Robinhood opens for stock trading at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on weekdays

The stock market itself opens at 9:30 a.m. ET Monday through Friday, and Robinhood's app lets you place orders starting at that time. The market closes at 4:00 p.m. ET the same day. These times are set by the exchanges themselves — NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange — not by Robinhood.

Robinhood does not operate on weekends or on days when the U.S. stock market is closed for holidays. If you try to place a market order outside these hours, your order will not execute until the market reopens.

Key Takeaways

  • Regular stock trading happens 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
  • Robinhood offers extended hours trading from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET and 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET, but prices are less stable and spreads are wider during these times.
  • Crypto trading on Robinhood runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays.
  • Orders placed outside market hours will sit as pending until the market opens, unless you set them to cancel if not filled.

Extended hours trading on Robinhood

Robinhood offers extended hours trading before and after the regular market close. You can place orders from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET (pre-market) and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET (after-hours). Not all stocks trade during these windows — smaller or less liquid stocks may not have buyers or sellers available.

Extended hours trading carries real risks. Prices move more sharply, bid-ask spreads are wider (meaning you pay more to buy and receive less to sell), and volume is much lower. A stock that trades smoothly during the day can gap significantly in price during extended hours with few shares changing hands. You need to enable extended hours in your Robinhood settings before you can use it.

Cryptocurrency trading runs around the clock

If you trade crypto through Robinhood, those markets never close. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and U.S. holidays. Prices and spreads fluctuate constantly, even at 3 a.m. on a Sunday.

The crypto market does not have a central exchange with set hours the way stocks do. Trading happens globally across many platforms at once, so there is no "opening bell" or "closing bell" for digital assets.

What happens if you place an order outside market hours

If you place a market order (an order to buy or sell immediately at the current price) after 4:00 p.m. ET or before 9:30 a.m. ET, Robinhood will hold it as pending. The order will execute when the market opens at 9:30 a.m. the next trading day, but the price you get may be very different from what you saw when you placed it.

Limit orders (orders to buy or sell only at a specific price or better) work differently. You can place a limit order anytime, and it will sit in the queue until someone trades at your price. If the stock never reaches your limit price, the order stays open until you cancel it or it expires. Many traders set limit orders to cancel at the end of the day if they have not filled, to avoid holding an order overnight by accident.

U.S. stock market holidays when Robinhood is closed

The stock market closes entirely on certain holidays. Robinhood does not trade on these days, and no orders will execute. The full list includes New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

On some holidays the market closes early — at 1:00 p.m. ET instead of 4:00 p.m. This happens on the day after Thanksgiving and on Christmas Eve (if it falls on a weekday). Robinhood's app will show you the market status for the day, and you can also check the NYSE or NASDAQ websites for the full holiday calendar.

How to check if the market is open right now

Open the Robinhood app and look at the top of the screen. It will show you whether the market is "Open" or "Closed" and, if closed, when it will reopen. You can also check the time against the schedule: if it is between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET on a weekday that is not a holiday, the market is open.

If you are outside the Eastern Time zone, convert the time first. Robinhood always uses ET, even if you live in Pacific or Central time. Many traders set their phone or computer to ET to avoid confusion.

Why market hours matter for your trades

The regular 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. window is when the vast majority of stock trading happens. Prices are most stable, spreads are tightest, and you are most likely to get a fair price. If you place an order outside these hours, you are taking on extra risk — the price could move sharply before the market opens, and you may not be able to cancel the order once it is queued.

For most traders, placing orders during regular hours and using limit orders (rather than market orders) gives you the most control over what price you pay. Extended hours and after-hours trading can be useful for reacting to news that breaks after 4:00 p.m., but the tradeoff is less liquidity and wider spreads.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trade on Robinhood on weekends?

No, the stock market is closed on weekends. However, you can trade cryptocurrencies on Robinhood 24 hours a day, including Saturday and Sunday. If you place a stock order on a weekend, it will sit as pending and execute when the market opens Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET.

What time does Robinhood open on the day after Thanksgiving?

The stock market closes at 1:00 p.m. ET the day after Thanksgiving (also called Black Friday). Robinhood follows this schedule, so you can only trade from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET that day. Extended hours trading is not available on this day.

Do I need to enable extended hours to trade before 9:30 a.m.?

Yes. You must turn on extended hours in your Robinhood account settings before you can place pre-market or after-hours orders. The setting is in your account menu under trading preferences. Once enabled, you can place orders during extended hours windows.

What happens if I place a market order at 5:00 p.m. ET?

If extended hours are not enabled, your order will be held as pending and will execute at 9:30 a.m. ET the next trading day at whatever price the market opens at. If extended hours are enabled, your order may execute immediately in the after-hours session, but at a price that may be significantly different from the last regular-hours price.

Does Robinhood trade on Christmas?

No. The stock market is closed on Christmas Day, and Robinhood does not trade. If Christmas falls on a weekday, the market is closed entirely. If it falls on a weekend, the market is already closed. You can still trade cryptocurrencies on Christmas.