NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The cost of trading online is sinking due to stiff competition and consolidation in the industry, with one firm offering trades for $1 to $3 apiece, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Genesis Securities, through its new unit SogoInvest, offers investors 15 free trades a month after paying a $15 a month fee with no account minimum required.

Investors unwilling to pay the monthly fee can still conduct trades for $3 each. SogoInvest's founder and chairman, William Yeh, told the newspaper the unit is targeting individual investors interested in developing long-term investment strategies.

Although prices of stock trades have been fallen in recent years, they've dropped more quickly in recent months as online brokers scramble for customer assets, the Journal reported.

Among the industry's more established players, TD Ameritrade, which completed its acquisition of TD Waterhouse Group's retail securities business earlier this year, charges a flat rate of $9.99 for online trades, the report said.

E*Trade Financial, which recently acquired and integrated BrownCo. and Harrisdirect, charges clients from $6.99 to $12.99.

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