This Robinhood (RH) review will explain why is Robinhood one of the most popular stockbrokers in the USA now after only 7 years of existence. The stockbroker boasts to manage approximately 50bn in assets and is rumored to go public in the coming years. On this Robin Hood stock broker review, we will analyze all aspects that will help you make a well-researched decision on whether to use or not use Robinhood for ETF, bond, stock, Future or options trading.
Our review focuses are popularity, user rating and feedback, background information, security, offering, fees and quality of mobile app.
Robinhood Popularity
Robinhood is one of the most popular stock brokers currently and receives a great deal of attention from its users and media attention. At present, Robinhood has approximately 13m users. Their site generates estimated traffic of about 47m. As of August, their search result on the web was about 30m and a search volume of about 40k.
Currently, their Twitter followers are over 196k, while their Facebook page has almost 163k followers. From Forbes to Bloomberg to Fox Business, the media seems very much interested in them. Their user and follower base are not surprising given their platform’s resourcefulness and reach among all age groups. The app has also been downloaded by thousands of people across the world. You can check the table below for more statistics.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL | Date |
| Number of users (approximate) | 13m | https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/robinhood-tops-13-million-users-raises-280m-at-8-3b-valuation/ | 4 May 2020 |
| Website traffic (estimated) | 42.6m | https://www.similarweb.com/website/robinhood.com/ | 16 Aug 2020 |
| # results on web | 29.7m | https://www.google.com/ | 16 Aug 2020 |
| Search volume google | 40k | https://searchvolume.io/ | 16 Aug 2020 |
| Twitter followers | 196k | https://twitter.com/robinhoodapp | 16 Aug 2020 |
| FB followers | 163k | https://www.facebook.com/robinhoodapp/ | 16 Aug 2020 |
| How popular on mainstream media? | High | barrons, cnbc, Motley Fool, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Forbes, Tech Crunch, Business Insider | – |
| Negative media? | High | https://www.rollcall.com/2020/07/28/death-draws-lawmakers-scrutiny-to-robinhoods-trading-app/ | – |
| Notable awards | Most innovative company by Fast Company (2015), Top 50 by Fast Company (2016) | https://www.fastcompany.com/company/robinhood | – |
User rating
Robinhood’s user rating differs from platform to platform. The general user perspective is also two-sided. Some users rate Robinhood highly, while others don’t care much for the platform. Robinhood user reviews from across the web are scarce and overall borderline negative-positive (while at the same time, Twitter communication with users and app reviews seem incredibly positive). According to many experts, the Robinhood app is very easy to use, which is why it’s loved by several of its users.
Many of the reviews and feedback point out that the app’s interface and navigation are user-friendly and intuitive. Another reason why this trading app is much loved is that it offers excellent customer support. If there’s something that you don’t understand or are confused about, you can simply contact their customer service representatives, and they’ll be glad to assist you with any questions or concerns. They are mainly available through their website, so you won’t need to worry about wasting time driving to a physical location. As of August 2020, Robinhood had 77 on TrustPilot and 46 on SiteJabber.
Background Information
Robinhood was founded in 2013 at Silicon Valley by Vladimir Tenney, a Stanford graduate who left his Ph.D. program to create the company. Robinhood’s mission was to provide free stock trading, although that mission is gradually evolving. As of Q2 2020, Robinhood’s revenue data was $180 million. At current, the firm has over 1200 employees. Notable among its investors (private companies) are SEQUOIA, Index Ventures, CapitalG, Andreessen Horowitz, and Thrive Capital.
The Robinhood trading app was launched in the App Store for free and received well by consumers. It is one of the first truly international financial investment apps. All transactions are completed in real-time through chat. The team behind the project claims that Robinhood is a revolution in the investment world.
