Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States, providing a comprehensive suite of financial services to both individual investors and institutions. Their offerings include investment accounts, trading solutions, banking services, and retirement planning, all designed to help clients achieve their financial goals. With a strong focus on innovation and customer service, Schwab empowers investors with the tools and resources needed for informed decision-making in today's dynamic market. Visit schwab.com to learn more about how they can support your investment journey.
Charles Schwab receives overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many customers expressing frustration over account management and service quality. Reviewers frequently mention feeling trapped or scammed, particularly regarding issues with account security and the handling of funds.
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Complaints about bounced checks and confusing verification processes are common, leading to a perception of poor customer service. While some users appreciate Schwab's ThinkOrSwim platform and acknowledge the professionalism of certain staff members, these positives are overshadowed by the overall dissatisfaction. Many consumers advise against opening accounts, citing a lack of support and accountability. Overall, the sentiment is predominantly negative, reflecting significant concerns about the company's reliability and service.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
1.6
200
100%
-0.1
● Low
1.6 / 5 overall
=
200 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jan 2026.
Last 3 months
1.5▼ 0.1
12-month avg
1.6
All-time
1.6
Category avg
3.5
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Feb 25
1.5
24
Mar 25
1.7
13
Apr 25
1.3
22
May 25
1.4
9
Jun 25
2.3
14
Jul 25
1.4
13
Aug 25
1.9
11
Sep 25
1.4
11
Oct 25
1.5
12
Nov 25
1.4
10
Dec 25
1.7
15
Jan 26
1.5
29
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 200 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 27 positive reviews
Customer service59%
16 mentions
Helpful support30%
8 mentions
Fast & efficient15%
4 mentions
Easy to use11%
3 mentions
“They have excellent online fillable PDF forms, extensive helpful information for new investors, good customer support...”
On “Customer service” · Jan 2, 2026
Top complaintsof 169 negative reviews
Account issues43%
73 mentions
Customer service38%
65 mentions
Payment issues11%
19 mentions
Fraud7%
11 mentions
“They lured me into opening account promising that as an European I will trade US ETFs through them”
On “Account issues” · Jan 21, 2026
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Money & Insurance.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
A man named Alex from Denver helped me with an account verification issue and was extremely helpful. He explained everything he was doing step by step, was very patient, and helped be the bridge for me with the verification department. He helped me solve an issue I've had for a while and now I can trade!
My stock trading and investment started almost 60 years ago. (I fondly recall sitting in a Merrill Lynch office to watch the ticker.) In the decades since, I have had accounts with all the big brokerage houses. Without question, Charles Schwab exceeds them all. They have excellent online fillable PDF forms, extensive helpful information for new investors, good customer support, and accounts for virtually every purpose. Trades are fast and executed at favorable prices. They have walk in offices over most of the US, staffed with experts. In addition to equities (stocks), you can trade CDs, Treasuries, and several other debt instruments. The also have NO FEE "Intelligent Portfolios" for both conventional and IRA accounts. Through a series of simple questions, you create your desired profile. You then fund the portfolio you have created and Schwab trades and rebalances automatically. You can edit your profile at any time and your portfolio is rebalanced automatically. If you want personal advice, you can add that feature to your portfolio for a small fee. Schwab is for everyone!
What types of accounts can I open with Charles Schwab?
Charles Schwab offers a variety of account types including individual and joint brokerage accounts, retirement accounts such as Traditional and Roth IRAs, as well as checking and savings accounts. Each account type is designed to meet different financial goals, so it's important to review the features of each to determine which best suits your needs.
Are there any trading fees associated with Schwab brokerage accounts?
Charles Schwab offers $0 commission on online stock and ETF trades, which makes it a cost-effective option for investors. However, there may be fees associated with certain mutual funds, options trading, and other specialized services, so it’s advisable to review the specific fee schedule on their website.
How can I contact customer support at Charles Schwab?
You can reach Charles Schwab's customer support team via phone, chat, or secure messaging through your online account. They also have a comprehensive help center on their website, where you can find answers to common questions and access resources for account management.
Is there a mobile app for managing my Schwab accounts?
Yes, Charles Schwab offers a mobile app that allows you to manage your accounts conveniently from your smartphone or tablet. The app provides features such as trading stocks and ETFs, checking account balances, transferring funds, and accessing market updates and research tools.
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What research tools does Schwab provide for investors?
