Ally Invest Review 2026: Pros, Cons and How It Compares
Ally is a good low-cost broker for beginner and intermediate investors. Active traders who want more bells and whistles may want to look elsewhere.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 take: Ally Invest’s $0 account minimum and $0 trading commissions on eligible U.S. securities make it a strong option for all traders. A low $0.50 options-contract fee will attract options traders.
Ally Invest’s lack of fees, portfolio management feature and cash management options make it a good choice for beginner investors.
Where Ally Invest shines
Costs: Ally Invest appeals to both the beginning investor and the experienced stock trader with $0 trading costs on eligible U.S. securities, no account minimum and low-cost options trading. Ally also offers thousands of funds with expense ratios under 0.50%.
Advanced features: Ally offers an automated portfolio management option and a suite of free tools for technical investors.
Cash management: Uninvested cash in an Ally Invest brokerage account earns no interest, but Ally Invest offers instant money movement between Ally savings and brokerage accounts, letting investors take advantage of interest rates several times higher than the typical default sweep interest rates of most brokerages. This, however, does require opening an Ally savings account separately. Those savings accounts do offer buckets to help you organize your finances.
Where Ally Invest falls short
Limited educational support: If you want to learn more about investing, other brokers offer better educational resources.
Not for advanced traders: If you're looking for expert analysis, advanced charting and tools, crypto, futures or forex, you won't find them at Ally.
Alternatives to consider for better educational resources and a more expansive investment selection:
 Interactive Brokers IBKR | Best App for Investing  Fidelity |
Learn moreon Interactive Brokers's website | Learn moreon Fidelity's website |
What type of investor should choose Ally Invest?
Beginners: Ally gives you everything you need and nothing that you don't. If having too many options feels stressful, Ally's pared-down experience may be better than a full-tilt brokerage with all the bells and whistles.
Options traders: Options traders will have access to competitive pricing and surprisingly advanced tools through Ally.
What the Nerds think
"Signing up with Ally didn’t take too long, even though it was a little buggy along the way. I already had the app downloaded, and from there it still took me 22 minutes to open an investment account, fund it and buy a stock. It took me a minute to figure out how to place the trade, and there weren’t built-in educational steps to figure out what stocks or funds I should buy. A few things, like the order types, had built-in explanations. You also have to search for a company by its symbol — you can’t search by its name. I do like that Ally allows you to sign in with a passcode so you don’t have to enter your password every time."
Ally Invest at a glance
Account minimum | $0 |
Stock trading costs | $0 (on eligible U.S. securities) |
Options trades | $0.50 per contract |
Account fees (annual, inactivity, closing) | Annual fee: $0 Inactivity fee: $0 Closing fee: $0 |
Interest rate on uninvested cash | 0%, but high-yield rate with Ally savings account. |
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds | Over 5,400 |
Tradable securities | Stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, options, bonds |
Trading platform | Two: Web and mobile app |
Mobile app | Available for iOS and Android |
Research and data | Two: Morningstar and TipRanks |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | Call, chat and email Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. |
IRA match | None |
How to sign up for an Ally Invest account
Ally says you can sign up for an account in 5 minutes or less — but it took us a little longer. To open an account with Ally, you'll need your Social Security or tax identification number and a U.S. residential street address. You'll also need to decide whether to open a standard brokerage account or an IRA.
What to know about Ally Invest's fees
Like many online brokerages these days, Ally Invest has no account minimum, which is a great perk for someone who doesn’t have much to invest in the beginning.
Ally Invest has commission-free trades for eligible U.S. stocks, options and exchange-traded funds. This is typical of brokers these days — charging a commission for stock and ETF trades is relatively rare. There are a few instances in which you might pay a fee on a transaction using Ally. For stocks and ETFs priced under $2, Ally charges a $4.95 base commission plus $0.01 per share.
In addition to not charging a base commission on options trades, Ally Invest's per-contract fee is lower than some other brokers' at $0.50 per contract. Ally also offers over-the-counter trading.
As for fees, Ally Invest charges $50 for a full or partial transfer of your securities out of your account (called an ACAT transfer). Often, brokers charge a reduced fee for a partial transfer, but in general, $50 isn’t as high as the fees charged by some other brokerages.
