Robinhood Alternatives – Forbes Advisor

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Robinhood is a well-liked brokerage app for traders who need to commerce cryptocurrency and traditional belongings. It’s constructed a powerful fame for ease of use, nevertheless it has just a few drawbacks.
Many traders could also be higher served by different platforms which might be tailor-made to their most well-liked buying and selling methods. Let’s check out Robinhood options for each crypto traders and traditional merchants.
Robinhood Profile

Forbes Advisor Rating: 3.0 stars
Trading Commissions: $0 for shares, ETFs and choices
Account Minimum: $0

Launched in 2013, Robinhood made a reputation for itself as a no-fee on-line dealer. The platform’s commission-free method proved so common that it modified the complete investing panorama. Today, few on-line brokers cost commissions for fundamental buying and selling.
Robinhood supplies inventory, ETF and choices buying and selling. Plus, clients can use margin on the platform to leverage their buying energy. Traders can arrange recurring investments and buy fractional shares. They may get entry to new corporations by investing in preliminary public choices. Robinhood is even launching a particular person retirement account (IRA) possibility that encompasses a 1% match for contributions.
The platform provides 24/7 buyer assist and a modest choice of instructional supplies.
Robinhood provides commission-free buying and selling in 18 cryptocurrencies. Although this doesn’t come wherever close to capturing the vary of the complete crypto universe, Robinhood helps essentially the most well-known cash, which ought to fulfill the wants of crypto rookies.
The platform’s ease of use presents drawbacks, and critics have accused Robinhood of “gamifying” investing. This critique grew to become frequent throughout the GameStop saga of 2021.

Robinhood Alternatives: Online Brokers
For merchants interested by conventional funding automobiles reminiscent of shares, ETFs and derivatives, the world of on-line brokers provides Robinhood options that present extra full investing options.
Charles Schwab

Forbes Advisor Rating: 4.3
Trading Commissions: $0 for shares, ETFs and choices
Account Minimum: $0

Charles Schwab has a formidable array of choices for traders. The platform is rated the very best for customer support in our greatest on-line dealer platforms and in our greatest on-line dealer platforms for rookies.
Schwab provides 24/7 cellphone assist to its clients, in addition to electronic mail and in-person assist at bodily branches. The firm has sturdy analysis and academic choices, together with podcasts, magazines and stay occasions.
This is in stark distinction to Robinhood. Although Robinhood provides cellphone assist and textual content chat, cellphone assist may be exhausting to succeed in. There’s no displayed customer support quantity, and customers must be signed into their accounts to obtain a callback.
Like most on-line brokers within the post-Robinhood period, Schwab fees no commissions for inventory, ETF and possibility trades. There are contract charges for choices in addition to further charges for extra superior trades like commodities futures and over-the-counter (OTC) equities.
Robinhood doesn’t assist futures and solely trades roughly 650 American Depository Receipts (ADRs) over-the-counter.
Fidelity Investments

Forbes Advisor Rating: 4.4
Trading Commissions: $0 for shares, ETFs and choices
Account Minimum: $0

Our greatest general on-line dealer platform is Fidelity Investments. Fidelity provides a superb platform for long-term traders and lively merchants. In addition, the platform is kind of beginner-friendly.
Fidelity provides exceptionally low charges, fractional share buying and selling, and comparatively quick order execution speeds, which can assist lively merchants lock in the very best costs for his or her trades.
The Fidelity platform has glorious instructional and analysis supplies for seasoned merchants and starting traders alike. This is in distinction to Robinhood the place instructional supplies exist however stay slim.
With an array of managed portfolios and training from monetary advisors, Fidelity provides a sturdy assist system, far past something Robinhood has the flexibility to supply.
Like Schwab, Fidelity provides almost each kind of account a person may have, together with Solo 401(okay)s for the self-employed and 529 accounts for school financial savings. Robinhood is simply now branching into the world of conventional retirement choices with its IRA providing.
Robinhood Alternatives: Crypto Exchanges
Robinhood’s cryptocurrency options are restricted in comparison with most exchanges. Investors who’re in search of a deeper dive into the cryptosphere could need to take a look at our itemizing of the very best crypto exchanges.
Kraken

