Skip to content
Financeradar
Robinhood logo

Robinhood

$0 commissions on stocks, ETFs and options, $1 fractional shares and no account minimum. Optional Gold at $5 a month.

Rates verified October 14, 2026
Online BrokersIRA AccountsOnline Brokers for Beginners
Open account

The Bottom Line

Best for
Beginners who want a simple app, $1 fractional shares and no commissions, and who do not need mutual funds.
Stock and ETF trades
$0 (verified Oct 14, 2026). All rates and fees

Key facts

  • Account minimum: None
  • Options: $0 per contract
  • IRAs: Traditional and Roth

Pros

  • No minimum and no commissions, with fractional shares from $1
  • Simple app that is easy for a first investment
  • Robinhood reimburses up to $75 of another broker's IRA transfer fee
  • Free desktop platform with charts and options chains

Cons

  • No mutual funds, and fixed income only as ETFs
  • No published cash rate for standard accounts, and the 3.6% APY needs Gold
  • Large regulator fines in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and it receives payment for order flow

At a glance

Rates verified October 14, 2026
Stock and ETF trades
$0 per online trade
Options
$0 commission and $0 per contract on stock and ETF options (small regulatory fees apply). Index options $0.50 per contract
Mutual funds
Mutual funds are not offered
Account minimum
None
Cash sweep rate
No rate published for standard accounts. Gold members ($5 a month) earn 3.6% APY on eligible cash (as of Sep 17, 2026)
Margin rates
4.20% to 5.25%, depending on balance
IRAs
Traditional IRA, Roth IRA (no annual IRA fee)
Fractional shares
Yes, from $1, on US-listed stocks and ETFs
Research and tools
Robinhood Legend, a free desktop platform with charts, indicators, an options chain and watchlists, plus Robinhood Learn.
Support
In-app chat 24/7. Phone by callback request, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern on weekdays.
Mobile app
Robinhood app with full trading, plus the free Legend desktop platform.
SIPC
Member, excess policy from Lloyd's of London of up to $50 million per customer
Transfer out
$100 for a full transfer out
Payment for order flow
Yes, Robinhood Securities receives payment for order flow from market centers and shares the revenue with Robinhood Financial.
Other fees
Optional Robinhood Gold is $5 a month or $50 a year. Outgoing wire $25. Instant withdrawals to a bank can cost up to 1.75%.
Offer
HOOD MONTH transfer bonus: up to 3% on eligible transfers into a taxable Robinhood account (most customers get 1%). Matched money must stay five years or a prorated chargeback applies. (ends Oct 16, 2026)

Sources: robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/gold-overv…, robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/trading-fe…, read October 14, 2026

What it costs in practice

$0 in commissions on 20 trades a year

Twenty online stock or ETF trades a year cost $0 in commissions here.

What to know before you open an account

Every provider has trade-offs. These are the ones we found on its own pages and in regulator records.

  • Robinhood does not offer mutual funds, and fixed income is available only as ETFs.
  • No cash interest rate is published for standard accounts. The 3.6% APY is for Gold members, and cash that is not swept earns interest for Robinhood.
  • Robinhood receives payment for order flow, and in 2025 the SEC and FINRA fined it $45 million and $26 million over several issues including anti-money-laundering controls and supervision of its trading technology.
  • Fractional orders may be executed with Robinhood Securities acting as the counterparty.

Regulator record

  • Mar 7, 2025, FINRA. FINRA order: inaccurate disclosures about how market orders were handled, deficient anti-money-laundering and customer identification programs, failure to reasonably supervise clearing technology that had severe latency in January 2021, and weak oversight of paid influencers. Fine: $26 million, plus $3.75 million in customer restitution. Read the source
  • Jan 13, 2025, SEC. SEC order: Robinhood Financial and Robinhood Securities failed to timely file suspicious activity reports, protect customers from identity theft, address a cybersecurity vulnerability exploited in November 2021, and keep required records. Combined penalties: $45 million. Read the source
  • Jan 18, 2024, Massachusetts Securities Division. Massachusetts consent order: Robinhood was censured and fined $7.5 million, and must retain an independent consultant. The findings refer to platform outages, options account approval and a November 2021 data breach affecting about 117,000 Massachusetts consumers. Read the source
  • Oct 14, 2021, SEC staff report. SEC staff report on early 2021 markets (not an enforcement action): notes that some brokers restricted trading in meme stocks after clearing-house margin calls, and that Robinhood said customers could in some cases only sell, not open new positions. Read the source
  • Jun 30, 2021, FINRA. FINRA order: Robinhood Financial made false or misleading statements to customers, failed to reasonably supervise the technology behind outages, including the March 2020 outage when customers could not trade, and approved options accounts without adequate diligence. Fine: $57 million, plus restitution. Read the source

Where these numbers come from

Each figure above was read on the provider's own page. Fees and rates change, so check the page before you act.

What is Robinhood?

Sources read on the date shown
Robinhood is the simplest way to start for many people: a clean app, no account minimum, $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs and stock and ETF options, and fractional shares from $1. It suits first-time investors who want to buy a few stocks or ETFs without fuss. Robinhood does not charge a contract fee on stock and ETF options, though small regulatory pass-through fees apply, and index options cost $0.50 per contract ($0.35 with Gold). Gold, at $5 a month or $50 a year, pays 3.6% APY on eligible cash (as of 17 September 2026), covers interest on the first $1,000 of margin borrowing and adds a bigger IRA match. Margin loans cost 4.20% to 5.25% depending on size. IRAs come as Traditional and Roth with no annual fee, and Robinhood reimburses another broker's IRA transfer fee up to $75. Moving a full account out costs $100. All figures were read on Robinhood's own fee schedule and help pages on 14 October 2026. The catches: mutual funds are not offered, standard accounts have no published cash rate, and Robinhood receives payment for order flow. It has also been fined repeatedly. FINRA fined it $57 million in 2021 over outages, options approvals and misleading statements, and in 2025 the SEC fined it $45 million and FINRA $26 million; we list each below.
Sourcerobinhood.com ↗

Key details

$0 commissions on stocks, ETFs and stock and ETF optionsNo account minimum, fractional shares from $1Traditional and Roth IRAs with no annual feeGold: $5 a month, 3.6% APY on eligible cash, bigger IRA matchFree Legend desktop platformMargin from 4.20% to 5.25%

Explore more

Best Online BrokersBest IRA AccountsBest Online Brokers for Beginners

Robinhood FAQ

Does Robinhood charge commissions?

No commission on online US-listed stocks, ETFs and stock and ETF options. Small regulatory fees apply on sales and a combined $0.04 per contract regulatory and clearing pass-through applies on options. Index options cost $0.50 per contract ($0.35 with Gold). Read on Robinhood's fee schedule and help pages on 14 October 2026.

What does Robinhood Gold cost and what does it add?

$5 a month or $50 a year, with a 30-day free trial. It adds 3.6% APY on eligible uninvested cash (as of 17 September 2026), no interest on the first $1,000 of margin borrowing, a 3% IRA match (1% without Gold) and discounted index options. Rates and matches can change.

Which IRAs does Robinhood offer?

Traditional and Roth IRAs, with no annual fee. Robinhood also has a managed IRA option through Robinhood Strategies.

Does Robinhood offer mutual funds?

No. It does not offer mutual funds, and fixed income is available only as ETFs.

How does Robinhood make money without commissions?

It receives payment for order flow from market centers, earns interest on cash and margin loans, and sells subscriptions such as Gold.

Source: robinhood.com