Best IRA Accounts for 2026
After hours of analysis, we found that the best IRA accounts offer a large selection of low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, helpful retirement planning tools, educational guidance and strong customer support.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.
Our deep, independent analysis of IRAs sorts through key account details to find and evaluate the information investors want when choosing an IRA account. To see our full methodology and learn more about our process, read our criteria for evaluating brokers and for evaluating robo-advisors.
Over 60 investment account providers reviewed and rated by our expert Nerds.
More than 50 years of combined experience writing about finance and investing.
Hands-on testing of the account funding process, broker websites and stock-trading platforms.
Dozens of objective ratings rubrics, and strict guidelines to maintain editorial integrity.
When choosing an IRA, you want to consider factors like investment selection, retirement planning tools, customer service and educational resources.
After our editorial team dug into those details and others in our most recent analysis, we chose Charles Schwab as the best of the bunch thanks to its large selection of types of IRAs, excellent retirement planning tools and low fees. Charles Schwab also offers IRA accounts through its robo-advisor, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. (A robo-advisor is an automated service that will build and manage your IRA investment portfolio for you, generally for a small fee.)
However, a Schwab IRA may not be the best option for you and your specific needs — below, you can compare all the IRA accounts that made our list to find the right one based on what matters most to you. We've selected the best account for advanced traders, highlighted two accounts that match your contributions — which is free money — and included one option that even gives you access to a financial advisor.
Our editorial picks for the best IRA accounts
Company | NerdWallet rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5/5 | $0 | $0 | 1% match on eligible contributions up to IRA contribution limits. | 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 | $0 no account fees to open a Fidelity retail IRA | 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. | $0 | 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 | $0 | 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 | |||||
Best Online Broker for IRA Investors | 4.9/5 | $0 per online equity trade | $0 | 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 why we picked these as the best IRA accounts
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab is one of the leading providers of retirement accounts, including workplace plans, such as 401(k)s, so it's no surprise that it stands out for IRAs. The company offers a variety of different types of IRA accounts, including self-employed plans such as SEP and SIMPLE IRAs. Schwab stands out for having helpful retirement planning tools — including educational content and calculators — and a large selection of mutual funds. It earns five stars in our analysis across three categories that we heavily consider in our methodology: number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, number of low-expense-ratio funds and number of low-minimum funds. That makes it easy and inexpensive for retirement investors to start an IRA.
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.
Fidelity
It's no surprise Fidelity is on our list — the broker's name is nearly synonymous with retirement investing and IRAs, and the company services many workplace retirement plans. In fact, that's an advantage that isn't factored into our analysis, but it may be factored into your decision about which IRA account to choose: If you have a 401(k) or other plan at work that's administered by Fidelity, opening an IRA under the same roof may be an easy decision. But Fidelity also stands out for other reasons — the company's website offers innovative tools and expertise to help you in your retirement planning, and it has a wide mutual fund selection, including several of its own index funds that charge no fees.
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.
SoFi Active Investing
SoFi may not have all the bells and whistles of some of the other brokers, but if you're looking for a low-cost broker and access to a financial advisor, SoFi is the place to start. SoFi is unique in that it offers access to certified financial planners — a perk that often comes with a hefty price tag elsewhere. All SoFi members get one complimentary meeting; SoFi Plus members — a premium offering that is $10 month — can schedule as many as they need. If you utilize that feature regularly, that $10 fee is likely worth it. But the service also comes with other perks, including loan discounts.
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.
SoFi Robo Investing
Speaking of SoFi, its robo-advisor offering also makes our list as the best robo-advisor for an IRA match. SoFi offers a 1% match on both rollovers and contributions. As with SoFi Active Investing, you'll also get access to a financial advisor, with unlimited access if you have SoFi Plus.
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Paid non-client promotion
A low management fee that includes one meeting with a financial advisor makes SoFi Robo Investing a solid choice for beginning and younger investors.
Robinhood
Robinhood currently has the best IRA match among brokers. While the free version of Robinhood offers a 1% match, Robinhood Gold gives you a 3% match. Minus the $60 Robinhood Gold annual fee, you're still netting a $150 bonus just for contributing the maximum amount to your retirement account. Robinhood also offers a high rate on uninvested cash and crypto trading.
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.
Interactive Brokers
We'll be honest and say our testers were surprised by how well Interactive Brokers scored when it comes to its IRA accounts — the broker is known for catering to active traders. But there are plenty of investors who want to trade in their IRA accounts — and there can be tax benefits for doing so — and Interactive Brokers deserves a spot on this list for its mutual fund offering alone. The broker has one of the largest mutual fund selections available, and our testers found the user experience of opening an account surprisingly smooth, even for novice investors.
Don't let the name fool you: IBKR Lite offers commission-free stock trading (including international trade capabilities), more than 21,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds, and a full-featured platform.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios stands out for IRA investors because it's free, meaning there is no fee for getting your investments managed for you. Schwab also offers several types of IRAs (including traditional, Roth, Rollovers, Inherited, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs), tons of customizable portfolios and 24/7 customer support. The downside? Schwab doesn't offer an IRA match the way some other brokers do.
