Best Roth IRA Accounts for 2026
After hours of analysis, we found that the best Roth IRA provider is Charles Schwab. Fidelity, Robinhood and SoFi also standout for unique features.The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
They say the best time to start saving for retirement is now. That's particularly true if you're planning to invest in a Roth IRA, which allows your investment to grow tax-free. The earlier you start, the more powerful those tax savings become.
The blocker for many people — at least according to the question I always get in my inbox — is not knowing where to open one. The options can be a little bit dizzying, and it feels like a heavy, hard-to-reverse decision.
The truth is, however, that most Roth IRA accounts are pretty similar at their core. So when our editors made this list, we focused specifically on providers that add unique value or stand out in an otherwise bland crowd.
Best Roth IRA account: Charles Schwab
Best for holistic retirement planning: Fidelity
Best Roth IRA match: Robinhood
Best for access to financial advisors: SoFi
Beyond these top choices, other providers made the cut because they're a good fit for specific types of investors. Here's a full comparison of our picks.
Company | NerdWallet rating | Fees | IRA Match | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5/5 | $0 on trades of stocks, ETFs and their options. Other fees may apply. | 1% on contributions (3% for Robinhood Gold members) | 1 Free Stock after linking your bank account (stock value range $5.00-$200) | Learn moreon Robinhood's website | |
Learn moreon Robinhood's website | |||||
Learn moreon Robinhood's website | |||||
5.0/5 | $0 no account fees to open a Fidelity retail IRA | None | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreon Fidelity's website | |
Learn moreon Fidelity's website | |||||
Learn moreon Fidelity's website | |||||
4.3/5 | $0 per trade. Other fees apply. | None | Get up to $10,000 when you open and fund a new eligible E*TRADE retirement account. Terms apply. | Learn moreon E*TRADE's website | |
Learn moreon E*TRADE's website | |||||
Learn moreon E*TRADE's website | |||||
4.6/5 | $0 per trade | 1% on contributions and 401(k) rollovers | Get up to $1,000 in stock when you open & fund a new Active Invest account. Limited time offer. Terms & Conditions Apply. | Learn moreon SoFi Invest®'s website | |
Learn moreon SoFi Invest®'s website | |||||
Learn moreon SoFi Invest®'s website | |||||
4.8/5 | $0 per online equity trade | None | Up to $500 when you make a qualifying net deposit | Learn moreon Charles Schwab's website | |
Learn moreon Charles Schwab's website | |||||
Learn moreon Charles Schwab's website | |||||
More about the top four Roth IRA accounts
Charles Schwab
Schwab won our team’s award this year as the best broker for IRA investors, and its robo-advisor, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, won the sister award as the best robo-advisor for IRA investors. Candidly, this surprised us a bit; Fidelity, which I’ll talk about next, has swept this category for a few years.
2026 Best-of Award winner: Charles Schwab is NerdWallet's pick for the best online broker for IRA investors. Charles Schwab is one of the best overall IRA providers, with high-quality customer service, no account minimum and low fees. The company offers a large selection of no-transaction-fee funds, gives users access to extensive research and charges no commission for stock, options and ETF trades.
What made us pick Schwab this year
Mutual fund selection: The race was tight, but the differentiator was that Schwab offers about twice as many no-transaction-fee mutual funds as Fidelity. These funds are popular among Roth IRA investors, who tend to want to be hands-off with their portfolios. Knowing you can find the funds you want without paying a fee to buy — or sell — them is nice peace of mind; the wider the selection, the more likely the broker is to have a specific fund you’re after.
Educational support: Schwab also stood out to our team because it puts a lot of effort into creating investor education materials — articles, sure, but also video explainers and full courses — and tools, like a free, self-guided way to create a financial plan and track your progress. These are all really useful ways to get off on the right foot if you’re just starting to invest in a Roth IRA, and they feel authentically helpful rather than performative. (You can read our full review of Charles Schwab here.)
Account minimum
$0.
Stock trading costs
$0.
