Penny stocks increase the diversity of your investment portfolio, but finding the right app to use can be tricky. After all, you want to take advantage of the mobility your smartphone provides, without the hassle of complicated apps that are more trouble than they’re worth.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to six of the best penny stock trading apps of 2024. These apps work to streamline the process to keep your attention focused on trading, rather than navigating complicated menus. We’ll also guide you towards finding one that will fit your experience, from beginner all the way to advanced, active stock trader.
Trading penny stocks doesn’t have to cost a whole lot, but choosing the right app can be a small investment that increases your profits while maximizing your time. Which penny stocks will you trade on the apps we’ve linked below?
What to Look For in a Penny Stock Trading App
Many penny stock trading apps available for download contain similar features, but there are a few characteristics you’ll want to pay close attention to in order to find the one that best suits you.
Ease of Use
The best penny stock trading apps are those that are easy to use. This starts from the moment you sign up with the app and extends through to the daily trading you perform.
A handful of features make the penny stock trading app easy to use. For example, intuitive menus can go a long way in helping guide you through the process of funding, trading, and purchasing penny stocks. A central dashboard keeps your invested stocks front and center so you can monitor them throughout the day. Research tools with bitesize information help you define terms and gain knowledge to better inform your future investments.
Cost Comparison
The majority of the penny stock trading apps we’ve included below include free commissions as well as a $0 balance account minimum. That means you’ll want to spend more time focusing on what other types of fees are charged and compare them accordingly.
For example, Robinhood allows you to upgrade to Robinhood Gold for $5 per month in order to access more research tools and faster cash clearance. Compared to the wealth of information available on competitors like Fidelity and E-Trade at no cost to you, upgrading on Robinhood may not be a wise investment.
Diverse Investment Options
Adding penny stocks to your portfolio can increase the diversity factor, but why not opt for an app that also increases the diversity of the penny stocks available to you?
Many of the apps we’ve included below give you access to various investment options within the penny stock arena, from over-the-counter (OTC) exchanges and non-OTC exchanges to pink sheets. The wider variety of investment options you have available, the greater your chance of finding an investment that speaks to you.
Research and Analysis Tools
Whether you’re still new to trading, haven’t done a lot of penny stock trading, or know your way around a trade, research and analysis come in handy if you run into an issue where you’re not sure what’s going on.
The best penny stock trading apps are those that provide a treasure trove of information without bombarding you with pages and pages of knowledge. One of the best ways to navigate the loads of information available on penny stock apps is to search through directories to find the topic, term, or phrase you’re searching for. Finding what you want to know shouldn’t require more than a few finger taps at the most.
As you browse through the six best penny stock trading apps we’ve reviewed below, keep these features in mind. They may help you narrow down to a choice that will boost your profits with its ease of use, rather than bog you down in technical difficulties.
The 6 Best Penny Stock Trading Apps
Our list of the best penny stock trading apps below caters to investors who are new to the stock-trading world, as well as seasoned traders who are already active.
Best Overall: Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab reigns supreme when it comes to stock brokering, and the same can be said for their penny stock trading app. We’ve chosen it as the best overall penny stock trading app for 2024 based on the overall experience Charles Schwab brings to their customers, from free resources to diverse available stock trading options.
There are no account minimums or maintenance fees when you sign up for a Charles Schwab trading app account. Members also enjoy zero-cost commissions from one of the top brokerage firms in the industry. Voted best in terms of customer experience, the Charles Schwab penny stock trading app works via voice command to guide you through the app, receive quotes, make trades, track positions, manage investments, deposit checks, and transfer assets.
Within the Charles Schwab stock-trading app, you’ll also have access to multiple exchanges, from OTC and non-OTC to pink sheets. You can also tap into the vast library of free resources the app provides, from research and analysis tools to education and more.
Pros
- Intuitive customer experience
- Zero commissions
- No account minimum
- Many educational resources are available
Cons
- Uncertainty of merger with TD Ameritrade
- Vast amount of free information can be overwhelming at times
Though Charles Schwab merged with TD Ameritrade in 2020, members have yet to experience an interruption in the immense value this app brings them. Plus, we’ve also included TD Ameritrade on our list for the best user experience, which again is hardly likely to change much in the merger.
Best for Novice Investors: Robinhood
There’s a whole world of information you can get lost in when it comes to trading penny stock apps and learning more about how to increase your dividends. If you’re still new to the penny stock trading scene, Robinhood should be one of the first apps you take for a test drive.
We chose this app for the best novice investor penny stock trading app for quite a few reasons. One of the biggest ones is the fast and intuitive interactions available on Robinhood as a whole. You won’t spend a lot of time wondering where something might be, because it’s probably right where you think it is.
Unlike some of the other penny stock trading apps we’ll cover, Robinhood allows you to choose from a variety of stock options, from ETFs and penny stocks to gold and cryptocurrency. In fact, Robinhood has added a cryptocurrency wallet feature that many of the other popular penny stock trading apps do not incorporate.
You won’t pay anything to access the free resources available on Robinhood, and there are no minimum deposits required either. Trade commissions are free as well. However, you can also upgrade to receive more tools and research and a faster clearance of cash for $5 per month.
The one drawback that helps Robinhood to streamline its stock options is the exclusion of OTC penny stocks. The web version can be clunky at times and is limited as well, so the app is likely the best way to experience all that Robinhood can offer you.
Pros
- Free stock for new users
- Cryptocurrency wallet feature
- Variety of investment options, from penny stocks to ETFs, gold, crypto, and more
- Fast and intuitive platform
- No minimum deposit required
- Zero trade commissions
Cons
- $10 per month upgrade for faster cash clearance and more research tools may not be worth it, as the additional resources are free on most other apps
- OTC stocks are not available for trade
- Basic market research tools
Robinhood does well with younger users who prefer a penny stock trading app they can easily navigate. However, the information available within the resources section of the paid account can be found on other apps for free.
