Bank Compass
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Investments & trading · 2026

Build your wealth with precision.

For growing what you have over the next few years — or taking your first step into the market. Compare top online brokers, automated robo-advisors, and crypto platforms to start building wealth today.

Education & Resources: ETFs and fractional shares, explained

12 of the 13 platforms here publish a cost you can read before you sign up. All of them show what they earn when the trade itself is free — that is the part the $0 headline hides.

Bank Compass is not a bank, is not FDIC-insured, does not provide financial advice, and is not affiliated with the entities compared unless otherwise noted. Rates and terms change — always verify on the bank's official website.

Compound growth estimator

What could steady contributions turn into?

Four numbers, and the full calculator opens with them in — including a comparison against the S&P 500's real historical returns.

Project my balance

Opens Compound Interest Calculator on financeinyourpocket.com with your numbers already filled in. Free, no sign-up.

Where the default comes from: $100 invested in the S&P 500 at the start of 1928 was worth $1,157,598.95 at the end of 2025 with dividends reinvested, per the NYU Stern historical returns dataset — which is 10.0% a year compounded over those 98 years, our arithmetic on their figure, and before inflation. The field above starts at 7% rather than 10% because inflation takes a real bite out of that and because a 98-year average flatters every decade that lost money. It is a planning assumption you can overwrite, not a rate anyone can offer you. The math is the same as the SEC's own compound interest calculator.

13 platforms, with the real cost in plain sight

5 of them tell you, in their own words, how they make money when your trade is free. Nothing here is ordered by what it pays us, because none of them pay us anything.

13 of 13 platforms · sorted so the ones publishing a cost you can read up front come first

Fidelity logo
Online broker$0 stock commission

Fidelity

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC

3.8

Stocks & ETFs

$0

"$0 commissions for online US stock, ETF, and option trades." Fidelity's own funds trade at $0, but a non-Fidelity fund with a transaction fee costs $49.95 per purchase — and a no-transaction-fee fund sold inside 60 days costs $49.95 too.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$0

Options contract

$0.65

Slices from

$1

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Fractional shares
  • Options
  • Mutual funds

Platform & research

Not verified yet

The other 2 fees they publish
  • $49.95 per purchase on transaction-fee mutual funds
  • $49.95 to sell a no-transaction-fee fund held under 60 days
  • Buy a slice of a share from $1
  • No commission on US stocks and ETFs
  • $49.95 per purchase on transaction-fee mutual funds
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Charles Schwab logo
Online broker$0 stock commission

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

4.0

Stocks & ETFs

$0

$0 online commission on listed stocks and ETFs. The $0 stops at the listed market: US over-the-counter equities are $6.95 a trade, and any trade you place through a person costs $25 more.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$0

Options contract

$0.65

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Fractional shares
  • Options
  • Mutual funds
  • Bonds
  • Futures
  • Forex
  • Crypto

Platform & research

thinkorswim® trading platforms

The other 4 fees they publish
  • $6.95 per US over-the-counter equity trade
  • Up to $74.95 per purchase on mutual funds outside OneSource
  • $25 service charge on any broker-assisted trade
  • $2.25 per futures contract
  • 9 asset classes in one account
  • No commission on US stocks and ETFs
  • $6.95 per US over-the-counter equity trade
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Robinhood logo
Online brokerCrypto platform

Robinhood

Robinhood Financial LLC

4.8

Stocks & ETFs

$0

Commission free for stocks, ETFs, and their options — but regulatory fees still land on your sells: $20.60 per $1 million of principal to the SEC (waived on equity sales of $500 or less) and $0.000195 per share to FINRA, capped at $9.79 a trade. Options carry $0.04 per contract on top.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

Not verified yet

Options contract

$0

Slices from

$1

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Fractional shares
  • Options
  • Crypto

How they get paid

Robinhood publishes what its "free" crypto trading is worth to it: "As of June 15, 2026 for every $100 of notional crypto order volume executed through market maker routing, Robinhood Crypto receives $0.95 from its market maker."