Forbes Advisor Rating: 4.6
Fees: 1.5% flat payment / 0.9% flat payment for stablecoins
Cryptocurrencies: 120+

Kraken earns the title of our greatest general crypto alternate platform.
Although its “immediate purchase” program fees customers a flat payment of 1.5% for cryptocurrencies and 0.9% for stablecoins, customers can simply decrease these prices by buying and selling on Kraken Pro.
Small quantity trades on Kraken Pro can run as little as 0.16% for makers and 0.26% for takers, which is similar to different exchanges. Some customers could discover these charges price it in comparison with Robinhood when taking Kraken’s extra sturdy choices into consideration.
Kraken is without doubt one of the few U.S. platforms that gives superior choices like margin buying and selling. With margin, clients use leverage to fund their purchases. Robinhood doesn’t provide this function for cryptocurrency.
Kraken additionally provides staking, which Robinhood lacks. Staking is an effective way for crypto merchants to generate passive earnings on their cash.
Finally, the location incorporates a variety of cryptocurrency instructional supplies, far past Robinhood’s choices, and the corporate has glorious customer support from its chatbot and cellphone assist.
Gemini

Forbes Advisor Rating: 4.5
Fees: 0.2% maker payment / 0.4% taker payment
Cryptocurrencies: 120+

Our high crypto alternate for rookies, Gemini, is one other good selection for crypto merchants.
Gemini provides buying and selling in an analogous quantity of cryptocurrencies as industry-leader Kraken, greater than 120 completely different cash. This is considerably greater than the 18 cash obtainable on Robinhood.
Like Robinhood, Gemini has an easy-to-use interface. However, Gemini’s instructional supplies are far superior.
Starting at 0.2% for makers and 0.4% for takers, Gemini’s charges are just a little larger than different crypto platforms, however Gemini makes up for this with its comfort and ease of use.
Gemini Staking additionally provides loads of alternatives for crypto merchants to earn passive earnings on the cash they’re already holding.
The solely actual drawback to the platform are the convoluted, higher-than-average payment buildings, which might be tough to navigate.
Should You Choose Robinhood or an Alternative?
Since it provides the options of each a web based dealer and a crypto alternate, Robinhood might be a one-stop store for some traders. However, regardless of its benefits, the platform has shortcomings.
Who Should Choose Robinhood
The Robinhood app encompasses a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and simple. Combine this with the platform’s $0 charges, and customers with little to no expertise can begin buying and selling every time they’d like.
The cryptocurrency buying and selling options of Robinhood profit from this simplicity as effectively, which makes it simple for customers to get began with crypto. The platform additionally helps its personal crypto pockets, which is a crucial a part of secure coin storage for crypto traders.
Who Should Choose an Alternative
More superior merchants may not discover the instruments and merchandise they need on Robinhood, reminiscent of commodities futures buying and selling and OTC equities. They can also’t quick shares on the Robinhood platform. Short promoting is when dealer’s goal to profit from the decline in an asset’s worth.
On the opposite hand, starting merchants might want greater than Robinhood’s very fundamental instructional or analysis supplies. In addition, the corporate’s buyer assist choices are missing. This may be detrimental for starting customers.
Investing may be tough to know. Success requires a substantial amount of information. Robinhood could not present customers with the instruments they want.
How to Choose: Online Broker vs. Crypto Exchange
There are many elements inventory and crypto traders ought to think about when selecting platforms.
With cryptocurrencies, the very first thing a dealer could need to have a look at are the platform’s charges. For instance, charges can range as considerably as from $0 within the case of Robinhood to 1.5% for Kraken’s immediate purchase program.
Since most on-line brokers now provide $0 commissions on easy trades, charges are not a consideration for these interested by buying and selling extra conventional belongings.
Instead, extra superior traders will need to ensure the platform they’re selecting provides the instruments they need. These may be options reminiscent of commodities and OTC buying and selling within the case of brokers or staking within the case of crypto.
A platform’s instructional and assist choices are additionally one thing to think about. Robinhood is missing in each these departments. Those who need extra sturdy choices right here is perhaps higher served trying elsewhere.