How to Get Free Stocks

Free stocks are great incentives for new clients who open accounts or install investment apps. Discover how it works and how to get free shares quickly.

By Alexander Voigt | Updated January 16, 2023

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Our list includes the most popular ones by companies being a member of FINRA and with deposit insurance protection.

How To Get Stocks For Free

Since online brokers like Charles Schwab started offering commission-free trading, the fight for new clients comes into new dimensions.

Statistics are important when registered brokerages have their earnings releases and when they talk at investor conferences.

Most banks and brokers have already created excellent stock trading apps for their customers. Now new ways are needed to attract new customers, and that’s where the free stocks come into play.

10 Ways To Get Free Stocks and Bonus Offers

Free stocks are offered when new customers install an investment app. Most often, it is required to open an account, fund money, or actively use the app.

Free stocks are a reward you get from a company for becoming a new customer. You may know it from similar things like when you subscribe to a newspaper, and you get a bonus payment or eCommerce coupon.

Free stocks can boost your income right from day one. The chances for a free stock bonus of over $1,000 are relatively small, but if you get lucky, then it is a good headstart.

The 10 ways to get free stocks include classic offers where you get shares of a company directly delivered to your brokerage account and also offers where you get cash as a reward for opening a new account. I like the idea of free cash even more, but free shares are great too.

Table of Contents

1. Acorns

Let’s get it straight, with Acorns; you earn a $10 bonus when you sign up. But you do not get the money from Acorns. You get it from the rewards platform Fond. You simply create an account, answer a few questions about yourself and make your first investment of at least $5. In exchange, Fond will boost your Acorns account with $10.

Acorns

The pricing for the Acrons app starts at $1 per month with the Lite plan. With this plan, you can put your spare change to work with round-ups, earn bonus investments from over 350 Found Money partners, and get access to hundreds of helpful articles from various financial experts.

The Personal plan for $3 takes your investment to the next level by providing a retirement account, and you can use over 55,000 ATMs worldwide.

The Family plan for $5 provides investment accounts for kids, retirement, checking accounts and personal investment capabilities.

Acorns is a great app, and they are $250,000 FDIC insured. You can have all your accounts connected to one app and get up to 10% bonus investments when you shop.

But the sign-up bonus is relatively small, and it is the question if it is worth it to answer the Fond questions in exchange for a $10 one-time payment if your monthly minimum fees are $1. There are better ways to get free stock, free shares, and bonus payments.

IMO the main benefit is the ability to buy fractional shares, which is a benefit compared to other brokerage firms like TD Ameritrade.

2. Webull

Webull has a fantastic growth story since they have launched its trading app. I have written an extensive Webull review because this app is that comprehensive that just a short mention in this list would not be enough. Webull offers commission-free trading on mobile devices and via a desktop app, and it is one of the best stock trading apps.

Webull

How to get free stocks on Webull?

New clients who open their account within 24 hours after registration currently receive up to 2 stocks worth up to $1,000 each from Webull. You don’t have to trade to unlock this bonus; you have to open the account and fund it with $100. So if you get lucky, then you get $1,000 for a $100 deposit. That’s an immediate return of 1,000% within a few hours.

Even if you get a free stock for Apple Inc., then it has a current value of over $300 with a return on deposit of >300%. It’s hard to find arguments not to making use of this offer. The company behind the brand Webull is Webull Financial LLC, and their background can be checked on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

You open an account and fund it with at least $100 within 24 hours, and you receive a free stock valued up to $1,000 from Webull. There are no other minimums, holding periods, or hidden requirements.

3. Public

Public started the mission to open the markets to all. Public wants to archive this goal by providing commission-free trades and zero account minimums. They are proud of having no hidden fees and offering the Public app for free.

Public

You can follow other investors and build your financial literacy by being part of the community. Share insights with people and be part of the social investing network. Start investing with any amount of money by either buying fractions of shares or full shares. Public does not practice Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and routes your trades directly to the stock exchanges.

A free stock worth up to $20 can be claimed once per person, and the free stock bonus will be paid once your account got approved.

Public is a registered Broker-Dealer and therefore fully SIPC insured with up to $500,000. Public is an exciting choice for those who want to buy fractional shares. The signup bonus of $20 is a good start, and even fractional shares of stock from Apple could be traded with this bonus.

4. Robinhood

Robinhood is a well-known brokerage that probably initiated the current zero commissions initiative. In 2013, when Robinhood was founded, other brokerage houses laughed about his little company founded by two trading veterans. But these days, it is clear that they disrupted the whole business.

