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

Ally Invest and Robinhood 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 Robinhood (2026)
Feature Ally Invest Robinhood
Website https://www.ally.com/invest/ https://robinhood.com/
Broker Type Discount (online self-directed brokerage) Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 eligible US stocks/ETFs ($2+); $4.95 + $0.01/share if <$2 $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? No Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs)
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? No Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI)
Crypto Fees N/A MM routing: $0 commissions (RH rebate in spread); exchange routing: 0.00-0.95% volume-tiered maker/taker; transfers $0 + network fees
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0 commission + $0.50 per contract $0 commissions for stock/ETF options; $0.35 Gold/$0.50 non-Gold per index contract plus regulatory/exchange fees
Bond Trading Available? Yes No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto)
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps)
Desktop trading? No No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable.
API Trading? No Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API.
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds Thousands (500+ fund families) 0
NTF Mutual Funds Over 5,400 0
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
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional/Roth/Rollover at Invest; SEP at Ally Bank) Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Apex FDIC bank sweep; 0% interest) Yes
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs; $24.95 per transaction) No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios)
Robo-Advisor Service Robo Portfolios Robinhood Strategies
Robo-Advisor Fees 0% cash-enhanced (30% cash buffer) or 0.30% market-focused; ETF expenses extra 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Charlotte, NC Menlo Park, CA
Year Founded 2017 2013
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Robinhood Securities, LLC
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 $0

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