This article is contributed by reader focusing 

In fact, there are many brokerages available in the U.S., such as Moomoo, Webull, Cash App, SoFi, and more. In this article, the author mainly shares some brokerage experiences from personal use for reference, and will go through them in order from basic to advanced brokerages. (Long post, lots of images)

Cash App

Cash App is a product launched by Square Inc. (Ticker: SQ). Its main function is a checking account that can replace a traditional bank. If you are interested in that aspect, you can check out this article. Here, the author will only give a brief introduction to the investing features inside Cash App. Cash App does not support options trading.

Stock Trading

The currently supported features are very limited, and it is basically a very simplified stock trading app. But you do not need to open a brokerage account, and there are no fees. The interface is clean and easy to understand, making it very beginner-friendly and suitable for long-term investing. The main shortcomings are: many stocks are missing and cannot be traded; purchases can only be made through market orders, and you can only set the purchase amount, not the number of shares, so the execution price is entirely determined by the app; more professional daily charts and technical indicators are completely absent. In addition, Cash App does not support stock transfers between brokerages.

Digital Currency Trading

At present, only Bitcoin trading is supported. Trades can only be placed as market orders, and both buying and selling require a fee. The exact amount is uncertain and variable, but it is roughly around 2%. Investing in Bitcoin through Cash App has almost no barrier to entry, but because of the trading fee, it is more suitable for long-term investing.

SoFi Invest

SoFi was founded in 2011. It started with student loans and later gradually expanded its product line. It now offers checking accounts, credit cards (2% cash back, no foreign transaction fee, no annual fee), investment accounts, and lending services. SoFi is rooted in the fintech space and has built a complete ecosystem. It is currently preparing to merge with Chamath's shell SPAC company IPOE, with completion expected in Q1 2021. Here, the author will only introduce SoFi's SoFi Invest. If you are interested in its other services, you can download SoFi and try them out. SoFi also does not support options trading.

Stock Trading

Compared with Cash App, SoFi's advantages are mainly in the following areas:

  1. Supports limit orders, allows both whole-share purchases and fractional shares.
  2. Supports stock transfers from other brokerages
  3. Allows you to share your own trade history and also copy some high-return investors
  4. SoFi has also launched an automated investing account that requires no management, making it suitable for beginner investors

After talking about the benefits, SoFi actually still has quite a few drawbacks:

  1. Does not support pre-market or after-hours trading
  2. No desktop support
  3. Does not support margin accounts, so there is no way to use leverage
  4. Stock price movement is only shown in mountain view, and it does not support candlestick charts or other technical indicators.

Overall, SoFi is already much better than Cash App, but it still has some shortcomings. It is more suitable for beginner investors and long-term value investing, and does not require frequent trading.

Digital Currency Trading

The digital currencies supported by SoFi include Bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ethereum classic. Compared with Cash App, the range of supported cryptocurrencies is still quite broad. It also only supports market orders and does not allow limit orders.

Webull

The blog has already introduced Webull many times, so I won't go into a detailed introduction here. I'll mainly talk about some of my own experience using it:

Stock Trading

Webull's stock trading features are very comprehensive. It supports margin accounts, a variety of technical indicators, news updates, stock transfers from other brokerages, and pre-market trading starting at 4:00 AM EST. It also provides Level 2 data, paper trading, and access to trading information for Hong Kong stocks and A-shares. Basically, it gives you all the features you could want. Webull also supports mobile phones, tablets, web, and desktop, and its tablet app is designed specifically for tablets rather than just being a scaled-up version. The author is currently using Webull for chart watching and trading.

A few drawbacks of Webull:

  1. Order execution speed and the number of stocks available for shorting are limited, so it is still not suitable for day trading.
  2. Orders cannot be placed outside stock trading hours (such as after market close or on weekends).
  3. The IPO Center has a limited selection of stocks, and many popular Chinese ADRs are missing
  4. OTC market trading is not supported

Options Trading

All options trading on Webull is commission-free, and the types of options trading supported have increased recently. It now supports Level 3 option spread trading, but it still does not support any strategies with unlimited risk, such as short straddle, short strangle, naked put, or naked call. Since Level 3 option trading was just launched, there are still some issues with the actual user experience and it is not very convenient. For example, the strike price selection for an iron condor is not very flexible; short call spreads and short put spreads cannot be entered separately and combined into an iron condor, but instead require two sets of margin. Given some time, these issues should be resolved.

Digital Currency Trading

At present, Webull supports trading in four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash. The advantage of trading Bitcoin on Webull is that you can place limit orders, and there are no trading fees.

Moomoo

The blog has already introduced Moomoo many times, so I won't go into a detailed introduction here. I'll mainly talk about some of my own experience using it

After using it, Moomoo's features are among the top tier of brokerages right now. It has many features, most of them free, and its trading fees are competitive. U.S. stocks, ETFs, and options are all commission-free, and it offers full Chinese support, making it very friendly for Chinese-speaking investors.