Charles Schwab offers a robust suite of research tools including market analysis, stock screeners, and third-party research reports. You can also access educational resources such as articles and webinars to enhance your investing knowledge and help you make informed decisions.
Can I transfer my existing brokerage account to Charles Schwab?
Yes, you can transfer your existing brokerage account to Charles Schwab through a process called an ACAT transfer. Schwab provides an online tool to guide you through the transfer process, and they can assist with the necessary paperwork to facilitate a smooth transition.
What are the tax implications of withdrawing from my Schwab IRA?
Withdrawals from a Traditional IRA are typically subject to income tax, and if you take a withdrawal before age 59½, you may incur a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Roth IRA withdrawals may be tax-free if certain conditions are met, including the account being open for at least five years. It's advisable to consult with a tax advisor for personalized guidance.
Anyone can write a CrowdTrust review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they'll be displayed as long as an account is active.
They have been really good to me. Always provide great customer service and all investment products you may need. I particularly love the convenience of using any ATM in the world with zero fees. I only wish cash deposits were easier. That's the only downside.
I've been a client for 20 years and have only experienced superior customer service. During that time, I transferred all of my brokerage accounts to Schwab to take advantage of easy access, excellent advice, 24 hour service, low to no fees, and an easy to navigate website.
I had to call them just now to help with a wire transfer problem triggered by security on my computer. The service rep talked me through an alternate approach and the wire went through. The whole procedure took about 10 minutes.
I highly recommend this bank & brokerage firm.
I have had an account at Schwab for close to 10 years now. It has, for the most part, been an excellent experience. My brokerage account is safe and their security, if somewhat maddening, is strong. The investor checking account is excellent and truly essential if you do any overseas travel. I would recommend Schwab to anyone.
Excelente plataforma, precio en tiempo real, multiples opciones de compra venta, facil de depositar y retirar dinero. Si deseas te da una tarjeta de debito internacional sobre tu cuenta. Me ayuda mucho a llevar mi record del portafolio, tiene calificaciones de las empresa del mismo Charles Schwab y Moorningstar y mucho mas. No se como tiene mala calificacion.
Always reliable, knowledgeable and dependable account service. The team I have used is very competent and helpful. We have 3 IRAs and a checking account.
Anytime that I call with question they are able to answer it for me. They offer TONS of resources for me to learn and get better at trading. They have also walked me through trading when I needed it. My former financial advisor recommended them and I'm happy that he did.
I think Richard Sica, at the Brookfield Ct., Branch, is Great, Kind and Helpful, and deserves my praise.!! I highly recommend using his services!! I am so happy I met him, with great appreciation.!!
Schwab is my number one bank. When it comes to banking, Schwab & Fidelity are incredible and every other bank is a distant third.
Let me give you a short history. About year 2000, I opened an account at thinkorswim (TOS). In those years, TOS was a stand-alone broker. TOS was certainly ok. Then TD Ameritrade (TDA) bought TOS. And the combo of TDA & TOS was ok. About that same time, I independently opened a checking account at Schwab. And Schwab was certainly ok. Later, Schwab merged with TDA, so now TOS is part of Schwab. For me, that merger went extremely smoothly. Everything carried over. Schwab deleted my Schwab One brokerage account (because it was redundant) and I continued along with my TDA brokerage accounts and my Schwab checking account. Everything was merged under one profile. I had zero problems resulting from the combo of the companies. I give the Information Systems Department at Schwab six stars out of five because everything continued perfectly post-merger.
Now, I have a few ETF’s at Schwab but I mostly use Schwab for checking. I pay a few bills using Schwab and do a tiny bit of trading at Schwab. Altogether, I have five figures $ at Schwab, so I am certainly ok with Schwab. I use Symantec VIP authenticator to log into Schwab and it works perfectly. Symantec VIP prevents an imposter from obtaining access to my Schwab accounts.
I have not experienced any outages at Schwab. My customer service experience at Schwab is always five out of five stars. The Schwab website always works perfectly for me. I have experienced only one problem (explained below). There are a LOT of negative Trust Pilot reviews of Schwab. I suspect a lot of those unhappy people are customers of Schwab Advisor Services - something I have zero experience with. Obviously, their entire relationship with Schwab is much different from my own. I am a self-directed trader, so I make 100% of my stock market decisions. I do not look to Schwab (or anyone else) for advice because I am very experienced in the financial markets.
If I had no knowledge of the market, and if my time horizon was long, I would invest in a diversified broad market ETF like "SCHB" or "VTI" and do something else with my time. I would not pay a lot of fees to an advisor. This is not investment advice, just what I would do.
