Robinhood is a commission-free trading app from the US, which has become famous for introducing the commission-free trading model and having a slick, modern, and easy-to-use trading app – very appealing for retail and beginner investors. Robinhood is an online broker founded in 2013 that offers trading financial products such as stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptos entirely for free.
Where is Robinhood available?
- US and the UK: Robinhood works primarily in the US and the UK.
- Europe: Robinhood Crypto is available for residents of the European Union since the beginning of 2024. This means that if you live in the EU, you can open a crypto account, but you won’t be able to trade stocks or ETFs.
- Other countries: Residents from other countries cannot open a Robinhood account.
Below, we cover alternatives to Robinhood for unsupported countries:
Robinhood app alternatives
In this section, we’ll focus on online brokers worldwide (some offer commission-free trading), and with a modern and easy-to-use trading platform, such as Robinhood. Given that, here are our suggestions:
eToro
Commission-free ETF trading (other fees apply). You can also copy other traders/investors. The leading social trading platform worldwide with +30 million users. Full eToro review here.
Disclaimer: eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Interactive Brokers
Founded in 1978, IBKR is one of the world’s most trustworthy brokers. It offers an enormous range of financial products (stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptos,…), and low currency conversion fees (FX fees). Check our Interactive Brokers review.
💡 Interactive Brokers also launched IBKR GlobalTrader, a modern mobile trading app to trade Stocks, Options and ETFs, ideal for novice investors.
XTB
It offers commission-free stock and ETF trading (in some European countries) and low spreads on hundreds of markets through CFDs on Stocks, Forex, Indices, Commodities, and Cryptocurrencies. Awarded multiples time as the best Forex and CFD broker.
Disclaimer: 80% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Webull
US broker that offers commission-free trading for US-listed stocks, ETFs, and options.
DEGIRO
Low-cost European broker that offers commission-free ETF trading (external fees apply). Full DEGIRO review is available here.
Disclaimer: Investing involves risk of loss.
|
Broker |
Accepts clients from |
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51% of retail CFD accounts lose money. |
Worldwide. |
|
Europe |
|
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78% of retail CFD accounts lose money. |
Worldwide. |
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US, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Japan, the UK, and Australia. |
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Worldwide (+220 countries, exceptions apply). |
Explore the ones you find interesting, and decide for yourself! If you haven’t found a match, you can still take a look at our list of online brokers available by country. A reminder that the above should not be construed as investment advice and should be considered information only. Investors should do their own research and due diligence about the services and opportunities best suited for their risk, returns, and impact strategy.
Robinhood Alternatives by country/region
Netherlands 🇳🇱 | Germany 🇩🇪 | Singapore 🇸🇬 | Colombia 🇨🇴 | Argentina 🇦🇷 | Ukraine 🇺🇦 | China 🇨🇳 | Turkey 🇹🇷 | Brasil 🇧🇷 | Chile 🇨🇱 | Denmark 🇩🇰 | Malaysia 🇲🇾 | Philippines 🇵🇭 | France 🇫🇷 | Mexico 🇲🇽 | UK 🇬🇧 | Thailand 🇹🇭 | Australia 🇦🇺 | Europe 🇪🇺 | South Africa 🇿🇦 | Switzerland🇨🇭 | India 🇮🇳 | Canada 🇨🇦 | Indonesia 🇮🇩 | Ireland 🇮🇪
FAQs
In which countries is Robinhood available? 🌎
Robinhood is only available for US and UK citizens. This means that if you live in Japan, South Africa, Israel, or any other country, you will not open an account. You can find Robinhood alternatives worldwide here.
Does Robinhood work in Canada? Can Canadians use Robinhood? 🇨🇦
No, Robinhood only works in the USA and the UK. You can find Robinhood alternatives in Canada here.
Does Robinhood work in India? 🇮🇳
No, Robinhood doesn’t work in India.
Does Robinhood work Internationally?
To use Robinhood, you must be a US or UK citizen, a permanent resident, and have a valid US visa. You can find Robinhood alternatives for international users here.
Robinhood and Gamestop frenzy: What really happened?
In recent times, the Robinhood platform has shown some vulnerabilities, including having collapsed several times in periods of high volatility, and revealing some information about clients due to security breaches.
At one point, it even allowed for infinite leverage. More recently, the company restricted trading in GameStop and other stocks. Why did Robinhood stop people from buying Gamestop, AMC, and other volatile securities?
In a nutshell, these securities showed unprecedented volatility, forcing Robinhood to make very high collateral deposits to the clearinghouse (legal requirement) because of the high volatility and high volume of trading.
At a certain point, the amount of cash required for the collateral was compromising the company’s solvency. So the founders have decided to restrict trading in some volatile companies, such as GameStop and AMC, to protect both the customers and the company. The same happened with many other online brokers.
How does Robinhood make money?
Robinhood makes money by operating its business in 4 main ways:
- Payments for order flow: the broker receives compensation for directing orders to different parties for trade execution. This creates one main problem: there is a conflict of interest to redirect the orders to the partners that offer the best compensation, not the ones with the best execution and, thus, the best prices. However, Robinhood states that they have developed a system that basically routes your orders to the partners with the best execution.
- Robinhood Gold: Robinhood’s Premium and paid account. Charges a $5 monthly fee in return for a suite of premium investing tools.
- Money not invested: Robinhood generates money by investing cash that is uninvested in clients’ accounts.
- Margin lending: the broker receives money for lending money to its users (if they want to leverage their positions).
