Fidelity vs. Robinhood: 2024 Comparison
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Although Robinhood is typically thought of as a beginner-friendly investing app, Fidelity has repeatedly earned title of Best Broker for Beginning Investors and the Best App for Investing in NerdWallet's Best-Of Awards. Robinhood may have an easier, quicker sign-up process, and its user experience is definitely built for a mobile-first generation, but Fidelity has several offerings you won't find at Robinhood: expense-ratio-free index funds, strong customer service and a large selection of research providers.
One change that happened in 2022: Robinhood launched IRA accounts, with a lucrative 1% match on contributions. That makes it a contender for retirement investors, especially those who plan to leave their IRA with Robinhood for the long haul. (The fine print allows Robinhood to take some or all of the matching funds contributed back when distributions are made within five years.) However, Robinhood still doesn't have the broad retirement investment selection traditional online brokers like Fidelity offer — there are no index funds or mutual funds available through the platform (only exchange-traded funds).
Fidelity is best for:
Frequent traders.
Beginner investors.
Research and data.
Retirement planning assistance.
Fidelity at a glance
Account minimum | $0. |
Stock trading costs | $0. |
Options trades | $0.65 per contract. |
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) | None. |
Interest rate on uninvested cash | 4.97%. |
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds | More than 3,300 no-transaction-fee mutual funds. |
Tradable securities | • Stocks. • Corporate, municipal and government bonds. • Mutual funds. • ETFs. • Fractional shares. • Options. • FOREX. • Precious metals. • Bitcoin and Ethereum. |
Trading platform | Fidelity.com and Active Trader Pro. Both free for all customers. |
Mobile app | Available for iOS and Android; advanced features. |
Research and data | Free and extensive. |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | Phone, email and live chat 24/7; more than 200 local branches. |
Robinhood is best for:
Mobile users.
Individual taxable accounts and IRAs.
Margin accounts.
Robinhood at a glance
Account minimum | $0 for brokerage accounts, Robinhood Gold accounts and IRAs. |
Stock trading costs | $0. |
Options trades | $0. |
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) | No annual, inactivity or ACH transfer fees. $100 ACAT outgoing transfer fee. (Robinhood Gold costs $5 a month.). Matching funds in IRAs may be taken back if money is withdrawn after less than five years. |
Interest rate on uninvested cash | 1.5% for free accounts, 5% for Gold accounts. |
Tradable securities | • Stocks. • ETFs. • Options. • Cryptocurrency. • American Depositary Receipts for over 650 global companies. • Fractional shares. • Bonds only available in the form of bond ETFs. |
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds | Not rated. |
Trading platform | Robinhood's mobile and web platforms are known for their smooth sign-up, funding and trading processes. However, the constant pop-up notifications can be exhausting. |
Mobile app | Mobile trading platform includes customizable alerts, news feed, advanced charting and ability to listen live to earnings calls for some companies. |
Research and data | Access to professional research from Morningstar and Level II market data from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange (with Gold subscription). |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | 24/7 chat support. Phone support available from 7:00 a.m. ET to 9:00 p.m. ET. |
NerdWallet rating 4.9 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 | NerdWallet rating 4.1 /5 |
Fees $0 per online equity trade | Fees $0 per trade | Fees $0 per trade |
Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 |
Promotion None no promotion available at this time | Promotion None no promotion available at this time | Promotion Get up to $700 when you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money. |
» Compare more options: View our picks for the best stock apps
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