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Fidelity combines $0 commissions, top-notch research, and an excellent mobile app, all in a simple platform. With $0 account minimums and zero-expense-ratio index and mutual funds, this is one of the most affordable brokers. This Fidelity review will dive into the pros and cons of Fidelity's brokerage platform and whether it's right for you.
Fidelity is one of the largest and one of the most well-rounded brokerages available in the U.S. today. Importantly, Fidelity offers $0 commission for online stock and ETF trades, plus a high-quality mobile app that's good for both beginners and seasoned investors.
$0 commission for online U.S. stock and ETF trades; trade fractional shares for as little as $1
$0
On Fidelity's Secure Website.
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
This stock broker is a good fit for: Investors wanting a one-stop-shop solution that allows them to cut costs for routine stock, ETF, options, and mutual fund trades.
LEARN MORE: How to Open a Fidelity Account
Like all the best stock brokers, Fidelity charges no commission for U.S. stock and ETF trades.
Fidelity's sought-after mutual funds are highly regarded for their lengthy track records, along with competitive costs. Fidelity also charges no online commission fee to buy its own highly-rated funds.
In addition to trading commissions, there are some fees commonly charged by brokers for things like outgoing account transfers, bank wires, insufficient funds, and more. Unlike some of its peers, Fidelity charges $0 for any of these.
Fidelity is one of a handful of brokerages that offer access to international markets. It allows customers to trade on 25 different markets and exchange their money in 16 different currencies, though higher commissions may apply depending on the exchange.
Being able to drop into one of Fidelity's offices to speak to a representative can offer a lot of peace of mind, especially when you have issues that can't easily be solved over the phone. Fidelity has investment branch locations throughout the U.S., so there's likely to be one within driving distance of you.
Fidelity is one of the few mainstream brokers that allows investors to buy and sell fractional shares of stock. Investors can place orders for a certain dollar amount, or for a specific fractional share quantity, all the way down to three decimal points in many cases, with a minimum of just $1 per stock or ETF. In other words, if you want to buy 0.01 shares of Amazon.com, Fidelity will let you do just that.
LEARN MORE: Best brokers for fractional shares
Fidelity's iOS and Android apps both receive high marks from users, mainly for the versatility that allows investors to manage an array of account needs on the go. Here are the current app store ratings.
While Fidelity offers $0 options commissions trades, its fee of $0.65 per contract is higher than many of the best options brokers.
Fidelity is better suited to investors who aren't actively trading on margin, especially those with relatively low balances. Its higher-than-average margin rates for most investors are one reason why.
What you pay to make a trade isn't everything, but trading costs are one of the most important reasons why investors turn to discount brokers in the first place. The table below shows how much Fidelity charges per trade or transaction, based on the type of investment.
Stocks and ETFs | Options | Mutual funds |
---|---|---|
$0 | $0 + $0.65 per contract | $0 - $49.95 |
Bear in mind that this table reflects Fidelity's base commissions. In many cases, investors pay less than these rates, on average, thanks to free trades on certain mutual funds, including Fidelity's own proprietary mutual fund products. And its low options commissions make it competitive with the best stock brokers for options.
One of Fidelity's major advantages is that it has one of the widest selections of funds, including its own line of Fidelity funds. Combined, Fidelity account holders can purchase over 3,300 mutual funds and exchange-traded funds without paying a transaction fee or commission.
Total mutual funds | More than 9,000 |
No-transaction-fee mutual funds | More than 3,300 |
Fidelity's own mutual funds (including Fidelity index funds) are available in no-transaction-fee and no-load forms. Not only that, but some of Fidelity's own index funds have no expense ratios whatsoever.
Commissions aren't the only cost of having a brokerage account. We read through Fidelity's fee list and found a few fees that are worthy of some additional discussion.
Fidelity offers a web-based trading platform in addition to a platform for active traders. The advanced platform (Fidelity Active Trader Pro®) does not have any fees or additional costs associated with it and has no eligibility requirements.