  • 24-hour market and news updates, plus professional and in-depth analysis articles and research reports;
  • Free and real-time LV2 advanced stock quotes, as well as Morningstar-rated research reports, both of which are paid on other platforms;
  • Supports 24-hour U.S. stock trading and up to 12 order types, including intelligent trailing stop-loss and take-profit modes, so you do not have to watch the market all the time; a blessing for users in different time zones and working professionals. For more advanced traders, it also offers price-based trading, letting you view order book data at different prices and place orders with one click;
  • On the fee side, buying and selling U.S. stocks, U.S. stock options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies is $0 commission, with no minimum deposit requirement, no account maintenance fee, and no other hidden charges (official fee schedule)
  • There are many popular IPOs supported, and regular accounts can also participate in IPO allocations without tying up cash buying power. IPO subscriptions are $0 commission and $0 application fee, with a historical 100% win rate.

Options Trading

1. Moomoo’s options chain data is free and real-time, and it supports up to 12 options strategies, meeting trading needs in different scenarios. It also visually displays a contract’s breakeven point and profit/loss situation, making everything clear at a glance. And Moomoo’s options trading is commission-free with no contract fee.

2. My personal favorite is its options strategy feature. Just tell the system whether you are bullish or bearish on a stock, and it can automatically recommend the corresponding strategy. You can generate an options strategy in just three steps, so it is relatively easy for beginners to get started with options;

Cryptocurrency Trading

Moomoo’s cryptocurrency trading is compliant and secure, supporting more than 50 cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, and UNI. It charges zero commission and a transparent 0.49% trading fee. Deposits and withdrawals are convenient, transfers are free, and 24/7 online customer service is available.

Firstrade

Firstrade is a very long-established broker, and I’ve already covered it on the blog before, so I won’t go into detail here. I’ll mainly talk about my own experience.

It also does not support cryptocurrency trading.

Stock Trading

Firstrade’s stock trading experience is actually not very good, mainly because it currently only supports mobile and web, with no desktop client. Overall, it is not very friendly for viewing stock candlestick charts and various technical indicators; webull/moomoo are much better in this regard. At the same time, Firstrade’s pre-market trading starts at 8 AM EST instead of 4 AM EST, so there is a 4-hour delay. However, Firstrade supports more types of trading than free brokers, including OTC market and mutual funds. Firstrade also offers free webinars every week, where experts explain some stock/options trading knowledge, which is still very friendly for beginners new to the stock market.

Options Trading

As a long-established broker, Firstrade also offers commission-free options trading, which is quite commendable. Firstrade supports almost all options trading types, but you need at least $2000 in account value to do spreading/straddling calls & put, and $10,000 in account value to do naked puts. However, Firstrade’s options trading still has some pretty big drawbacks:

1. It does not support GTC limit orders

2. It does not provide profit/loss charts for multiple options combinations, and data such as options Greeks, ITM%, IV Rank, and IV percentile is missing

E*trade

E*trade was founded in 1982 and is also a long-established broker. It was acquired by Morgan Stanley, but the E*trade brand remains in operation.

  • E*trade signup link (deposit $5,000 to get a $50 bonus; deposit $10,000 to get a $100 bonus; deposit $20,000 to get a $150 bonus; deposit $25,000 to get a $200 bonus)

It also does not support cryptocurrency trading.

Stock Trading

Compared with webull/moomoo, E*Trade stock trading supports OTC market trading, but pre-market trading also only starts at 8 AM EST. Since E*trade was acquired by Morgan Stanley, you can view Morgan Stanley’s individual stock research reports for free, and you can also see analysts’ ratings and target prices. E*trade feels a bit fragmented overall: there is the original web-based trading platform, the earlier E*trade Pro desktop client (which requires $25,000 to use, is written in Java, and has basically been discontinued and is no longer promoted), plus the newer Power E*trade (also web-based, but with many improvements over the old one). In total, there are 3 different trading interfaces, so it takes some time to get used to; I mainly use Power E*trade for trading.

Options Trading

E*trade options trading costs money: each options trade is charged $0.65, and if you trade more than 30 times in a quarter, the fee drops to $0.50. Because options trading is fee-based, the platform also offers relatively complete features, supporting all types of options trading, automatically identifying the options/stocks already in your account and pairing them; supporting limit orders; and allowing orders to be combined freely, with up to 4 legs placed at the same time.

Overall, if you want more professional stock trading and options trading, E*trade is a good choice. However, their customer service wait times are very long, and the overall experience is not especially friendly...

