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

Ally Invest and Merrill Edge 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 Merrill Edge (2026)
Feature Ally Invest Merrill Edge
Website https://www.ally.com/invest/ https://www.merrilledge.com/
Broker Type Discount (online self-directed brokerage) Self-directed discount/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 commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal)
Fractional Shares? No No
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 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra.
Bond Trading Available? Yes Yes
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes No; limited options-exchange payments
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? No No (MarketPro is browser-based, not a downloadable desktop app)
API Trading? No No (no public retail trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds Thousands (500+ fund families) Thousands
NTF Mutual Funds Over 5,400 Many NTF (exact count unpublished)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 (no-load); fund loads otherwise $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no Ally fee) No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) Varies by fund (prospectus); no Ally broker hold period listed 90 days (NTF funds)
Early Redemption Fee Fund-specific (often 0–2%); Ally $0 for no-load sales $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes ($2,000 minimum equity required) Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional/Roth/Rollover at Invest; SEP at Ally Bank) Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes (Individual HSA)
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Apex FDIC bank sweep; 0% interest) Yes
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs; $24.95 per transaction) Yes (brokered CDs)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Robo Portfolios Merrill Guided Investing
Robo-Advisor Fees 0% cash-enhanced (30% cash buffer) or 0.30% market-focused; ETF expenses extra 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Charlotte, NC New York, NY
Year Founded 2017 2010
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing)
Local Branches? No Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026)
New Account Minimum $0 $0 (self-directed)

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