Both Charles Schwab and Robinhood are brokerage firms that have a lot to offer to their customers. But there are important differences between the two.
Charles Schwab is a more traditional brokerage firm that offers multiple account types and a solid mix of traditional asset classes to invest in. Robinhood offers fewer account types, caters to beginner investors, and allows crypto trading.
This Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood comparison can provide more insight so you can pick which brokerage firm is best for you.
Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood: At a glance
Offer | Robinhood | Charles Schwab |
---|---|---|
Rating | Rating Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Rating Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
Commissions | Commissions | Commissions |
Account Minimum | Account Minimum | Account Minimum |
Next Steps | Open Account for Robinhood Read Full Review | Read Review |
Cole's take: Charles Schwab or Robinhood?
Cole Tretheway has reviewed dozens of brokerages, and his work has been featured on NASDAQ and Yahoo Finance. Cole has surfed through more fine print than is probably healthy, so his readers don't have to.
Charles Schwab is great for investors who trade mutual funds. It offers over 4,000 of them commission free. In the investing universe, that's rarer than diamonds.
Robinhood is great for investors who like it sleek and simple. The modern app is fun and lets you make fast, affordable trades. For stock or crypto, Robinhood has you covered.
Investors should consider other brokers for trading currencies. Neither Charles Schwab nor Robinhood lets you trade non-crypto currencies, and other trading platforms offer you more crypto options than Robinhood.
Alternatives to Consider
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
Account | Fees | Account Minimum | |
---|---|---|---|
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, $0 for options contracts | $0 | Open Account for SoFi Active Investing |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; up to $6.99 monthly for Robinhood Gold | $0 | Open Account for Robinhood |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Commission-free; other fees apply | $0 | Open Account for E*TRADE |
Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood: Commissions and fees
When you're choosing between Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood, the good news is you won't have to pay for buying stocks with either brokerage firm online. Neither charges online commission for getting your money into the stock market by investing in stocks or ETFs.
Trading options may cost you a little more with Schwab, though. With Charles Schwab, there's a $0.65 per contract fee. Robinhood doesn't impose this fee -- although per contract fees are very common among brokerage firms -- which is why Robinhood is among the best options trading platforms.
Charles Schwab | Robinhood | |
---|---|---|
Stock & ETF Commissions | $0 | $0 |
Options Commissions | $0.65 per contract fee | $0 |
Crypto Commissions | N/A | $0 |
Mutual Fund Commissions | 4,000 no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds | N/A (Robinhood doesn't allow trading of mutual funds) |
Account Transfer Fee | $0 to transfer to Schwab,$0 for partial transfer of account, and $50 for full transfer to another firm | $0 to transfer to Robinhood; $100 for full transfer to another firm |
Account Maintenance Fee | $0 | $0 or $5 monthly for Robinhood Gold |
Data source: Charles Schwab and Robinhood.
Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood: Investments available
Both Schwab and Robinhood allow you to trade stocks, ETFs, and options, but there are some important differences between Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood when it comes to available investment options.
Charles Schwab provides access to a wider range of traditional asset classes, including more than 18,000 mutual funds as well as bonds, CDs, and futures. Unlike Schwab, Robinhood doesn’t offer mutual funds or access to fixed-income securities, like bonds. However, Schwab doesn't allow cryptocurrency trading, while Robinhood does.
And while Charles Schwab and Robinhood both allow you to trade fractional shares, Schwab's minimum investment for its "Schwab Slices" is $5, while Robinhood allows you to spend as little as $1 to buy fractional shares. This lower investing requirement helps make Robinhood one of the best online brokers for beginners since you can get started with very little money.
Charles Schwab | Robinhood | |
---|---|---|
Stocks and ETFs | Yes | Yes |
Fractional Shares | Yes | Yes |
Options | Yes | Yes |
Mutual Funds | 4,000 no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds; more than 18,000 total mutual funds | No |
CDs | Yes | No |
Bonds | Yes | No |
Futures | Yes | No |
Crypto | No | Yes |
Currencies | No | No |
Data source: Charles Schwab and Robinhood.
Top Brokers of 2024
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Fees:
$0 for stocks, $0 for options contracts
Account Minimum:
$0
Highlights:
A clear standout for a modern investing experience, particularly for beginner and long-term investors. The ability to buy fractional shares, as well as the ability for everyday investors to participate in IPOs, bolsters our overall opinion.
Open Account for SoFi Active Investing
OnSoFi Active Investing'sSecure Website.
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Fees:
$0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; up to $6.99 monthly for Robinhood Gold
Account Minimum:
$0
Highlights:
With no commissions, access to trade fractional shares and cryptocurrency through Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood is a no frills but efficient brokerage account.
Open Account for Robinhood
OnRobinhood'sSecure Website.
