If you are a Hollywood fan, you must have heard this dialogue from Leanado Di Caprio, “There’s no nobility in poverty!” Guess what character Leanardo was portraying?
A stock broker! Those were the days of telephonic trade executions.
However, with innovations in the field of technology, online trading has gained momentum.
This has led to a surge in startups investing their time and efforts into stock trading app development.
But is this worth your time and effort?
Online stock trading in the US is expected to reach $435.8 billion in value by 2028. In the current market, developing a stock trading app makes more sense.
However, deciding to develop a stock trading app and creating one are two different things.
You must consider everything from cost to revenue models and the required tech stack.
This article will help you with everything you need to know about developing a stock trading app. But first, you need to understand the target audience.
Statistics
- Market value in 2023: Estimated at US$ 16.26 billion.
- Projected market value by 2033: Expected to reach US$ 110.62 billion.
- CAGR (2023-2033): Projected at 21.1%.
- Stock trading apps generated $22.8 billion in revenue in 2021.
- Robinhood was the top-performing platform, generating $1.8 billion in revenue.
Understanding the User Demographics of a Stock Trading App
Stock trading apps have become popular due to their advanced real-time tracking capabilities.
These apps allow users to track market fluctuations and make data-driven decisions.
This has led to massive market growth at a CAGR of 21.1%, expected to reach a revenue of $1,10,624.4 million by 2033.
- The main driving force behind the stock trading app development trend is users. So, who uses such apps?
- Users between the ages of 25 and 45 with an income of more than $75,000 annually.
- Most stock app users are educated with a bachelor's degree.
- These users are primarily from cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, and Ohio.
- Some users are young men and women trying to figure out the stock investment game.
- Others are first-time investors with newly learned investing skills
- Tech-savvy users who prefer apps over the conventional investing approach.
Why Should You Invest in Stock Trading App Development?
Stock trading app development is a significant competitive advantage for startups looking to enter the market of trade agencies.
So, conventionally, trade agencies have operated over phone calls and a physical one-to-one approach.
However, online trading has become mainstream with the current paradigm shift towards rapid digitization.
Markets can be volatile, and time becomes crucial for investors. This is where stock trading applications come into play.
They allow users to track market activities in real-time and make decisions quickly. Such convenience benefits your stock trading app, attracting a massive user base.
Apart from the enormous user base, you also get a platform to upsell and cross-sell financial products that align with trading activities.
Thus, your stock trading app acts as a platform for your brand to connect with customers and become their go-to application for wealth management.
However, there are advantages beyond a large user base and platform to communicate with customers.
You need to know how a stock trading app works to understand these advantages.
How do Stock Trading Apps Work?
A stack trading app acts as a platform for trading stocks. Users can download the app on smartphones or tablets to invest in stocks.
The stock trades on the app can be long-term or short-term, depending on user preference.
Plus, users can track the market in real-time and earn a commission on each trade on the platform.
They can also use the app to buy or sell company shares and trade cryptocurrency.
If you are a startup looking to leverage stock trading app development for your business, licensing is an important aspect.
With several financial security concerns and stricter regulations, facilitating stock trading needs a license.
Now that you know why investing in a stock trading app makes sense and how it works, it’s time to discuss some famous examples.
Best Share Trading Apps
These apps have checked the code to engage users and offer trading experiences, increasing their user base.
The best part is the ease of use, which allows beginners to invest in stocks easily.
1. E-Trade
E-Trade offers something for everyone, whether you are a beginner at trading stocks or an advanced trader.
It provides a web platform and mobile application with real-time quotes. The platform also offers market commentary for users, making stock tracking easier.
Plus, you get advanced account management features with stock and exchange-traded fund screeners.
It provides various investment options, including stocks, bonds, ETFs, and more than 4000 mutual funds with transaction fees.
Pro
- User friendly UI
- Strong customer support
- Advanced app with real-time market tracking
- No commission trading feature
Con
- No support for cryptocurrency trading
- Real-time data access is paid.
2. Robinhood Stock Trading App
Robinhood is an investment platform that offers commission-free trading of stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
The app is popular among stock traders for its easy-to-use interface and streamlined process.
The platform provides active trading capabilities, including day trading. It is one of the best apps for intermediate and advanced users who can participate in margin trading.
If you need an IRA account management, Robinhood is the best option.
Robinhood offers a 1% match on IRA contributions, plus gold members have extra benefits.
pro
- No monthly fee or a minimum deposit to open a brokerage account
- Comes with easy-to-use UI
- No markup fees on foreign transactions
- Commission-free crypto trading.
- High interest cash option
Con
- No joint brokerage
- Need gold membership for researching stocks
- No bonds and mutual funds
3. Stash Stock Trading App
Stash is an investment platform that combines a brokerage account with an automated advisor and an online bank account.
