Best Cheap Stocks to Buy Now (Under $10)

First things first: Cheap stocks are not necessarily better stocks.

"False promises of quick and painless riches are easier to fall for when an investment can be made with so little money up front," writes Dan Burrows, senior investing writer at Kiplinger.com, in his feature on penny stocks.

"An investor might think, 'How risky could it be?'" The answer, Burrows says, is plenty.

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"Per the Securities and Exchange Commission: 'Academic studies find that OTC [over-the-counter] stocks tend to be highly illiquid; are frequent targets of alleged market manipulation; generate negative and volatile investment returns on average; and rarely grow into a large company or transition to listing on a stock exchange.'"

But some investors gravitate to cheap stocks because they see these companies as creating opportunities for larger returns.

And many folks simply don't have the cash to buy some of the priciest stocks on Wall Street, such as online travel company Booking Holdings (BKNG) which trades for roughly $4,600 a share at present.

If you only have a few hundred dollars or you want to trade in round lots instead of a single share, then cheap stocks – or at least cheaper stocks – are one way to go.

Why should I buy cheap stocks? 

Investors, traders and speculators are questioning the bull market. But stocks that were trading at much higher prices weeks ago have come back into what many might consider "buying range."

One choice investors always have, whatever the prevailing trend, is to buy fractional shares of a stock whose price exceeds what you have available to invest.

Another is to find high-quality cheap stocks. To be clear, this is referring to share price and not valuation metrics like book value or the current price compared with earnings estimates.

Unlike the best value stocks that tend to boast strong balance sheets and a solid commitment to shareholders, cheap stocks often face weak fundamentals. They are also known to be risky and volatile, which understandably makes some folks hesitant to buy them.

Still, plenty of people love cheap stocks for their affordability factor and their ability to reap big gains in a short period of time (though, this also means investors can suffer big losses in a hurry).

If you are interested in cheap stocks, it's vital to do your research beyond just looking at the latest print for prices. You need to take a hard look at risk metrics, recent performance and future outlook in order to invest responsibly.

Our methodology to find the best cheap stocks to buy

I have written extensively about capital markets and investing since 2008. Along the way, I've learned how to separate legitimate investing opportunities such as those found in the best stocks to buy from those more likely to result in volatility or dubious performance.

An old phrase on Wall Street warns you should "never try to catch a falling knife."

In other words, if you see a once-attractive company in a steady downward spiral – as has been the case for just about every stock so far in April – then it may be wiser to simply avoid the risks rather than reach out and wind up with stitches.

At the same time, a stock market sell-off can create opportunities in cheap stocks. And there is an increasing number of stocks trading below $10 per share for investors on the hunt for low-priced picks.

The following list isn't full of microcaps and small-cap stocks. These investments are all valued at more than $2 billion.

I focused solely on companies that trade on major exchanges vs over-the-counter penny stocks. I also sought companies with potential for continued growth but also established trading volume and market values.

There's ample liquidity in these names. We also limited our search to stocks with a market value of more than $2 billion, pointing to more established operations.

Bottom line, the best cheap stocks to buy now under $10 each have unique and focused business models that could protect them from the current bearish trends on Wall Street.

The best cheap stocks to buy

With that in mind, here are five of the best cheap stocks to buy that are priced at or under $10 per share.

Note that cheap stocks move quickly, so if you decide to invest in them at all, do so in small amounts that you can afford to lose.

Data is as of April 14.

ADT

• Sector: Industrials
• Market value: $6.8 billion
• Average daily trading volume: 14.1 million

Home security brand ADT (ADT, $8.06) was acquired by private equity firm Apollo Global in 2016 then spun out again via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2018.

ADT has struggled since then thanks to a massive debt load of about $10 billion, and its market value has tracked lower.

But this company generates reasonably reliable revenue thanks to its subscription-based security and safety alarms, cameras and home automation systems and related software. And management's low-risk approach seems to have won over investors lately.

Meanwhile, if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in 2025 – an increasingly likely scenario given prevailing economic uncertainty – a leveraged business such as ADT's would naturally benefit from lower debt-service costs.

Banco Santander

• Sector: Financials
• Market value: $97.8 billion
• Average daily trading volume: 5.8 million

Madrid-based Banco Santander (SAN, $6.54) is a global financial leader that offers retail banking as well as wealth management and corporate services.

Founded in 1856, Santander is the preeminent bank in Spain and has become a go-to provider across the Spanish-speaking world with more than 3,000 branches in South America.

In addition to riding a general uptrend in European stocks, SAN also yields three times the S&P 500 Index currently, providing an income sweetener for investors.

With U.S. markets increasingly under pressure, EU stocks have been a bright spot in 2025. SAN stock is an easy-to-buy option listed directly on U.S. exchanges for those who want to tap into that outperformance.

Compass

• Sector: Real estate
• Market value: $3.9 billion
• Average daily trading volume: 7.0 million

It seems counterintuitive that a housing stock such as Compass (COMP, $7.61) would be a good bet in a time of economic distress. But existing home sales slowed to a crawl in 2024 as rising mortgage rates, tight inventories and expensive prices took a toll on first-time homebuyers.

Any rate cuts from the Fed that reduce borrowing costs and any modest cooling in the housing market may actually spur interest at last from younger families that have been priced out of a red-hot market.

Compass has generated consistent double-digit revenue growth in recent years despite headwinds. And COMP has posted an impressive gain since January thanks to both a strong year-end report and metrics that show its growing faster than its peers.

If you bring a higher tolerance for risk to your search for the best cheap stocks under $10 to buy, COMP is a housing play worth your consideration.

Hecla Mining

• Sector: Materials
• Market value: $3.7 billion
• Average daily trading volume: 20.9 million

Hecla Mining (HL, $5.86) is headquartered in Idaho but also operates in Canada, Japan, Korea and China. It aims to extract primarily silver and gold from its mines, along with other base metals found in its deposits.

Hecla was incorporated in 1891 and has a long history of corporate success.

What makes it particularly attractive right now is the turmoil in stocks that's driving investors into precious metals. A longer-term trend based on inflation expectations has been boosted by tariffs, global trade wars and rising economic uncertainty.

Commodities – whether we're talking about precious metals or crude oil – generally benefit from inflation. And that's good for miners such as Hecla.

Medical Properties Trust

• Sector: Real estate
• Market value: $3.2 billion
• Average daily trading volume: 12.2 million

Technically it's a real estate company, but Medical Properties Trust (MPW, $5.36) has a lot of valuable health care assets, including some 44,000 beds at roughly 450 hospitals and similar facilities.

MPW got cheap for good reason, as it was hard to finance new buildings amid increasingly high interest rates on loans.

And, after a major tenant declared bankruptcy in 2024, management was forced to cut the dividend. The payout reduction led to a deep decline for MPW's share price, which already reflected a lot of negativity.

MPW now boasts a sustainable 6% dividend yield as well as attractive valuation metrics after investors punished it for prior sins. That could make MPW a cheap turnaround stock for aggressive investors to consider.

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