Charles Schwab vs TD Ameritrade 2024

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 TD Ameritrade.

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 2024, our review finds that Charles Schwab offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than TD Ameritrade. Charles Schwab offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while TD Ameritrade offers investors access to Paper Trading, Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement).

Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade both charge $0.65 per option contract. Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade both charge $2.25 per option contract. For a deeper dive, see our best brokers for free stock trading or options trading guides.

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 TD Ameritrade. Charles Schwab ranks #2 out of 18 brokers for our Investment Options category, while TD Ameritrade ranks #N/A.

Charles Schwab offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading, Forex Trading and Advisor Services, while TD Ameritrade offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading, Forex Trading and Advisor Services. Looking at Mutual Funds, TD Ameritrade trails Charles Schwab in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Charles Schwab offering 6085 and TD Ameritrade offering 3610.

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 or TD Ameritrade offer crypto trading.

To compare the day trading platforms of Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade, 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 TD Ameritrade, 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 TD Ameritrade ranks #N/A.

Charles Schwab Trading App Gallery

TD Ameritrade Trading App Gallery

For research, Charles Schwab offers superior market research than TD Ameritrade. Charles Schwab ranks #1 and TD Ameritrade ranks #N/A.

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 TD Ameritrade 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 TD Ameritrade charges a margin rate of 14.75%. The industry average of the 18 brokers we track is 9%.

While Charles Schwab offers fractional shares, TD Ameritrade does not. Our research has found that 54% 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 TD Ameritrade allow you to trade penny stocks. Charles Schwab charges $6.95 per trade while TD Ameritrade charges $6.95. 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 TD Ameritrade offers Checking Accounts, Debit Cards and 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.

Charles Schwab was rated 3rd out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 9.1 out of 10.

TD Ameritrade was rated 1st out of 14 brokers, with an overall score of 9.3 out of 10.

With the addition of TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim platforms and the enhancement of several features, Schwab is now a vigorous competitor with thought-provoking research and commentary and a client experience to fit any preference.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, Charles Schwab was ranked No. 1 for Research, High Net Worth Investors, Bond Research, Desktop Stock Trading Platform, and Trader App. It was among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Investment Options, Education, Ease of Use, Day Trading, Beginners, Customer Service, Futures Trading, Options Trading, Penny Stock Trading, IRA Accounts and Overall.

TD Ameritrade delivers $0 trades, fantastic trading platforms, excellent market research, industry-leading education for beginners and reliable customer service, making it one of our top overall brokers in 2023. Note, however, that TD Ameritrade was acquired in 2020 by Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade client accounts are currently being migrated in batches to Schwab, which has retained the standout thinkorswim platform.

In the 2023 StockBrokers.com Annual Review, TD Ameritrade was rated No. 1 for Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Ease of Use, Beginners, and Customer Service. It also ranked among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Research, Investment Options, Education, Active Trading and Overall. TD Ameritrade also won two StockBrokers.com Industry Awards: No. 1 for Phone Support and Trader App.