Robinhood was the company that started giving away free stocks, and it is still possible to get them if you invite friends. Anyway, it is harder to earn those free stocks, and they are valued from $3 up to $225.

Open an account with Robinhood, invite friends to Robinhood and receive a stock worth up to $225. Based on my research, the average value of stocks received is $10. Pear year, you can earn up to $500 in free stocks from Robinhood. Keep in mind that you need to claim your reward within 60 days. If you do, Robinhood will give you free stock with a stock value of up to $225.

How to get free stocks on Robinhood?

Here is how you get free shares by inviting your friends:

Install the free stock trading app
Click on the account person icon in the bottom right
Click on Get Free Stock
Click Invite Contacts
Now invite your friends

The free Robinhood stock is randomly selected, and 98% of participants will get a stock with a value of up to $10.

Bonus info: Robinhood currently adds one share of free stock to your account if you open a new account with them without being a customer before. This way, you can get free stock for your account and more if you invite friends. The app is available for Apple iOS and Android.

5. Stash

Stash is utterly different from the two mentioned above. Webull and Robinhood are trading apps, while Stash is more of a robo advisor. Their app helps you save money, and they also offer some guidance on how to archive better savings.

Clients are able to receive the Stash “Stock-Back Card” that rewards you with bonus stock when you spend with it. How does it work? It’s quite simple if you buy something, for example, from Amazon by using the Stock-Back Card, then you can be rewarded with a piece of AMZN stock, which will later appear in your investment account. And even if the company where you spend your money is not a publicly traded company, then you can receive a reward in your Default Investment.

So the type of bonus is another main differentiator to the other apps in this list since you have to spend using your Stock-Back Card first, and then you receive portions of bonus stock in return. You can even get Stock-Back rewards on some of your subscriptions.

Long-term users will likely reap the the benefit from Stash’s offer. We all spend money online, and if there is a bonus stock in return on the horizon, well, why not! There are some terms and conditions applied to the Stock-Back program, so you can go on reading them directly on the Stash’s website.

6. Firstrade

Firstrade belongs to the commission-free trading platforms, and for a trader, it can be a great alternative to a traditional investment platform. You can earn free stocks by opening an account with Firstrade. Currently, Firstrade gives you one free stock for simply opening an account, plus one more if you open the account and deposit or transfer a minimum of $100 within 30 days of account approval.

With Firstrade, you can make commission-free trades, and they go even a step further and offer a $0 options contract fee. The accounts are $500,000 SIPC insured, and you can also trade outside the regular trading hours.

If you switch from another online broker to Firstrade, the account transfer may get you $200 in fee rebates. Anyway, since fees are not that high these days, this bonus is not that compelling.

But there is one more interesting option to earn more free stocks from companies like Apple. You can log in to your account and click on customer service. There you can select free stocks to get your referral program link. Share this link with your friends to invite them to open an account. Successful referrals are rewarded with shares worth anywhere between $3 and $200. The chance of getting a higher-priced stock is shown with 1 in 100, and you may consider that only U.S. residents can get this deal to receive free shares.

7. Moomoo

Moomoo offers an intuitive and powerful investing platform backed by extensive research and development capabilities. But Moomoo is not only for investors. It is also designed for traders with new enhancements and features. The Moomoo trading app is available for Windows, Mac, within the AppStore and on Google Play.

One thing where this trading platform stands out is the free Level 2 market data with real-time streaming bid and ask prices for any stock. Like most other brokerages, also Moomoo offers to invest in U.S. stocks, ADRs, Options and exchange-traded funds commission-free. Sure, commission-free trades are nothing special these days, but it is good to know that commission-free trades are possible.

Like Webull, Moomoo has integrated charts, technical indicators, ratings and insights from research teams, capital flow insights and intuitive graphs to visualize your chosen financial figures.

The company behind the Moomoo app is FUTU, a member of SIPC.

Update: Currently, there is not active get free stock promotion available for opening an account. I will keep you informed once a sign-up bonus is available again.

8. SoFi Invest

From automated investing, buying cryptocurrency, and trading stocks and ETFs – SoFi invest fulfills your needs for nearly all types of investment strategies. Sofi is the central point for managing finance, which also includes the SoFi credit card, student loan refinancing and personal loans, rewards for spending money and spend-tracking functionalities.

Right now, SoFi Money is promoted where new customers get up to $100 once the 60-seconds sign up process is completed once the two subsequent steps are completed:

Add $250 to your account, and as a reward, you earn $25

Now set up a direct deposit of at least $500 to get another $75 bonus.

