This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
With the benefit of technology, micro-investing has become a prominent player in the investing scene.
With micro-investing, people with limited funds and access now have the ability to easily invest in the stock market.
Of the micro-investing brokerages, there are three commission-free brokerage that also offer free stocks for signing up (or money to purchase free stocks).
If you’re interested in receiving free stocks, read on to learn 3 ways to get free stocks from legitimate brokerage firms.
Table of Contents
3 Ways to Get Free Stocks from Legitimate Brokerage Firms
Robinhood
Robinhood launched in April 2013 and changed the investing game for the better.
They were the first to offer exclusive commission-free trading and no minimum account balances.
In addition, they started off and continue to offer a lean business model that includes a basic app and website platform that is designed with the user in mind.
Because of this, Robinhood is a great investing platform for folks who are just starting off investing.
Robinhood offers:
- An easy to use app and website platform; mobile and desktop friendly
- The ability to perform market orders, limit orders, stop limit orders, and stop orders
- $0 commissions and fees
- $0 account minimum
- Instant verification with many major banks – bank transfers up to $1,000 and proceeds up to $1,000 from selling stocks are available instantly for investing
- Continuous improvement and added features. At the time of this writing Robinhood is in the middle of rolling out fractional shares.
- Margin trading with Robinhood Gold (not recommended for novice traders)
- Robinhood is my current go-to for investing outside of my tax-deferred accounts.
How to Get Free Stock by Signing Up with Robinhood
Robinhood offers a free stock (up to $500) when you first sign up and fund your account with at least $10.
How to Earn Even More Free Stocks
In addition to the free stock you receive for signing up, you can also receive free stocks (again, up to $500) for others you refer to Robinhood.
Get your free stock from Robinhood here
For more information about Robinhood please read, Robinhood Review – Is Robinhood Legit?
M1 Finance
A few years after Robinhood launched (December 2017), M1 Finance began to offer commission-free investing.
M1 Finance offers many of the same benefits as Robinhood and Webull.
However, their main differentiators include access to fractional shares in the form of pies (similar to creating your own personal mutual fund that allows you to add stocks or ETFs, and determines what percentage each receives), expert pies (i.e. you can utilize an expert’s pre-made “pie” to take advantage of their knowledge and expertise), dividend reinvestment, and automatic re-balancing.
Unfortunately, at this time, M1 Finance has a $100 account minimum ($500 account minimum for retirement accounts).
M1 Finance offers:
- An easy to use app and website platform; mobile and desktop friendly
- $0 commissions and fees
- $100 account minimum ($500 account minimum for retirement accounts)
- Retirement accounts (tax-deferred accounts)
- Dividend reinvestment
- Fractional shares
- Expert built “pies” or portfolios
How to Obtain Free Stock by Signing Up with M1 Finance
M1 Finance doesn’t currently offer straight stock for signing up, but they do offer a $10 sign up bonus if you use the link below and deposit $100 in your M1 Finance account.
It may not seem like much, but getting an automatic 10% return on your investment isn’t terrible, especially if you were looking for a great, long-term place to start investing anyways.
How to Pocket Even More Free Stock
In addition to the $10 you receive for signing up and funding your account, you can also receive an additional $10 for others you refer to M1 Finance (you get $10, they get $10).
Get your free stock ($10) from M1 Finance here
Webull
Webull is newer than M1 Finance or Robinhood (announced on May 30, 2018) and offers many of the same benefits as Robinhood.
However, their main differentiator is in the availability of advanced tools and research, extended market hours, and a trading simulator to hone your investing skills before laying out hard-earned cash.
Whereas Robinhood is geared towards beginners, Webull stands ready for the more advanced stock traders.
Webull offers:
- An easy to use app and website platform; mobile and desktop friendly
- The ability to perform market orders, limit orders, stop limit orders, and stop orders
- $0 commissions and fees
- $0 account minimum
- Offers retirement accounts (tax-deferred accounts)
- Extended trading hours
- Access to real-time market data
- Advanced orders and research tools
- A trading simulator to try out advanced features before putting real money on the line
How to Get Free Stock by Signing Up with Webull
Webull offers a free stock (up to $250) when you first sign up and a second stock (up to $1400) when you deposit $100 in your Webull brokerage account within 30 days of signing up.
How to Acquire Even More Free Stocks
In addition to the free stock you receive for signing up, you can also receive 3 free stocks (up to $1400 a piece) for your first referral to Webull if they deposit $100 or more into their account within 30 days of signing up. After your first referral, you’ll continue to receive 2 free stocks for each new referral.
For more information about Webull please read, Webull Review: Is Webull Legit?
Are These Companies Safe?
Since these are legitimate brokerage firms, they are all registered with and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
They are all also registered members of the SIPC, which protects (up to $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash) against the loss of cash and securities held by a customer at a financially-troubled SIPC-member brokerage firm.
As with any investment, trading involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for everyone. However, even left as cash, there is the risk of losing spending power over time from inflation.
It’s up to each person to determine what level of risk their comfortable with.
As a rule of thumb, I’m fairly conservative, so the percentage of investments I have in stocks is very small compared to investments in index funds and ETFs that either follow the stock market or large portions of it (i.e. large cap -> small cap; growth -> value).
If you’re looking for a great brokerage firm for these types of investment vehicles I recommend Vanguard because of their long-term investor focus, emphasis on index funds and equivalent ETFs, and commission-free trading and low expense ratios for Vanguard investment vehicles.
How These Free Trading Apps Make Money
- They earn interest on the cash in your account that’s not invested
- They earn fractions of pennies on each trade they process in order flow
- Margin trading provides interest (no different than a bank providing a loan)
- Some offer paid or premium subscriptions
These aren’t exclusive to free trading apps; most brokerage firms make money this way. Most other firms just also charge commissions and fees as well.
3 Ways to Get Free Stocks from Legitimate Brokerage Firms – Conclusion
At the end of the day, all three of these brokerage firms are a great way to invest.
They all offer commission-free trading, $0 to $100 account minimums, and are mobile and desktop friendly.
When you throw in free stocks, signing up for each brokerage is a no-brainer.
Even if you’re only signing up for the free stock, you can open the account, make a small deposit, receive your free stock, and cash out after the requisite time.
If you are interested in receiving free stock, please use the links below for each brokerage.
Do you use any of these trading platforms? Which do you prefer?