Robinhood Review

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. There are some things Robinhood does particularly well; if you’re just starting out your investing journey, read on to see whether Robinhood is your ideal companion.

Pros & Cons

Overall summary

Investment options

Robinhood offers stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency trading. But mutual funds and bonds are not supported at Robinhood, nor is futures trading.

Cryptocurrency: Robinhood is strong in crypto. It allows users to trade 19 cryptocurrencies with no commissions, fees or markups and markdowns. Instead, it makes money from selling order flow. Robinhood also allows crypto transfers, an unusual feature among the brokers reviewed in our 2023 Annual Review.

Commissions and fees

Like many other $0 commission-free brokers, Robinhood charges no commission for trading stocks, ETFs, options, or cryptocurrency. Robinhood makes money from payment for order flow, or PFOF, a common practice in which the broker sells a customer’s order to wholesale market makers.

Penny stocks: Robinhood does not support trading OTC stocks. The only penny stocks supported by Robinhood are stocks that trade on either the NASDAQ or NYSE.

Robinhood Gold: We think Robinhood Gold is pricey for investors who keep low balance sand, if you have over a few thousand dollars to invest, you’ll want more features than what Robinhood offers anyway.

Robinhood Gold costs $5 per month to gain access to Morningstar reports, Level 2 streaming quotes, and margin trading (which charges 7.25% annual interest for accounts with over $1,000). At the time of this review, the Gold tier also pays a 4.15% annual percentage yield on uninvested cash.

Competitors TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, and Charles Schwab all charge higher margin rates but offer more stock research and trading tools and much better customer service for the same $0 per stock trade price. You can also find a beginner-friendly investing experience (though not as friendly as Robinhood’s) and low margin rates at SoFi Invest without paying a $5 monthly charge.

Mobile trading apps

Robinhood's mobile app is fast, simple, and, on those terms, one of the best. For occasional stock trading, Robinhood has the functionality required to be productive: watchlists, stock quotes with charts, analyst ratings, recent news and Bloomberg videos along with basic trade entry.

Ease of use: Robinhood initially led the way in the field in terms of ease of use when it came to its mobile app. Now that others have caught up in this realm while offering more features, Robinhood’s appeal has dimmed.

Watchlists: Robinhood's focus on simplicity leads to several notable drawbacks. Other than automatically syncing across devices, the watchlist functionality is slim. In comparison, TradeStation and TD Ameritrade offer hundreds of options for their watchlists. Admittedly, few investors ever need more than a dozen options, but it’s nice to know they’re available.

Charting: When pulling a stock quote, charts cannot be modified beyond six default date ranges and two chart types. There are only six technical indicators and landscape mode is not supported for horizontal viewing.

Trading tools: Knowledgeable traders will find Robinhood a mighty small sandbox to play in. Trading tools are minimal at best and are outpaced by virtually all of the competition.

Other trading platforms and tools

Robinhood is designed for individuals who are new to investing and want to start with the core basics. At that, it excels. As your account size and comfort with investing grows, Robinhood will be unlikely to fulfill your needs. There are no 529 plans, custodial accounts, or individual bonds, and financial planning tools are most noticeable by their absence.

Platforms overview: In addition to the mobile app, there is a web-based platform that is virtually identical to the app. That makes it attractive to beginners and frustrating to experienced investors.

Trading tools: The trading tools and features available on Robinhood's website are minimal compared to category leaders, but beginners will find what they do have very easy to use. For example, charts are rudimentary and come with six technical indicators, but we found them to be good choices. There are no bracket orders or hotkeys, and Level 2 quotes are an additional charge. Chart traders routinely mark up charts with lines and notes. We wish those tools were available.

Fractional shares: Robinhood’s recurring investment tool enables you to automatically invest a fixed dollar amount periodically, such as once per week. Like most other brokers, if you enable dividend reinvestment (DRIP) in your account, Robinhood automatically reinvests any earned dividends from stocks or ETFs, provided the related symbols support fractional share trading.

Options trading: Options trading in Robinhood is easier than falling off a logarithm. Its option chains are unorthodox, but we like them and expect many beginners will prefer them to the traditional chain layout. The options watchlist is a standout feature. It makes it simple to watch option price changes before investing. Many brokers allow options on watchlists, but Robinhood presents them exceptionally well.

The drop-down for each option does include the Greeks and you can build multi-leg option strategies very easily. When you do, you are presented with an “expected profit and loss” diagram, as well as the max profit, the max loss and the breakeven, all of which are very useful and clearly presented.

IRA accounts: In late 2022 Robinhood began promoting “Robinhood Retirement,” which offers a 1% bonus on IRA contributions.

Research

Robinhood's overall research experience is severely lacking across the board and trails industry leaders TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity, who all also offer $0 trades.

