Robinhood has become one of the most popular apps for beginner investors. It’s free to use, has low-to-no commissions and makes buying and selling stocks as easy as ordering online. If you’re curious about investing but don’t know where to start, Robinhood offers a simple entry point.
Here’s how to use Robinhood — from setting up your account to making your first trade.
Getting started with Robinhood
Robinhood stands out for its accessibility, starting with a quick and easy account setup.
Downloading the app and signing up
Robinhood is available on iOS and Android, and signing up takes just minutes. You’ll need to provide personal information such as your Social Security number and employment details, as required by law.
Requirements
- 18 years or older
- Valid Social Security number
- Legal US residential address
- US citizen, US permanent resident or valid visa
Adding money
To start investing, link your bank account and transfer funds. Transfers usually take a few days, but Robinhood offers instant deposits, allowing you to start trading immediately with a portion of your pending deposit. You can also link a debit card or set up direct deposit.
Get free access to Robinhood’s new desktop platform
All you have to do is sign up for a Robinhood account! Existing Robinhood users will automatically gain access to the platform, called Robinhood Legend. Standout features include the ability to:
- Add up to eight charts in a single window.
- Place orders from a watchlist, position or options chain with one click.
- Trade directly from a chart.
- Leverage dozens of technical indicators, drawing tools, custom intervals and chart types.
- Customize your layout or choose from layout templates.
Understanding account types
When you sign up, you’ll get a standard brokerage account. You can then open individual retirement accounts (IRAs) or a margin account:
- Brokerage account. Trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, crypto, futures and event contracts. Ideal for most beginners.
- IRAs. Robinhood supports traditional, Roth and rollover IRAs. Its IRA match program adds a bonus to eligible deposits — 3% for Robinhood Gold subscribers, 1% otherwise.
- Margin accounts. Borrow money to invest beyond your balance. Margin can boost gains but also increases risk.
Features and amenities
Robinhood offers several features to make investing accessible and engaging:
- Fractional share trading. Buy portions of a stock with as little as $1 to diversify your portfolio, even with a small budget.
- Automated investing with Robinhood Strategies. Managed portfolios tailored to your goals and risk tolerance. Human experts manage day-to-day decisions and rebalancing.
- Robinhood Legend. A desktop-style platform with real-time data, customizable charts, advanced order types and enhanced layouts for more experienced traders.
- Instant buying power. Start investing immediately with a portion of your pending deposit.
- IPO access. Eligible users can buy shares when a company goes public.
- 24/5 trading. Trade select stocks and ETFs almost around the clock, from Sunday 8:00 p.m. ET through Friday 8:00 p.m. ET.
Robinhood Gold
Robinhood Gold is an upgraded experience with features such as:
- 3.75% APY on uninvested cash
- 3% IRA contribution match
- Bigger instant deposits
- Nasdaq Level 2 data and Morningstar insights
- First $1K of margin interest-free
- Discounted futures and index options commissions
- $250 cap on Robinhood Strategies
- Discounted mortgage rates
Exploring the Robinhood app
The dashboard shows your portfolio value, daily changes and your holdings. You’ll also see your available buying power, cash holdings, realized profit and loss and watchlists.
Searching for stocks, crypto and more
Select the magnifying glass icon and use the search bar to look up a company like Apple (AAPL) or a cryptocurrency like bitcoin (BTC). On each stock page, you’ll find a price chart and an expanded advanced chart, recent news and key stats. You’ll also find:
- AI-powered Digests, which provides easy-to-understand summaries of market movements
- Trading Trends, which shows the trading activity of Robinhood customers, hedge funds and company insiders
- Estimated and actual earnings data
- Analyst ratings and Morningstar research (exclusive for Gold subscribers)
How to trade on Robinhood
Trading on Robinhood is straightforward, one of its biggest draws, even if you’re new to investing.
Buying stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cryptocurrencies
- Search for the ticker symbol.
- Select Trade and then Buy.
- Enter a dollar amount or number of shares/coins.
- Choose market order to buy at the current price or limit order to set the price you’re willing to pay.
- Submit your trade.
Selling stocks, ETFs and cryptocurrencies
Just like buying, go to the stock or crypto page, select Trade, but tap Sell. Enter a dollar amount or number of shares or coins.
Trading other assets on Robinhood
Robinhood also offers options, futures and event contracts, but these are higher-risk and more complex. If you’re a beginner, consider focusing on stocks and crypto first, and explore these other assets only after gaining more experience.
Managing your portfolio
Once you’ve begun to trade, Robinhood helps you stay on top of your investments. Your dashboard shows your portfolio’s real-time performance, and you can tap into each stock or crypto to see how it’s doing, check your percentage gains or losses and review recent activity.
You can also set up price alerts, which notify you when a stock or crypto moves past a certain level. This is helpful if you want to be alerted when a stock drops to a price you’re comfortable buying at or rises to a price where you’d consider selling. In addition, Robinhood integrates relevant news stories into the app, so you can stay informed about events that might affect your holdings.
Staying safe
Robinhood uses bank-level encryption and two-factor authentication (2FA) for account security. This means even if someone had your password, they’d need an extra verification code from your phone to log in.
It’s a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects accounts up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash. This insurance safeguards your funds if the brokerage fails, but it doesn’t cover market losses. Robinhood’s additional private insurance, which kicks in if SIPC coverage is maxed out, provides extra protection.(1)It covers up to $1 billion in total, with limits of $50 million in securities and $1.9 million in cash per customer. Like SIPC, it doesn’t cover losses from market ups and downs — only if Robinhood were to fail.
Costs and fees
Robinhood offers commission-free trading, but makes money through spreads and payment for order flow, like most brokers. Key fees:
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Annual fee | $0 |
| Stock, ETF, option and crypto trade fees | $0 |
| Crypto spread | 0.65% |
| Margin rate | 4.45%-5.5% |
| Inactivity fee | $0 |
| Robinhood Gold fee | $5/month or $50/year when you pay annually |
| Outgoing account transfer fee | $100 |
Bottom line
Robinhood makes investing accessible for beginners, whether you want to trade stocks, ETFs, crypto or use Robinhood Strategies for managed portfolios. Understand your account types, take advantage of features like fractional shares and instant buying power, and use protective measures like 2FA. Start small, diversify and use the app to grow both your portfolio and your knowledge over time.