Robinhood is a free-trading app that allows you to trade stocks, crypto, and more without paying commissions. Plus, they'll give you a free stock worth between $5 and $200 for joining.
Best User Experience: TD Ameritrade
Investing in penny stocks with TD Ameritrade benefits you in a variety of ways, most of all in terms of your overall experience. It’s the reason we’ve chosen to include it on our list for the best penny stock apps of 2024.
TD Ameritrade features two apps you can choose from based on your experience with trading penny stocks. The basic app includes things like top-quality research tools, live feeds, and charts, as well as the ability to set up price alerts. Thinkorswim, the advanced version of the app, allows you to do quite a bit more, from chatting with a real-life trading specialist to collaborating with other penny stock traders via in-platform chat rooms.
Both versions of the TD Ameritrade app feature zero commissions on non-OTC stocks and no account minimums or fees. You will, however, pay a $6.95 fee per OTC trade you make.
Pros
- No account minimum
- Choose from one of two apps based on your experience
- Live feeds, charts, and research tools at your fingertips
Cons
OTC trade commission is $6.95 per transaction
We’ve talked about it before: the merger of TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab could result in some changes to both apps, but the impact should be minor for most users.
Best for Tools & Resources: E-Trade
If you like choosing between two options based on your experience with trading, E-Trade is another great resource and a respectable app we found to be the best in class when it comes to researching and analyzing penny stocks.
The regular E-Trade app is streamlined to provide you the best tools and resources to make the most of your time. You’ll have access to real-time quotes, streaming data, and a high-end stock screener to find the best stock opportunities for your situation.
The Power E-Trade app version is a full-service platform that allows you to manage your money as well as view breaking news and stream Bloomberg TV. You can also take advantage of the zero commission feature that’s available to both regular and Power users for non-OTC stocks.
While there is no account minimum for either app, you will pay $6.95 per transaction for OTC trades. This rate is reduced to $4.95 after 30 trades are completed in a quarter.
Pros
- Two versions of the app to choose from: regular and Power
- No account minimums
- Breaking news, trends, and real-time quotes Zero fees for non-OTC stocks
- Stream Bloomberg TV in the Power version of the app
Cons
$6.95 commission fee on OTC stocks that decreases to $4.95 per trade after 30 trades are made within a single quarter
E-Trade merged with Morgan Stanley in 2020, but there seems to be little, if any, impact on users’ experience of the E-Trade penny stock trading app.
Best for Active Traders: TradeStation
TradeStation is one of the more popular penny stock trading apps available to active investors who know what they’re doing and have some experience already in the penny stock trading sphere. With the vast resources available and the low costs associated with the platform, TradeStation definitely deserved a spot on our list.
There are two versions of the penny stock trading app that users can choose from: TSgo and TS Select. Both are free accounts with access to some of the best tools available from these types of applications. TSgo members will pay $10 per trade made on the desktop version, but otherwise there are no trade commissions.
While there isn’t an account minimum for the TSgo version, TS Select members will need to have at least $2,000 in their account to begin trading. These members will also be subject to a $0.005 per share transaction fee for trading more than 10,000 shares at a time.
TradeStation offers you access to fast trades, a wide range of technical analysis and research tools, and the ability to participate in several community forums and webinars as well. Market insights provide windows into potential investing opportunities, while the overall quality of this platform makes it a common favorite among investors.
Pros
- High-quality, sleek platform
- Zero trade commissions
- Wide array of technical analysis and research tools
- Real-time simulations to test hypotheses and possible investment strategies
Cons
- $2,000 account minimum for TS Select members
- TSgo users will pay $10 per trade made on the desktop version
TradeStation is one of the only apps on our list that requires an account minimum (for the TS Select version), but it does offer simulations so you can test your investing strategies in real time.
Best for Penny Stock Research: Fidelity
We’ve talked a lot about research so far in this review of penny stock trading apps, but the best one for the job tends to be Fidelity, which is already known for bringing members a wide variety of investing options.
We chose this penny stock trading app as the best for research based on the wide range of information available. Access to Fidelity is free and there are no commissions or account minimums to worry about either.
One of the best features about this particular app is the stock screener tool, which allows you to filter between possible stocks to invest in. This search tool can discriminate between stocks to the point where it narrows down results to less than 1,000 stocks, which is a much finer search than other stock news apps can perform.
We also picked out Fidelity’s penny stock trading app for the clean interface, world-class stock news research, and many analysis tools available. For example, you can tailor news and content to your preferences, as well as request stock quotes, intraday valuations, check your balances, track positions, and even transfer money.
Pros
- Stock screener weeds out more stocks than both E-Trade and TD Ameritrade
- Provides stock quotes and intraday valuations
- No commissions or account minimums
Cons
- New updates proving challenging for some users
Sometimes downloading an app just for the resources is enough for it to earn its space on your phone. With Fidelity, earning money with penny stocks is even more possible the more you learn, which is just one of the many features Fidelity offers investors of all experience levels.
FAQs
It is possible to make money off trading penny stocks, yes. Like any other stock, the idea is to buy low and sell high, but this concept can be a bit more complicated when it comes to penny stocks compared to your traditional stock options.
Penny stocks are considered high risk, even though they’re a relatively low investment. While many of them trade for less than $5, they’re relatively difficult to liquidate and don’t trade as often as other stock options might.
Conclusion
Trading penny stocks can be a lucrative investment if you know what you’re doing and have the right app to work with. We hope this article on the best penny stock trading apps of 2024 has helped you to not only find one that suits your needs, but boosts you to buy and sell to create a financially stable future for you and your loved ones.
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