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

Axos Invest and Vanguard 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 Vanguard (2026)
Feature Axos Invest Vanguard
Website https://www.axos.com/invest https://investor.vanguard.com/
Broker Type Discount Full-Service
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 per trade (other fees may apply) $0 online
Fractional Shares? No Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading
Percent Allocations? No (self-directed) Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees N/A Not applicable
Options Trading? Yes (subject to approval) Yes
Options Fee $1.00 per contract ($0.80 with Axos Elite, $10/mo) $1/contract
Bond Trading Available? No Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF rebates) No
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds 10,000+ Over 3,000
NTF Mutual Funds 10,000+ (no-load) Over 1,800
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 (no-load) $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no broker short-term fee listed) No
Redemption Hold (Days) None listed by broker (fund-specific possible) 60 days
Early Redemption Fee $0 (no broker fee listed) $50
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, Rollover, and Custodial
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Axos Clearing Insured Deposit Program) Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep
CDs Offered? No Yes
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Axos Managed Portfolios Vanguard Digital Advisor
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+) 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix
Basics: Headquarters Las Vegas, NV Valley Forge, PA
Year Founded 2009 (as WiseBanyan); rebranded 2019 1975
Clearing Firm Axos Clearing LLC Vanguard Brokerage Services
Local Branches? No No; phone/online service
New Account Minimum $0 (Self-Directed); $50 IRA; $500 Managed Portfolios

Once you’ve chosen a broker, find high-performing, investable model portfolios at RecipeInvesting.com


Picked a Broker? Now Build Your Perfect Portfolio

Find high-performing, investable model portfolios (Tactical, Strategic, and Managed) at RecipeInvesting.com.

Recipe Investing Logo

Compare Axos Invest to All Brokers