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

Axos 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: Axos Invest vs Merrill Edge (2026)
Feature Axos Invest Merrill Edge
Website https://www.axos.com/invest https://www.merrilledge.com/
Broker Type Discount Self-directed discount/online brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 per trade (other fees may apply) $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal)
Fractional Shares? No No
Percent Allocations? No (self-directed) No
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees N/A N/A
Options Trading? Yes (subject to approval) Yes
Options Fee $1.00 per contract ($0.80 with Axos Elite, $10/mo) $0 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra.
Bond Trading Available? No Yes
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF rebates) 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 10,000+ Thousands
NTF Mutual Funds 10,000+ (no-load) Many NTF (exact count unpublished)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 (no-load) $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no broker short-term fee listed) No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) None listed by broker (fund-specific possible) 90 days (NTF funds)
Early Redemption Fee $0 (no broker fee listed) $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes (self-directed; approval required, $2,000 min equity) Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, Rollover; SEP not listed) Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes (Individual HSA)
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Axos Clearing Insured Deposit Program) Yes
CDs Offered? No Yes (brokered CDs)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Axos Managed Portfolios Merrill Guided Investing
Robo-Advisor Fees Model fee 0.20–0.59% AUM (varies by model/AUM); $40 min annual if model fee <$10/qtr; +0.20% optional TLH ($25k+) 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Las Vegas, NV New York, NY
Year Founded 2009 (as WiseBanyan); rebranded 2019 2010
Clearing Firm Axos Clearing LLC 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 (Self-Directed); $50 IRA; $500 Managed Portfolios $0 (self-directed)

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