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

E*Trade and Fidelity 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 Fidelity (2026)
Feature E*Trade Fidelity
Website https://us.etrade.com/home https://www.fidelity.com/
Broker Type Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) Full-service
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) $0 online US stocks/ETFs
Fractional Shares? Yes, select listed stocks/ETFs (up to 3 decimals, $5 min notional; expanding) Yes (7,000+ US stocks/ETFs, $1 min)
Percent Allocations? No (Prebuilt templates with suggested allocations; Core Portfolios managed) Yes (Fidelity Basket Portfolios)
Crypto Trading? Yes; BTC, ETH, SOL via linked zerohash account for US individual brokerage clients. Yes, via Fidelity Crypto® (BTC, ETH, SOL, LTC, FIDD) for US retail; also crypto ETPs in brokerage.
Crypto Fees 0.50% of notional value (no spread/markup); charged by zerohash (E*TRADE receives a portion). 1% of executed market value on buys/sells (Fidelity Crypto®/IRAs); none on FIDD vs USD.
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees. $0 commission + $0.65/contract online; $0 for buy-to-close ≤$0.65. Extra fees for some indexes/pros.
Bond Trading Available? Yes; 50,000+ bonds/CDs from many issuers. Yes; $0 online for new issues/US Treasuries; $1 per bond secondary (caps apply).
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF on NMS stocks, ETFs, and options). Yes (receives PFOF on equities from wholesalers and on options).
Interface: Web trading? Yes; E*TRADE web/app and Power E*TRADE web/app/desktop. Yes (Fidelity.com web; Fidelity Investments iOS/Android app; Fidelity Trader+).
Desktop trading? Yes, Power E*TRADE Pro (Windows/Mac download) Yes (Fidelity Trader+ Desktop, PC/Mac; Active Trader Pro Classic also available)
API Trading? Yes (Developer Platform REST API; unattended algo orders prohibited) No (no official public retail trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing) Over 10,000
NTF Mutual Funds 6,000+ Thousands (all Fidelity funds plus many NTF third-party)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus $49.95 per purchase (some up to $100); $0 redemption
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply) No ($49.95 Fidelity short-term fee on most NTF funds held <60 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply) 60 days (NTF FundsNetwork non-Fidelity funds)
Early Redemption Fee $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply $49.95 online (NTF funds held <60 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) Yes (traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP) Yes
CDs Offered? Yes Yes (brokered CDs)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Core Portfolios Fidelity Go
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) $0 under $25,000; 0.35%/yr for $25,000+
Basics: Headquarters Arlington, VA Boston, MA
Year Founded 1982 1946
Clearing Firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC National Financial Services LLC
Local Branches? No Yes, ~215 U.S. Investor Centers
New Account Minimum $0 $0

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