Options trades
$0.65 per contract
Account fees (annual, inactivity, closing)
Annual fee: $0 Inactivity fee: $0 Closing fee: $0
Interest rate on uninvested cash
0.05%
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds
7,774
Tradable securities
Stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, bonds, futures, futures options, forex
Trading platform
Five: Schwab.com, Schwab Mobile and thinkorswim for web, desktop and mobile
Mobile app
Available for iOS and Android
Research and data
Over a dozen, including Morningstar, Refinitiv/LSEG, Argus, Vickers and Computrade/Market Edge
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)
24/7 phone and chat support
IRA match
None
What Schwab doesn’t do as well
The app isn’t as slick as competitor apps, especially for people who aren’t advanced stock traders. (Among that group, Schwab has a bit of a cult following for its thinkorswim trading platform, which came over during its acquisition of TD Ameritrade.) It feels a little bit clunky and outdated. But on the other hand, I make a point of not checking my Roth IRA and other retirement accounts frequently — I’m in it for the long haul, and I don’t want to spook myself when the markets are rocky. So I don’t necessarily need or want a super slick app here.
Finally, some of us (myself included) would argue that there’s a bit of a tipping point when it comes to the number of mutual funds on offer — too many to wade through can make a relatively straightforward decision overly complex. If that’s you, you might prefer Schwab Intelligent Portfolios.
Fidelity
Our editorial team loves Fidelity. One reason may be that NerdWallet’s 401(k) is administered by Fidelity, which means we all pretty much automatically have a Fidelity account. That may be true of you, too — about 25 million people have a 401(k) plan that is hosted by Fidelity; it’s the largest 401(k) plan administrator in the country.
Why does that matter to your Roth IRA? Because both of these accounts are used to invest for retirement, and seeing their balances and investment allocations side-by-side makes it a lot easier to measure your progress. When I started working at NerdWallet, I moved my IRAs to Fidelity for this reason. I like a one-stop shop and the simplicity of keeping everything in one place.
But even if you don’t have a 401(k) at Fidelity, you’ll find a nice home for your Roth IRA here for other reasons.
Many investors are familiar with Fidelity as a provider of 401(k) plans — the broker is one of the biggest names in employee retirement accounts. It can be convenient to also have an IRA under the same roof, because you'll be able to seamlessly view all account balances in one place. But even for those who don't have a 401(k) with Fidelity, the company offers access to low-cost retirement investments (including no-fee, no-minimum index funds) and innovative tools to help you plan for retirement and check in on your progress.
What Fidelity does well
Retirement planning tools: Fidelity’s are among the best — our team gave it a perfect five stars in this category. The tools give you everything you need and nothing you don’t. One example: The Fidelity Retirement Score, which is represented as a tracker right near your accounts. It quickly and easily tells you where you stand on a scale of 1 to 100, and compares your progress to the same time last year:
You can adjust and review your plan at any time, simulating how prepared you’ll be for retirement based on various market conditions. You can also link external accounts to include them in the simulation. And if you also have non-retirement accounts at Fidelity that you plan to use for retirement — like a taxable brokerage account — you can assign them as part of your retirement savings so the tool factors those amounts in.
No-fee index funds: Fidelity is the rare broker that has earmarked a selection of its mutual funds and index funds as no-fee, which means they don’t charge the expense ratios that are typical of mutual funds, index funds and ETFs. Fees drag down your portfolio’s value over time; avoiding them as much as possible is always a good idea.
Account minimum
$0
Stock trading costs
$0
Options trades
$0.65 per contract
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity)
Annual fee: $0 Inactivity fee: $0 Closing fee: $0
Interest rate on uninvested cash
3.97%
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds
3,220
Tradable securities
Stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, bonds and fixed income, precious metals, crypto
Trading platform
Three: Fidelity.com, mobile app, Fidelity Trader+
Mobile app
Available for iOS and Android
Research and data
Several data providers, including Argus, Zacks, CFRA and S&P Global
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)
24/7. Hours vary by contact method, but you can get help via phone, email, chat, over social media or at a physical branch.