Both its trading dashboard on the web and its mobile apps (available on iOS, Android, and Windows) offer the functionality you'd expect, with live streaming quotes, charting tools, and the ability to trade stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and options right from your browser, tablet, or smartphone.
TIP
If you're interested in comparing IRA accounts, you're not alone! You can get the list of the best IRAs we've found (and compare them side-by-side) on these pages:
As long-term buy-and-hold investors, we don't demand much more from a platform other than the ability to check prices and place a trade with a few clicks. At a certain point, personal preference is ultimately the deciding factor between which platforms are "better" or "worse."
Margin balance | Interest rate |
---|---|
Less than $25,000 | 13.575% |
$25,000 to $49,999 | 13.075% |
$50,000 to $99,999 | 12.125% |
$100,000 to $249,999 | 12.075% |
$250,000 to $499,999 | 11.825% |
$500,000 to $999,999 | 9.50% |
$1 million and up | 9.25% |
Fidelity margin rates rank toward the middle, with deep discounts for investors who have large balances. Margin loans are most cost-effective above $500,000, where there is a large step down in the interest rate charged.
Admittedly, few long-term investors use margin, and even fewer use it for long periods of time, since using borrowed money to invest can be both risky and costly. That said, if margin is central to your investing strategy, Fidelity is best for investors who use hefty, six-figure amounts of margin at a time.
Discount brokers may forgo sending you a holiday card every year, but that doesn't mean they skimp on customer support. Fidelity has 24/7 phone support for brokerage accounts. Online chat service is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. ET to 10 p.m. ET. (We used its live chat feature to ask about its support hours and received a response within 30 seconds.)
Fidelity also offers a 24/7 virtual assistant. The chatbot can guide you through finding tax forms, recovering a password, or setting up a transfer, among other things.
If you'd like to speak to someone face to face, that's as easy as visiting one of Fidelity's 197 branch offices located all around the United States. One of the benefits of working with a large financial firm is that it has the scale to offer phone support around the clock and branch offices in virtually every metropolitan area.
One area where Fidelity really shines is in research. The company boasts that it offers more research than other similarly sized discount brokerage firms. Here are a few of its research capabilities:
Fidelity also offers a number of stock, fund, and ETF screeners so you can quickly search for companies with rapidly growing earnings, funds with low expense ratios with long-tenured managers, ETFs that are highly correlated to another fund you own, and more.
Every broker has some killer feature or function that makes it a better choice for a subset of investors than another. In thinking about Fidelity's value proposition, we think it would be a good choice if most or all of the statements below apply to you.
Wondering how Fidelity stacks up to the competition? Check out our reviews:
At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and account types; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and highly rated mobile apps. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.
See our full methodology here: Ratings Methodology
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We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
Fidelity disclosure
Fractional share quantities can be entered out to 3 decimal places (.001) as long as the value of the order is at least $1.00. Dollar-based trades can be entered out to 2 decimal places (e.g. $250.00)
Fidelity disclosure
Fractional share quantities can be entered out to 3 decimal places (.001) as long as the value of the order is at least $1.00. Dollar-based trades can be entered out to 2 decimal places (e.g. $250.00)
Robinhood disclosure
All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible.
Securities are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Cryptocurrency services are offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840). Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Cryptocurrency held through Robinhood Crypto is not FDIC insured or SIPC protected. For more information see the Robinhood Crypto Risk Disclosure.
Trades of stocks, ETFs and options are commission-free at Robinhood Financial LLC. Other fees may apply. Please see Robinhood Financial’s Fee Schedule to learn more.
Fractional shares are illiquid outside of Robinhood and are not transferable. Not all securities available through Robinhood are eligible for fractional share orders. For a complete explanation of conditions, restrictions and limitations associated with fractional shares, see the Fractional Shares section of our Customer Agreement.
Robinhood Gold is an account offering premium services available for a $5 monthly fee. Not all investors will be eligible to trade on Margin. Margin investing involves the risk of greater investment losses. Additional interest charges may apply depending on the amount of margin used. Bigger Instant Deposits are only available if your Instant Deposits status is in good standing.