Fidelity

This is where Fidelity shines brightest. Here's the full breakdown from their commissions page:

Stock & ETF Trading:

• $0 per online US stock trade — any number of shares
• $0 per online ETF trade
• A tiny activity assessment fee on sell orders (historically $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 of principal)
• A small number of ETFs carry a $100 service fee — check their list before buying

Options:

• $0 base commission + $0.65 per contract
• Buy-to-close orders of $0.65 or less are free — a nice touch for closing out cheap contracts
• Options Regulatory Fee applies on both buys and sells (small, industry-standard)

Bonds & CDs:

• $0 for new issues
• $1 per bond on secondary market trades
• $0 for US Treasuries traded online (auctions and secondary)
• $19.95 flat fee if you trade Treasuries with a representative

Mutual Funds:

• $0 for all Fidelity funds
• $0 for hundreds of no-transaction-fee (NTF) funds from other firms — but a $49.95 early redemption fee if you sell within 60 days
• $49.95 per purchase for transaction-fee funds (some up to $100)
• Four ZERO expense ratio index funds: Total Market (FZROX), International (FZILX), Extended Market (FZIPX), and Large Cap (FNILX)

Account Fees:

• $0 to open any retail brokerage or IRA account
• $0 account maintenance fee
• $0 IRA closeout fee
• $0 account transfer-out fee — Schwab charges $50 for a full transfer, so this matters
• $0 for electronic statements, trade confirms, bank wires, bill pay, stop payments, check ordering, and even cashier's checks

Margin Rates (as of December 2025):

• Base rate: 10.575%
• $1M+: 7.50%
• $500K–$999K: 7.75%
• $250K–$499K: 10.075%
• $100K–$249K: 10.325%
• $50K–$99K: 10.375%
• $25K–$49K: 11.325%
• Under $25K: 11.825%

Fidelity publishes the lowest margin rates among major brokers. For comparison: Schwab's base is 10.075% but their effective rates run higher, E*Trade sits at 10.45%, and Vanguard is at 10.00%. At the $1M+ tier, Fidelity's 7.50% is genuinely competitive.

Advisory Fees:

• Fidelity Go (robo-advisor): Free under $25K, 0.35%/year above $25K
• Wealth Management: 0.50%–1.50% (requires $500K+)
• Private Wealth: 0.20%–1.04% (requires $2M+ and $10M total investable assets)

Fidelity offers roughly 50 account types — more than most people will ever need. The core lineup:

• The Fidelity Account (taxable brokerage) — the flagship, no minimums, no fees
• Traditional IRA — tax-deferred retirement savings
• Roth IRA — tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement
• Rollover IRA — consolidate old 401(k)s without penalties
• SEP IRA — for self-employed and small business owners
• 529 Plan — tax-advantaged education savings
• HSA (Health Savings Account) — triple tax-advantaged medical savings
• Custodial Account — invest for a minor
• Trust Account — estate planning
• Youth Account — for teens 13–17, with parental oversight
• Cash Management Account — basically a checking account with ATM fee reimbursement and competitive rates

Most of these also come in Fidelity Go (robo-advisor) and Managed FidFolios (professionally managed) variants. FidFolios charge 0.40% for index portfolios and 0.70% for actively managed, with a $5,000 minimum.

What you can trade:

• US and international stocks
• ETFs (broad selection, commission-free)
• Options
• Mutual funds (thousands, including Fidelity's ZERO funds)
• Bonds and CDs
• US Treasuries
• Fractional shares — over 7,000 US stocks and ETFs, starting at just $1
• Crypto — bitcoin, ethereum, solana, and more through Fidelity Crypto, plus crypto ETPs, and even crypto in IRAs
• Fidelity's own stablecoin, Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), pegged 1:1 to USD

The fractional shares offering deserves emphasis. Schwab limits fractional trading to S&P 500 stocks. Vanguard only does fractional on its own ETFs. Fidelity gives you 7,000+ options with a $1 minimum. That's a meaningful advantage for newer investors or anyone dollar-cost averaging.