Platform & research

Not verified yet

The other 2 fees they publish
  • Crypto fees range from 0.00% to 0.95% by 30-day volume, plus the spread
  • $0.35 (Gold) or $0.50 per index options contract, plus up to $0.75 in exchange fees
  • Buy a slice of a share from $1
  • No per-contract fee on options
  • Does not publish an account minimum
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing logo
Online broker$0 stock commission

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

3.8

Stocks & ETFs

$0

Unlimited $0 online trades on stocks and ETFs, and $0 on thousands of mutual funds from a wide range of providers.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$0

Options contract

$0.65

Slices from

$5

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Fractional shares
  • Options
  • Mutual funds

Platform & research

Fractional shares limited to S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 stocks and ETFs

  • Buy a slice of a share from $5
  • No commission on US stocks and ETFs
  • Only 5 asset classes listed on its pricing page
Open AccountRead Review

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Merrill Edge logo
Online broker$0 stock commission

Merrill Edge

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated

3.7

Stocks & ETFs

$0

$0 online stock and ETF trades with no trade or balance minimums.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$0

Options contract

$0.65

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Options
  • Mutual funds

Platform & research

Not verified yet

  • No commission on US stocks and ETFs
  • Opens with nothing in it
  • Only 4 asset classes listed on its pricing page
Open AccountRead Review

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

E*TRADE logo
Online broker$0 stock commission

E*TRADE

E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

3.7

Stocks & ETFs

$0

$0 on stocks and ETFs at every volume. The options contract fee drops from $0.65 to $0.50 with 30+ trades per quarter — one of the few discounts here that is published rather than negotiated.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

Not verified yet

Options contract

$0.65

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Options
  • Mutual funds

Platform & research

Not verified yet

The other 2 fees they publish
  • An account not funded within 90 days will be closed
  • Load funds still charge their load — check the prospectus
  • No commission on US stocks and ETFs
  • Does not publish an account minimum
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Interactive Brokers logo
Online broker$0 stock commission

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers LLC

4.0

Stocks & ETFs

$0

$0 on US stocks and ETFs — on the IBKR Lite plan, and only for US residents. IBKR Pro charges per share instead: $0.005 fixed, or $0.0005–$0.0035 tiered, with a $1.00 minimum per order on the fixed plan.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$0

Options contract

$0.65

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Stocks
  • ETFs
  • Fractional shares
  • Options
  • Mutual funds
  • Bonds
  • Futures
  • Forex
  • Crypto

Platform & research

Trader Workstation, IBKR Desktop, IBKR Mobile, APIs, Risk Navigator and Probability Lab, with complimentary real-time streaming data for primary US equity and ETF exchanges

The other 3 fees they publish
  • On Lite, if odd-hours and sub-$1 orders pass 10% of your monthly volume, the lesser of $0.005 per share or 1% of trade value applies
  • Mutual funds cost 3% of trade value, capped at $14.95
  • Bonds cost 10 basis points of face value
  • 9 asset classes in one account
  • No commission on US stocks and ETFs
  • On Lite, if odd-hours and sub-$1 orders pass 10% of your monthly volume,…
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Betterment logo
Robo-advisor

Betterment

Betterment LLC

2.4

Annual advisory fee

0.25%/yr

0.25% a year once you either hold $24,000 or pay in $200 a month. Below that it is a flat $5 a month, which on a $2,000 balance works out to 3% a year — the opposite of what the headline rate suggests. Premium is 0.65% and needs $100,000.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

Not verified yet

Options contract

Not offered here

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • ETFs

How they get paid

The management fee is the product. Nothing here is free, which at least makes the cost easy to find.

Platform & research

Not verified yet

  • Chooses and rebalances the portfolio for you
  • Takes 0.25% of your balance every year, in good years and bad
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Wealthfront logo
Robo-advisor

Wealthfront

Wealthfront Advisers LLC

2.1

Annual advisory fee

0.25%/yr

0.25% a year on the Automated Investing Account, with no monthly floor to work around. The separate Stock Investing Account carries no commissions and no advisory fee, and starts at $1.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

Not verified yet

Options contract

Not offered here

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • ETFs
  • Stocks

Platform & research

Not verified yet

  • Chooses and rebalances the portfolio for you
  • Takes 0.25% of your balance every year, in good years and bad
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios logo
Robo-advisorNo advisory fee

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.

