Best Brokers for Intermediate Investors - Wider Markets and Tools
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Broker Rankings

Best Brokers for Intermediate Investors

Once the basics are familiar, the priorities shift to broader market access, better research and charting, a wider product range, and competitive all-in costs. The brokers on this page suit investors who place their own trades and want more capable tools without a steep professional learning curve.

Kraken

Kraken

Investors seeking stocks, ETFs, futures and crypto

FinCEN FCA CBI Wyoming Division of Banking SEC FINRA
Stocks ETFs Futures Crypto

Kraken is a US-based crypto exchange founded in 2013, offering spot trading across 600+ assets, futures, margin, staking, and tokenized equities via xStocks in eligible regions.

  • Regulated by FinCEN, FCA, and MiCA (Central Bank of Ireland)
  • 600+ tradable crypto assets
  • Spot trading starts at 0.25% maker / 0.40% taker, falling to 0.00% maker / 0.05% taker at the highest volume tier
Lightspeed Financial

Lightspeed Financial

Investors seeking stocks, ETFs, options and futures

FINRA NFA SIPC
Stocks ETFs Options Futures

Lightspeed Financial is a US broker targeting active and professional traders with volume-tiered commissions on stocks, ETFs, options, and futures via multiple professional-grade platforms.

  • Volume-tiered stock commissions as low as $0.001 per share
  • Options commissions as low as $0.20 per contract for high-volume traders
  • Multiple professional platforms including Lightspeed Trader Pro, Sterling Trader Pro, and Eze EMS
Lightyear

Lightyear

Investors seeking stocks, ETFs and crypto

FCA EFSA FINRA SIPC
Stocks ETFs Crypto

Low-cost investing platform with free ETFs, multi-currency accounts, fractional investing, savings products, and a 0.35% FX fee.

  • No account fee
  • Free ETF execution and custody
  • 0.35% FX conversion fee
Lime Financial

Lime Financial

Investors seeking stocks, ETFs, options and futures

FINRA SEC NFA SIPC
Stocks ETFs Options Futures

Lime Financial is a US agency broker offering commission-free stock and ETF trading, low-latency DMA, options, and futures via proprietary and third-party platforms.

  • Commission-free stock and ETF trading via market maker venues
  • Low DMA rate of $0.005 per share for direct routing
  • Low options commission of $0.50 per contract
LIQID

LIQID

Investors seeking ETFs

BaFin
ETFs

LIQID is a Berlin-based digital wealth manager offering ETF portfolios, actively managed strategies and private markets access to investors from EUR 100,000.

  • BaFin-regulated with assets held as segregated Sondervermogen
  • Custody at V-Bank with statutory deposit protection up to EUR 100,000
  • Access to private equity, private debt and infrastructure from EUR 20,000 via ELTIF
Markets.com

Markets.com

Investors seeking stocks, ETFs, forex and CFDs

CySEC FSCA ASIC FSA
Stocks ETFs Forex CFDs Crypto

Markets.com is a multi-regulated CFD and forex broker offering over 2,200 instruments across forex, shares, indices, commodities, ETFs, crypto and bonds via its proprietary platform, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

  • Regulated by CySEC, FSCA and ASIC
  • No commissions on trades - spread-only pricing
  • No deposit or broker withdrawal fees