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

E*Trade and Axos 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 Axos Invest (2026)
Feature E*Trade Axos Invest
Website https://us.etrade.com/home https://www.axos.com/invest
Broker Type Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) Discount
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) $0 per trade (other fees may apply)
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 (self-directed)
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 (subject to approval)
Options Fee $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees. $1.00 per contract ($0.80 with Axos Elite, $10/mo)
Bond Trading Available? Yes; 50,000+ bonds/CDs from many issuers. No
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF on NMS stocks, ETFs, and options). Yes (receives PFOF rebates)
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) 10,000+
NTF Mutual Funds 6,000+ 10,000+ (no-load)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus $0 (no-load)
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply) Yes (no broker short-term fee listed)
Redemption Hold (Days) None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply) None listed by broker (fund-specific possible)
Early Redemption Fee $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply $0 (no broker fee listed)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes (self-directed; approval required, $2,000 min equity)
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) Yes (Traditional, Roth, Rollover; SEP not listed)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP) Yes (Axos Clearing Insured Deposit Program)
CDs Offered? Yes No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Core Portfolios Axos Managed Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) Model fee 0.20–0.59% AUM (varies by model/AUM); $40 min annual if model fee <$10/qtr; +0.20% optional TLH ($25k+)
Basics: Headquarters Arlington, VA Las Vegas, NV
Year Founded 1982 2009 (as WiseBanyan); rebranded 2019
Clearing Firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Axos Clearing LLC
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 $0 (Self-Directed); $50 IRA; $500 Managed Portfolios

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