Charles Schwab vs Firstrade 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 Charles Schwab vs Firstrade.

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 Charles Schwab offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Firstrade. Charles Schwab offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while Firstrade offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (Options) and Education (Retirement). Neither have Paper Trading.

Charles Schwab and Firstrade charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Option contracts are pricier at Charles Schwab, costing $0.65 per contract versus $0.00 per contract at Firstrade. For futures, Charles Schwab charges $2.25 per contract and Firstrade charges (Not offered) per 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 Charles Schwab offers a more comprehensive offering than Firstrade. Charles Schwab ranks #2 out of 18 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Firstrade ranks #6.

Charles Schwab offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading and Advisor Services, while Firstrade offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, OTC Stocks and Mutual Funds. Neither have Forex Trading Looking at Mutual Funds, Firstrade trails Charles Schwab in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Charles Schwab offering 6085 and Firstrade offering 4206.

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 Charles Schwab and Firstrade offer crypto trading.

To compare the day trading platforms of Charles Schwab and Firstrade, 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, Charles Schwab offers a better experience.

After testing 25 features across the stock trading apps of Charles Schwab and Firstrade, we found Charles Schwab to be better overall. The best stock market apps are easy to use, have excellent design, and deliver a fully featured online trading experience. Charles Schwab ranks #4 out of 18 brokers, while Firstrade ranks #6.

Charles Schwab Trading App Gallery

Firstrade Trading App Gallery

For research, Charles Schwab offers superior market research than Firstrade. Charles Schwab ranks #N/A and Firstrade ranks #6.

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.

Charles Schwab requires a minimum deposit of $0.00, while Firstrade requires a minimum deposit of $0.00. From our testing, we found that SoFi is the only broker that requires a minimum deposit.

Charles Schwab charges 13.575% for accounts under $25,000 while Firstrade charges a margin rate of 13.75%. The industry average of the 18 brokers we track is 9%.

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 Charles Schwab and Firstrade allow you to trade penny stocks. Charles Schwab charges $6.95 per trade while Firstrade charges $0.00. 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, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are offered by Charles Schwab while Firstrade offers Checking Accounts and Debit 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.

Charles Schwab was rated 2nd out of 14 brokers, with an overall score of 8.9 out of 10.

Firstrade was rated 13th out of 14 brokers, with an overall score of 6.1 out of 10.

As the granddaddy of discount brokers, Charles Schwab understands how to deliver value to its customers, providing a comprehensive roster of tools, advice and actionable ideas at reasonable cost.

In the 2023 StockBrokers.com Annual Review, Charles Schwab was ranked No. 1 for Research and was among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Platforms & Tools, Investment Options, Ease of Use, Beginners, Customer Service, IRA Accounts, and Overall.

Firstrade scored well in our 2023 Annual Review for ease of use, and is a great choice for Chinese-speaking investors. However, it lags behind the competition in certain areas, especially platforms, tools and education.