IRA match
None
Like Schwab, Fidelity also has a robo-advisor, Fidelity Go. It’s a good choice for investors who want to be hands off, and it doesn’t charge any advisor fees on balances under $25,000 — so if you’re opening a Roth IRA for the first time, you could get free management for several years due to the annual contribution limits.
What we don’t like about Fidelity
Frankly, not much. The areas where Fidelity can fall short are more applicable to active, advanced traders — for example, you can trade options contracts for less elsewhere, and some very advanced assets aren’t offered, such as futures trading. But these are areas most Roth IRA investors won’t even notice, as they’re typically short-term strategies rather than retirement investments.
Robinhood
I’m happy with my Roth IRA at Fidelity, and I don’t plan on changing accounts, in large part because of the convenience I noted above that comes from having all my retirement accounts in one place. But recently, a few IRA providers have been offering something that is definitely turning my head: matching programs, similar to those long offered by employer retirement plans.
Robinhood pioneered this feature, and they still offer the best program out there.
At Robinhood, trades of stocks, ETFs and their options are commission free, as are cryptocurrency trades. (Other fees may apply, including on index options.) Robinhood Gold offers a high interest rate on uninvested cash and low margin rates. The company does not offer mutual funds or individual bonds.
What Robinhood offers
1% match on all contributions and rollovers: Anyone with a Roth IRA (or traditional IRA) at Robinhood can get a 1% match on direct contributions, transfers and rollovers. There’s no cap outside of the IRA contribution limits. For contributions, this match is worth $75 in 2026 if you’re under age 50, or $86 if you’re 50 or older. That assumes you make the full contribution.
If you transfer a balance in, either from another Roth IRA account or as a 401(k) rollover, Robinhood will base the match on the value of any transferred cash and securities. Let’s say you’re transferring in an account worth $50,000 — Robinhood would kick in $500.
3% match if you’re a Robinhood Gold member: Here’s where the match starts to get really good, and where Robinhood differentiates itself from other providers that are also offering a match. If you enroll in Robinhood Gold, a subscription service that costs $5 a month or $50 annually, you get access to a number of premium features. One of them is an increased IRA match of 3% on contributions. That means making the full allowed contribution in 2026 would get you $225 if you’re under age 50 or $258 if you’re 50 or older. Quick math shows this easily makes up for that $50 subscription fee and then some.
You might have the same question I did: Does this match put you over the contribution limit, which could result in a tax penalty? The answer is no. The matching dollars that come from Robinhood or any other broker’s matching program are considered part of your investment return, not a contribution.
Also, props to Robinhood where props are due — the company has made some waves for targeting beginner investors, but not providing much in the way of educational support or highlighting the risks and considerations that come with investing. But Chris Davis, NerdWallet Investing's Managing Editor, called out that Robinhood is one of the few brokers we tested that shows you the Roth IRA eligibility rules and withdrawal penalties in the app before you open an account.
Account minimum
$0 for brokerage accounts, Robinhood Gold accounts and IRAs.
Stock trading costs
$0.
Options trades
$0 for equity options. $0.50 for index options, or $0.35 for Gold accounts.
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity)
No annual or inactivity fees. $100 ACAT outgoing transfer fee. Robinhood Gold costs $5 a month or $50 per year. Matching funds in IRAs may be taken back if money is withdrawn in less than five years. Instant withdrawals cost 1.75% of the amount withdrawn, with a minimum fee of $1 and a maximum of $150.
Interest rate on uninvested cash
0.01% for free accounts, 3.35% for Gold accounts
Tradable securities
Stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptocurrency, American Depositary Receipts for over 650 global companies, Futures, Fractional shares. Bonds only available in the form of bond ETFs.
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds
Not rated; no mutual funds.
Trading platform
Robinhood's mobile and web platforms are known for their smooth sign-up, funding and trading processes. The broker now also offers a desktop platform, Robinhood Legend.