The platform is easy to use and offers different investing options, such as ETFs and stocks.
When you sign up, you receive a brokerage account, conventional IRA, innovative portfolio, and life insurance coverage.
However, Stash is not free and costs $3 a month.
pro
- Comes with DIY and automation investing facility
- Users can invest in fractional shares
- You only need $5 to start investing
- Ease of rounding up your stock purchases
Con
- No tax-loss harvesting
- Lack of automated IRA management
These are some significant apps you can use to trade online. If you are a startup, these apps can be a great heads-up on the originality of your stock app development project.
However, a strategic plan will be needed to maximize your app’s performance.
How to Build a Stock Trading Platform?
Stock trading platform enables users to buy, sell, and manage stocks on a trading platform.
If you want to build a reliable and scalable app, you can follow the steps discussed below,
1. Initiate the Project
Initiating the project involves focusing on your creativity. You must also conduct market research, interviews, and surveys to understand the market gap.
This will help you kickstart your startup, providing a base on which you can build the entire stock trading app.
2. Define the Scope of the Project
Defining the project’s scope involves gathering requirements and clarifying business objectives. This stage also includes determining the project timelines and total budget.
All the above information will anchor your startup journey, helping you communicate better with stock app development service providers.
It will also allow you to gauge the resources needed to develop a stock trading app, including infrastructure, developers, and more.
3. Get your App Secured
Stock trading app development needs dedicated efforts towards data security. As your app will be focused on financial transactions, security requires a profound strategy.
This includes having a secure infrastructure, robust data access controls, and security policies.
Businesses that conduct financial transactions need to comply with data regulations like PCI DSS, which makes security crucial.
Ensure you have a dedicated team working on the security measures, ensuring secure stock trading development.
This is also crucial for designing your app, as a secure design can improve the entire experience and ensure user data is safe.
4. Design the Core Features
Users will first experience your app’s core features. You can leverage an agile approach for app development.
First, create a minimum viable product with core features and make it accessible to a limited audience.
Integrate the feedback from users in each interaction for continuous improvements in your stock trading app.
5. Organize your App Development Team
This is the penultimate stage in any stock development process because your app development team will be responsible for building a scalable, reliable, and secure application.
So, how can you ensure the best team is at the helm of your stock trading app development process? The answer is simple: Outsource your development process to an expert!
If you build an in-house team, hiring, onboarding, and organizing the team will be an overhead to your tasks.
You will be already overloaded managing the business side, and adding technical development overhead will be detrimental.
Mant stock trading app development service providers also offer dedicated teams for your projects.
This is the best way to develop your app without shouldering the technical development overhead.
6. Develop API for Implementing Core and Non-Core Features
Developing APIs becomes an anchor, especially when integrating crucial services. Build custom APIs to integrate cloud services, enabling scalable core and non-core features.
Here is a list of API definition activities you need to conduct:
- Ensure rapid API development and testing through tools like Postman
- Use encryption, authentication, throttling, and web application firewalls to ensure API security
- Ensure secure API configuration to have seamless integrations
- Check for support of platforms like Android, web, and iOS devices.
Once you have the app ready for launch, test it thoroughly. Analyze the results and fine-tune your stock trading app before launching it.
Stock trading apps are getting more popular due to the addition of advanced features.
If you don’t have features that make stock trading seamless and secure, your competitor will add them.
Top Features That Make Up for a Successful Stock Trading App
From user check-in to instant deposits and advanced search, there are features your stock trading app must have.
1. The Check-In Process
The check-in feature offers an authorization process that ensures security for users throughout the process.
It needs to be designed to be easy for users to navigate. You must provide options like two-factor authentication, biometrics, and others for the authorizations.
2. Profile Management
Users can easily add profile details to the app. The profile management feature must be designed for personalization, ensuring a secure experience.
You can add specific modules in the user profile feature where they can add personal information and preferences.
3. Stock Trading
This is a must-have feature because if you are developing a stock trading app, a user’s ability to buy and sell stocks is necessary.
Your app must have features that help users connect with stock exchanges to place buy or sell orders of stocks.
4. Real-Time Market Data
Your app must have real-time market data available to users. It allows the users to have up-to-the-minute data on the market, helping them make critical trading decisions.
Adding interactive graphs and data visualizations can help users get deeper real-time insights into market information.
5. Portfolio Management
Users should be able to manage their portfolios by adding stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. A centralized view of all investment portfolios will help users exercise better control.
You can also allow users to add custom modules and stock watchlists. Stock users on these lists will look to buy when specific market conditions exist.
6. Advanced Stock Search
Enable advanced stock search based on different filters, such as the type of exchanges, stock domain, and others. Providing filters allows users to find the stocks they want to buy quickly.
You can also add categories for advanced search. For example, you can add categories for mutual funds, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies, and other trading options.
