Robinhood is one of the most popular investment platforms for new investors. The trading platform originally opened in 2013, but now many years later, the app is still not available for UK users.
So, what else can people look to if they want to create a brokerage account to trade stocks, invest in mutual funds and buy crypto? Here’s some of the best Robinhood alternatives when it comes to online brokers.
EToro: Robinhood Alternative for Cryptocurrencies
Those that are looking for an investment platform similar to Robinhood will probably be best looking at something like eToro. It’s the most complete that has low trading fees, commission free trading and the ability to create a cash account that can be linked to a debit card.
If you want to trade stocks and buy shares with eToro, this is super easy to do. You can invest in mutual funds, stocks and ETFs on eToro to create your own investment portfolio.
The social trading feature on eToro gives users the opportunity to share strategies and learn from other trading partners in real life.
Those that have used Robinhood can invest in a variety of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin. You can also do this with eToro, as it gives you access to all of the same cryptocurrencies as apps like Robinhood do.
It’s a great place to start investing and learn new investment strategies due to the amount of other people on the platform – you can easily follow certain users and emulate their trades. This is a great strategy as you can learn from experienced investors and see what trades they make.
And over time you can have eToro users follow you, and then transform your skill into a revenue generator as they start to copy your trades.
Besides multi-asset trading capabilities, the platform provides fractional shares, low account fees and access to all the major financial markets.
This makes eToro one of the best Robinhood alternatives to use – see our full eToro overview for more.
Gemini – Best for crypto
If you’re looking to get started with investing in cryptocurrency but have no idea where to start, Gemini is a solid Robinhood alternative that specialises in crypto.
In fact, Gemini supports only cryptocurrency at the moment, and it has around 100 different cryptocurrencies that you can trade your bitcoin for on the market.
Bitcoin trading on Gemini is extremely easy, though you’ll have access to far more different crypto tokens and coins if you sign up to the platform.
It is free to get started, and the app offers easy and cryptocurrency trading even if you have limited experience.
Gemini allows you to control which coins you buy. You can then send and receive currency directly to and from a Gemini wallet – many users choose to transfer their tokens to a hard wallet to ensure that they stay safe.
Moneybox
If you’re looking for a simple to use platform that literally anyone can use, Moneybox is one of the best platforms that you can go with.
It’s not for stock trading or crypto trading, but it does allow you to invest into mutual funds. This is much safer than when you trade stocks, and it’s a great way to start investing.
Moneybox allows users to make a selection from dozens of different investments, as well as setting up a variety of other different investment accounts like an ISA or pension tracker.
Moneybox does something different than the most investment apps that are designed to be the best stock trading app – Moneybox is a different form of investment, but actually many beginners would be better off sticking with a platform like Moneybox instead of attempting to beat day traders.
What is Robinhood?
Robinhood is a trading platform that specializes in the trading of shares in cryptocurrencies, stocks and eTFs. The firm was formed in 2013 with big backing from various sources.
Robinhood focuses primarily on making investing simpler, and offers services that enable quick investment even with minimal deposits and account balances, whilst reducing high transaction fees too.
Brokers like Robinhood are credited with popularising investing in the Western world, and allowing retail investors to create their own investment accounts and access real time market data to invest in stocks and ETFs.
Robinhood also offers free downloadable banking services through a website and through a mobile app. The app is known for using features like a clean user interface, commission-free trading, and fractional securities.
However, there are plenty of Robinhood alternatives available to us in the UK that provide a similar service and are worth checking out.
Conclusion
Several investors are now hesitant on investing using Robinhood as their preferred trading system – this can be for various reasons, like the infamous Gamestop scandal that led many of its users to find another brokerage.
However, for UK users it’s simply not accessible, and although Robinhood made it more comfortable for beginners to invest in other countries, we still need to use alternative to Robinhood in the UK. And in fairness, they do a pretty good job at competing.