• Comparison
• E*TRADE vs Fidelity

E*TRADE offers commission-free trading and investing, superb order execution speed, and excellent price improvement technology. Power E*TRADE is a cutting-edge trading platform for active investors and traders. It includes technical pattern recognition, an earnings move analyzer, and risk/reward probabilities. E*TRADE ensures equity investors, traders, and retirement planners manage portfolios within a superb infrastructure.

Fidelity provides clients excellent trading technology, extensive asset selection, and commission-free equity and ETF trading. Its Active Trader Pro platform includes tools like Trade Armor, allowing clients to visualize trade and risk management strategies, and the Daily Dashboard, which displays data relevant to open positions. Fidelity also offers top-notch research, including Social Sentiment Score, to help navigate social media trends and independent research reports.

We have conducted an in-depth review of E*TRADE and Fidelity to determine which presents the better overall choice and which types of traders will benefit the most at each broker.

• Features and Platforms
• Available Markets
• Typical Spreads and Fees
• Security and Trust
• Fidelity vs E-TRADE - Verdict

Headquarters	United States	United States
Regulators	NFA	FINMA, SEC
Tier 1 Regulator(s)?
Owned by Public Company?
Year Established	1982	1946
Execution Type(s)	Market Maker	Market Maker
Minimum Deposit	$0	$1
Negative Balance Protection
Trading Platform(s)	Proprietary platform, Web-based	Proprietary platform, ATpro platforms
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost WTI Crude Oil	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost Gold	N/A	Not applicable
Retail Loss Rate	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Minimum Raw Spreads	Not applicable	Not applicable
Minimum Standard Spreads	Undisclosed	Not applicable
Minimum Commission for Forex	$1.50 per futures contract	Not applicable
Islamic Account
Signals
US Persons Accepted?
Managed Accounts
	Get Started	Get Started

Features & Platforms

MT4
MT5
MT4/MT5 Add-Ons		N/A
cTrader
Proprietary Platform
Automated Trading		N/A
Social/Copy Trading		N/A
DOM?
Guaranteed Stop Loss		N/A
Scalping		N/A
Hedging		N/A
One-Click Trading
OCO Orders		N/A
Interest on Margin		N/A
	Get Started	Get Started

Noteworthy:

The acquisition by Morgan Stanley has added banking services and elevated E*TRADE to a prime broker for US clients. Fidelity ranks among the most dominant global asset managers with $4.3+ trillion in assets under management.

Available Markets

Currency Pairs
Cryptocurrencies
Commodities
Crude Oil
Gold
Metals
Equity Indices
Stocks (non-CFDs)
Bonds
ETFs
Options
Futures
Synthetics
	Get Started	Get Started

E*TRADE offers stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, bonds, futures, and managed portfolios, covering many asset classes via futures contracts. Fidelity is primarily an equity, ETF, option, and mutual fund broker with additional access to IPOs and secondary offerings. Both brokers offer fractional investments and have robo-advisories.

Typical Spreads & Fees

Average Trading Cost EUR/USD	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost WTI Crude Oil	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost Gold	N/A	Not applicable
Average Trading Cost Bitcoin	N/A	1% maximum spread
Minimum Raw Spreads	Not applicable	Not applicable
Minimum Standard Spreads	Undisclosed	Not applicable
Minimum Commission for Forex	$1.50 per futures contract	Not applicable
Deposit Fee
Withdrawal Fee
Inactivity Fee		no
	Get Started	Get Started

Both brokers offer commission-free equity and ETF trading and have a choice of no-fee mutual funds. Option contracts cost $0.65 per contract, following the industry standard, and E*TRADE charges a $1.50 contract fee for futures contracts. Identical regulatory fees apply at E*TRADE and Fidelity. Bonds at both brokers incur a $1.00 per bond commission.

Account Types

E*TRADE lists 18 account types versus ten at Fidelity. Both brokers feature retirement accounts, dedicated youth accounts for minors, where Fidelity offers a debit card, and margin accounts for leveraged trading. Demo accounts are available at both brokers, but neither provides a direct sign-up. There are no minimum deposit requirements. Yet, select services at E*TRADE and Fidelity have minimum participation requirements, like robo-advisories and automatic investment plans.

Minimum Deposit

There is no minimum deposit requirement at E*TRADE. The minimum deposit amount at Fidelity is $1 for non-retirement accounts and $10 for retirement accounts, while the daily deposit maximum is $250,000. Both brokers rely heavily on bank-related deposit methods, but Fidelity offers e-wallets like PayPal and Venmo. The deposit times are faster at Fidelity versus E*TRADE, as it has e-wallets and a more trade-friendly deposit environment.

Minimum Withdrawal

Fidelity is notably more transparent about its withdrawal process than E*TRADE. Both rely heavily on bank-related methods, and E*TRADE prefers clients to use banking services provided by its corporate owner, Morgan Stanley. Fidelity notes withdrawal processing times are one to three business days via bank transfer and four to six business days via check. Among bank-related options, ACH transfers, which are free, present the cheapest, fastest method, but the lack of modern payment processors is unfortunate.

Security & Trust

Country of the Regulator	United States	United States
Name of the Regulator	NFA	FINMA, SEC
Regulatory License Number	29106, 8-44112	8-23292, 7784
Regulatory Tier	1	1
	Get Started	Get Started

E*TRADE

Fidelity

Broker versus Broker Verdict

E*TRADE

Fidelity

E*TRADE offers active traders an edge through its superior trading platform and excellent price improvement technology. Its acquisition by Morgan Stanley added banking services and high-quality research. Fidelity trumps E*TRADE with its broader asset selection, including access to 25 countries and 16 currencies. Its trading platform is excellent, and the available research ranks among the best industry-wide. Fidelity is the leading US stockbroker for retirement planning and wealth management. Beginners get an outstanding educational section and a user-friendly mobile app.

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• Fidelity vs eToro

FAQs

Is Fidelity USA only?

Fidelity offers brokerage services in the US, with a unit dedicated to Canadian clients. It also has select services for international firms.

Is Fidelity a trusted broker?

Yes, Fidelity has 75+ years of experience, has become one of the largest global asset managers, and ranks among the most trusted US financial institutions.

Can I trust E*TRADE?

Yes, traders can trust E*TRADE, owned by Morgan Stanley, a publicly traded US financial institution.

What is the downside to Fidelity?

Fidelity does not offer direct Forex trading and has expensive margin rates for leveraged traders.

Are Fidelity and E*TRADE the same?

No, both are brokers with overlapping products and services but are not the same company.

What is better than E*TRADE?

While other US brokers have better niche products and services, E*TRADE ranks among the best overall choices. It offers commission-free trading and investment, a cutting-edge trading platform, top-notch price improvement technology and excellent order execution speed.

Is Fidelity better than E*TRADE?

It depends on what clients seek, as both brokers offer unique advantages to their core markets. E*TRADE has a better trading platform and exceptional price improvement technology. It also has excellent banking services resulting from its acquisition by Morgan Stanley. However, Fidelity trumps E*TRADE in certain aspects, with its wider choice of assets, intuitive mobile app and industry-leading research.