Mobile app
Mobile trading platform includes customizable alerts, news feed, advanced charting and ability to listen live to earnings calls for some companies. Reviews are mostly positive, although the average star rating on both iOS and Android is below the 4.5 star line.
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, Monday - Friday. Decent suite of educational articles and webinar events, and an easily-navigable website.
IRA match
1% match on IRA contributions for free accounts, 3% for Gold accounts.
What we don’t like about Robinhood
Robinhood’s match is really generous, especially with Robinhood Gold, so please know I feel greedy as I say this, but it’s worth noting that the elevated 3% match you get with Robinhood Gold is only available on contributions, not rollovers or transfers. On those, you’ll still get 1% even if you have Robinhood Gold. But again, I wouldn’t turn my back on 1% — if you’ve accumulated a large Roth IRA balance elsewhere and you’re looking for a new home for it, that 1% can add up quickly.
The other thing I’ll say about Robinhood is that while it, too, has a robo-advisor — Robinhood Strategies — the matching program is not available on those accounts.
Finally, there is some fine print here to understand, as always. Most notable is that you must keep the amount of funds that earned the match in your Robinhood IRA account for at least five years; otherwise, Robinhood may claw back the match as a fee.
SoFi
Like the others on this list, SoFi has a DIY trading product called SoFi Active Investing and a robo-advisor, SoFi Robo Investing. Both products offer access to financial advisors. There are some hoops to jump through, which I’ll outline below, but it’s rare enough for a broker to offer access to financial advisors that the jumping could be worth it.
SoFi Active Investing's $0 trading commission, fractional shares and $0 account minimum are attractive to new investors. More advanced investors will appreciate the company's wide mutual fund selection and IPO access.
What SoFi offers
One free appointment: All SoFi members can set up one complimentary appointment with a financial planner. The appointment is 30 minutes long, and the planner can advise you about how to prioritize your goals or invest your Roth IRA once you’ve opened it. This is super helpful — a lot of people take the step to open a Roth IRA but then don’t know how to invest what they’ve contributed. Some people fail to invest the money at all. If you don’t want to pay the ongoing cost of a robo-advisor and your situation isn’t complex enough to work with a financial advisor, this 30 minutes may be all you need.
SoFi Plus gets you more: SoFi Plus is a premium program that’s similar to Robinhood Gold. It offers a range of premium features for $10 a month. One such feature is unlimited one-on-one appointments with one of SoFi’s financial planners. If you consider the ongoing cost of a financial advisor, getting access to advisors for $120 a year is a pretty sweet deal. This is especially true if you don’t need an ongoing relationship with an advisor or investment management — SoFi Plus is more of an on-demand option, available to answer your questions or give you guidance when needs arise.
A bonus: Like Robinhood, SoFi offers a 1% IRA match. Unlike Robinhood, that match is also available on SoFi’s robo-advisor product.
Account minimum
$0
Stock trading costs
$0
Options trades
$0
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity)
Annual fee: $0 Inactivity fee: $25 (easily waived) IRA closing fee: $100
Interest rate on uninvested cash
0.01%
No-transaction-fee mutual funds
6,800
Tradable securities
Stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, interval funds
Trading platform
Two: Mobile app and web
Mobile app
Available for iOS and Android
Research and data
Four: Xignite, Morningstar, TipRanks and Benzinga
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)
Phone and chat support Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Access to financial advisors.
IRA match
1%
What we don’t like about SoFi
It used to be easier to access a SoFi Plus membership; eligible direct deposits got you there and waived the $10 monthly fee. That made this financial advisor access all the more attractive. SoFi eliminated that feature in March 2026, which is a bummer. The company also charges an IRA closing fee of $100. You’re here to open a Roth IRA, but it’s worth looking ahead and anticipating fees like this.
Our editorial methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers and robo-advisors. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating providers and our processes, read our full broker ratings methodology and our full robo-advisor ratings methodology.




