Zecco and TradeKing are two of the cheapest online stock brokers. They both allow you to trade penny stocks for no extra fees.

I opened account with both of these stock brokers more than two years ago and never had any problems with them.

If you are interested, options trading can also be done with ease with both off these companies.

Although these two discount brokers are very similar in terms of service and account features,  there are some minor differences in fees and commissions as listed below.

Zecco:

Price per trade:
$4.50 – Internet based
$19.95 – Broker Assisted

10 free stock trades if you do 25 of more trades per month or if you have $25,000 in your account.

Options: $4.50 + 0.5 per contract

Margin Rates:

$0-$9,999 - 7.75%
$10,000-$24,999 – 7.50%
$25,000-$49,999 – 7.25%
$50,000-$99,999 – 6.75%
$100,000-$249,999 – 6.25%
$250,000-$499,999 – 4.50%
$500,000 + – 4.00% – Call them, it is negotiable.

TradeKing:

Price per trade:
$4.95 (Both internet and broker assisted)

TRADEKING adds $0.01 per share on the entire order for stocks priced less than $1.00. $100 minimum investment per order in OTCBB and Pink Sheet stocks.

Margin Rates:
$0 – $9,999 – 6.50%
$10,000 – $24,999 - 6.50%
$25,000 – $49,999 - 6.50%
$50,000 – $99,999 - 5.50%
$100,000 – $249,999 - 5.50%
$250,000 – $499,999 - 4.50%
$500,000 – $999,999 - 4.50%
$1,000,000 + - 4.50%

In conclusion: If you interact with the customer service, prefer broker assisted trading and prefer a margin account then TradeKing is better. If you trade penny stocks, want to get 10 free trades and pay cheap commissions then Zecco is better.

We do highly recommend that you open an account with both of these brokers and continue using the services of the one you are more comfortable (in terms of interface) with.