VaultRubric
Best brokerage for beginners
For a first brokerage account, low or no minimums, low costs and a clean regulatory record matter most. We weighted the rubric that way and scored every broker in our dataset.
Rates change often — verify on the bank's or broker's site before opening an account. Every value shows its as-of date; ⚑ marks figures from third-party sites. Not financial advice.
Too close to call: Webull and Fidelity (within 1.2 points).
Weights: Trading costs 17%, Account minimum 25%, IRA options 14%, Transfer-out fee 8%, Protection (SIPC) 17%, Regulatory record 19%
| # | Broker | Score | Options/contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Firstrade | 90.5% cov 61% | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum |
| 2 | Webull | 89.4% cov 100% | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: FINRA: $1.6M for influencer communications supervision failures |
| 3 | SoFi Invest | 88.6% cov 58% | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum; Regulatory: FINRA: SoFi Securities $698,282 re fully paid securities lending (4-firm action) |
| 4 | Fidelity | 88.2% cov 100% | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | |
| 5 | Wealthfront | 87.5% cov 100% | not found | |
| 6 | Ally Invest | 86.1% cov 100% | $0.5 src · 2026-10-10 | |
| 7 | Robinhood | 85.3% cov 100% | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: SEC: $45M combined penalties (recordkeeping, reporting, cybersecurity etc.) |
| 8 | Merrill Edge | 84.6% cov 100% | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: FINRA: Merrill Lynch $6M AML fine (reported) |
| 9 | Charles Schwab | 84.0% cov 100% | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: SEC: ~$187M for misleading robo-adviser (Intelligent Portfolios) clients about hidden cash fees |
| 10 | E*TRADE | 83.4% cov 61% | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum |
| 11 | Betterment | 83.1% cov 100% | not found | Regulatory: SEC: $9M tax-loss harvesting |
| 12 | Public | 82.2% cov 75% | $0 + $0.06–$0.18 rebate/contract ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum; Regulatory: FINRA: $528,124 (fully paid lending); Regulatory: FINRA: $350,000 influencer supervision (reported) |
| 13 | M1 Finance | 80.6% cov 100% | Options not offered src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: FINRA: $850,000 for misleading influencer posts/supervision |
| 14 | Interactive Brokers | 76.1% cov 75% | Fixed $0.65; Tiered $0.15–$0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum; Regulatory: FINRA/Nasdaq PHLX: Reported $7.75M fine for mismarking options orders |
| 15 | Vanguard | 73.3% cov 75% | $1.0 src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum; Regulatory: SEC: $106.41M re target-date fund capital gains disclosures |
Top 3 compared
| Fact | Firstrade | Webull | SoFi Invest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock/ETF commission | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 src · 2026-10-10 |
| Options (per contract) | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 |
| Account minimum | not found | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | not found |
| IRA types | not found | Traditional, Roth, Rollover src · 2026-10-10 | Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover src · 2026-10-10 |
| IRA match | none found | 3.5% with Webull Premium; base 1% per third party src · 2026-10-10 | 1% on contributions and rollovers src · 2026-10-10 |
| Transfer-out fee | $75 src · 2026-10-10 | $75 src · 2026-10-10 | $100 src · 2026-10-10 |
| SIPC member | Yes src · 2026-10-10 | Yes src · 2026-10-10 | not found |
| FINRA CRD | CRD 16843 src · 2026-10-10 | CRD 289063 src · 2026-10-10 | CRD 151717 src · 2026-10-10 |
| Regulatory actions (5 yrs) | none found in last 5 yrs src · 2026-10-10 | 2025-05 FINRA: $1.6M for influencer communications supervision failures src | 2023 FINRA: SoFi Securities $698,282 re fully paid securities lending (4-firm action) src |
Opens the tool with these platforms filled in, so you can change the weights.
Related comparisons
- Robinhood vs Webull
- Ally vs Marcus
- Capital One 360 vs Ally
- SoFi vs Ally
- Wealthfront Cash vs Betterment Cash
- Fidelity vs Schwab
- Fidelity vs Vanguard
- Marcus vs SoFi
FAQ
What is the best brokerage for beginners?
Too close to call between Webull and Fidelity. Your answer depends on your priorities; adjust the weights in the tool.
How does VaultRubric score these?
Only from our curated dataset (official pages, regulators, and flagged third-party sites), with fixed formulas shown in “Show math”. No AI or live scraping, so the same comparison always gives the same result. Not financial advice.