Ally Invest vs Firstrade Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Ally Invest and Firstrade are two leading discount brokerages offering commission-free stock and ETF trading. Use this head-to-head comparison table to evaluate fees, features, trading tools, and account options to help you decide which broker is right for you in 2026.

Head-to-Head Comparison: Ally Invest vs Firstrade (2026)
Feature Ally Invest Firstrade
Website https://www.ally.com/invest/ https://www.firstrade.com/
Broker Type Discount (online self-directed brokerage) Discount (self-directed online brokerage)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 eligible US stocks/ETFs ($2+); $4.95 + $0.01/share if <$2 $0 online ($19.95 broker-assisted)
Fractional Shares? No Yes (most U.S. stocks/ETFs; $5 min)
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees N/A N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0 commission + $0.50 per contract $0 commission and $0/contract; plus pass-through ORF (~$0.02/contract from Jul 2026) and SEC sell fees
Bond Trading Available? Yes Yes (web only; net yield basis/markup)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes Yes
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds Thousands (500+ fund families) 11,000+
NTF Mutual Funds Over 5,400 11,000+
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 (no-load); fund loads otherwise $0 online; $19.95 broker-assisted (no-load)
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no Ally fee) No ($19.95 if held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) Varies by fund (prospectus); no Ally broker hold period listed 90 days
Early Redemption Fee Fund-specific (often 0–2%); Ally $0 for no-load sales $19.95
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes ($2,000 minimum equity required) Yes (approval; $2,000 min assets; not IRAs/custodial/ESA)
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional/Roth/Rollover at Invest; SEP at Ally Bank) Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, Rollover)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Apex FDIC bank sweep; 0% interest) Yes (FDIC sweep via Apex; 0.15%; not margin/SIMPLE IRA/ESA)
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs; $24.95 per transaction) Yes (primary $30; secondary net yield)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes No
Robo-Advisor Service Robo Portfolios N/A
Robo-Advisor Fees 0% cash-enhanced (30% cash buffer) or 0.30% market-focused; ETF expenses extra N/A
Basics: Headquarters Charlotte, NC Flushing, NY
Year Founded 2017 1985
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Apex Clearing Corporation
Local Branches? No Yes (Flushing, NY HQ office, Mon-Fri 10am-4pm ET); no nationwide network
New Account Minimum $0 $0

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