Ally Invest vs M1 Finance Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Ally Invest and M1 Finance 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 M1 Finance (2026)
Feature Ally Invest M1 Finance
Website https://www.ally.com/invest/ https://www.m1finance.com/
Broker Type Discount (online self-directed brokerage) Self-directed discount brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 eligible US stocks/ETFs ($2+); $4.95 + $0.01/share if <$2 $0 commission; $3/mo platform fee if assets <$10k (waived at $10k+ or with loan)
Fractional Shares? No Yes (to 1/100,000th of a share)
Percent Allocations? No Yes (M1 Pies with custom target % allocations)
Crypto Trading? No Yes (Bakkt Crypto Account; BTC, ETH, LTC; US 18+)
Crypto Fees N/A Bakkt 1% (100 bps) on buys/sells (in exec. price); M1 $0 commission
Options Trading? Yes No
Options Fee $0 commission + $0.50 per contract N/A
Bond Trading Available? Yes No
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes Yes (receives PFOF ~$0.002/share)
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes (web m1.com and iOS/Android apps)
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds Thousands (500+ fund families) None
NTF Mutual Funds Over 5,400 None
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 (no-load); fund loads otherwise N/A
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no Ally fee) N/A
Redemption Hold (Days) Varies by fund (prospectus); no Ally broker hold period listed N/A
Early Redemption Fee Fund-specific (often 0–2%); Ally $0 for no-load sales N/A
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes ($2,000 minimum equity required) Yes; Individual/Joint brokerage accounts include M1 Margin Loan by default ($2,000 min equity). Not for IRAs.
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional/Roth/Rollover at Invest; SEP at Ally Bank) Yes; Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs available ($500 minimum).
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Apex FDIC bank sweep; 0% interest) Yes; High-Yield Cash Account has FDIC bank sweep. Invest-account cash does not auto-sweep (transfer required).
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs; $24.95 per transaction) No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes No (self-directed Pies/auto-invest; optional non-discretionary M1 Advisory)
Robo-Advisor Service Robo Portfolios M1 Pies (self-directed); M1 Advisory / M1 Advisor (AI, non-discretionary)
Robo-Advisor Fees 0% cash-enhanced (30% cash buffer) or 0.30% market-focused; ETF expenses extra $3/mo platform fee if <$10k assets (waived at $10k+ or Personal Loan); advisory currently 0% (up to 0.20%)
Basics: Headquarters Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL
Year Founded 2017 2015
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation M1 Finance LLC (self-clearing Individual/Joint); Apex Clearing (IRA/Trust/Custodial)
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 $100 (individual/joint taxable); $500 (IRAs)

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