There are many low commission stock brokers and they are many that are expensive. I imagine you want to be sure you are getting the best possible deal for your money. I don't know about you, but I hate feeling like i'm paying too much for things.
I've looked at many different stock brokers and produced this list of US stock brokers to help you get a good deal for your money:
| Broker | Cost Per Trade | Min Account Size | Broker Assisted Trades | Margin Rates |
| OptionsHouse | $2.95 | None | $2.95 | 4.45% |
| Zecco | $4.50 or FREE* | None | $19.99 | 7.20% |
| TradeKing | $4.95 | None | $4.95 | 6.50% |
| ChoiceTrade | $5 | $2,000 | $27 | 7.50% |
| Scottrade | $7.50 | $1,000 | $7.50 | 7.50% |
| OptionsXpress | $9.95 | None | $9.95 | 6.25% |
This broker offers the cheapest stock trades i've seen at just $2.95. As you can see they also offer cheap margin rates too.
Click here to join Optionshouse
Zecco is a broker that offers low commission stock trading. Trades cost a flat $4.50 regardless of the price of a stock. They are certainly one of the best broker for those looking to trade penny stocks. They also have a special offer where if you make 25 stock trades per month, they will give you 10 free. You can also take advantage of the 10 free stock trades a month by having an account balance of more than $25,000.
Click here to join ZeccoI've used Tradeking. I must say, as long as you don't trade penny stocks, they are an excellent low cost stock broker. Trades cost $4.95 each. You can also make broker assisted trades (trading over the phone) for no additional cost.
ChoiceTrade are a another good low cost discount broker, trades costs a flat $5 each. Like Zecco this cost is not related to the price of the price of the stock, making them ideal for trading penny stocks. They do charge extra for their platform though which is a bit off putting.
Click here to join ChoiceTrade
This low cost discount broker charges $7 per trade, which is still reasonable, but as you can see, a fair bit more expensive than many of the others. They also have a $500 minimum account size, which shouldn't bother but the smallest of stock traders.
OptionsXpress seems to have been around forever. They offer fairly cheap stock trading at $9.95 a trade. They also offer just about every other instrument imaginable including forex, futures, CFDs and much more.
Click here to join OptionsXpress