Is Charles Schwab better than Lightspeed? After testing 15 of the best online brokers over five months, Charles Schwab (93.11%) is better than Lightspeed (61.30%). Founded in 1973, Charles Schwab is a full-service brokerage with over $3 trillion in total client assets. As a low-cost leader offering $0 stock trades, Charles Schwab provides investors excellent stock research, quality trade tools, and professional planning for the future.
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Charles Schwab vs Lightspeed 2020
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Special Offer
$0 online stock, ETF, and options commissions at Schwab. Open Account
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| Open Account |
Overall Rating
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
| Overall | ||
| Charles Schwab Review | Lightspeed Review |
Trading Fees
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 | $4.50 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $4.50 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 | $0.60 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $49.95 | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
| Under $24,999.99 | 9.33% | 8.00% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 8.83% | 8.00% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 7.88% | 7.00% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 7.83% | 7.00% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 7.58% | 6.75% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 6.08% | 6.25% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 5.75% | 6.00% |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Account Fees
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $35.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $50.00 | $95.00 |
| Returned ACH Fee | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| Returned Wire Fee | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| Stock Certificate Processing Fee | $100.00 | $75.00 |
| Stock Certificate Delivery Fee | N/A | $50.00 |
| Paper Statement Fee | $0.00 | $5.00 |
| Paper Confirmation Fee | $0.00 | $2.00 |
| Domestic Wire Fee | $25.00 | $20.00 |
| International Wire Fee | $25.00 | $50.00 |
| Commissions & Fees |
Investment Options
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Fractional Shares |
Yes | No |
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OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
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Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Complex Options Max Legs |
4 | 4 |
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Futures Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Forex Trading |
No | No |
| Commission-Free ETFs | all | 0 |
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Mutual Funds (No Load) |
7291 | 0 |
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Mutual Funds (Total) |
9978 | 0 |
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Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
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Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | No |
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Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | No |
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Interest Sharing |
No | No |
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Advisor Services |
Yes | No |
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International Trading |
Yes | No |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Order Types
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Order Type - Market |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Limit |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Contingent |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - MultiContingent |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OCO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTOCO |
Yes | Yes |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Platforms
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Desktop Platform (Windows) |
Yes | Yes |
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Desktop Platform (Mac) |
Yes | Yes |
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Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
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Paper Trading |
No | Yes |
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Trade Journal |
Yes | No |
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Watch Lists - Total Fields |
125 | 141 |
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Heat Mapping |
Yes | No |
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AI Assistant Bot |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Charting Features
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | Yes |
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Charting - Indicators / Studies |
41 | 20 |
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Charting - Drawing Tools |
15 | 8 |
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Charting - Historical Trades |
No | Yes |
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Charting - Corporate Events |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Automated Analysis |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Save Profiles |
Yes | Yes |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
7 | 4 |
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Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Day Trading
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
Yes | No |
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Streaming Time & Sales |
Yes | Yes |
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Streaming TV |
Yes | No |
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Direct Market Routing - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Direct Market Routing - Options |
No | Yes |
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Ladder Trading |
No | No |
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Trade Hot Keys |
Yes | Yes |
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Level 2 Quotes - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Level 2 Quotes - Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
Yes | No |
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Short Locator |
No | Yes |
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Order Liquidity Rebates |
No | Yes |
| Winner | check_circle |
Mobile Trading Apps
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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iPhone App |
Yes | Yes |
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Android App |
Yes | Yes |
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Apple Watch App |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - After-Hours |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Conditional Orders |
No | No |
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Trading - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Simple Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Complex Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
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Touch / Face ID |
Yes | No |
| Winner | check_circle |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Watch List Syncing |
Yes | No |
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Stock Alerts |
No | Yes |
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Charting - After Hours |
No | No |
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Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | No |
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Heatmapping |
Yes | No |
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Stream Live TV |
Yes | No |
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Barcode Lookup |
No | No |
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Research Overview
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
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Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | No |
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Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Screener - ETFs |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Options |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Bonds |
Yes | No |
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Misc - Portfolio Builder |
Yes | No |
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Misc - Portfolio Allocation |
Yes | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Stock Research
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Stock Research - Reports |
8 | 0 |
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Stock Research - Earnings |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - Insiders |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Metric Comp |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - SEC Filings |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - Social |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Balance Sheet |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - ESG |
No | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
ETF Research
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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ETFs - Strategy Overview |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Sector Exposure |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Risk Analysis |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Performance Analysis |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Ratings |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Reports |
Yes | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Mutual Fund Research
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Prospectus |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Reports |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Country Allocation |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - StyleMap |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings |
Yes | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Options Trading
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Option Chains - Streaming |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Chains - Total Columns |
44 | 60 |
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Option Chains - Greeks |
5 | 5 |
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Option Chains - Quick Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Analysis - P&L Charts |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Probability Analysis |
Yes | No |
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Option Probability Analysis Adv |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Greeks |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Positions - Adv Analysis |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Rolling |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Positions - Grouping |
Yes | Yes |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Beginners
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
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Education (ETFs) |
Yes | No |
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Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
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Education (Mutual Funds) |
Yes | No |
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Education (Fixed Income) |
Yes | No |
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Education (Retirement) |
Yes | No |
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Paper Trading |
No | Yes |
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Videos |
Yes | Yes |
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Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
50 | 1 |
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Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
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Live Seminars |
Yes | No |
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Progress Tracking |
No | No |
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Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
No | No |
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Investor Magazine |
Yes | No |
| Education | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Banking
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
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Retail Locations |
357 | 0 |
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Member FDIC |
Yes | No |
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Checking Accounts |
Yes | No |
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Savings Accounts |
Yes | No |
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Credit Cards |
Yes | No |
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Debit Cards |
Yes | No |
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Mortgage Loans |
Yes | No |
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No Fee Banking |
Yes | No |
| Banking | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Overall
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Lightspeed |
| Charles Schwab Review | Lightspeed Review | |
| Overall | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our annual broker review, we assess over a dozen brokers on hundreds of different variables to find the best online broker. Yielding a database of over 4,000 data points, let's compare Charles Schwab vs Lightspeed.
To start this comparison, first, we will take a look at the online broker commission rates for placing regular stock and options trades. Lightspeed, with its regular stock trades costing $4.50, is more expensive than Charles Schwab's rate of $0 per trade. For options trading, both Charles Schwab and Lightspeed charge the same base fee of $0. Lightspeed's per contract rate of $0.60 is less than Charles Schwab which charges $0.65. It's important to note that not all brokers charge a flat fee per trade. Thus, it is important to read the full commission notes for each broker, which we include with each online broker review.
Next to commission rates, being able to trade what you want is important. Lightspeed offers clients Stock Trading, Options Trading and Futures Trading while Charles Schwab offers Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading. Looking at mutual funds, Charles Schwab offers its clients access to 9978 different mutual funds while Lightspeed has 0 available funds, a difference of 9,978.
Trading access aside, by comparing popular features and functionality, we can break down relevant differences between both brokers. Lightspeed offers virtual trading while Charles Schwab does not. Taking a look at mobile trading, Charles Schwab along with Lightspeed both support the iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Not to be left out, online banking is also a nice benefit for many investors, and some brokerages provide these services to clients. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are available to clients of Charles Schwab while Lightspeed offers customers none of these.
Overall, between Charles Schwab and Lightspeed, Charles Schwab is the winner.
All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/20/2020 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. For stock trade rates, advertised pricing is for a standard order size of 500 shares of stock priced at $30 per share. For options orders, an options regulatory fee per contract may apply.