The good stuff:

• Genuinely zero-fee structure. Not "zero with asterisks" — actually zero. No account fees, no transfer fees, no IRA closeout fees, no wire fees. The fee comparison table against Schwab and Vanguard is embarrassing for the competition.
• ZERO expense ratio funds. Four index funds with literally no expense ratio. You can build a diversified portfolio — US total market, international, large cap, extended market — and pay nothing in fund fees. Nobody else offers this.
• Cash earns real money. The SPAXX money market fund yields 3.33% (as of January 2026) with no subscription or premium tier required. That's your default sweep — no action needed.
• Does not take payment for order flow (PFOF). Fidelity routes your stock and ETF orders without selling them to market makers. Schwab and E*Trade both take PFOF. This means Fidelity may get you slightly better execution prices.
• 24/7 live support. Real humans, any hour. This matters when something goes wrong at 2 AM.
• Research from 20+ independent providers. More third-party research than any competitor.
• Crypto in IRAs. You can hold bitcoin and ethereum directly in a Roth IRA. That's a tax planning tool most brokers don't offer.

The not-so-good stuff:

• The website and app can feel overwhelming. Fidelity offers so much that finding what you need sometimes takes work. The UI has improved but still trails the simplicity of a Robinhood or even Schwab's cleaner design.
• Margin rates aren't cheap for small balances. At 11.825% for under $25K, you're paying a lot. The rates only get competitive at $250K+. Interactive Brokers beats Fidelity on margin across the board.
• Mutual fund early redemption fee. Sell a no-transaction-fee fund within 60 days and you'll pay $49.95. It's there to discourage short-term trading, but it can catch you off guard.
• Options per-contract fee is middle-of-pack. The $0.65 per contract is standard, matching Schwab and E*Trade. But Robinhood and Webull charge $0. Active options traders doing high volume may find better deals elsewhere.
• Crypto isn't SIPC-insured. This is industry-standard, not a Fidelity-specific flaw — but worth knowing. Your crypto is held through Fidelity Digital Assets, separate from your brokerage account protections.

Fidelity is ideal for:

• Buy-and-hold investors building long-term wealth. The ZERO funds, fractional shares, and no-fee IRAs make it practically free to invest and compound over decades.
• Retirement savers who want all their accounts — Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, rollover from an old 401(k), HSA — under one roof with no fees.
• Beginners who want room to grow. Start with a simple index fund portfolio, and as you learn, the research tools, options trading, and advisory services are already there.
• People who care about execution quality. No PFOF means your orders aren't being sold to Citadel or Virtu. For large orders, this can save meaningful money.
• Families. The Youth Account for teens, custodial accounts for younger kids, and 529 plans make Fidelity a solid family financial hub.

Fidelity might not be right for:

• Active day traders who need the absolute lowest margin rates and fastest execution. Interactive Brokers is purpose-built for this crowd.
• People who want maximum simplicity. If Fidelity's 50 account types and feature-rich platform feel like too much, a simpler app like Betterment or Wealthfront might be less overwhelming.
• Heavy options traders on a budget. If you're trading hundreds of contracts weekly, that $0.65 per contract adds up. Brokers like Robinhood and Tastytrade offer cheaper or free options commissions.
• International traders who primarily want foreign market access. Fidelity offers some international trading, but Interactive Brokers dominates this space.

Fidelity vs. Charles Schwab: The closest competitor. Both offer $0 stock/ETF commissions, $0.65 options contracts, and broad account types. Fidelity wins on: no PFOF, ZERO expense ratio funds, lower margin rates, no account transfer fee, and fractional shares across 7,000+ securities (Schwab limits to S&P 500). Schwab's edge: a slightly cleaner interface and thinkorswim (inherited from TD Ameritrade) for active traders.

Fidelity vs. Vanguard: Vanguard pioneered low-cost indexing, but Fidelity has out-Vanguarded Vanguard on fees. Vanguard charges a $20/year account service fee (waivable), has no ZERO expense ratio funds, limits fractional shares to its own ETFs, and charges for bill pay and stop payments. Fidelity is strictly cheaper. Vanguard's advantage is its mutual ownership structure — it's literally owned by its fund shareholders — which aligns incentives long-term.

Fidelity vs. Robinhood: Robinhood is simpler, offers $0 options contracts (no per-contract fee), and has a slick mobile experience. But Robinhood takes PFOF, offers far less research, has limited account types (no IRAs with the same breadth), and doesn't match Fidelity's cash yield without a Gold subscription. For serious investing, Fidelity is the better long-term home.

Fidelity vs. Interactive Brokers: IBKR wins on margin rates, international market access, and tools for professional-grade traders. But IBKR's interface is notoriously complex, and the experience for casual investors is poor. For most people, Fidelity offers 90% of the capability with a far more approachable experience.