Robinhood Review

1. What is Robinhood?
2. Is Robinhood safe or a scam?
3. Accounts
4. Market Instruments
5. Fees
6. Deposits and Withdrawals
7. Trading Platform
8. Customer Support
9. Education
10. Conclusion

Our Review Method

• Our leading experts at 55Brokers with more than 10 years of experience in the financial sector review brokers’ offerings such as fees, spreads, verified licenses, platform offerings, etc. Also, contact customer support and place trades to evaluate conditions and give an expert opinion on Robinhood

What is Robinhood?

Robinhood is an innovative broker offering commission-free investing and exchange trading of stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies headquartered in California, US. The broker is a publicly traded company listed on Nasdaq with over 22.8 million funded accounts and 15.9 million monthly active users.

Since its establishment in 2013, the broker has walked a path of constant development and has become one of the preferred trading providers in the US.

• It should be mentioned that being regulated by SEC, Robinhood is available only in the US, however, they do have plans to launch branches outside the US and attract more investors. 

This is indeed an absolutely progressive trading opportunity, as previously, the majority of US residents could only trade through offshore entities, which we never recommend trading with due to their lack of reliability and regulation.

Robinhood Pros and Cons

Based on our research, Robinhood is a good and reliable broker offering exceptional conditions for trading with zero commissions and instant deposits. The broker is highly regulated and provides quality customer service that is available 24/7

As for the cons, the broker has a limited range of tradable instruments and doesn’t offer FX and CFDs, also the platform is basic with poor educational section. Also, the funding methods are limited, too. And is only available to US clients.

Overall Robinhood Ranking

Robinhood is one of the world’s leading brokers, offering exceptional service and trading conditions for traders offering real stock and crypto trading with commissions free of charge. The broker offers a great range of trading instruments allowing to use margin trading to maximise the return on investments.

• Robinhood Overall Ranking is 7.8 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to over 500 brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other industry Leading Brokers.

Robinhood Altenrative Brokers

Nevertheless, Robinhood doesn’t offer FX or CFD trading with a limited range of trading platforms and a poor educational section. Also, the broker is not available for international trading. So, it is always advisable to check out other brokers for diversity:

• Pepperstone – Good range of Trading Platforms
• Interactive Brokers – Good for Real Stock Trading
• Trading 212 – Excellent Broker for Education

Is Robinhood safe or scam?

Yes, Robinhood is a safe broker since is regulated by two major regulatory organizations SEC and FINRA also is a member of SIPC (Securities Investment Protection Corporation).

Is Robinhood Regulated?

Yes, Robinhood is a regulated broker with its trading name used by Robinhood Securities LLC, which is regulated by the world-respected federal regulator the SEC (The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and self-regulatory organization FINRA (The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority).

Our conclusion on Robinhood Reliability:

• Our Ranked Robinhood Trust Score is 9.3 out 0f 10 reflecting its strong reputation and excellence in service over the years. The broker boasts top-notch regulation from industry-leading regulators for extra security without relying on offshore entities; however, it does not cater to global trading needs yet

How are you protected?

As a FINRA member Robinhood LLC falls under the US investor protection scheme, the SIPC (The Securities Investor Protection Corporation). The limit for the compensation from the SIPC is $500,000 including a $250,000 cash limit. 

Account types

Robinhood Account types are not diverse offering two main account types: Robinhood Instant which is the default account type offered upon signing up and Robinhood Margin which gives access to more buying power through margin investing. 

• The broker also offers to upgrade to a feature called Robinhood Gold which is a suite of powerful tools, and data that give access to four premium features: bigger Instant Deposits, Professional research from Morningstar, Level II market data from Nasdaq, and Access to margin investing. Gold is free for the first 30 days after it requires a $5 monthly fee.
• Cash Management is also a feature offered through your brokerage account where traders receive a debit card² issued by Sutton Bank. They can use debit cards and routing and account numbers to buy groceries, pay bills, send checks, and more. The uninvested brokerage cash is swept to the broker’s network of program banks where it starts earning a 1.00% annual percentage yield (APY)³. Cash Management is no longer accepting new customers at this time.

Robinhood Trading Instruments

Robinhood trading instrument range includes Stocks, ETFs, Options and Cryptocurrencies. All the above-mentioned assets are offered commission-free, all the assets are offered on an exchange basis, no CFD trading is offered, also the broker doesn’t provide forex trading. 

• Robinhood is one of the few brokers that allows commission-free crypto trading and this trading opportunity definitely earns some extra points. Moreover, Robinhood traders can buy some of the cryptos directly in their stock trading accounts. Robinhood Crypto sources liquidity (the availability of assets) from multiple trading venues to allow traders to receive competitive pricing.

Our Score of Trading Instruments:

• Robinhood Markets Range Score is 8 out 0f 10 for a great selection of exchange-traded assets with $0 commissions and instant depositing. The disadvantage is the limited range of instruments with no FX and CFD offered

Fees

Robinhood Fees are free of commission regardless of the type of account you’re transferring from. When it comes to options trading, Robinhood does not charge a per-contract fee. There is also no account opening, withdrawal, account maintenance or inactivity fees. 