7. Deep Analytics
Markets can be volatile, and investing in stocks needs deep insights, allowing users to make intelligent choices.
Providing more profound insights into daily changes in the market and how different stocks are performing is crucial for your stock trading app development.
8. Push Notifications
Customers need real-time alerts on market changes for quicker decision-making. This is why you need to have push notifications in your app.
It offers comprehensive updates on how stocks move, and market dynamics change.
9. Enhanced Newsfeed
Stock trading involves research on daily changes in the business world. Every business that goes public needs to be tracked for users to make buying or selling decisions.
So, you must add to the stock trading application to provide resources for new traders for better research.
10. Instant Deposits
Adding the instant deposits feature will allow users to get the funds needed to trade stocks.
Plus, you can add real-time updates for the status of deposits that users can check on the application at any time.
Tools and Technologies Required for Building a Stock Trading App
The tech stack you choose is crucial to creating a successful stock trading business. It needs to blend several technologies, including mobile and API development.
1. Programming Languages You Need For Stock Trading App Development
The most significant programming languages you can use for stock app development are Java, Python, C++, and JavaScript.
You can leverage Java and C++ for backend development while JavaScript can be used for frontend development.
At the same time, Python is a versatile programming language that you can leverage for backend development and build machine learning capabilities.
It can be an essential programming language, especially if you want to develop custom algorithms for your trading app.
2. Mobile App Development Technologies
Stock trading app development requires several tools and technologies. You will need a comprehensive tech stack, from the front end to the back end and database.
How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Stock Trading App?
Developing a stock trading app can cost between $35,000 and $250,000.
The exact price will depend on multiple factors, including the stages of development, its complexity, and the location of your developers.
1. Stock Trading Application Development Cost Based on Development Stages
Stock trading app development costs can differ between stages.
For example, the price at the planning stage can vary from that at the design and development stage.
In fact, the design and development stage attracts the highest cost compared to others.
2. Stock Trading App Development Cost Based on App Complexity
App complexity can affect total stock trading app development cost based on how easy or complex it is to develop a feature. It’s plain logic.
To build a complex feature, you must spend more time and resources.
This means more cost as you will be hiring developers and resources on a per-hour basis.
Even if you hire a dedicated team, you will be paid hourly, so app complexity will affect the cost of hiring a team, infrastructure, and more.
3. Stock Trading App Development Cost Based on Locations
By now, you know that developers’ hourly charges can differ. However, what is more important to understand is the impact of a developer’s location on cost.
For example, if you hire a developer or stock trading app development services from the USA, it will cost more compared to India or other countries.
Now that you know how much you may have to invest in developing a stock trading application, it’s time to understand the revenue stream.
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How to Monetize Your Stock Trading App?
Making money with a stock trading app can be complex if you don’t get the revenue models right. Several options make it more confusing.
The best approach is to understand each model and align it with your revenue goals.
1. Order Flow Payment
Fintech apps use payments to make money based on order flow. You can use the payment for order flow(PFOF) model to direct client trades to a market maker or exchange for execution.
Stock trading apps can leverage the PFOF model to receive compensation for routing trades to specific market makers.
This is a fraction of each share, but the cumulative revenue is much higher. Plus, you gain more revenue per share as a stock trading facilitator if the stock traded is riskier.
2. Advanced Features on Subscriptions
You can add advanced features like AI-based portfolio analysis and exclusive access to stock information from high-value investments at a premium price.
Yes, you can offer a subscription to exclusive resources and insights from experts on customers’ stock investment patterns.
This premium subscription will increase your stock trading app revenue.
3. Margin Loans and Interest-based Products
You can offer stock buyers an option to increase their buying power through marginal loans. Users can get more funds to invest by providing a margin of their stocks as collateral.
Further, you can offer users the option to put a margin on bonds, ETFs, or mutual funds as collateral.
You can also provide interest-based funding for users to buy stocks to make money for your stock trading app.
4. Interest on Excess Amount
Another way of making money from a stock trading app is to deposit the excess amount on the platform that users have added to a bank.
You can earn interest on the excess amount stored in a savings account.
5.Collaborations With Other Fintechs
Lastly, you can earn money using your stock trading app as a platform for other fintechs to advertise, conduct sales, and convert.
Your platform can act as an advertising medium for other financial businesses.
You can collaborate with banks, online money lending platforms, and others to improve your revenue.
Leverage Expertise From The Best Stock Market App Development Company.
Investing in trading app development can offer great revenues and profits if executed correctly.
From the features to the tech stack and revenue models, there are several elements that you need to consider while developing the app.
This is why choosing the right stock trading app development company becomes crucial.
Zennaxx offers a stock trading app solution for your business with end-to-end services that can offer a streamlined customer experience.
Get an estimate for your stock trading app now!
