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Charles Schwab vs Robinhood: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · Real stock investing

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for real stock investing in Nigeria by a small margin, because it lets you own bonds and funds outright next to the crypto, ETFs and shares both brokers cover, provides a demo account, opens managed and corporate accounts and allows hedging and API access. Robinhood, on the other hand, lists more tradable symbols (10,818 against 1,100). Charles Schwab holds licences from the SEC and the CFTC, and Robinhood from the Bank of Lithuania, the SEC, the CFTC and the FCA. Both brokers charge no commission on US stocks, ask for no minimum deposit, work on a proprietary platform alone, add options and futures trading, offer fractional shares and hold the account in a single currency.

Best overall

Charles Schwab

StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Available in your country Charles Schwab accepts clients from the country this site is for.
86StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

Your money is at risk

Robinhood

StocksStocks This broker lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Available in your country Robinhood accepts clients from the country this site is for.
77StocksOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

Your money is at risk

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders Charles Schwab and Robinhood are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in Nigeria.
1 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for news traders and algo traders. Day traders, long-term investors and swing traders can choose either Charles Schwab or Robinhood.

Best for
Overall score Charles Schwab 86 Best Robinhood 77 -9
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise Charles Schwab and the ones that supervise Robinhood.
2 / 12

Charles Schwab and Robinhood are both regulated by top-tier authorities, Charles Schwab by the SEC (United States) and the CFTC (United States) and Robinhood by LB Lithuania, the SEC (United States) and the CFTC (United States).

Regulation
Section score Charles Schwab 100 Robinhood 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i LB (Lithuania)
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that Charles Schwab and Robinhood have in place to protect your money in Nigeria.
3 / 12

Charles Schwab and Robinhood both offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score Charles Schwab 95 Best Robinhood 87 -8
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1971 2013
Parent company i The Charles Schwab Corporation Robinhood Markets, Inc.
CEO i Rick Wurster Vlad Tenev
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i Charles Schwab Bank Sutton Bank
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 27,400,000
Annual revenue i USD 3,570,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i 87.9M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with Charles Schwab and with Robinhood in Nigeria, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for costs, since Charles Schwab does not charge currency conversion fees or dividend withholding, unlike Robinhood. Neither Charles Schwab nor Robinhood charges inactivity fees or account maintenance fees.

Costs
Section score Charles Schwab 95 Best Robinhood 87 -8
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i
EUR/USD average standard spread i
EUR/USD average raw spread i
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i
Gold fees (CFD) i
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 0.0004
US stocks fees (CFD) i Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission
US stocks fees (real) i Free Free
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i USD 2.25 USD 0.75
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i USD 0.65 USD 0.5
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with Charles Schwab and with Robinhood in Nigeria, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Charles Schwab and Robinhood are equally good for available markets, as Charles Schwab lets you own bonds and funds outright, and offers options on commodities and stocks. On the other hand, Robinhood gives access to 10,818 tradable symbols (against Charles Schwab's 1,100), and offers futures on crypto. Both Charles Schwab and Robinhood let you own crypto, ETFs and stocks outright, and offer futures on commodities and indices.

Available markets
Section score Charles Schwab 100 Robinhood 100
Total tradable symbols i 1,100 10,818
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i
Futures i Commodities, Indices Commodities, Crypto, Indices
Options i Commodities, Stocks Indices
Assets you can own i Bonds, Crypto, ETF, Funds, Stocks Crypto, ETF, Stocks

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that Charles Schwab and Robinhood make available to their clients in Nigeria.
6 / 12

Charles Schwab and Robinhood are equally good for platforms, as both offer a proprietary platform and real-time pricing.

Platform
Section score Charles Schwab 68 Robinhood 68
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of Charles Schwab and Robinhood in Nigeria, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for mobile trading, since Charles Schwab offers mobile drawing tools, which Robinhood does not. Both Charles Schwab and Robinhood offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Mobile
Section score Charles Schwab 80 Best Robinhood 74 -6
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that Charles Schwab and Robinhood allow on their platforms in Nigeria.
8 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for trading features, because Charles Schwab offers API access, which Robinhood does not, and allows for automated trading. Charles Schwab and Robinhood both offer trailing stops and fractional shares.

Trading features
Section score Charles Schwab 70 Best Robinhood 53 -17
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD NDD
Average execution time i
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 0:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 0:1 0:1
Major indices leverage i 0:1 0:1
Minor indices leverage i 0:1 0:1
Gold leverage i 0:1
Commodities leverage i 0:1
Equities leverage i 0:1 2:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i 0:1
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 5 USD 1
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at Charles Schwab and at Robinhood in Nigeria, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for account types, because Charles Schwab offers a demo account, a corporate account and a managed account, which Robinhood does not. Both Charles Schwab and Robinhood offer a stock investing account and a margin investing account.

Account types
Section score Charles Schwab 83 Best Robinhood 44 -39
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with Charles Schwab and with Robinhood in Nigeria.
10 / 12

Robinhood is better than Charles Schwab for account opening, since Robinhood offers debit cards, which Charles Schwab does not. Neither Charles Schwab nor Robinhood requires a minimum deposit.

Account opening
Section score Charles Schwab 50 -15 Robinhood 65 Best
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i USD USD
Deposit waiting time i up to 2 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of Charles Schwab and Robinhood in Nigeria, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for customer care, since Charles Schwab has a website in 2 languages (against Robinhood's 1), and offers a dedicated account manager and tax assistance, which Robinhood does not. Both Charles Schwab and Robinhood offer phone support and priority support.

Customer care
Section score Charles Schwab 60 Best Robinhood 42 -18
Number of languages supported i 2 1
Website languages i English, Chinese English
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i English English
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that Charles Schwab and Robinhood provide to their clients in Nigeria.
12 / 12

Charles Schwab is better than Robinhood for learning, because Charles Schwab offers webinars, an economic calendar and traders' sentiment, which Robinhood does not. Charles Schwab and Robinhood both offer education for advanced traders and professional reports.

Learning
Section score Charles Schwab 92 Best Robinhood 70 -22
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
Charles Schwab
Open Account Your money is at risk
Robinhood
Open Account Your money is at risk
Our verdict

Charles Schwab vs Robinhood: which one should you choose?

Charles Schwab

Stocks Choose Charles Schwab, regulated by the SEC and the CFTC, if you want a stockbroker with bonds and funds to own outright, a demo account and managed accounts.

Open Account Your money is at risk
Robinhood

Stocks Choose Robinhood, regulated by the SEC and the FCA, if you want a share dealing service with a wide choice of markets.

Open Account Your money is at risk

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