Overall, we felt TD Ameritrade offers great features for seasoned stock traders or even the most inexperienced. The website is very user-friendly, with easily-navigated features and functions. One word comes to mind when we browse through their service: professional. From their history and experience in the financial world to their excellent customer support, TD Ameritrade Online Trading knows what it’s doing.

One perk we really enjoyed about this online stock trading service is its extended trading hours. With the 70-hour work weeks that are far too common in this day and age, this is a definite plus for serious stock traders.

• Fat rate $9.99 commissions on every Internet equity trade, regardless of account balance or how many shares you buy.
• QuoteScope - Liquidity changes for each participant and price-so you can find and act on potential opportunities quickly.

Star Reviews was highly impressed by the fluidity and user-friendly service provided by TD Ameritrade. Deposits, withdrawals and monitoring market activity are available in an easy-to-view combined account feature. Although fees are a bit higher than some of their competitions', their customer support makes up for it, as it is both accomodating and thorough. For all these reasons and more, they win our Top Rated spot with 5.5 Stars!

Charles Schwab knows finance and Schwab Active Trading is no exception. We thoroughly loved how professional and clean their website interface was, as well as retaining a user-friendly feel. There are plenty of account options, from brokerage accounts to retirement accounts.

We like how well-known this company is, getting recognized for its market watch tools and simple, yet comprehensive online trading platform. While rates are high and they tend to cater to a more affluent crowd, if you are serious about saving and making a profit, this could be the right stock trading service for you.

• Flat online equity trades as low as $8.95
• No account service fees

Star Reviews was fond of Schwab's trading platform, StreetSmart Pro,® which was one of the most professional stock trading platforms we’ve come across. It provides you with live, streaming market data in one, customizable display view function. When opening a Schwab Active Trading account, expect to get 50 free trades, which we know you'll love! Customer support is great on this site, offering professional and informative responses, with a high-end suaveness. For all of these reasons, they snagged themselves 5.0 Stars!

Getting its start back in 1996 under the name Netstock, Sharebuilder is continuing the trend of offering any investor a chance to take part in online stock trading action. Their philosophy is to provide the most experienced or a novice beginner a chance to invest and make some profit. Not only are their features incredibly user-friendly, there are minimal investment requirements, a huge perk.

We loved their Automatic Investment Plan with the option to purchase partial stock, a feature not commonly seen on stock trading services. There are no account charges for basic accounts, but standard accounts run at $12 a month.

• Three account pricing programs to choose from.
• Purchase partial stocks

Star Reviews felt this site is a great choice in stock trading, as they offer resourceful tools for beginners and those with experience alike. The website was effortless in its navigational functions and we enjoyed the minimal investment requirements. There are some fees here, so choose your account wisely. Customer support could improve, as we tend to gravitate towards more personalized responses.  But, all in all, we think they should get 5.0 Stars!

We feel that SogoInvest is truly making a name for itself in the online stock trading arena. Not only are they advanced enough for stock trading experts, anyone new to the finance world will be able to take part in the action. We really liked how SogoInvest offers a stock blog, helpful resources, investment principles, automated investment plans and real-time trading.

Their website is super user-friendly and we had no problem navigating our way around it. Although you may run into some difficulty if you aren’t used to the Internet, this site shouldn’t prove to be too much of a roadblock in your stock trading experience.

• 100 FREE Trades With New Account
• Automatic Investment Options

Star Reviews is pretty fond of SogoInvest and think they're a good option if you're willing to step outside of some of the top names in finance and give a groundbreaking, new service a chance. Trade costs are relatively low for online stock trading and customer support is worthy of recognition. We feel they earn 5.0 Stars!

We were in awe of the vast array of financial and investment services that Fidelity Investments offers. While they are a big dog on the market, they still find a way to appeal to the inexperienced broker. Their website is entirely clean and professional, with enough features to put their competitors to shame.

While navigation is intuitive and fluid, it may be a bit difficult for nominal Internet users to grasp. However, if you’re familiar with web-navigation and are somewhat stock-savvy, you shouldn’t encounter any problems.

• No annual account fee
• Check writing privileges, ATM card access, online bill pay

Star Reviews loves that Fidelity Investments is practically a household name in the finance industry. With a name such as their own, you know you can trust them. Their stock trading platform was simple to use and quite intuitive. Pricing is competitive and active traders will benefit from them. Customer support was truly remarkable, with minimal hold times and speedy email response times. There is also a huge FAQs database, as well as interactive Help features. We feel this warrants their site 4.5 Stars!