Ally Invest's trading platforms and apps
Ally Invest’s browser-based platform is basic but effective. It offers quick trading capabilities, real-time streaming quotes and data, a customizable dashboard, and access to all of the broker's tools. Customers who frequently trade from multiple computers — at home and at work, for example — will appreciate this web-based platform, which doesn’t require any downloads. Ally also allows its customers to trade via mobile devices with Ally Mobile.
Other free tools include a profit-and-loss calculator, a probability calculator (that uses implied volatility to determine your likelihood of hitting your targets), and the Maxit Tax Manager, which identifies the tax implications of trading decisions (e.g., short- and long-term gains and losses, or wash sales) and generates on-demand 1099 forms.
Ally scores well for its extended trading hours, which run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
Ally Invest’s mobile app is part of the larger Ally Bank app and lets users access holdings, the trading platform, research, screeners, a stock watchlist, and more.
Ally Invest's investment selection
Ally Invest offers stocks, ETFs, options, bonds and nearly 5,500 no-transaction-fee mutual funds.
Ally has a solid selection of bond products, including corporate, municipal, agency, Treasurys and bond ETFs.
Though there is a strong selection of tradable securities on offer, two fairly common securities are missing from that list: futures and cryptocurrency. And unlike some competitors, Ally doesn't offer access to IPOs. Expert traders can still enjoy advanced trading in options and penny stocks, but for futures, crypto and fractional shares, they’ll have to turn elsewhere.
Other key Ally Invest features
Research and data
Ally only offers access to two third-party research providers: Morningstar and TipRanks. However, it does offer a suite of investing tools that exceed expectations for a deep-discount broker. Its options trading tools are particularly strong and include an options pricing calculator to compare current bid/ask prices to forecast theoretical values, as well as a strategy builder that identifies and executes option strategies based on criteria you choose. Ally Invest has also introduced a new ETF screener that makes it easier for users to find an ETF that meets their investing goals.
Customer support
Ally Invest has good customer support via call, chat, and email Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern, and Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Some brokers offer support 24/7, but having Saturday hours is a close second. And as a bonus, the customer support phone number is immediately visible within the app.
IRA account
Ally offers traditional, Roth, rollover, beneficiary, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs. This is a solid selection: Some brokers only offer traditional and Roth IRAs.
Banking buckets
Not only does Ally offer a high-yield savings account, but it also offers buckets to help you organize your cash. These buckets make it easy to separate your emergency fund from your vacation fund.
Good to know about Ally Invest
Execution quality
Ally does accept payment for order flow (PFOF). Regulators have proposed potential reforms around PFOF; it involves market-making firms paying brokers to route customer orders through them. Although its effects are negligible for most investors, PFOF brokers may execute orders slightly more slowly or at slightly worse prices than non-PFOF brokers.
Ally says its execution quality is approximately 99.55%, which is on the higher end for the brokers we review.
The average execution quality of all brokers we review was 97.51% as of Oct. 15, 2025. That means 97.51% of orders sold for at a price that was at or better than the National Best Bid and Offer. Executing at or above the NBBO means you may receive a price improvement or a better share price than you were originally quoted.
Low interest rate on uninvested cash
While you won't earn interest by leaving cash in your Ally brokerage account, it's pretty easy to move money into and out of Ally's higher-yield savings accounts.
Is Ally Invest safe?
All investing carries risk of loss, but Ally is covered by insurance and registered with all the appropriate governing bodies.
Is an investment at Ally FDIC insured?
Ally has FDIC insurance to protect cash deposits in checking and savings accounts for up to $250,000. Ally is also covered by SIPC insurance, which protects brokerage accounts up to $500,000. SIPC insurance doesn't apply to investment losses or price fluctuations. Ally is also regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ensure compliance with securities regulations, and by FINRA, which regulates broker-dealers.
Is Ally Invest right for you?
Ally Invest has competitive pricing, helpful trading tools and an easy-to-use trading platform. With no account minimum, it's easy for beginners to get started, while active investors will appreciate Ally's commission-free trades on eligible U.S. securities and low options contract fees. Advanced investors looking to trade futures or cryptocurrency, however, may find a better home at another broker.
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- 1.Congressional Research Service. Payment for Order Flow: The SEC Proposes Reforms. Accessed .
Methodology
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