3.6

Annual advisory fee

No advisory fee

No advisory fee and no commissions. You still pay the operating expenses of the ETFs inside the portfolio, like any other investor.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$5,000

Options contract

Not offered here

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • ETFs

How they get paid

Schwab writes it down itself: it charges no advisory fee "in part because of the revenue Schwab Bank generates from the cash allocation", it "earns more the larger the cash allocation", and "some cash alternatives outside of Schwab Intelligent Portfolios pay a higher yield." The fee is zero; the cost is the slice of your portfolio parked in cash.

Platform & research

Not verified yet

  • Chooses and rebalances the portfolio for you
  • Does that without charging an advisory fee
  • Needs $5,000 before it will take you on
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Fidelity Go logo
Robo-advisorNo advisory fee

Fidelity Go

Fidelity Personal and Workplace Advisors LLC

4.1

Annual advisory fee

No advisory fee

No advisory fee under $25,000, then 0.35% a year above it — which includes unlimited one-on-one coaching calls. The portfolios hold Fidelity Flex funds, which carry a zero expense ratio.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

$0

Options contract

Not offered here

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Mutual funds

Platform & research

Not verified yet

  • Chooses and rebalances the portfolio for you
  • Does that without charging an advisory fee
  • Nothing to pick: mutual funds only
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Kraken logo
Crypto platform

Kraken

Payward, Inc.

Not rated yet

Fee per market buy

0.80%

0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the entry volume tier, falling as 30-day volume rises. Buying through Kraken's instant flow costs 1% instead, plus whatever your payment method adds.

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

Not verified yet

Options contract

Not offered here

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Crypto

How they get paid

The fee is on the schedule, tier by tier, which is more than most of this corner of the market publishes.

Platform & research

Not verified yet

The other 1 fees they publish
  • 1% trading fee on instant buys, plus payment method surcharges
  • Publishes its fee tier by tier, before you sign up
  • Does not publish an account minimum
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Coinbase logo
Crypto platform

Coinbase

Coinbase, Inc.

Not rated yet

Trading fee

Shown at order

Coinbase publishes no trading fee as a number, and says why: fees are "calculated at the time you place your order" and depend on payment method, order size, market conditions, location and asset. You see the figure on the order preview screen, and "fees may vary for similar transactions."

Fees, assets & the fine print

Account minimum

Not verified yet

Options contract

Not offered here

Slices from

No fractional shares

Available assets

  • Crypto

How they get paid

A spread sits inside the quoted price of every simple buy and sell, and "Coinbase may retain any excess spread from a transaction." Coinbase Advanced routes to the order book with no spread. Staking is where the number is plain: a 35% commission on the rewards you earn.

Platform & research

Coinbase says it has no payment for order flow relationships with market makers

The other 3 fees they publish
  • 35% standard commission on staking rewards for ADA, ATOM, AVAX, DOT, ETH, MATIC, SOL and XTZ
  • 0.2% to send bitcoin over the Lightning Network
  • 5% recovery fee on anything above $100 of unsupported crypto sent by mistake
  • Publishes 3 separate fees, not just the headline
  • Publishes no trading fee you can read before you sign up
Open AccountFee schedule

Opening an account is free. What you invest in is not — and can lose value.

Fees verified 2026-08-04 · source

Related reading

Which account to fill first, whether to invest at all while you owe money, and what moves the market you are buying into.

Run the numbers

Where the contributions end up, how far away financial independence is, and what the portfolio is worth today.

Free and no sign-up, on financeinyourpocket.com — our sister site.

Before you invest

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. We are an independent platform and not a registered investment advisor.

Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy or sell any security or to use any particular platform, and none of it accounts for your income, tax position, debts or how soon you might need the money. The estimator above is arithmetic on numbers you choose: it compounds a fixed rate monthly and knows nothing about markets, so it cannot tell you what any investment will do. Fees, minimums and product ranges change without notice — every figure here carries the date we read it on the provider's own site, and the link to check it yourself.

Brokerage accounts are not bank deposits: they are not FDIC insured, and SIPC protection covers a failed broker, not a falling market. Cryptocurrency is not covered by either, and prices can move far faster than anything else on this page.

"Open Account" takes you to the platform's official site. We earn no commission and sell no leads on those links. How we rank and verify everything.