SoFi Money comes with zero fees. And zero means zero for ATM fees, account fees, and overdraft fees. You can pay at over 55,000 ATMs worldwide and get access to exclusive benefits if your account has a recurring deposit of at least $500 per month.

9. Tornado

Tornado’s motto is to Teach Your Money How To Make Money. They want to make intelligent investing easier than you can think by providing access to their platform for free.

This isn’t something unique anymore since the brokerage business in the United States is full of free commission offers. But this randomly selected reward being worth up to $1,000 is interesting anyway.

Tornado offers the world’s first Nobel Prize-winning portfolio allocation platform, where you can discover new stocks to diversify your portfolio.

Tornado joined the $0 minimum for live trading offers, provide simulated trading, and aim to become another main competitor to Robinhood.

Different from Webull, this app is less for traders but more for investors. Besides the trading minimum and withdrawal limit, new clients may also be required to link a valid bank account to the Tornado app. The reward program rules are complex and should be read entirely before taking action.

Having free cash is even better than having free stocks since you can invest in whatever company you like. Please note that you have to make one trade within 1 month, and funds can be withdrawn after 1 year.

10. M1 Finance

The M1 Finance investment app has over 20,000 5-star reviews for the investment app. Investopedia ranks them as the winner in the category Best for Low Costs”, and over 500,000 investors already opened an account with M1 Finance. The app is easy to use, and you can sign up for M1 Finance within a couple of minutes. Free share of stock is not offered right now, but you can qualify for a signup bonus.

Right now, you can get a reward of up to $3,500 when you transfer your securities from your current brokerage account to M1 Finance.

The entry bonus of $40 is paid if your account transfer size exceeds $10,000. From there, the bonus increases step by step. Over $100,000 things become interesting since a bonus of $250 is paid by M1 Finance, plus you get an exclusive M1 swag for free, which includes a mug, notebook and stickers. The maximum of $3,500 bonus is paid for account transfers with a value exceeding $2,000,000.

Customers like this offer and more than $700 million were already transferred to M1 by over 10,000 savvy investors. That means, on average, $70,000 are transferred from places like Vanguard, Schwab or Fidelity with a bonus of $150.

Free Stock Summary

The list of companies where you can get free stocks and free trades within a brokerage account is short. But at least three of the companies mentioned give you a free share of stock, and with Webull, you can also withdraw your free shares of stock immediately.

Getting free cash instead of free stocks is a great alternative too. M1 Finance currently has an excellent offer for those transferring their securities from another broker to M1.

Independently from your attempt to get something for free here, it is crucial to understand that you start investing with the right intention. Just a free stock is not the best foundation to start, even if you receive free shares of stock in return. You should trade stocks only if you understand how it works and what you do.

On the other side, if you are just looking for a great deal to make some serious cash fast, well, then Webull is probably the easiest way to go. Open an account, deposit $100, receive your free stock and close the account again. IMO that’s unethical, but the potential reward is up to 1,000%, and the time invested is negligible.

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FAQ

Does Robinhood really give free stock?

Yes, Robinhood gives away free stocks to new clients if you refer a friend. In return, you currently collect a reward of up to $225. Robinhood statistics reveal that most users receive a free stock reward of $10 on average 98% of the time.

What is the cheapest way to buy stocks?

The cheapest way to buy stocks is now by opening your brokerage account with one of being best-established brokerage houses like Charles Schwab, ETrade, or TradeStation. Those brokers use alternative methods to make money and offer their clients to trade without fixed commissions per trade.

Can I get free stocks?

You can get free stock by signing up for a new account with an online brokerage firm. In some cases, opening the account is enough to get the first free stock. On some occations, it is required to add a minimum amount of $100 and more to get your free shares of stock added to your brokerage account.

Can I buy a stock for $1?

Yes, you can buy a stock for $1. Lower-priced stocks are called penny stocks, and those being priced around $1 are risky since most exchanges delist stocks that are priced below $1 for a while. So even there is a high theoretical potential for 100% gains, you also have to consider that there is a reason for the low price. In most cases, the financials of those companies are unfavorable.

How can I get stocks without paying?

You can start stocks with no money by signing up for a free brokerage account to get free stock in exchange. In most cases, the free stock value will be around $3 to $10, but some people get lucky and get a free stock worth $300 and more. This is a great way to start stocks with no money since you can sell those shares and reinvest in new companies.