I am not an employee of any brokerage firm. My review is strictly based on my experience as a customer of Schwab. I recommend that you give Schwab a try.
Post Script: Only one issue with Schwab. Their technology department has a offensive habit of rendering perfectly good hardware obsolete for installation of their mobile apps. In other words, without warning, one day when you attempt to use the Schwab mobile app, you will receive this type of message: ”Update application. The Schwab mobile app is no longer accessible on iOS devices with operating systems older than iOS 17. . . .” Or a similar message for Android users. I have a perfectly good iPad which runs everything I need except the Schwab mobile app's. Frankly, I do not wish to waste money on a new iPad only for the purpose of making the technology people at Schwab happy. If this is important to you & this bothers you, avoid Schwab because this kind of BS is SOP for the systems people at Schwab. You are immune from this if you never use any of the Schwab mobile apps. If you buy the newest hand-held technology every year or two, this will not be a concern for you. If you process all of your transactions on the Schwab website, this will not be a concern.
PPS: Tastytrade is my number one broker. IF you are an options trader, check out Tastytrade because I prefer trading on the Tasty trading platform (compared to Schwab’s thinkorswim). Just my opinion. I used thinkorswim for many years and it is certainly an ok options trading platform, but I prefer Tasty.
PPPS: The HUGE downside to both Tastytrade and Schwab => They have not figured out a way to stop ACATS fraud before the fact. They only thing they offer is => "if you are affected by ACATS fraud, be sure to notify us in a timely manner." In other words, Schwab and Tasty fix fraud after it has occurred. But only if you notify them right away. If you fail to notice the fraud immediately, then "too bad, so sad." If you are concerned about ACATS fraud, get an account at Fidelity (Fidelity knows how to stop fraud before it occurs).
Un gran banco de inversión, de los mayores y mejores de los EEUU. Atención y servicios inmejorables las 24 horas del día y los 7 días de la semana. La banca en Argentina es un verdadero desastre frente a este tipo de instituciones americanas. Servicio, seguridad y atención son sus mayores características. Muy recomendable.
Best experience I ever had with schwab as soon as you transfer money you can use it right away , the withdraw is 24 hour process , 24 hour customer service I don't understand how anyone leave a negative review with them only if they owe a balance and are crying to bad pay your bills!
For 19 years, I have been invested with Charles Schwab. The exceptional service that I receive; very professional very personal, very courteous; typify the experience that I had today. My sincere appreciation to Tim Cummins and Ebone for assisting me today. I highly recommend Charles Schwab. Thank you, Tim and Ebone. Thank you, Charles Schwab!
Good customer service with my investments. They are prompt and helpful with any questions. However, be aware of WHERE your certificate of deposit is invested. An investment with FLAGSTAR BANK thru Charles Schwab proved troublesome, but reputable banks pay their investments on the day they mature.
Foreigner with the internationl broker account. Super happy with both service, security and the great debit card for international travel. Trades has never failed me either.
All the service I have received from Schwab has been exemplary. I especially appreciated how well they integrated my capital expenses into my retirement planning. Too many people and places only look at their regular monthly budget and forget to account for the infrequent but known upcoming big expenses, like roof and A/C replacement.
When I did need to transfer money, their security was good and the move was efficient.
Does Schwab offer any tools for retirement planning?
Yes, Charles Schwab provides several tools for retirement planning, including retirement calculators and personalized retirement planning services. These resources can help you estimate how much you need to save, evaluate your current savings strategy, and determine the best investment options for your retirement goals.
What are the benefits of having a Schwab checking account?
A Schwab checking account offers benefits such as no monthly maintenance fees, unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide, and access to online bill pay and mobile check deposit. Additionally, it seamlessly integrates with your investment accounts, making it easy to manage your finances in one place.
How can I access my Schwab account statements and tax documents?
You can access your Schwab account statements and tax documents through the online account portal or mobile app. All statements are available in a secure digital format, and you can choose to receive them via email or download them directly for your records.
About Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab Corporation is one of the largest brokerage firms in the United States, providing a comprehensive suite of financial services to both individual investors and institutions. Their offerings include investment accounts, trading solutions, banking services, and retirement planning, all designed to help clients achieve their financial goals. With a strong focus on innovation and customer service, Schwab empowers investors with the tools and resources needed for informed decision-making in today's dynamic market. Visit schwab.com to learn more about how they can support your investment journey.