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Fees:
Commission-free; other fees apply
Account Minimum:
$0
Highlights:
E*TRADE offers low fees and tons of account types. If you need it, chances are, E*TRADE has it. You can access advanced features through its popular Power E*TRADE platform. Open an E*TRADE account to trade fee-free mutual funds and do all your investing in one place.
Open Account for E*TRADE
OnE*TRADE'sSecure Website.
Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood: Account types available
If you're looking for the best brokers for IRAs, Charles Schwab may be an option for you. Schwab provides a variety of different individual retirement accounts, including traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Simple IRAs, and SEP IRAs.
In December 2022, Robinhood launched its first tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts. Robinhood now offers traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, and offers a 1% match up to the annual IRA contribution limits (3% match for Robinhood Gold members).
Robinhood also won't make any list of the best robo-advisors, as it doesn't provide any robo-advising services. Schwab does, though. Through Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, robo-advisors build a diversified portfolio based on your goals and automatically rebalance your portfolio over time. There's no advisory fee for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, but there is a $5,000 minimum investment required.
And while both brokerage firms offer margin accounts, you must be a Robinhood Gold member and pay a monthly fee (on top of margin interest) to gain access to margin investing. However, Robinhood does offer the first $1,000 of margin to Gold members without charging interest.
Charles Schwab | Robinhood | |
---|---|---|
Taxable Brokerage | Yes | Yes |
Joint Tenant | Yes | Yes |
Margin | Yes | Yes |
Robo-Advisor | Yes | No |
Traditional IRA | Yes | Yes |
Roth IRA | Yes | Yes |
Other IRA | Rollover; Inherited; Custodial; Personal Choice | No |
Custodial | Yes | No |
Checking | Yes | No, but offers a spending account |
Savings | Yes | No, but offers brokerage cash sweeps |
Credit Card | Yes | No |
Data source: Charles Schwab and Robinhood.
Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood: Mobile app and trading platforms
Both Charles Schwab and Robinhood offer full-featured mobile apps that are well received by customers. Robinhood's investing app received a 4.2-star out of 5-star rating on the App Store for iOS and 4.1 stars out of 5 stars on the Google Play store. Schwab's investment app received a 4.8-star rating on the App Store and a 2.4-star rating on the Google Play store.
Schwab offers many more options with regard to its trading platforms than Robinhood does. You can choose to use StreetSmart Edge, an advanced platform with streaming data and sophisticated charting tools. (Note: Charles Schwab is retiring StreetSmart Edge in 2024 in favor of building out thinkorswim, an alternative and popular charting platform.) Or you can engage in stock trading on web or mobile apps.
Robinhood also offers trading on the web and mobile devices, but its trading platforms are undoubtedly geared more toward beginners. Its simple design has no learning curve, but may not offer all the features advanced traders are looking for.
Final take
Charles Schwab is a long-standing established brokerage firm that provides a traditional investing experience. You'll have a choice of trading platforms and access to in-person advice if needed. Schwab also provides you with the option to invest in most traditional asset classes, including stocks, mutual funds, CDs, and bonds.
Robinhood is a newer and more modern alternative with a fun and simple trading platform and a focus on mobile trading. Its different investment options highlight this approach, as you can trade cryptocurrencies and take advantage of more affordable fractional share trading, but can't buy traditional fixed-income investments.
When deciding between Charles Schwab vs. Robinhood for your brokerage account, take these differences into account to see which feels like the better fit for you based on the type of investor you are.
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- Charles Schwab
- Robinhood
Ratings Methodology
2024 Award Winner
Our Rating:
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Bottom Line
Charles Schwab pioneered the low-cost brokerage model decades ago, and that legacy continues with its lineup of no-commission-fee offerings. The robust lineup of account types, investment vehicles, and high quality app round out the stacked feature set.
Fees:
$0 stock, ETF, and Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource® trades. No fees to buy fractional shares.
Account Minimum:
$0, ($5 minimum per fractional share transaction)
Read Review
Our Rating:
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Bottom Line
Robinhood is a simple, low-cost brokerage with a few rare perks. What it lacks in customer service it provides in a smooth in-app experience. Without membership, you will lack research resources but still be able to trade affordably. With a membership, you can earn 3% and 1% match on IRA and taxable deposits. The app grows fast -- new perks are being released at a rapid pace.
Read Full Review
Fees:
$0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; up to $6.99 monthly for Robinhood Gold
Account Minimum:
$0
Open Account for Robinhood
OnRobinhood'sSecure Website.
FAQs
Charles Schwab is better-suited for people who want a full suite of investments and services, including fixed-income securities, robo-advisor portfolios, and mutual funds. However, if you want to trade cryptocurrencies or trade options commission-free, Robinhood may be the better fit.
Schwab has no account minimum and allows you to invest in Schwab Slices, which are fractional shares (pieces of a full share), with just $5. Robinhood has no account minimum and allows you to buy fractional shares with as little as $1.