Tastyworks

Tastyworks was founded by Tom Sosnoff in 2017. It focuses on options and futures trading, while also supporting stock trading. Tom Sosnoff is a very well-known options trader, and the Thinkorswim platform on TD Ameritrade was founded by him. Later, he created the Tastytrade platform to popularize options trading knowledge, changing the situation where options were basically traded by institutions and allowing individual investors to participate in options trading as well. If you are interested in learning more about options trading, you can check out tastytrade, which has very detailed information. During the GME event, Tastyworks clearly explained the reason when it stopped trading GME and other stocks (an increase in margin requirements from Apex clearing house), and it resumed trading immediately after 1-2 hours. The response was still very efficient. Since Tastyworks was mainly designed for options trading, the trading interface as a whole is relatively complex and hardcore, and is not very friendly for beginners.

  • Tastyworks application link
  • Referral code: STOCK_AWARD_20 (deposit $2,000 and you can get 100 shares of stock, with an average value of around $200)
  • ZXCJN43AW5 (my referral code; there is no reward for applying, but feel free to use it if you want to buy me tea).

Stock Trading

Tastyworks supports web, mobile app, and desktop clients. Since Tastyworks focuses on options trading, its stock trading features are relatively limited, but it is commission-free, and pre-market trading starts at 8 AM, which is basically sufficient.

Options Trading:

Tastyworks’ options trading is its flagship product, with a $1 fee per options contract (no fee to close). If the number of contracts in one leg of a single order is greater than 10, the maximum charge is $10. Compared with E*trade, the fee is relatively cheaper; E*trade charges twice for one options contract, once to open and once to close, which is $0.65*2 = $1.3, and there is no discount even if the number of contracts is greater than 10.

Tastyworks has basically done a very good job with options trading. They simply divide trading levels into 3 tiers:

If you want all features, just open a margin account and choose The Works level. If you want to learn options trading, Tastyworks is a very good trading platform. Professional traders on the Tastyworks platform also post their trades every day, which you can copy directly, while also providing some trading ideas.

Cryptocurrency

Tastyworks now supports BTC, BCH, ETH, and LTC. A $200 deposit gets you $50 in cryptocurrency, and a $2,000 deposit gets you $200 in cryptocurrency. The promotion ends 06/30

Summary

There are also many other great trading platforms, such as Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, Schwab, and TD Ameritrade. Since I have not used them myself, I will not comment on them here. In general, if you only want very simple stock investing and long-term holding, you can consider SoFi/Cash App; if you only want a more professional stock trading experience, you can choose Webull/Moomoo; if you need both stock trading and options trading, you can choose Firstrade/E*TRADE; if you want a relatively professional options trading setup, you can choose Tastyworks. Feel free to share your experience with different brokerage platforms in the comments!

Stock Investing Basics

Below are a few commonly used U.S. stock brokerages, along with their signup bonuses.

Overview Signup Bonus Quick Take
Moomoo $1,030 in stock + 8.1% APY Professional platform, no commissions, and free Level 2 market data. Good for both beginners and advanced traders. Chinese-language customer service available. Requires SSN.
TradeUp 50 shares of NVDA + chance to win 5 more shares + 4% for three months No commissions, supports both U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, and offers WebTrading. Chinese-language customer service available. Available globally.
Webull $100 Amazon + 12 fractional shares + 1 month of Premium membership No commissions, with frequent deposit bonuses that give free stock.
BBAE Up to $650 bonus 0 commission, 0 fees; Chinese-friendly, and you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
Robinhood 1 free stock No commissions, with an interest-bearing cash account option. Simple interface that works well for beginners.
Interactive Brokers Up to $1,000 Broad market access. Professional, comprehensive trading platform with high interest on cash balances.
TradeStation $250 Professional trading platform with a full set of supporting tools.
Schwab Up to $1,000 Professional and easy to use. Global ATM fee rebates and $0 stock commissions.
Fidelity Brokerage Account Sign-up link Well-established brokerage with no trading fees, plus TurboTax included.
BIT (formerly Matrixport) $400 in stock Supports direct crypto deposits and withdrawals, does not participate in China CRS, and allows registration directly with an ID card.
SoFi Invest $75 for opening an account No commissions and supports Stock Bits.
WealthFront $5,000 managed free Automated investing and wealth management.
M1 Finance $10 for depositing funds No commissions, with automatic investing based on your portfolio allocation.

If you do not have an SSN/ITIN but still want to trade U.S. stocks, take a look at the brokerages/platforms below. All of them allow registration using a full set of Chinese documents, and you can sign up with just an ID card or passport. None of them participate in China CRS.

  • BBAE: Chinese-friendly; you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
  • BIT (formerly Matrixport): You can open an account with just an ID card, and approval can be completed within a few hours.
  • Bitget: Identity verification can be completed with an ID card/Chinese passport.