Penny stocks are a good place to start for investors who have high-risk tolerance and want a sizable amount of profit. Finding what penny stock trading app is best for you may be difficult, but in this article we recommend our top 8 penny stock trading apps to choose from.
Quicklook: Best Penny Stock Trading Apps
- eToro – Best for New Investors Seeking Education and Community
- Webull: Best for Low-Costs
- E*Trade: Best for Access to the Best Investor Research and Resources
- TradeStation: Best for Advanced and Active Traders
- Charles Schwab: Best for Overall Experience
- RobinHood: Best for Beginners
- Interactive Brokers: Best for Competitive Pricing
- TD Ameritrade: Best for User Experience and Passive Traders
- Fidelity: Best for Research on Penny Stocks
Table of Contents:
- Best Penny Stock Trading Apps
- What Are Penny Stocks
- How Does a Penny Stock Trading App Work?
- What to Consider With Penny Stock Trading Apps
- Benefits of Trading Penny Stocks
- Risks of Trading Penny Stocks
- Are Penny Stocks a Good Investment?
- Frequently Asked Questions
9 Best Penny Stock Trading Apps
A trading app can make investing an easy and accessible experience. Here we recommend some of our favorite penny stock trading apps, showcasing their standout features, benefits, disadvantages, and fees.
eToro
Best for New Investors Seeking Education and Community
eToro has been a leader in creating a global community of traders since 2007. Their desktop platform grew and evolved into the easy-to-use and fun mobile app we know today. One of eToro’s main goal is to empower investors to learn. A huge draw to eToro is it’s social platform that is integrated right into the app. This platform allows users to learn, grow and even copy trades from seasoned investors.
Standout Features: The company’s dedication to always innovating and creating one of the best online investing communities.
Benefits:
- Social platform that allows new investors to ask questions and get answers from other investors in real time
- Risk-free virtual platform allows you to use and grow a demo portfolio with $100K of capital to play with before risking your own real funds
- Available in over 100 countries
Disadvantages:
- You could potentially get advice from an average trader resulting in losses.
Fees:
- Zero commissions on buying and selling stocks
- Manual account closure fee $5
- Margin sell out fee $25
- NSCC illiquidity charge $250
Webull
Formed in 2017, Webull is a convenient trading platform that provides a wide range of services for free. The platform is designed for active traders who wish to observe financial markets without having to deal with commissions on their trading. Webull attracts a younger crowd of investors who want to take a more interactive approach to their portfolio management in comparison to other trading platforms. Moreover, Webull has made it an easy account setup process allowing investors to start their investment journey within a few minutes.
Standout Features: Commission-free trading on stocks/ETFs, options, or cryptocurrencies
Benefits:
- Charges no commission on trades
- Easy account setup process with no account minimum fees
- Platform is user-friendly and provides a wide range of tools
Disadvantages:
- Investors gain no interest on their cash balances
- Lacking in portfolio management tools
- Does not provide fixed income, mutual funds, futures, or foreign exchange
Fees:
- No commission on online trades in equities, ETFs, OTCBB, cryptocurrencies, or options
- Margin rate fees are dependent on the investor’s account size ($0-25k 6.99%, $25k-100k 6.49%, $100k-250k 5.99%, $250k-500k 5.49%, $500k-1 mil 4.99%, $3 mil 4.49%, and above $3 mil 3.99%)
- Wire transfer fees for deposits internationally are $12.5 and $8 if in the United States
- Withdrawals are $25 in the United States and $40 internationally
E*TRADE
Best For Access to Top Investment Research and Resources
This platform has two different apps, Power E*TRADE and E*TRADE. These two platforms allow investors to have a variety of app options when investing for traders at any level. Additionally, E*TRADE provides Reuters reports allowing investors to research their potential investments without having to pay for an additional subscription.
Standout Features: Access to reports from Reuters and TipRanks
Benefits:
- No commission charges or minimum payments
- Has tools for both passive and active investors
- Power E*TRADE provides a more traditional Wall-Street trading platform
Disadvantages:
- Expensive fees on option trades for passive investors
- Does not provide international exchanges
Fees:
- No commission charges or minimum payments required
- Charged $6.95 for OTC stock trades, this is reduced to $4.95 if you have a minimum of 30 trades of stocks, ETFs, options within one quarter
- Margin interest rates depend on balance amount (8.70% on $10,000 balance, 5.45% on $1,000,000 balance)
- $25 fee for partial transfers out of account, $75 fee for a full transfer
- $25 fee for outgoing transfers, $25 fee on international wire transfers, and $10 fee on checks
Sign up with E*Trade here (Free Stock Trading – Award-winning platform and mobile app!)