• However, self-regulatory organizations (SROs) such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) charge Robinhood a small fee for sell orders. They charge these fees for all sell orders, regardless of the brokerage. Robinhood passes these fees to its customers and remits them to the applicable SROs.

Our Conclusion on Robinhood Fees:

• Robinhood Fees are ranked low with an overall rating of 9.5 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to over 500 other brokers. Fees are zero, the app is completely free offering a great investment experience to its clients, See our fee table below

Deposit and Withdrawal Methods

Robinhood Funding methods are quite limited offering only debit cards or bank transfers to deposit money. Credit cards or e-wallet payments are not supported. The broker made it a bit easier and faster with the Instant Deposit feature. It gives traders immediate access to $1,000 after they initiate a deposit. 

Also, with Robinhood Gold, they can get even bigger Instant Deposits—up to $50,000 depending on their brokerage account balance and status. 

• Robinhood Funding Methods we ranked with an overall rating of 7 out of 10. The broker doesn’t have a minimum deposit requirement which is a great plus, and it is free of fees, however, the broker has a limited range of funding methods allowing only debit cards and bank transfers

Here are some good and negative points for Robinhood funding methods found:

Robinhood minimum deposit

There is no minimum deposit requirement, again due to the tailored solutions Robinhood provides.

Robinhood minimum deposit vs other brokers

	Robinhood	Most Other Brokers
Minimum Deposit	$0	$500

Robinhood withdrawal fee

The broker does not charge any withdrawal fees. Robinhood’s withdrawal is done only through Debit Cards and Bank Wire. Also, the broker mentions that the client is responsible for all charges occurring upon the money transfer which are generally around $25-$50.

How to withdraw money from Robinhood?

To withdraw money from Robinhood you need to find the transfers section in your account then find your bank account or debit card and enter the amount you would like to withdraw, then press “Confirm” to initiate the withdrawal.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Robinhood?

Once the transfer is initiated, the bank withdrawal could take 5 business days to happen. Withdrawal time could be shorter depending on your bank. However, a debit card or an instant transfer withdrawal typically takes 10-30 minutes but might take longer depending on your bank.

Robinhood Trading Platforms

Robinhood trading platform offering consist of only proprietary platform available through the web and mobile with a simple design and intuitive navigation. It focuses on the core basics of investments making it a poor choice for investors seeking more sophisticated platforms.

• Robinhood Platform is ranked with an overall rating of 7.7 out of 10 compared to over 500 other brokers. The platform is easy and user-friendly, however, it lacks some sophisticated features. Also, the lack of alternative options is another drawback

Web Platform

Robinhood provides a powerful, but simple and easy-to-use web trading platform with research and discovery tools. The expansive research and discovery tools aimed to make every trader a better-informed investor. There are many cool advanced features on the web platform, including Analyst Ratings, News and Fundamentals, Collections of Stocks etc.

Mobile platform

Mobile trading platform is also equipped with plenty of features, including customizable alerts, a news feed, candlestick charts and the ability to listen live to earnings calls. It is available for both iOS and Android devices.

There is no desktop trading platform in the broker’s offer.

Customer Support

Robinhood’s customer support may not be the most comprehensive, but their service makes up for it with speedy and attentive responses. While email and social media are available as the only communication channels, there also exist some in-app request options that provide assistance available 24/7.

• Customer Support in Robinhood is ranked with an overall rating of 7.9 out of 10 based on our testing. We got some of the fastest and most knowledgeable responses compared to other brokers that are available 24/7; however, the contact methods are quite limited

See our find and Ranking on Customer Service Quality:

Robinhood Education

Robinhood Education section will only be useful to beginners since it is still developing and yet can offer a limited range of resources. There is a Robinhood Learn section which offers hundreds of digestible articles on the basics of investing, investing lingo, and market trends. 

• Robinhood Education ranked with an overall rating of 7 out of 10 based on our research. Robinhood provides a range of educational articles suitable for beginners only. The range is quite limited, so trades might look for alternative education providers

Is Robinhood good for beginners?

Based on our research, Robinhood is good for beginners given that the platform is user-friendly and easy to use. Also, the broker has zero commissions which is another great advantage. However, poor education can be a major drawback for beginners, so we recommend using third-party education providers.

Robinhood Review Conclusion

Based on our Robinhood Review, we revealed the broker is reliable with a good reputation and has a quite competitive offering for trading. It is a good choice for a well-regulated broker that offers zero-commission trading, in fact, it is one of the few brokers that offer zero commissions on cryptocurrencies. The broker also offers instant transfers making it possible to deposit or withdraw within a few seconds.

However, the readers should consider the drawbacks we mentioned as well as the trader experience fit. The broker lacks a good education section. Also, some experienced brokers can find the platform missing some important analytical tools.

Based on Our findings and Financial Expert Opinion Robinhood is Good for:

• Real ETFs Trading
• Real Stock Trading
• Investing
• US Traders
• Beginner Traders
• Cryptocurrency exchange trading
• Zero Commission Trading
• Technical Analysis