Dough Trading App Review: Trade Stocks Free And Earn Free Stocks

Is Dough Legit?

Dough is certainly a legit company. It is a member of FINRA, (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). This is the major securities regulator in the US. According to Dough’s profile, the parent company has been registered since 2009 and has an excellent history.

Dough also has a Securities and Exchange Commission registration. This is another serious industry regulator. Both these memberships confirm that Dough is properly regulated. If the company does engage in any unethical or unlawful behavior, the two watchdogs can intervene and take action.

In addition to government regulation, Dough also offers brokerage insurance through the SIPC. This provides up to $500,000 of protection for each customer. While this will not protect you against market losses, you can have confidence that should any shares go missing from your brokerage account; you’re covered.

Is Dough.com A Good Choice for You?

Dough does not really cater to the sophisticated trader looking for futures bets or multi-leg option chains. So, if you’re an advanced trader looking for detailed macroeconomic reports or complicated technical analysis, it may not be a good match for you.

However, if you want to learn how the markets work, create good money habits and buy and sell some of your favorite companies, Dough could be a good option to check out.

Dough investing does provide some tools, charts, and other features that could benefit new traders or investors.

The Dough app is basic and user friendly, so you can view reports, charts, and data as you develop your experience within the world of technical analysis. 

Investment Vehicles

The Dough trading platform allows its customers to trade in ETFs, options, closed-end funds, and stocks on the major exchanges. This means that if you want to trade in precious metals, foreign securities, futures, forex, cryptocurrencies, mutual funds, or other investment vehicles, you will need to choose another platform. 

However, if you want to trade in penny stocks, this is possible if the particular stocks are on the major U.S exchanges. 

The Requirements to Open a Dough Account

Dough makes it easy to apply for an account. There are just some basic requirements. 

• Age 18+
• Have a valid Social Security number
• Be a US citizen, visa holder, or green card holder
• Have a residential US address within the 50 states. (Or Puerto Rico). 

There are also no minimum requirements to open up your Dough account.  When we opened an account it only took a few minutes, and the account was approved in a couple of days. Open yours through our link below and earn a free stock (more about that below).

Tools and Features

The Dough platform is only accessible from your smartphone. There is a Dough app for Android and iPhone devices. To get started, you’ll need to provide some basic information, such as your name, address, income, Social Security number, and market experience. Account approval typically occurs within three business days. 

Once you have approval, you’ll be able to open up the app and add some funds. You’ll need to select some industries of interest. There are basics such as finance or newer sectors such as video games or payment processors. After you choose your favorites, the Dough app will tailor to your interests. 

A standout feature of the Dough app is the Idea Feed. This lists stocks and trending news in your selected industries. You can also click on the search box at the top right of the app to get a more detailed list of podcasts, training videos, sector rundowns and more. 

Also on the homepage you can add stocks to a favorites list. This makes it easier to access them from your main brokerage screen. You can sort the favorites and place them in any order that you'd like by just dragging and dropping.

Dough has an easy to navigate platform. So, even if you have little or no investing experience, you'll likely find it pretty simple to place orders. The platform will also allow you to place limit orders or use market orders when you buy shares. 

Unlike many trading platforms, Dough keeps the charting simple. They show basic line charts indicating the five-year history of the stock. However, this may be a little lacking for the more experienced trader. You can also tap the target symbol to see price analysis, earnings report, and financial data. 

Customizing Your App Layout

Since there is no desktop interface for the Dough trading platform, you may want to customize the look of your app interface. While the potential for customization is limited, there are some options.

First, you have a couple of different options for background colors in the app. You can choose either a light theme or a dark theme, as you can see above in the screenshots on this page.

If you prefer, you can tell the app to automate the background color so that when the markets are in session, the background color is white, and when the markets close, it goes to a dark theme. Kind of a cool feature, and it's what we use.

Dough Fees and Commission

No Dough review would be complete without discussing the fees and commission. In this case, you are likely to be very happy with the platform. Dough is part of the newer generation of brokerage platforms that have influenced the financial world and forced even legacy brokers to reduce or remove their sales commissions. 

Dough doesn’t charge a sales commission on any trade. This means that you could buy a stock today and sell the same item tomorrow without paying a dime in commission. Additionally, there are no minimum funding thresholds. However, the platform is not completely free. 

The list of fees includes:

• Paper confirmations: $5
• Paper statements: $10
• Wire Transfers: $30
• Returned payments: $30
• Overnight check delivery $50
• Outgoing transfers: $75

Additionally, you can only enjoy real-time streaming quotes on an unfunded account during your first 15 days. If you're funding your account to get the free stock, however, that shouldn't be an issue.

Customer Support

Dough does have customer support agents that are available from 7.30 am to 5 pm CST. You can access the support team through the app with a chat function. However, their hours are limited to weekdays only. There is currently no weekend customer support. 

Chat queries and questions are promptly answered during these times. The reps are typically helpful and pleasant, even if you have multiple questions. If you do struggle to use the chat feature or you have a more detailed issue, you can also contact the support team via the help@dough.com email address. 

The Dough app also features an FAQ section. This can provide answers to common questions and may provide the information you need without needing to bother with email or chat. You can also use this section to download account documents. 

Since Dough is an app-based platform, there are no branch locations. So, it is impossible to get face to face service as you might get with a more traditional brokerage company. 

Dough Premium

With the launch of Dough Premium the company has added trading on margin to its platform.

As with other types of margin accounts, there are some requirements to qualify. You need at least $2,000 in assets for Dough Premium. Dough Premium members can now purchase up to 2x their deposit. 

Dough Premium adds entering long positions with borrowed funds. However, you can also short stocks with a Dough Premium account. Other than the margin rates, there are no fees for this new Dough service. 

You can check your eligibility for the Premium account level by checking the settings on the app. Just tap “Dough Premium,” and you’ll see a message to confirm if it is available for you. Be aware that premium accounts may not necessarily be eligible for securities lending. 

If you don’t want a Premium account, you can email an opt-out request to the Dough support team. 

Get Free Stock From Dough

As we mentioned in the intro, one appealing reason to consider Dough is that the company gives away free stock. In order to bring in new customers, Dough gives away free stock shares both to you, and the person who referred you. You can also refer your friends later on and receive up to $500 in additional free stock.

Another area that differentiates Dough is the explanations of stock movements. This can be extremely handy for those who don’t closely follow the market but want information about price data, and why values are rising or dropping. 

The analysis ratings for each stock can also help newbie traders to make more informed buying and selling decisions. 

Dough Is A Good Low Cost Option For Some Investors

The Dough app is a superb platform for a particular set of investors. If you want to bypass the barrier of fees and commissions, and want an app that can help you to learn some new concepts while you trade, Dough is a great choice.

However, if you’re a more sophisticated, experienced investor, the simplified process and features may be a bit limited for you. Since commission free brokers are a lot easier to find these days, there are other options if you want options trading or need technical analysis and more sophisticated charting tools. 

So, if you’re looking for a fee-free DIY investment platform that doesn’t bog you down in jargon, Dough could be the right choice for you. You can develop your skillset and gain your investing confidence without a steep platform learning curve. You can also use the Idea Feed for trade inspiration. While the graphs may be a little basic, you won’t need to spend hours trying to figure out how things are moving. Additionally, Dough will give you details about stock movements, so you can get a feel for the market. 

As Dough is fee-free and has no minimum initial deposit if you’re new to investing, why not give it a try. You'll even get a free stock for your trouble!