Exchange-Traded funds, or ETFs, are one of the most popular ways to invest in the stock market. These bundles of securities offer immediate diversification, potentially attractive returns, and less challenging ways to gain exposure to different market segments than buying individual stocks. And they often do it all to get a very reasonable cost.
Here are the best online brokers for ETF investments and why you should consider them:
What are ETFs and why are they so popular?
ETFs are mutual funds and similar securities baskets that track a wide range of indexes, such as social media stock, gold, healthcare and more, including Standard & Poor’s slivers in markets below 500. Like mutual funds, there are additional administrative fees (expense rates) that cover the costs of curating these funds.
However, unlike mutual funds, ETFs are attractive to investors as they trade stocks like stocks throughout the day when the market is open. Started in the US in the early 1990s, these funds offer an alternative way for investors to diversify their portfolios without having to select individual stocks.
“There is the benefit of diversification from the initial share to the market sector or across the market, rather than the risk of buying individual stocks,” said CFA Greg McBride, Chief Financial Analyst at Bankrate. “Jack Bogle (founder of the late Vanguard) famously said, “We’re not looking for needles in the haystack, we’re just buying the whole haystack,” he said.”
In fact, more than 89% of investment experts “use or recommend” ETFs to their clients, according to the Financial Planning Association’s 2024 investment survey trends. ETFs are more tax-efficient and cheaper than mutual funds.
The best online brokers for ETF investments are:
Summary: Top Online Brokers for ETFs in June 2025
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab is a longtime advocate for individual investors, with zero committees for all ETFs (and stock trading) and no account minimum. It’s also friendly in the wallet.
Charles Schwab also offers a wide range of educational resources, including the best research and user-friendly tools on the market. For example, the ETF picklist details investor-friendly funds, taking into account fees and fees, the fund’s performance, and suitability for individual investors. Former TD Amelitollard clients who are now part of Schwab should be impressed by what they find.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
A loyal investment
Fidelity has long been a fee-free ETF leader, from itself and other providers.
If you want research and screening tools, Fidelity won’t be disappointed. You can quickly filter your ETF options by any number of criteria (company size, fund size, expense ratio, etc.). Fidelity provides ETF investment ideas based on your goals, such as “investment in income” and “enhancing growth.”
Additionally, Fidelity’s mobile app allows you to monitor your portfolio, check your account balance, trade, and view your watch list.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
Vanguard
Vanguard, which introduced its first ETF in 2001 and manages trillions of global assets, is most well-known for being a low-cost fund provider. Cost reductions will also be extended to the ETF trading commission on the platform, with a $0 trading commission applied to all ETFs.
To organize your investment options range, Vanguard offers screening tools, including the ability to compare ETFs based on factors such as expense ratios, management style (active or passive), and average annual returns. Also, if you are purchasing a Vanguard ETF, your Vanguard representative can even charge an extra transaction for you. Once you have chosen your funds, you can look at Vanguard’s planning tools and help you set up your financial game plan.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
e-lateanial
e-trade offers a considerable number of ways to invest in ETFs, even beyond traditional fund purchases. Of course, we offer all available ETFs without a fee. However, among many other options, important characteristics such as Morningstar ratings, investment strategies and yields allow you to sort over 3,000 funds using E-Trade screeners. You can do so in the middle of adding funds to your holdings by clicking the buy button directly from the search screen.
e-trade also offers the option to purchase a pre-built ETF portfolio with strategies such as aggressive, conservative, and income. You can also search by theme. Think of an energy powerhouse or a powerful megacap. e-trade allows you to trade several ETFs (highly traded) 24 hours a day, five days a week, so it’s liquid even if the market closes.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
Firestride
Firstrade offers fee-free transactions on all ETFs, allowing customers to choose from over 2,200 funds. It also helps you sift through the vast ETF offerings to help you decide which funds are right for your portfolio, allowing you to access Morningstar research for free. ETF screeners can also be used to identify funds based on performance, analyst ratings, or other criteria of interest.
Customer Service representatives will help you answer inquiries questions via telephone Monday through Friday during extended business hours. Firstrade’s Slick Mobile Trading App also allows you to track your portfolio on the go and place the trades you need when you’re away from your desk.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
Meryl Edge
Merrill Edge wins investors into ETF games with the Commission on Trading, while Select ETFS Screener simplifies the discovery process and makes it especially easy if you know the required fund size, asset class (equities or bonds), and investment style (value, growth, blend). If you want to fill a specific box (such as a large American growth company), it will help your screener do it right away. Although you are free to purchase ETFs available on Merrill’s platform, we often recommend iShares and Vanguard funding.
You can search for a wide range of ETFs using predefined screens such as Morningstar’s 5-star inventory, but these screens do not return fund data immediately, but click-through is laid out in all easy-to-digest formats, including fund top holdings, performance, ratings, and key statistics.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
Ally Invest
Ally Invest was not the leader in fee-free ETFs at first. However, since the major shift to industry committees, brokers now offer a large amount of them, including funds for Ishhales and Vanguard. Ally’s Screener allows you to search for funds on predefined screens such as Tech ETFs and S&P 500 index funds. In addition, performance data, morning star ratings, and top holdings data for each fund are obtained.
If you are an already-rated Ally Bank customer and are looking to quickly and easily expand your relationship to sister mediation, Ally is a great choice.
- Trade Commission: $0
- Minimum amount to open a broker account: $0
More options: Top Robo Advisor
Robo-Advisors such as Betterment and Wealthfront also invest in ETFs on your behalf. Don’t forget to have all these digital providers as a potential option. These “Do it for me” options build a diverse portfolio based on your time horizon and risk tolerance. They do everything, including throwing some additional features, such as tax LOSS harvest, at one low price. (See Best Robo-Advisors’ recommendations.)