Ally Invest vs Robinhood 2023

Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. We spend hundreds of hours each year testing the platforms, mobile apps, trading tools and general ease of use among online brokerages, as well as comparing commissions and fees, to find the best online broker.

Though many U.S. brokers offer basic trading features, such as an app, charting tools, stock research and educational content, the depth of those features can vary widely. Let's compare Ally Invest vs Robinhood.

In stock trading, the more you know, the better you’ll do. Taking advantage of resources like articles, webinars, videos and interactive elements is a great way to shorten the learning curve. In our analysis, we examine the availability of several different types of educational materials.

For 2023, our review finds that Ally Invest offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Robinhood. Ally Invest offers investors access to Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while Robinhood offers investors access to Education (Stocks) and Education (Options). Neither have Paper Trading and Videos.

Ally Invest and Robinhood charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Option contracts are pricier at Ally Invest, costing $0.50 per contract versus $0.00 per contract at Robinhood. Ally Invest and Robinhood both charge (Not offered) per option contract. For a deeper dive, see our best brokers for free stock trading guide.

Looking at a full range of investment options, including order types and international trading, our research has found that Ally Invest offers a more comprehensive offering than Robinhood. Ally Invest ranks #9 out of 17 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Robinhood ranks #15.

Ally Invest offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Forex Trading and Advisor Services, while Robinhood offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading and OTC Stocks. Neither have Futures Trading Looking at Mutual Funds, Robinhood trails Ally Invest in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Ally Invest offering 3900 and Robinhood offering 0.

In our analysis of top U.S. brokerages, we research whether each broker offers the ability to trade cash cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ethereum. Though crypto has risen steadily in popularity, availability still varies from broker to broker. Our review finds that neither Ally Invest and Robinhood offer crypto trading.

To compare the day trading platforms of Ally Invest and Robinhood, we focused on trading tools and functionality across both web and desktop-based platforms. Popular day trading platform tools include streaming real-time quotes, stock alerts, trading hotkeys, direct market routing, streaming time and sales, customizable watch lists, backtesting, and fully functional charting packages, among many others. For day trading, Ally Invest offers a better experience.

After testing 25 features across the stock trading apps of Ally Invest and Robinhood, we found Robinhood to be better overall. The best stock market apps are easy to use, have excellent design, and deliver a fully featured online trading experience. Ally Invest ranks #12 out of 17 brokers, while Robinhood ranks #9.

Ally Invest Trading App Gallery

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Robinhood Trading App Gallery

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For research, Ally Invest offers superior market research than Robinhood. Ally Invest ranks #8 and Robinhood ranks #14.

Over the years, we've found that the best brokers provide rich market commentary, a variety of third-party research reports, and thorough quote screens that are not just easy to navigate, but that also include a comprehensive selection of fundamental data. Robust stock, ETFs, and mutual fund screeners are also must-haves for trade idea generation.

Ally Invest requires a minimum deposit of $0.00, while Robinhood requires a minimum deposit of $0.00. From our testing, we found that SoFi is the only broker that requires a minimum deposit.

Ally Invest charges 13.00% for accounts under $25,000 while Robinhood charges a margin rate of 12.00%. The industry average of the 17 brokers we track is 11%.

Fractional shares are not offered by either broker. Our research has found that 41% of brokers offer fractional shares investing. Fractional shares allow traders to buy a part of a whole share of stock. For example, if Amazon is trading at $1,000, you could buy half a share for $500.

Both Ally Invest and Robinhood allow you to trade penny stocks. Ally Invest charges $4.95 per trade while Robinhood charges N/A. Penny stocks are companies whose shares trade for under $5 and are listed over the counter (OTC). For brokers that do offer penny stock trades, the average commission is $3.

Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards and Mortgage Loans are offered by Ally Invest while Robinhood offers Debit Cards. Neither have Credit Cards.

StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research group Confero to conduct phone tests from locations across the United States to thoroughly evaluate the quality and speed of brokerage customer service. (Read more about How We Test.) Here are the results of our current testing.

Ally Invest was rated 5th out of 14 brokers, with an overall score of 8.3 out of 10.

Robinhood’s customer service could not be tested or rated due to the fact it does not offer phone support for prospective customers.

For current Ally customers looking to invest in stocks, Ally's universal-accounts experience and easy-to-use website offer a convenient solution. Its website is far stronger than the mobile app.

In the 2023 StockBrokers.com Annual Review, Ally Invest ranked among Best in Class for Banking Services and Customer Service.

Robinhood is very easy to use and its educational content is a joy to read. But, in today’s competitive market for your investing dollars, there are several more compelling options among brokerages.