Cheapest Online Stock Trading Investment Websites

Online stock trading can be a great way for a new investor to open up a regular or retirement style stock account. These sites are great for anyone who wants to get their feet wet and handle their own trading. Many of the websites for stock trading have low costs for trades, and you won't have to work with a broker, or someone who will tell you where to put your money. Of course you should tread cautiously with your money and do your homework before buying any stocks online, but you can potentially make your money go to work for you!

With online stock investment websites, you can make low-priced stock trades funded by your bank account. Some of these sites will require an account minimum while others do not. Also, there may be restrictions on when trades are made depending on the site. Usually you can fund trades by sending a check through the mail, or set up funding via the ACH network for direct deposit style funding.

On this webpage, we'll take a look at three of the cheapest online stock trading websites where you can make investments. Refer to this list as necessary when choosing the best internet stock trading site for you.

My first recommendation for the novice investor would be the BuyandHold.com online stock investment site. They offer trades for just $2.99 each. This means each stock you choose to buy or sell, will be charged $2.99 for the transaction. So if you decided to buy 10, 100, or even 1,000 shares of a stock, you'll be charged just $2.99!

Now the caveat with this low-cost trading is that BuyandHold uses stock trading windows. What this means is they purchase stock at 3 different times during the stock trading day. Usually there's one around 10AM, 12PM and then 3PM. So depending on when you've decided to invest, you may be getting a good deal for your money (if the stock went down), or losing a little money. However, this site is still more flexible than the next option here on the list. At BuyandHold they have great customer service as well as the ability to set up IRA accounts with an annual fee, to prepare for retirement.

More information at: http://www.buyandhold.com

Sharebuilder used to be its own website, but in recent times was merged with ING (orange), who offers internet banking services. This stock trading site is almost as cheap as BuyandHold when it comes to trades, but not quite as flexible. Their site offers $4 trades and you can choose from over 7,000 stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF's). With their basic trades there's no windows each day like BuyandHold offers. With ING Sharebuilder your trades will go through on Tuesdays each week (unless there's a market holiday). You can set up recurring trades on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis, or just choose when to invest as you like (as long as you know you'll be waiting until the next Tuesday for the investment).

Sharebuilder offers three different account choices. With Sharebuilder's basic online investing program you are charged $4 per investment you make, with no account minimum. If you want to get more serious, you can opt for the Standard account at $12 per month which allows 6 trades a month for no cost, and then $2 for each additional trade after; or you can go with the Advantage account for $20. The Advantage account offers 20 trades a month at no cost, and then $1 for each additional trade. In these last two situations, you'd want to be investing quite a bit of money, otherwise you might not see any decent returns because of the cost of the accounts. Sharebuilder offers No-fee IRA's and ESA's as well as quotes for real time trades, and much more helpful stock resources for your online trading!

See more at http://www.sharebuilder.com

In 2009, Scottrade received the award for #1 for Customer Loyalty 2009, by Brand Keys. The great thing about this particular online stock trading website is they have over 400 local branch offices for personal service. Their stock trades are not as low in price as BuyandHold or Sharebuilder at $7, but they offer more flexibility in terms of investing.

Their site offers individual brokerage accounts, joint brokerage accounts, IRA's and several other account types, making it a great place to put your money. It's important to understand that you're charged $7 if you make trades online with Scottrade. You can also place Broker Assisted trades at a cost of $27, or use a Touchtone phone system for more security, which will cost you $17 a trade.

You will need a minimum of $500 to start an account with Scottrade, which is very low compared to what many other online stock trading sites might charge. Some charge $1,000 to $10,000 to maintain a stock investment portfolio and do stock trading, so Scottrade is an affordable online trading site for someone who might be a little more serious or have more to invest.

For more information visit: http://www.scottrade.com

The three stock trading sites discussed above can be a great way for any newer investor to get their money into the market at low cost and stress.  BuyandHold, ING Sharebuilder and Scottrade each offer low-cost trades with different restrictions.  Scottrade is the highest cost per trade but offers the most flexibility, followed by BuyandHold and ING Sharebuilder.  It's really up to you which you go with, based on your level of investing or income you have available to invest.  You may want something simple for now, then decide to get more serious about it later on.

Keep in mind you can always switch out and close out of an account if you find you don't like the service or how it works.  You may even decide to change to something more flexible as your money grows or you have more to invest.  However, there may be fees and penalties associated with transferring stocks or closing your account for any of these cheapest online stock trading websites.