Stock and ETFs research: Robinhood offers analyst ratings, "people also bought" recommendations and sections such as "about" for company profiles. It's a cut-and-dried experience focused on simplicity. There are also lists on Robinhood, which are akin to predefined stock screeners with few information points such as market cap size and current prices. This is adequate for some investors; most others will be left wanting more.

Gaining access to Morningstar research reports requires subscribing to Robinhood Gold for $5 per month ($60/year). At competitors such as Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or TD Ameritrade, customers have access to third-party reports for free.

Robinhood Snacks: If there is one highlight with Robinhood's research, it is the Robinhood Snacks newsletter. The Robinhood Snacks editorial team summarizes the market each day in an easy-to-understand, digestible (snacks, digestible…get it?) format.

Education

Alongside the standout Robinhood Snacks newsletter and podcast, Robinhood offers a basic educational area aimed primarily at beginner investors.

Learning center: A library compiles a range of articles with beginners in mind, including topics such as “What is a stock?” and “What is a crypto wallet?” The good news is that the writing is engaging. Few brokers have educational pieces that open like this: “Short selling is kind of like Opposite Day.” We like it, we love it, but we want more of it and better organized, please.

Robinhood's YouTube channel is stale, with no recent educational posts. That said, education is a category where Robinhood is making notable progress and could even be declared a style leader — but still trails industry leaders in volume and depth.

Banking services

Robinhood is not a traditional bank with branch offices, credit cards, mortgages, wire transfers, and the like. For a list of brokers that are also banks, read our guide to the best brokerages for banking services.

Cash management: Robinhood offers a “Cash Card,” a debit card issued by a partner bank. The account carries some perks, such as direct deposit and the ability to earn bonuses that are invested in the separate brokerage account.

Final thoughts

For investors looking for a simple, easy-to-use stock and crypto trading app, Robinhood gets the job done. But beyond that, Robinhood leaves us wanting more, especially as $0 trades are now available everywhere. Here are our top takeaways on Robinhood for 2023:

1. Thanks to a clean design that focuses on the basics, Robinhood's mobile app will continue to appeal to beginner investors.
2. Robinhood provides a bare-bones trading experience, making it a poor choice for investors seeking the best trading platform. Also, Robinhood's stock research tools are lacking when compared to $0 commission brokers such as E*TRADE, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity.
3. At $5/month ($60 per year), the Robinhood Gold account level is not a good deal unless you have a large account balance, frequently place trades and consistently use margin. See "Robinhood Gold" under Commissions and Fees below.

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Is Robinhood completely free?

The short answer is yes, technically Robinhood is free and charges $0 for stock, options, and cryptocurrency trades. However, certain features require a $5/month subscription to Robinhood Gold, and Robinhood does accept payment for order flow, or PFOF. Here's Robinhood's Fees disclosure PDF.

Is Robinhood good for beginners?

Yes, Robinhood is good for beginners. Many would argue that Robinhood led the industry in making the market more accessible to beginners. In prior years the broker was frequently criticized for encouraging irresponsible investing. With its improved education content, we don’t feel that criticism to be as valid today.

Is Robinhood safe?

Yes, Robinhood is safe. In the very unlikely event of broker insolvency, your account is protected up to $500,000 ($250,000 in cash) per customer by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, or SIPC. This insurance doesn’t protect against market losses, only broker insolvency. If your account is larger than $500,000 or you have more than $250,000 in cash, there are other brokers that carry higher amounts of coverage.

Can you make money on Robinhood?

Yes, you can make money on Robinhood, as you can with all the brokers we review. Brokerage firms in the United States are tightly regulated. Your investment results will depend far more on your investing knowledge, time in the market, and self-discipline than your choice of broker.

Can you lose money with Robinhood?

All investments carry some risk of loss, and Robinhood’s primary focus is on the riskier choices, such as cryptocurrency, stocks and options, though it does pay interest on cash and has fixed income exchange-traded funds. Other brokers offer a broad choice of conservative investments, such as certificates of deposit, Treasury, municipal and corporate bonds, and fixed income mutual funds.

What is the catch with Robinhood?

Unlike most online stock brokers, Robinhood does not offer trading of mutual funds; only stocks, ETFs, and crypto, are supported. And while Robinhood does offer commission-free trading, it earns money from your business in a number of ways.

For example, Robinhood receives Payment for Order Flow, or PFOF, from venues where it routes your trades; while PFOF is a common industry practice, it may not be fully understood by new traders. Robinhood also may earn a fee from the program banks to which it sweeps funds from customers’ cash management accounts. The broker also charges $5 per month for its premium Gold Pricing package, which provides Level II real-time data and research reports from Morningstar, in addition to other account service fees, including 5.75% charged for margin accounts with more than $1,000.

What is the downside to Robinhood?

