Robinhood Basics: A 5-Minute Lesson

Welcome, Roy 👋

In 5 minutes you will learn the Robinhood app basics: the home screen, search, stock pages, a simple buy order, and buying power. There are 9 quick questions with instant feedback.

No practice mode. Robinhood has no paper trading or demo account for stocks. Every submitted order uses real money, and you need a real account to trade.

Safe ways to practice: add stocks to a watchlist and follow them. Or go through an order up to the review screen, then back out without submitting.

Mock screens here are simplified illustrations. The real app changes often, so labels may differ. "YOWL" is a made-up ticker from Robinhood's help articles.

Not financial advice. General education only. Investing involves risk, including loss of money.

1The home screen

When you open the app, you land on your Investing page. The big number at the top is your portfolio value: your stocks plus your cash. The chart below it shows how that value changed, and you can pick a time span like 1D or 1Y.

Scroll down to see your holdings and your lists (watchlists). A navigation bar at the bottom moves you between the app's main areas.

On the web: navigation and search sit along the top.

Tap exercise

Tap your total portfolio value on this mock screen.

⚠ Simplified illustration, not the real app

What does the chart under your portfolio value show?

2Searching for a stock

To find a stock, open search (the magnifying glass icon). Type the company name or its ticker symbol, the short code like AAPL for Apple. Tap the result to open that stock's detail page.

From the detail page, you can add the stock to a watchlist with the + (plus) button. This is a free way to follow stocks before you buy.

On the web: use the search bar at the top of the page. To add to a watchlist, select Add instead of +.

You want to follow a company without buying it yet. What is the simplest step?

3Reading a stock page

At the top is the current price and a chart. Tap a time span, from 1 day up to longer periods, to change the chart. Press and hold on the chart to see the price at a certain moment.

Scroll down for more. About gives a short company description. Stats lists numbers like market cap, P/E ratio, volume, and the 52-week high and low. You will also find recent news and analyst ratings (the share of analysts saying buy, hold, or sell).

On the web: same sections, with the order form beside them.

Where would you find a stock's highest price over the past year?

Analyst ratings show "80% Buy." What does that mean?

4Placing a market order

On the stock page, tap Trade, then Buy (or just Buy if you don't own the stock). By default you enter an amount in dollars. Tap Dollars to switch to shares or to pick another order type. Then review your order and, if it looks right, swipe up to submit.

A market order buys at the next available price. It fills fast, but the price is not guaranteed. In a fast-moving market, you may pay more than the price you saw. If you want a set price, use a limit order instead.

Standard buys are market orders during regular hours (9:30 AM–4 PM ET). Outside those hours, they may become limit orders or wait for the open.

On the web: pick Order type, then Buy In (Dollars or Shares), select Review order, then click Buy. No swipe.

Tap exercise

You want to buy by number of shares, not dollars. Tap the part of this mock order screen you would change.

⚠ Simplified illustration, not the real app

YOWL shows $150.00. You place a market buy. What is the risk?

5Buying power vs portfolio value

Portfolio value is everything: your stocks plus your cash. Buying power is only the money you can use to buy right now. Find it under Account → Buying power, or on the order screen.

They can differ a lot. Money from a stock sale takes 1 trading day to settle, and a cash account can't trade with unsettled funds. (A margin account can add borrowed money, which adds risk.)

On the web: buying power appears on your account pages and on the stock's order form.

Cash account: $1,500 in stocks and $500 in settled cash. About how much buying power do you have?

You want to practice placing an order without spending money. Which step must you skip?

Nice work! 🎉

0 / 9

Recap

Home: big number = portfolio value; then chart, holdings, lists.
Search: name or ticker; + adds to a watchlist.
Stock page: price, chart, About, Stats, news, ratings.
Buying: Trade → Buy → Dollars or Shares → review → swipe up. (Web: Review order → Buy.)
Market order: fast, but the price is not guaranteed.
Buying power: cash usable now, not total value.
No demo mode: practice with watchlists, or stop at the review screen.

Not financial advice.

Sources

Robinhood Help Center articles, checked Sep 28, 2026: