Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Charles Schwab vs Earn, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Comparing Charles Schwab and Earn provides a clear picture of their differences in trust and regulatory standing. Founded in 1971, Charles Schwab is a publicly traded company and also functions as a bank. Known for holding five Tier-1 licenses, which are highly trusted by ForexBrokers.com, Schwab boasts a perfect Trust Score of 99. By contrast, Earn was established in 1994 and is not publicly traded nor does it operate as a bank. While it holds one Tier-1 license, Earn's Trust Score of 71 indicates an average risk, highlighting its less established regulatory position compared to Schwab.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1971 | 1994 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
Charles Schwab and Earn both offer competitive trading experiences, yet they have distinct approaches to commissions and fees. Charles Schwab appeals to forex traders with its no minimum deposit requirement, allowing easy entry into the trading market. Schwab offers the Schwab One account, providing access to the thinkorswim platform for forex trading, with trades settled in U.S. dollars. The Schwab Global account caters to international traders, letting them access twelve foreign markets in local currencies, although conversion fees of 0.2% to 1% may apply based on account balance size. Schwab doesn’t charge commissions for forex trades, instead relying on bid/ask spreads, with the average spread for EUR/USD at 1.35 pips in October 2024.
On the other hand, Earn does not provide detailed spread data, which might be a consideration for transparency-minded traders. Both brokers are rated four out of five stars for commissions and fees, indicating a high level of customer satisfaction in this area. However, there is a notable difference in their rankings: Charles Schwab ranks 23rd out of 62 brokers on ForexBrokers.com for commissions and fees, outperforming Earn, which ranks 46th.
The choice between Charles Schwab and Earn mainly depends on your specific trading needs. Schwab’s focus on forex trading through the thinkorswim platform and international market access could be appealing for those who value a broad trading scope without direct commission charges. Meanwhile, Earn could be a suitable option for traders who are less concerned about detailed spread information or who might prioritize other factors.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.35 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.35 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When comparing the range of investments offered by Charles Schwab and Earn, distinct differences emerge that are crucial for investors to consider. Charles Schwab provides a comprehensive array of investment opportunities, with an impressive total of 40,000 tradeable symbols, including 73 forex pairs. In addition to forex trading through both CFDs and spot contracts, Schwab allows clients to invest in exchange-traded securities from both U.S. and international exchanges, offering access to stocks like Apple and Vodafone. On the cryptocurrency front, while Schwab doesn't offer the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies, investors can explore cryptocurrency derivatives.
Earn, in contrast, presents a more streamlined selection with 500 tradeable symbols, including 61 forex pairs, available through CFDs and spot contracts. While clients can't buy exchange-traded securities from U.S. or international exchanges, they do have the option for copy trading and can invest in cryptocurrency derivatives. Despite these offerings, Charles Schwab earns a higher rating of 5 stars for its investment range from industry experts, ranking 5th out of 62 brokers on ForexBrokers.com. In comparison, Earn is rated at 3.5 stars, placing it at the 45th spot in the same category. Investors looking to diversify broadly may find Charles Schwab's extensive options more appealing, while those prioritizing features like copy trading might consider Earn.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 500 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 61 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
When comparing the trading platforms of Charles Schwab and Earn, both brokers offer a solid suite of tools to meet the needs of different investors. Charles Schwab provides a fully developed in-house platform, available on both Windows desktop and web-based interfaces, with the additional feature of a simulated trading account to practice strategies. Earn, on the other hand, does not offer its own proprietary platform but provides access to popular platforms like MetaTrader 4 and 5, with options for copy trading through ZuluTrade. Both brokers offer the convenience of trading directly from stock charts; however, Schwab excels with a more extensive range of drawing tools, providing 24 compared to Earn's 15, and a vast 580 columns for watch lists, dwarfing Earn’s 7 columns. This level of detail enhances the trading experience for users who prefer in-depth customization and analysis.
Overall, Charles Schwab stands out in the trading platforms and tools category, earning a perfect 5-star rating and ranking #5 out of 62 brokers on ForexBrokers.com’s list. Earn follows behind with a respectable 4-star rating, yet it is ranked significantly lower at #51. While Earn includes features like MetaTrader and copy trading options that Schwab does not, the depth and sophisticated offerings of Schwab’s proprietary tools may appeal more to traders who demand comprehensive trading capabilities. Whether you prioritize in-depth platform features or specific third-party integrations, both brokers provide valuable options tailored to different trading styles.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| DupliTrade | No | No |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 35 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 24 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 580 | 7 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Charles Schwab and Earn both offer iPhone and Android apps, making them accessible to a wide range of mobile users. Both platforms provide stock and forex price alerts, as well as the ability to create watchlists with real-time quotes. While they both allow users to draw trendlines and view multiple time frames on stock or forex charts, Charles Schwab stands out with its advanced charting features, offering an impressive 374 technical studies compared to Earn's 35. Additionally, Charles Schwab's app supports watchlist symbol syncing with their online accounts, a feature missing from Earn's offering.