Unpaid non-client promotion
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is unique in charging zero management fee, but the advisor's portfolios tend to hold a larger cash allocation than other robo-advisors (meaning a good chunk of your money isn't invested). The account minimum, at $5,000, is fairly high, but Schwab has some of the best customer service in the business.
What to consider when choosing an IRA
Picking the best IRA account will depend a bit on what matters most to you. Below, we detail some criteria to keep in mind:
Low-cost investments: For long-term retirement savings success, make sure high fees don’t eat into your investment returns. Open your IRA at a broker or robo-advisor that offers low-cost investments. For many retirement investors, a smart investment is a low-cost mutual fund. Investing in a handful of mutual funds is an easy way to own a diversified portfolio, because each mutual fund invests in dozens, hundreds or even thousands of companies. With mutual funds, one of the main fees to focus on is the expense ratio. Ideally, you’re investing in mutual funds with an expense ratio of less than about 0.5%.
Low fees: While you’re keeping an eye on expense ratios, also keep other fees in mind. If you’re a do-it-yourself investor who plans to open an IRA at a broker, make sure you pick a broker with no trading commissions (or a high number of commission-free ETFs and no-transaction-fee mutual funds) and low transfer and other fees.
Investment help: If you want guidance picking investments, a robo-advisor probably is a better choice for you than a broker. All robo-advisors offer either ready-to-go investment portfolios or provide some help picking investments.
Customer support: Make sure the broker or robo-advisor offers customer support that meets your needs, whether that’s live chat, telephone support or access to human financial planners.
How to open an IRA
It’s a simple process: You can open an IRA online, at any broker or robo-advisor (though we’re partial to the ones above, for the reasons we outlined). It takes about 15 minutes, and you’ll need to provide some personal information, including your name, birthdate, mailing address and Social Security number. Here’s our guide to opening an IRA, which also includes information about how to fund and invest the account.
How IRA matches work
IRA matches borrow from a common feature of employer retirement savings plans like 401(k)s: When you contribute to the account, the IRA broker matches your contributions — up to a limit. This is a relatively new offering, originally initiated by Robinhood. Several other IRA account providers have jumped on the bandwagon, though it is still relatively rare for an account to offer this feature.
How it works: When you contribute to the account, the brokerage will match a small percentage of your contribution — generally 1%, though some brokers take that a bit higher, especially as a limited-time promotion. Let's say you contribute $5,000 to your IRA. If the broker matches 1%, you get an extra $50. That may not sound like much, but it's also not money you'd walk away from. And on an annual basis, it can really add up — especially when it starts earning investment returns.
Be sure to read the terms and conditions of the offer — in some cases, if you close or transfer out your account within a certain amount of time, the broker will claw back the matching contributions you've earned as a fee. This is true of Robinhood, which requires you hold the IRA with them for at least five years.
One common question we've seen about these programs is whether the IRA match counts toward your contribution limit. In most cases, the answer is no — the IRA match is considered a promotion or interest, not a contribution. But be sure that's the case with the IRA provider you choose.
Common questions about IRA accounts
Can you lose money in an IRA?
It is possible for an IRA account to lose value and even drop to zero (though that's unlikely). The key to sidestepping this risk is to make sure your investments are diversified. That means investing in a variety of companies — of different sizes and in different industries and locations — and in both stocks and bonds. That way, when any one slice of your investments faces trouble, the others are there to keep your overall portfolio on a steady course.
The easiest path to a diversified portfolio is with mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. One single fund can invest in thousands of companies, making it a simple one-stop shop for investment diversification.
How do you invest an IRA?
Unlike savings accounts, IRAs don’t pay a set interest rate or return. Once you’ve put money into the account, you need to select investments; otherwise, your money will sit in cash, which isn’t ideal for a long-term goal like retirement. Most IRA providers offer a wide range of investment options, including individual stocks, bonds and mutual funds. If that sounds out of your league, you can open your IRA at a robo-advisor like Acorns or Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, which will manage your investments for you, typically for a small fee.
Which bank has the best IRA?
You might have noticed we don’t include any bank IRA accounts here. Generally, an investment broker or robo-advisor is a better option than a bank for an IRA account, because for a long-term goal like retirement, you want to tap into the power of the stock market to grow your money.
Bank IRAs generally offer access to savings products such as certificates of deposit. CDs are savings products that guarantee a rate of return as long as you leave your money in for a specific period of time. Historically, stock market returns average about 10% per year. CD rates are typically much lower. Yes, the stock market comes with the risk that, in any given year, your account may lose value — but investors who leave their money in the market, even through those down days, generally enjoy hefty gains over time.
If, despite that, you decide to go with a bank CD, be sure to pick among the IRA accounts with the best IRA CD rates so you know you’re getting the best possible rate of return for that type of account.
Our editorial methodology
How do we review brokers and robo-advisors?
All NerdWallet reviews and lists of the best investing products are created by our editorial team of full-time writers and editors, independent of any business relationships. In this case, our investing team's comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers and robo-advisors. Our aim is to provide an independent, balanced assessment of investment accounts 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