Stockpile Review: A Top Brokerage for Beginners or Teaching Kids About Trading

Stockpile offers fractional share trading and easy access to thousands of stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You can link your bank account to make immediate trades and purchase fractional shares with as little as $1. Stockpile also makes gifting stock easy and offers options to help children develop investing skills.

While the brokerage firm has plenty to offer, as this Stockpile review explains, there are both upsides and downsides -- including its limited range of investable assets. Read on to find out more and decide if Stockpile is right for you.

This stock broker is a good fit for: Beginner investors interested in popular stocks or parents who want to help children learn to invest.

Top perks

No fees or minimum balance required

There's no minimum deposit required to open an account with Stockpile, and you can begin trading immediately by linking your bank account and using your debit card. Stockpile also offers fractional shares so you can buy stocks or ETFs with as little as $1. This makes Stockpile an ideal choice for those without a lot of money to invest but who are looking to get exposure to equities.

The trading platform is simple and intuitive

Stockpile offers both online trading on the web as well as a full-featured mobile app. It's app received 4.7 of 5 stars on the iOS store with many users praising its simplicity in their reviews. Stockpile makes trading easy by allowing you to search stocks and ETFs by category, such as searching by industry or searching for the most active assets or for top gainers or losers.

Supervised custodial accounts can introduce children to investing

Supervised accounts are one of Stockpile's most unique features. Parents can open a custodial account and give their child control over building their portfolio from among thousands of popular stocks and ETFs. Minors can request trades that are executed upon parent approval and will take ownership of their account upon reaching adulthood.

Unique eGift Card options for gifting stock

Stockpile also sets itself apart from competitors by allowing users to purchase eGift cards that can be redeemed for stock. You simply select the stock, decide on the dollar amount to gift, and the recipient can redeem the gift card to take ownership of the chosen assets.

What could be improved

Access to a wider range of assets

Stockpile allows users to trade thousands of stocks and ETFs, including every stock in the S&P 500. However, the broker offers fewer stocks than many competitors and doesn't allow trading of mutual funds, bonds, CDs, or cryptocurrencies. Stock investors also can't trade any stock with a share price below $3.

Margin trading

Margin trading is not an option on Stockpile, which means you are limited to purchasing stocks and ETFs with settled funds.

More research offerings and access to data

Because Stockpile is targeted toward the beginner investor, it doesn't offer extensive research materials or advanced charting tools. Most of the informational material it provides is geared toward developing basic investing knowledge. For example, the broker offers guides to what the stock market is and how trades are made. More experienced investors may find its features lacking.

Since July 7, 2021, Stockpile charges no fees for funding your account, buying or selling securities, or giving stocks as gifts. There are also no hidden trading fees including SEC or TAF fees.

Stockpile offers access to more than 400 ETFs, including those that track the market as a whole such as S&P 500 ETFs, as well as specialized ETFs that give you exposure to particular industries or assets. For example, you can purchase cannabis ETFs, ETFs that invest in precious metals, or ETFs designed to maximize dividends you receive.

While Stockpile's selection of ETFs isn't as extensive as some competitors, such as Schwab, most investors will still find plenty of funds to fulfill their goals and build a diversified portfolio.

Unfortunately, Stockpile provides no option to trade mutual funds so it is among a small minority of brokerage firms that don't allow you to trade in this asset class.

Like many modern brokerage firms, Stockpile has eliminated commissions and charges no fees for most transactions, including cash transfers, buying or selling stocks or ETFs, or linking your bank account.

You will, however, have to pay a fee for the following actions:

Stockpile's mobile and web trading platforms have almost no learning curve. You can initiate trades from almost any screen and browsing or searching stocks and ETFs is simple. However, the trading platform is clearly geared towards beginners, with limited charting and analysis tools available.

Stockpile does not allow you to trade on margin. All accounts are cash accounts and all purchases must be fully paid for with settled funds.

Stockpile falls short on research offerings compared to many competitors. There's no paper trading option to test out investing strategies, its charting tools are limited, and you won't have access to analyst ratings.

If you want a brokerage firm with fractional share trading and a simple mobile trading platform, Stockpile fits the bill. Parents hoping to introduce children to investing and those who want to gift stock will also appreciate Stockpile's unique offerings in these arenas. But if you want to trade on margin, hope to buy cryptocurrencies or mutual funds, or want access to sophisticated trading tools, another stock broker may be a better fit.