TradeStation
Best for Advanced and Active Traders
This platform was designed for those who are professional or active traders. This is due to the terminology used and how the app was designed for its users. Many expert or asset managers use TradeStation for their app trading experience. There are two account types TS Select and TS GO.
Best For: Advanced & Active Traders
Standout Features: No fee added to have full access to mobile and laptop trading
Benefits: Charge no commission for mobile trades and with certain account types you can hold up to 10,000 commission free shares
Disadvantages: TS Select (their most reputable account type) initial price is $2,000 and TS GO Desktop users have to pay $10 per trade in commission fees.
Fees:
- No commission on mobile trade
- TS Select $2,000 initial price and $.005 per share after 10,000 shares held
- TS GO $10 per commission on desktop
Charles Schwab
Best Overall Penny Stock Trading App
As one of the top brokerage firms in the industry, Charles Schwab is a great overall stock trading app for investors of all levels.
This app is great for someone looking for a high-quality user experience, within their mobile device. Charles Schwab offers full live customer service along with educational tools making the platform accessible for all investors. Moreover, the platform provides robo-advisory services for their traders as well.
Standout Features: Free access to research and in-depth analysis tools
Benefits:
- No commissions on ETF or stock trading, and no account minimums
- Live customer service and robo-advisory
- Research screeners for stock and ETFs, educational tools, and news
Disadvantages:
- Could be hard to navigate with the extensive amount of tools and resources provided
- Margin rates are on the expensive side in comparison to competitors
Fees:
- Options are $0.65 per contract
- No fees for trading in equities, ETFs, or OTCBB trades
- Margin rates are dependent on account balance ($0-25k 8.325%, $25k-50k 7.825%, $50k-100k 6.875%, $100k-250k 6.825%, $250k-500k 6.575%)
- Account size fees and account minimums range (Basic Account: no minimum, Intelligent Portfolio Basic Platform: $5,000 account minimum, Intelligent Portfolio Premium: $25,000 account minimum, Schwab Private Client: $1 mil account minimum)
Sign up for Charles Schwab here
RobinHood
This platform is best for those who just started their investment journey. This trading app has gained traction from younger and beginner investors looking for a seamless trading experience. This is exemplified in the simplicity of the platform making it extremely user-friendly. Moreover, it provides various cryptocurrencies at low trading costs.
Standout Features: Free share of Robinhood’s stock when you create a new account
Benefits:
- User-friendly, easy to navigate app
- Plethora of stocks options to choose from
- Inexpensive costs for fractional shares and cryptocurrencies
Disadvantages:
- OTC penny stocks are not yet available
- Does not provide as many resources for research or education as competitors
- Has limitations to its desktop version
Fees:
- Commission free trading on stocks, ETFs, and options
- Robinhood Gold monthly subscription is $5, including $1,000 of margin
- No domestic or international wire fees
- Domestic check fee of $25 and $75 fee for an account transfer
Interactive Brokers
This platform is best suited for those who wish to have a ton of options for the lowest price possible. Moreover, Interactive Brokers offers over 4,300 no-transaction fee mutual funds and great low margin rates. Interactive Brokers accepts a diverse group of investors, supporting trades in more than 130 markets spanning over 33 countries.
Standout Features: Large variety of asset classes in more than 130 markets using 23 different currencies
Benefits:
- Excellent execution and price improvement tools
- Low margin interest rates
- Extremely wide variety on asset classes
Disadvantages:
- Inactive accounts can be susceptible to fees
- Not designed for beginner investors
Fees:
- Fixed per-share pricing of $0.005 per share traded on a $1 minimum
- Tiered per-share pricing depending on your monthly activity ($0.0035 for >300,000 shares per month, $0.0005 for <100 mil shares per month)
- For the PRO accounts due to inactivity you can be charged maintenance fees
Sign up for Interactive Brokers here
TD Ameritrade
Best For User Experience and Passive Traders
This platform is best for those who wish to have an easy-to-use investment app that clearly layouts the functionalities of the app. TD Ameritrade has a wide range of trading tools to enhance their users’ experiences. In addition, this app is highly customizable to assist their investor’s needs.
This app is best for passive traders or those who are just starting off their investment journey and want access to a wide variety of investment products.
