Understanding the penny stock broker and their main features is what allows you to choose the best broker to suit your needs. As important as it is to choose the right stocks, it is equally as important to choose the right penny stock broker to carry out your investing activity.
What Is a Penny Stock Broker?
A penny stock broker is an individual or on online platform used by a trader to engage in the buying and selling of penny stocks. There are as many stock brokers out there as there are penny stocks. Well, maybe not exactly, but it sure does feel like it. Their main purpose is to provide a means to facilitate the process of trading stocks.
Your broker can also act as an advisor in certain situations and therefore can have an impact on your trading decisions. Ultimately, each penny stock broker is unique with its own advantages and offerings. What is important is to do your research to select the best broker to fit your needs.
What To Look For In a Penny Stock Broker?
A penny stock can offer two ways of making trades. They can either have traders call in to place their buy and sell orders with a live broker or they can use the broker’s online trading platform. Almost all brokers today offer an online trading platform of which most traders have become accustomed to using. Having a fast, easy and secure means to placing trades is a significant asset when looking for a broker. While the call and trade approach does offer the convenience of speaking to another person to place a trade, lengthy waiting times can affect trading prices and significantly impact returns. Additionally, brokers sometimes charge for the ability to speak to a person, the fee commonly built into the transaction cost. For the most part, using do-it-yourself options online are a preferential choice for conducting trades.
The fee structure is another important concern when choosing a broker. Fee structures can vary from broker to broker. Choosing the right fee structure is dependent on the nature of your trading activity. A flat commission charged off of each buy and sell transaction or a charge on each individual share purchased are two common fee structures. If you commonly purchase penny stocks at very cheap prices per share, you may want to avoid the per-share fee structure as it can render it difficult to make a profit. Buying a penny stock at $0.20 per share with a $0.05 per share transaction fee can eat away at your profit margin. When choosing a broker, it is also important to consider minimum opening balances, withdrawal, inactivity, maintenance and potential hidden fees.
Finding A Penny Stock Broker
Before you can begin to trade penny stocks, you must find the right broker and fits your strategy. There is no one size fits all when it comes to choosing your stock broker and the process often requires lots of tedious research. Websites such a stockbrokers.com are often a good place to start as they offer tools to evaluate and compare among the many available brokers.
Some of the more popular stock brokers include:
- TD Ameritrade
- E-Trade
- Interactive Brokers
To see more options for brokers, check out our article on the Best Stock Brokers for Beginners!
Like any other part of investing, the more preparation the better. Be prepared and learn more about the choosing the right stock broker with Wall Street Survivor’s course Basics Of The Stock Market.
We are experienced users of dozens of stock trading platforms. We stay up to date on these platforms' service offerings, subscription fees, trade commissions, and welcome bonuses. The brokerages listed below are for U.S.-based investors, and are ranked in order of overall value received after taking advantage of their sign-up and/or referral offers. $3 monthly 10k in assets Growth $3; + $9 Month Bronze $3; Silver $6; Gold $12 a monthThe Best U.S. Brokerages as of June 30, 2025
Ranking of Top U.S. Stock Brokerages Based on Fees, Features, and Sign-Up Bonuses
Rank
Brokerage
Fees
Features
Sign-Up Bonus
Read Our Review
1.
Robinhood
$0
✅ U.S. stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptos
✅ Now 23 million users
✅ Cash mgt account and credit card
Free stock up to $200 with new account, plus up to $1,500 more in free stock from referrals
Robinhood Review
2.
Moomoo
$0
✅ Free Level 2 Nasdaq quotes
✅ Access to U.S. and Hong Kong markets
✅ Educational tools60 free stocks with $5k deposit; or 25 free stocks with $2k deposit
Moomoo Review
3.
Interactive Brokers
$0
✅ Access 150+ global stock exchanges
✅ IBKR Lite & Pro tiers for all
✅ SmartRouting™ and deep analyticsRefer a Friend and Get $200
Interactive Brokers Review
4.
Robinhood Gold
$5
✅ 4% APY on cash
✅ 3% IRA match
✅ Level II data
✅ No interest on first $1,000 of margin Save with Annual Fee
Robinhood Gold Review
5.
M1 Finance
✅ Automated investing “Pies”
✅ Banking & low-interest loans
✅ No trading fees with scheduled trades$75-$500 Tiered Sign-up bonus
M1 Finance Review
6.
Webull
$0
✅ Extended-hours trading
✅ Great charts and screeners
✅ Commission-free options trading$10 and a 30-day complimentary subscription to Webull premium;
$200-$30,0000 Tiered Sign up bonusWebull Review
7.
Public
$0
✅ Fractional shares
✅ No payment for order flow model
✅ “Alpha” tool with earnings calls$100-$10,000 Tiered Cash Account Transfer Bonus
Public Review
8.
Composer
$32 a month
✅ Invest in automated strategies
✅ Build custom strategies easily
✅ IRAs$49 per successful referral with no limit on the number of referrals
Composer Review
9.
Stash
✅ Stock-Back® debit card rewards in fractional shares
✅ Auto-invest and budgeting tools
✅ Curated theme portfolios$5 when you invest $5
Stash Review
10.
Acorns
✅ Automated investing portfolios
✅ ESG curated portfolios
✅ Acorns Early Invest for Kids' AccountsGet a $20 bonus when you start saving & investing
Acorns Review
11.
Etoro
$0
✅ CopyTrading™ to follow top traders
✅ Trade U.S. stocks, ETFs, and crypto
✅ Trades with themed portfolios$10 Crypto Sign-Up Bonus
Etoro Review
12.
Cash App
$0
✅ U.S. stocks and bitcoin; $1 minimum
✅ Peer-to-peer payments
✅ Beginner-friendly financial ecosystemUp to $200 in free overdraft coverage and earn 4% on cash
Cash App Review
Fees, features, sign-up bonuses, and referral bonuses are accurate as of May 31, 2025. All information listed above is subject to change.