| Company public/private | Private | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinhood_(company) |
| Revenue Data | 180m on Q2 of 2020 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2020/08/03/robinhood-doubles-its-second-quarter-trading-revenue-reaching-180-million/#3eddefb6768c |
| CEO and bio | Vladimir Tenev, Standford graduate, left his PhD in maths for robinhood. Prior to robinhood, he created a high frequency trading company. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Tenev |
| Number of employees | 1,281 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinhood_(company) |
| Notable investors (private companies) | SEQUOIA, Index Ventures, CapitalG, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital | https://careers.robinhood.com/ |
Security
Although some have doubts about Robinhood’s security status, the company affirms its commitment to its users’ ultimate security. Robinhood uses various security measures to protect its investment accounts and the data of its users. Some of its security measures include data encryption, Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology, HTTPS certificate, two-factor authentication, device monitoring, and new device extra security. Robinhood also has a status page that shows whether its systems are operating normally or not.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| HTTPS Certificate | Yes | https://robinhood.com/ |
| 2FA ? | Yes | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/twofactor-authentication/ |
| Device monitoring? | Yes | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/device-monitoring/ |
| New device extra security? | Yes | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/verifying-its-you/ |
Fees & Offering
Robinhood has so much to offer its users without taking too much from them. This is probably why it’s a “people’s favorite.” There is no account minimum, account fixed fees, ETF buying fees, stock buying fees, option buying fees, and the likes. Even those that exist are low- the marginal cost is 5% per day, 1% on cryptocurrency buying fees, and 5% on selling. But Robinhood has some off-points as well. It is missing quite a few asset classes, such as fixed income.
The Robinhood trading platform has various features, including an advanced options strategy that helps the user trade on shares, indices, commodities, and bond markets. Notably, the advanced options strategy is one of the most useful features of the Robinhood platform. This feature allows users to trade on stocks and options based on their particular stock predictions.
For instance, if you’re planning to invest in some equity stock, you can use the platform’s advanced options strategy feature to analyze the stock’s past trends. You can then use this information to predict the future stock trend. The users can also set their stop-loss percentage and take a proper decision about the investment they are going to make. This offer is one of the mar reasons people like Robinhood.
| Query | Answer | Reference URL |
| Account minimum | None | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/account-limitations/ |
| Account fixed fees | None | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/trading-fees-on-robinhood/ |
| Fractional shares? | Yes | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/fractional-shares/ |
| Margin costs | 5% per day | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/paying-for-robinhood-gold/ |
| ETF buying fees | None | https://cdn.robinhood.com/assets/robinhood/legal/RHF_Fee_Schedule.pdf |
| Stock buying fees | None | https://cdn.robinhood.com/assets/robinhood/legal/RHF_Fee_Schedule.pdf |
| Option buying fees | None | https://cdn.robinhood.com/assets/robinhood/legal/RHF_Fee_Schedule.pdf |
| Short selling fees | Not available on robinhood | – |
| Future buying fees | Not available on robinhood | – |
| Future options buying fees | Not available on robinhood | – |
| Cryptocurrency fees | 1% on buying, 5% on selling | https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/cryptocurrency-investing/ |
| Fixed income fees | Not available on robinhood | – |
| Mutual funds fees | Not available on robinhood | – |
Trading App
The Robinhood trading app was recently rated as one of the best in its class by experts, and it’s simply because the app has been designed in a way that is very easy to understand and very conducive to learn.
In fact, the interface even has tabs so that traders can see which stocks they should buy or sell depending on their strategy. The interface design of the Robinhood Trading App is so simple and easy to understand that there is no need for any technical know-how to use the app.
The app works as an online broker and is very well integrated into the Facebook platform. The app has a user-friendly interface, which also includes tools for research. Since the app is free, it also provides a certain amount of incentive to users since its success would mean more downloads and higher ratings.
This has been achieved by ensuring that the app has a user-friendly interface, provides high-quality services, and provides plenty of research data. The app is designed for its users to perform trading while being at their homes or anywhere they might be.
Final conclusions: Robinhood – is it the best stock and options trading platform and app?
Today, Robinhood Trading App is recognized as one of the easiest and quickest to use platforms available today. All the trading information is displayed in real-time and is updated frequently. Hence, your strategy does not need to be changed often. The app provides users with tips on when to enter a trade and what to look for while making one. It also gives you information on market trends so that you can make the most of your investment.
Excelling in easy-to-understand and easy-to-execute design, excellent app, and a NO FEE policy on almost anything, it’s easily the best stock broker to start working with. There are disgruntled clients and certain instruments you can’t access (such as Futures) with Robinhood, so it’s not perfect, but if you are looking for an easy-to-use trading platform, you should try out Robinhood.