Standout Features: Excellent research tools and two types of trading platforms
Benefits:
- No commissions on non-OTC stocks
- Provides educational resources for beginners
- Highly customizable interface
Disadvantages:
- OTC trade commission of $6.95 per trade
- Does not offer fractional shares
- More expensive account fees than some competitors
Fees:
- No account minimum, no commissions on non-OTC stocks, and no fees on inactivity
- $6.95 per OTC trade
- Margin interest rates (9.5% for $10k, 7.75% for >$100k)
- Order for 50 option contracts is $32.50
- Transferring an entire account has a fee of $75, wire transfer fees is $25, and live broker fee is $25
Sign up for TD Ameritrade here
Fidelity
Best For Research on Penny Stocks
This platform is best suited for those who are specifically interested in penny stock research and finding out new penny stock growth opportunities. Moreover, this app provides analysis tools through its Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro platform that allows investors to have a plethora of resources. In addition, it provides a stock screener with more than 140 criteria.
Standout Features: Stock tool which scans for the best stocks along with their research tools
Benefits:
- No commissions or account minimum fees
- A highly reputable company
- Low costs and a variety of educational offerings
Disadvantages:
- People outside of the US are ineligible to open an account
- Does not provide futures, commodities, or cryptocurrencies
- Does not have streaming news provided
Fees:
- Commission free trading on options, ETFs, OTCBB trades, and equity
- Margin interest is 8.325% for a $10k account balance and 6.285% for a $100k balance
- Live broker fees are $32.95 per trade
- No fees for inactivity, account closure, or domestic wires
What Are Penny Stocks?
Penny stocks are stocks with low liquidity and price. These stocks are usually from smaller companies and their price range is typically under $5.
Since these stocks are at a low price there is room for large profits but also large losses.
More Information on Penny Stocks:
How Does a Penny Stock Trading App Work?
Many trading apps offer penny stocks on their platforms. Therefore there isn’t any differentiation between them and normal stock trading apps.
What to Consider With Penny Stock Trading Apps
All these factors below can drastically impact your experience on these trading platforms. It is important to ask yourself what you are looking for in a trading platform and how these factors can enhance your experience.
Let’s review the four main factors that should be considered prior to using new penny stock trading apps.
Access to a Wide Variety of Penny Stocks
By having a wide variety of penny stocks, traders have the freedom to invest in a multitude of options. This is an important characteristic to look into when investing to make sure you are not pigeonholed into choosing the more common penny stocks and missing out on other potential opportunities.
User Friendly
Prior to downloading an app, an investor should dictate whether they are an advanced or beginner investor. By doing this, it can help lessen how user-friendly the app is with those at that skill level. Additionally, looking for the app’s reviews and customer support is a good tell-tale sign regarding the app’s quality.
Low or Zero Commission Fees
Many platforms have fees associated with trading, however, there are a wide range of those who do not. It is important to seek out those with low fees so your profits don’t bear the brunt of it.
Accredited Platform
Lastly, when looking for an app, you want to see if it is an accredited platform. How are its reviews? Who has advocated using this platform? What are its credentials? Ask yourself these questions prior to investing your money into a new trading platform.
Benefits of Trading Penny Stocks
Prior to investing in penny stocks, one should understand the benefits of trading these types of stocks. These include:
- Highly volatile stocks leaving room for a massive return on investment
- High growth in a short period of time
- Large return on investment with little capital invested
Risks of Trading Penny Stocks
Despite how good penny stocks sound, there are downsides to investing in them. These include:
- These stocks tend to have low liquidity making it hard for investors to cash out their returns
- Hard to find information on smaller companies with penny stocks, making investing in them a greater gamble
- Artificial inflation can potentially skew company’s financial situation
Are Penny Stocks a Good Investment?
Penny stocks are a great investment for those who have a large tolerance for risk. Additionally, they can provide a large return on a small initial investment.
One should look into trading penny stocks on their mobile device due to the number of platforms that provide commission-free transactions. Before investing in these opportunities though, consult with your financial advisor to guide you through your investment decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make a sizable profit on a relatively small investment. However, penny stocks have high volatility making it hard to make a consistent income on their returns.
Yes, you can invest $100 in penny stocks. Since penny stocks are less than $5 per share, you will get around 20 shares depending on their share price.
Penny stocks fall into the category of investments that are high-risk, high-reward. They can be a great investment if you choose the right stock.
Yes, Amazon was a penny stock in 1997 when it traded for under $2. It graduated from being a penny stock in 1998.
