E*Trade vs Ally Invest Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

E*Trade and Ally Invest 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: E*Trade vs Ally Invest (2026)
Feature E*Trade Ally Invest
Website https://us.etrade.com/home https://www.ally.com/invest/
Broker Type Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) Discount (online self-directed brokerage)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) $0 eligible US stocks/ETFs ($2+); $4.95 + $0.01/share if <$2
Fractional Shares? Yes, select listed stocks/ETFs (up to 3 decimals, $5 min notional; expanding) No
Percent Allocations? No (Prebuilt templates with suggested allocations; Core Portfolios managed) No
Crypto Trading? Yes; BTC, ETH, SOL via linked zerohash account for US individual brokerage clients. No
Crypto Fees 0.50% of notional value (no spread/markup); charged by zerohash (E*TRADE receives a portion). N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees. $0 commission + $0.50 per contract
Bond Trading Available? Yes; 50,000+ bonds/CDs from many issuers. Yes
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF on NMS stocks, ETFs, and options). Yes
Interface: Web trading? Yes; E*TRADE web/app and Power E*TRADE web/app/desktop. Yes
Desktop trading? Yes, Power E*TRADE Pro (Windows/Mac download) No
API Trading? Yes (Developer Platform REST API; unattended algo orders prohibited) No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing) Thousands (500+ fund families)
NTF Mutual Funds 6,000+ Over 5,400
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus $0 (no-load); fund loads otherwise
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply) Yes (no Ally fee)
Redemption Hold (Days) None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply) Varies by fund (prospectus); no Ally broker hold period listed
Early Redemption Fee $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply Fund-specific (often 0–2%); Ally $0 for no-load sales
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes ($2,000 minimum equity required)
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) Yes (Traditional/Roth/Rollover at Invest; SEP at Ally Bank)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP) Yes (Apex FDIC bank sweep; 0% interest)
CDs Offered? Yes Yes (brokered CDs; $24.95 per transaction)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Core Portfolios Robo Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) 0% cash-enhanced (30% cash buffer) or 0.30% market-focused; ETF expenses extra
Basics: Headquarters Arlington, VA Charlotte, NC
Year Founded 1982 2017
Clearing Firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Apex Clearing Corporation
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 $0

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