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Penny Stock Brokers

We have researched all of the best stock brokers in the "deep discount" category, that are worth considering for a penny stock investor/trader. Use the table for a quick overview of commissions and fees. Details for each are listed below; use the links or scroll down to find the best stock broker that fits your personal needs. To make a suggestion for an addition, please email us.

IMPORTANT! - Before you begin..

When looking for a Penny Stock Broker there are a few critical points to look for. The majority of brokers have fees that make penny stock trading more expensive than their big, colorful price tags lead you to believe. The truth is that a lot of brokers don't want to deal with small accounts trading penny stocks as they make the most money from large and active accounts.

To deter penny stock trading, brokers may have fees that affect the trade of low priced stocks, usually less than a dollar. Another typical method is to have a "large order surcharge" that kicks in with trades of more than 1,000 or 100,000 shares. With penny stocks, most notably sub-penny stocks, a small $500 position could be over 100,000 shares. These additional fees are usually noted with an asterisk in small print at the bottom of the page. We have made note of these fees with the brokers listed on this page, just look at the "Penny Stock Fees" column on the chart and read the notes. If you find a broker not listed here, make sure to look at the fine print... and if they have a good commission, and none of these pesky fees, let us know!

As you will see, the only brokers that have none of these fees are ChoiceTrade®, TDAmeritrade® and Zecco®. If you are serious about trading low priced penny stocks, including sub-penny stocks, these are the only realistic options we know of. With Zecco offering less than half the trade commission of TDAmeritrade, it is a very attractive option for penny stock trading. TDAmeritrade on the other hand offers very impressive tools and customer service, especially if you qualify for their Apex service. The decision between the two is difficult. However, you can - like we do - use both Zecco and TDAmeritrade, if you have enough money to meet the minimum funding level. This way you can use all of the great tools that TDAmeritrade has, and execute most of your trades on Zecco at the super low commission of $4.50... This is the best of both worlds in our opinion!

With that said, please check out all the details!

Penny Stock Broker Comparison

- Stock Broker Comparison -

Broker	Commissions	Inactivity Fees	Min. Funding	Penny Stock Fees - NEW!
ChoiceTrade	$5 Flat!	None	$2000****	None!
Zecco	$4.50 or FREE!**	None	None***	None!
TDAmeritrade	$9.99 Flat	None	$2000	None!
SogoTrade	$3+***	None	$500	Low Price Stock Fee - <$1, ½%***
LowTrades	$4.95+**	$50 biannually	None***	Large Order Charge - 100K+ shares, 1%**
ShareBuilder	$9.95+*	None	None***	Large Order Charge - 1,000+ shares, $0.025*
Scottrade	$7+*	None	$500	Low Price Stock Fee - <$1, ½%+*

* for stocks trading under $1/share, total commission is $7 + ½% of trade principle.
** for orders over 100,000 shares
*** for stocks under $1/share, total commission is ½% of trade principle, minimum $3.
* $4 or less for automatic investments, or $9.95 for real-time trades.
- Large order surcharge: In addition to the base commission, a large order surcharge of $0.025 for each additional share over 1,000 shares will be incurred. The total commission (base commission + surcharge) is subject to a maximum of 2.5 percent of the principal, but no less than the base commission. (does not apply to Automatic Investments)
** up to 10 free trades per month with a $25,000 minimum balance, or by making 25 trades a month. Regular trade commission only $4.50!
*** while these brokers have a zero minimum funding level, please remember that we recommend trading with at least $500 per stock. Please see our Buy Penny Stocks page for more details.
**** to receive $50 cash signup bonus and 4 months of free ChoiceStreamer Basic service.

- Stock Broker Details -

Gold Level: These brokers offer the best combination of price for penny stocks, features and service.

Best Penny Stock Broker!

ChoiceTrade® is a new broker to our penny stock broker page, and honestly we don't know how we missed it for so long. ChoiceTrade is a great option for penny traders as it offers $5 flat trades. That means unlimited shares, no penny stock surcharge or fees, and no minimum per trade! This is a very competetive offer, especially considering ChoiceTrade has received the Barron's 4-star award for five years running. They have earned this through their great pricing and customer service. After trying ChoiceTrade we are eager to award it our "Best Penny Stock Broker" designation. The only disadvantage ChoiceTrade has to TDAmeritrade is you must pay for streaming data, level 2 quotes, etc. However, with a trade commission of half the price, this difference can be made up quickly.

As a bonus for signing up for an account via the link below you will receive a $50 cash signup bonus, and 4 months of free ChoiceStreamer Basic service. Check out the details below.

ChoiceTrade's contact info - Phone: 877-731-9114 | Web: ChoiceTrade

Special Offer: Get $50 Cash Signup Bonus

Click one of our links to ChoiceTrade® and sign up for a Non-IRA, margin enabled account, fund it with a minimum of $2000, and receive $50 cash bonus from ChoiceTrade. It's free money and easy! New customers only, one customer per household.

