Charles Schwab vs Trading 212 2024

Charles Schwab is publicly-traded, does operate a bank, and is authorised by five Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulators (Average Risk), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). Schwab is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Securities Futures Commission (SFC), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Trading 212 is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. Trading 212 is authorized by two Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), zero Tier-2 regulators (Average Trust), zero Tier-3 regulators (Low Trust), and zero Tier-4 regulators (High-Risk). Trading 212 is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system.

Charles Schwab is a highly trusted financial institution and multi-asset broker catering to U.S.-based and international forex traders. Schwab's award-winning thinkorswim platform offers over 70 tradeable currency pairs alongside impressive tools, research, and education. That said, the broker’s forex offering is still largely limited to what is available on thinkorswim.

Best known for its mobile trading app, Trading 212 offers an easy-to-use trading platform suite for CFD and share trading, as well as a large variety of forex pairs. However, despite its well-designed platform and wide range of symbols, its lack of advanced trading tools and flat research offerings hamper Trading 212’s bid to be considered a top broker.

To open a trading account with Charles Schwab, you'll need to make an initial minimum deposit of $0.

Trading 212 requires a minimum deposit of €10 before you can open an account and start trading.

It's important to make sure that your forex broker accepts the funding options and deposit methods that work best for you. Charles Schwab offers Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) for banking, whereas Trading 212 provides Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) and PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw). Neither have Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) and Neteller (Deposit/Withdraw).

Comparing the trading costs of forex and CFDs is not easy. Not every broker publishes average spread data, and pricing structures vary. Based on our thorough, data-driven testing of each broker's commissions and fees, we found that Charles Schwab offers better pricing overall for traders.

Methodology: When testing each broker's commissions, fees, and pricing, we analyze multiple trade scenarios and award points based on the expansiveness (or inexpensiveness) of the broker's spreads. We then run multiple scenarios for different investor types, incorporating any miscellaneous fees, to determine an "all-in" cost per trade. Learn more about how we test.

At ForexBrokers.com, we track over 110 international regulatory agencies and sort them by tiers (Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, Tier-4, and Tier-5) to help you choose well-regulated, highly trusted forex brokers. Learn more about our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Based on our research on the regulatory status of over 60 brokers, we've found that Charles Schwab holds 5 global Tier-1 licenses, while Trading 212 holds 2. Both Charles Schwab and Trading 212 hold 0 global Tier-2 licenses.

After evaluating each broker based on their number of held licenses, years in business, and a range of other data-driven variables, we've determined that Charles Schwab (99) earned a higher Trust Score than Trading 212 (79).

To compare the trading platforms of both Charles Schwab and Trading 212, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Charles Schwab offers a better experience. With research, Charles Schwab offers superior market research. Finally, we found Charles Schwab to provide better mobile trading apps.

Here’s what trading platforms are available at Charles Schwab:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - No
• MT5 - No
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

Here’s what trading platforms are available at Trading 212:

• Proprietary Platform - Yes
• Web Platform - Yes
• cTrader - No
• DupliTrade - No
• MT4 - No
• MT5 - No
• ZuluTrade - No
• TradingView - No

The MetaTrader trading platform suite is wildly popular among forex and CFD traders across the globe. Neither broker offers Meta Trader. Forex traders also appreciate the ability to engage in social copy trading. Copy trading is not offered by either broker.

Trading 212 provides traders 146 currency pairs (e.g., EUR/USD) compared to Charles Schwab's 73 available pairs. If you are interested in trading a full range of securities, Charles Schwab offers traders access to 40000 tradeable symbols, while Trading 212 offers access to 8025 tradeable symbols; so Charles Schwab offers 31975 more tradeable symbols than Trading 212.

We found in our testing that Charles Schwab offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Trading 212, allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) and Cryptocurrency (Derivative). Neither have Cryptocurrency (Physical), Social Trading / Copy Trading and Spread Betting.