

Trader Sentiment

To give you an honest look at Robinhood and Charles Schwab, we looked at positive and negative reviews. There’s no sense in trying to build up or tear down these platforms. We simply present the good and bad feedback and let you decide if these trading apps are worth the time and effort.

Robinhood User Feedback

Trustpilot Review—Dated December 13, 2023

“I have nothing bad to say about my experience with Robinhood. In fact, I absolutely love it. It is always easy for me to make any transactions on Robinhood. Whether it is buying stock or transferring funds, everything happens quickly. I am a very hard to please consumer. But Robinhood has exceeded my expectations. I have never had difficulty in contacting customer service. Maybe I’m just lucky. But I have transferred all my holdings to Robinhood, and I have been very glad that I did. Highly recommend.”

–David Oakes

Trustpilot Review—Dated December 23, 2023

“I love trading crypto n stocks on Hood. I e had lots winning. Lots of luck on the site. I love the technology. The graphs and quotes is very detailed and help me makes decisions. Some other brokers don’t have good charts, slow tech. Great service, I was called several times after I emailed. Doing very well very happy. I def recommend you to try it. It’s fun n relaxing , some other brokers make trading service seems like neck choking unnecessary.”

–Ocean

Trustpilot Review—Dated December 27, 2024

“Problem with account being restricted because I tried to transfer too much money at one time back into my bank account. Alloweed only $1000 per day and I did not pay due dilligence, they restricted account and when I tried to contact them they said they would call me. No phone call and still waiting on acciount to be back to normal but nothing yet, they have my money and will not allow me to do anything with it for several days now. I am losing money and losing patience with this company and would not recommend them to anyone.”

–Jackie Rickhart

Charles Schwab User Feedback

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.

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

Community and Resources

Traders won’t find a dedicated chat feature or a built-in forum or dedicated chat feature. Despite the limited community features, Robinhood offers its users a robust referral program (current members get rewarded when their family or friends sign up). All successful referrals get members a gift stock, free of charge from Robinhood.

Charles Schwab lacks a dedicated community forum, but traders can use Schwab’s social media platforms to reach the customer service center when they need assistance. These spaces are great for traders to share ideas or ask questions about trading or Schwab in general.

Pros and Cons Summary

At the end of the day, what are the best advantages to joining Robinhood or Charles Schwab, and what are some good reasons to look elsewhere? You can get the answers to these questions or concerns by looking through the pros and cons of each platform below. While there are more reasons to love these trading apps than hate them, there are certainly some valid reasons to look into other choices. Learn what these apps do well and the places where they could improve in the long run.

Robinhood

Pros

• Commission-free stocks, options, and ETFs
• Easy to learn and use for investments/trades
• Fractional share trading is available
• No account minimum
• No monthly fee
• High interest rate on uninvested cash
• IRA with 1% match
• Solid cash management
• Use cryptocurrencies
• Access deposited cash instantly
• Streamlined user interface
• Recurring investment functionality

Cons

• Accepts payment for order flow
• Active trading is encouraged with the app’s design
• Customer service options are limited
• Delayed price quotes
• Limited asset type
• No mutual funds or bonds
• Traders won’t find many research or educational tools

Charles Schwab

Pros

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

Cons

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

Who Should Choose Which Broker?

If you have little experience with options trading or if you’re a more passive trader who’s looking for guidance and oversight, Robinhood is a terrific commission-free trading app for such traders or investors. Low operational costs are the name of the game with Robinhood, as there are low fees and commissions to use the app. The website and mobile app have a user-friendly, intuitive design offering investors a low learning curve. It’s the perfect starter investment app for newbies.

Charles Schwab is better for more advanced trading, though several features work well for newer traders or investors, like the educational content, minimal fees, and user-friendly interface. With Schwab, you’re getting better market access, a wider array of trading tools, and better choices in account types. It’s a better trading app for intermediate and advanced traders, despite the appealing features that could cater to beginners.

Summary of Key Differences

For a quick recap of the key differences between Robinhood and Schwab in each category, we’ve included the bullet points below to give you a clear idea:

• Account Types and Minimums: Schwab offers a wider range of accounts to investors and has fewer minimum requirements to keep them open, making them the clear winner in this comparison category.
• Trading Features: Robinhood has the most user-friendly and intuitive design, though Schwab does a decent job in this arena as well, even though it’s more suited for intermediate or advanced users.
• Trading Tools: Charles Schwab has the best trading features, but that’s only because they are suited to trading professionals versus novice traders. This includes the all-in-one trading ticker, conditional orders, streaming market data, and several others.
• Fees/Commissions: While Robinhood and Charles Schwab have commission-free stock and ETF trading, Robinhood is the platform that has the lower fees of the two choices. For instance, Robinhood charges $0 per option contract, while Charles Schwab charges $0.65 per option contract.
• Market Access: Charles Schwab is definitely the winner when it comes to the number of markets they offer access to their users. Advanced investors and traders can enjoy a larger array of investment vehicles and securities at Schwab compared to Robinhood, which is more suited to beginners and novice traders.
• Educational Resources: We’ll have to give the slight edge to Charles Schwab, and that’s only because they are designed for more experienced investors, so they naturally have more higher-end education tools at their disposal. Each is proportionally substantial for the specific customer base that each platform serves.

If you’d like to explore more of our side-by-side broker comparisons, visit this section of our site.