In the realm of mobile trading app ratings, Charles Schwab shines with a perfect 5-star rating, outperforming Earn, which has a 4-star rating. This quality is reflected in their rankings by ForexBrokers.com, where Charles Schwab holds the #6 spot out of 62 brokers, while Earn sits further down at #26. With the ability to autosave chart drawings and provide a seamless user experience, Charles Schwab's mobile app is notably attractive for traders seeking comprehensive tools on the go. Earn, while solid, may appeal to those who need a basic yet functional trading app.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 374 | 35 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When comparing Charles Schwab and Earn for market research capabilities, both brokers provide daily market commentary and access to forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. This ensures traders at both firms stay updated with critical financial insights. However, neither broker offers technical analysis or fundamental research tools from well-known providers such as Autochartist or Trading Central. Additionally, both lack sentiment-based trading tools that can show the ratio of long or short positions across various instruments, as well as research tools from TipRanks and Acuity Trading.
Despite these similarities, Charles Schwab stands out with a 5-star rating for research from ForexBrokers.com, placing it 4th out of 62 brokers in the research category. Earn, on the other hand, holds a median 3.5-star rating and ranks 38th. Both brokers offer an economic calendar to track global news events, but Charles Schwab's higher ratings reflect a more comprehensive research experience and possibly greater user satisfaction. For traders prioritizing research, Charles Schwab appears to offer a more esteemed service compared to Earn.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | No |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to educational resources for beginners, Charles Schwab stands out as a comprehensive choice compared to Earn. Charles Schwab offers a range of resources, including over 10 educational pieces focused on forex and CFDs, monthly client webinars, and a searchable archive of recorded webinars. They also provide a collection of more than 10 beginner-friendly videos on trading, along with advanced educational content for experienced traders. Moreover, their investor dictionary includes definitions of over 50 investing terms, making it easier for novices to get familiar with the financial jargon.
On the other hand, Earn does not provide the same level of educational support. They lack the minimum 10 educational pieces on forex or CFDs and do not offer monthly webinars or an archive of past webinars for clients. Furthermore, their selection of beginner and advanced trading videos is limited and doesn't meet the threshold of 10 in each category like Charles Schwab. Additionally, Earn's resources do not include an investor dictionary with 50 or more terms. As a result of these differences in educational offerings, Charles Schwab is rated 5 stars for education and holds the 6th position among 62 brokers, while Earn trails with a 3.5-star rating and is ranked 61st.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 62 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Charles Schwab is better than Earn. Charles Schwab finished with an overall rank of #6, while Earn finished with an overall rank of #50.
Charles Schwab is a highly trusted financial institution and multi-asset broker catering to U.S.-based and international forex traders. Schwab's award-winning thinkorswim platform offers over 70 tradeable currency pairs alongside impressive tools, research, and education. That said, the broker’s forex offering is still largely limited to what is available on thinkorswim.
| Feature |
Charles Schwab
|
Earn
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 71 |
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Both Charles Schwab and Earn do not provide the option to purchase actual delivered cryptocurrency, but they do offer the ability to buy cryptocurrency derivatives.
In comparing online brokers Charles Schwab and Earn, Charles Schwab supports ACH and SEPA transfers as well as bank wires for account transactions, but lacks options like PayPal, Skrill, Visa, and Mastercard; while Earn does not offer ACH or SEPA transfers, it allows deposits or withdrawals via Skrill, Visa, Mastercard, and bank wires, but lacks PayPal support.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
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| Regulation | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 71 | |
| Year Founded | 1971 | 1994 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | No | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | No | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No | No |
| Investments | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 40000 | 500 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 73 | 61 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | No | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.35 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.35 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | No | Yes | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | No | |
| Execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | No | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | No | |
| DupliTrade | No | No | |
| ZuluTrade | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 580 | 7 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 374 | 35 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 24 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 374 | 35 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | No | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | Charles Schwab Review |
| Overall | Charles Schwab | Earn | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 71 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Charles Schwab Review |
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