TDAmeritrade® is one of the best known discount online brokers. Formerly Ameritrade and TD Waterhouse, the companies have now merged. Since the merge, things have only gotten better for traders. They now charge a flat $9.99 for all market and limit orders no matter the order size, or stock price - including OTCBB/Pinksheet penny stocks. There are also NO Inactivity or Maintenance Fees no matter what your balance and trading activity level are. Generally there is a $2000 minimum funding level to open an account. Promotional offers may lower this, however. At TheThirdDimension.net we also use TDAmeritrade as a broker for penny stocks due to their great features and excellent customer service.

TDAmeritrade's contact info - Phone: 1-888-871-9007 | Web: www.TDAmeritrade.com

Zecco Free Trading Zecco® is an online broker that is defying all others by offering FREE... yes, you read it correctly, free stock trades. They are able to do this by making their profits via interest on your money, as well as using ads on their site. Other brokers do the same, but still charge fees for each trade. Zecco offers up to 10 trades a month, completely free. The catch is that you have to have a $25,000 balance, or make 25 trades a month... Now, we know most of you are saying to yourself, "well that's not me.. oh well." But keep reading! The normal commission is only $4.50 a trade! They have NO minimum funding level, and a FOREX trading solution. While they are improving, we still find ChoiceTrade and TDAmeritrade to have superior customer service.

Zecco's contact info - Phone: 1-909-657-6655 | Web: www.zecco.com

Silver Level: This broker offers a low price, and good service, but you will incur extra fees for low priced stocks.

SogoTrade® charges $3 for all market and limit orders, unlimited shares, including OTCBB/Pinksheet penny stocks. For stocks traded below $1.00, however, the online commission is ½% of the principal value subject to a $3.00 minimum. This is essentially the same fee as Scottrade, but it is the total commission instead of being on top of $7. So for traders playing with smaller amounts of money, or looking to trade small caps of $1+, SogoTrade is a good option. A $1000 trade of a sub dollar stock would result in a $10 commission. SogoTrade has a low $500 minimum funding level, and no maintenance or inactivity fees. Again, ChoiceTrade and Zecco are still a better choice overall when it comes to the commissions on low priced penny stocks. See more details through the link below.

Fees and Commissions

SogoTrade's contact info - Phone: 1-888-818-7646 | Web: www.SogoTrade.com

Bronze Level: These brokers have good service and features, but are priced quite high for penny stocks.

ShareBuilder® is a relatively new, and very unique online discount broker. Opening in 1999, ShareBuilder's CEO Jeff Seely made it his goal to let everyone participate in a market dominated by large brokerages. The Sharebuilder philosophy is based on three concepts: Discipline, Diversification, and Dollar Cost Averaging. ShareBuilder has merged with ING, and since has offered $9.95 real-time trades. What makes their service unique, however, is the Automatic Investment Plan. You can schedule dollar amount trades for Tuesday of every week and pay a commission of $4 or less. This is a nice feature for making longer term investments, allowing you to build your portfolio slowly and affordably.

Fees and Commissions

ShareBuilder's contact info - Phone: 1-800-747-2537 | Web: www.ShareBuilder.com

Scottrade® is another inexpensive online broker. They charge $7 for both market and limit orders. There are no quarterly or annual fees, but there is a $500 minimum funding to open an account. The only issue with trading penny stocks with Scottrade is an additional fee for stocks under $1. In addition to the $7 commission, Scottrade charges an additional fee of 0.5% of the total stock value purchased. So if you spend $1000 on a stock, an additional $5 will be added to the $7 commission. For new investors trading small amounts, this won't be much of an issue. For larger trades, however, ChoiceTrade, Zecco, and TDAmeritrade are better options.

Commissions and Requirements

Scottrade's contact info - Phone: 1-800-619-7283 | Web: www.Scottrade.com

LowTrades® is a basic discount broker with very low commissions of $4.95 per trade. An Inactivity Fee of $50 is charged for the two trading periods between January-June and July-December of each calendar year. To avoid inactivity fees, one executed trade must be completed during each trading period. There is no minimum account balance to sign up, unless you open a margin or a day trading account. The issue with LowTrades regarding penny stock trading is that orders of over 100,000 shares are subject to a block trading fee of 1% of the total cost or proceeds of the trade. To put this into a simple perspective, a 100K+ share trade of a position of only $500 would result in an additional fee of $5. This brings LowTrades to an expense level that is not competitive when trading low priced penny stocks.

Lowtrades' contact info - Phone: 1-800-597-8767 | Web: www.LowTrades.com

Please make any suggestions for additions/changes here.

-Main Site Pages-

1. Stock Market Information and Basics
2. How to Buy Penny Stocks
3. The "Penny Stock" Explained
4. Penny Stock Company Actions
5. Finding a Diamond: Hot Penny Stocks
6. Stock Share Structure Explained
7. Penny Stock Forums & Message Boards
8. Develop a Penny Stock Trading Strategy
9. Tools for Penny Stock Trading
10. Penny Stock Books and Publications
11. Penny Stock Pick Newsletters

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Last Updated: 11/20/09

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