The two major downsides to Robinhood are, first, its limited investment choices and tools, and second, maddeningly sparse customer support when compared to most other online brokers.

How do I get my money out of Robinhood without paying any fees?

First, sell all your stocks and any other positions. Next, transfer all your cash via ACH to your bank account (ACH transfers are free). Finally, contact Robinhood to close your account. If you transfer stock holdings to another broker, Robinhood will charge you a $75 ACAT fee. Switching brokers? See our list of the best online stock brokers for 2023.

Can I day trade stocks using Robinhood?

You need at least $25,000 in your account to day trade with Robinhood (all brokers require at least $25,000 by law), otherwise your account is restricted to just three day trades every rolling five business days. That said, even if you had $25,000, I wouldn't recommend Robinhood. Read our best day trading platforms guide.

Can I buy and sell Bitcoin with Robinhood?

Yes. Robinhood currently offers seven tradeable cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Bitcoin SV (BSV). Ten additional cryptocurrencies can be added to any watch list.

Can you trade penny stocks with Robinhood?

No. You cannot trade penny stocks on Robinhood. Over-the-counter (OTC) securities are not supported. However, Robinhood customers can trade company shares listed on the NASDAQ and NYSE whose stock price is currently below $1.00.

Can you trade international stocks with Robinhood?

Yes. Robinhood offers customers the opportunity to buy and sell over 250 popular American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), including shares in companies such as Adidas (ADDYY), Tencent (TCEHY), and Nintendo (NTDOY). That said, Robinhood does not support trading stocks on international exchanges, e.g., the Royal Bank of Canada on the Toronto stock exchange (RY.TO).

Do any of Robinhood’s competitors offer $0 trading?

Yes. TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, TradeStation, and Charles Schwab, among others, all offer $0 stock trades. Compare Robinhood vs TD Ameritrade.

Can I trade immediately after opening my Robinhood account?

When you open and fund an account with Robinhood, the broker is unique in that it provides you access to up to $1,000 in funds, available immediately for trading while your ACH transfer deposit processes. Under normal ACH transfers, the average processing time is two to three days.

How do I contact Robinhood customer support?

Unlike most of the best online brokers for beginners, Robinhood does not offer direct phone support or live chat support for prospective customers. Current account holders must email support@robinhood.com or use the app for live chat or to request a phone callback.

About Robinhood

Founded in 2013 and based in Menlo Park, California, Robinhood is an online broker that has raised $2.2 billion in venture capital funding and has more than 14 million monthly active users. The millennial- and Gen Z-focused broker is best known for offering $0 stock, ETF, options and cryptocurrency trades via an easy-to-use website and mobile trading app.

2023 Review methodology

Our mission at StockBrokers.com is simple: provide thorough and unbiased reviews of online brokers, based on an extraordinary level of hands-on testing and data collection. Our ratings and awards are based on this data and our experts’ deep authority in the field; brokers cannot pay for preferential treatment. Here’s more about trustworthiness at StockBrokers.com.

For the StockBrokers.com 13th Annual Review published in January 2023, a total of 3,332 data points were collected over three months and used to score 17 top brokers. This makes StockBrokers.com home to the largest independent database on the web covering the online broker industry.

As part of our annual review process, all brokers had the opportunity to provide updates and key milestones and complete an in-depth data profile, which we hand-checked for accuracy. Brokers also were offered the opportunity to provide executive time for an annual update meeting.

Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors quality data they can trust. Learn more about how we test.

Robinhood 2023 results

For the StockBrokers.com 2023 Review, all U.S. equity brokers we reviewed were assessed on 196 different variables across eight areas: Commissions & Fees, Investment Options, Platforms & Tools, Research, Mobile Trading, Education, Ease of Use, and Overall.

StockBrokers.com also presented “Best in Class” awards to brokers for additional categories Beginners, Options Trading, Futures Trading, Active Trading, IRA Accounts, Investor Community, Penny Stock Trading, Banking Services and Customer Service. A “Best in Class” designation means finishing in the top five brokers for that category.

For more information, see how we test.

Primary categories

Secondary categories

Robinhood fees and features data

The data collection efforts at StockBrokers.com are unmatched in the industry. The following tables show a deeper dive into the offerings available at this broker. You can also compare its offerings side-by-side with those of other brokers using our Comparison Tool.

In addition to meticulous annual data collection by our in-house analyst, every broker that participates in our review is afforded the opportunity to complete an in-depth data profile. We then audit each data point to ensure its accuracy.

Trading fees

Account fees

Margin rates

Investment options

Order types

Beginners

Stock trading apps

Stock app features

Stock app charting

Trading platforms overview

Trading platform stock chart features

Day trading features

Investment research overview

Stock research features

ETF research features

Mutual fund research features

Options trading overview

Banking features

Customer service options

About the Editorial Team