There are a lot of discount stock brokers with varying fees. From a penny stock standpoint, most brokers have additional fees to worry about. Below is a comparison of discount stock brokers. The list includes the cost to trade on-line, the additional fee to trade penny stocks listed on pink sheets or OTC, the cost to complete a broker assisted trade, and the required opening balance. This is not an exhaustive list and is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please verify this information on your own and use this table as a starting point for your own research into penny stock brokers and discount stock brokers.
Penny Stock Brokers:
| Broker | On-line Cost/Trade | OTC Cost/Trade | Broker Assisted | Opening Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | 0.005/sh | 0.005/sh | Varies | $10,000 |
| optionshouse.com | $3.95 | +$0.005/sh^^ | $0 | $0 |
| zecco.com | $4.95 | $6.95 | $19.99 | $0 |
| tradeking.com | $4.95 | +$0.005/sh | $4.95 | $0 |
| trademonster.com | $7.50 | $7.50 | $7.50 | $2,000 |
| lowtrades.com | $4.95 | $4.95 | $25.00 | $0 |
| optionsXpress | $9.95 | $9.95 | $0 | $0 |
| mbtrading.com | $4.95 | $8.95 | $4.95* | $1,000 |
| Charles Schwab | $8.95 | $(8.95) | $25.00 | $1,000 |
| E*Trade | $9.99 | $6.95 | $54.99 | $1,000 |
| Scottrade | $7.00 | $6.95 | $27.00 | $1,000 |
| TD Ameritrade | $9.99 | $6.95 | $44.99 | $1,000 |
| Just2Trade | $2.50 | $2.50 | — | $2,500 |
*does not charge an additional fee for phone trades, therefore standard commission rates apply.
**TRADEKING adds $0.01 per share on the entire order for stocks priced less than $1.00. Maximum commission per order not to exceed 5% of the trade value, with minimum commission of $4.95. Minimum investment of $100 per order in OTCBB and Pink Sheet stocks. TRADEKING does not accept opening trades for stocks below $0.01 per share.
^tradeMonster will add $0.0005 per share on the entire order for any stocks priced less than $1.00.
^^OptionsHouse charges an additional .005c per share on non-optionable stocks under $2.00.
optionsXpress – Commissions are capped at 5% of total purchase price, subject to a $9.95 minimum.