E*Trade vs M1 Finance Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

E*Trade and M1 Finance 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 M1 Finance (2026)
Feature E*Trade M1 Finance
Website https://us.etrade.com/home https://www.m1finance.com/
Broker Type Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) Self-directed discount brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) $0 commission; $3/mo platform fee if assets <$10k (waived at $10k+ or with loan)
Fractional Shares? Yes, select listed stocks/ETFs (up to 3 decimals, $5 min notional; expanding) Yes (to 1/100,000th of a share)
Percent Allocations? No (Prebuilt templates with suggested allocations; Core Portfolios managed) Yes (M1 Pies with custom target % allocations)
Crypto Trading? Yes; BTC, ETH, SOL via linked zerohash account for US individual brokerage clients. Yes (Bakkt Crypto Account; BTC, ETH, LTC; US 18+)
Crypto Fees 0.50% of notional value (no spread/markup); charged by zerohash (E*TRADE receives a portion). Bakkt 1% (100 bps) on buys/sells (in exec. price); M1 $0 commission
Options Trading? Yes No
Options Fee $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees. N/A
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 ~$0.002/share)
Interface: Web trading? Yes; E*TRADE web/app and Power E*TRADE web/app/desktop. Yes (web m1.com and iOS/Android apps)
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 No
Total Mutual Funds 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing) None
NTF Mutual Funds 6,000+ None
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus N/A
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply) N/A
Redemption Hold (Days) None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply) N/A
Early Redemption Fee $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply N/A
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes; Individual/Joint brokerage accounts include M1 Margin Loan by default ($2,000 min equity). Not for IRAs.
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) Yes; Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs available ($500 minimum).
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP) Yes; High-Yield Cash Account has FDIC bank sweep. Invest-account cash does not auto-sweep (transfer required).
CDs Offered? Yes No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes No (self-directed Pies/auto-invest; optional non-discretionary M1 Advisory)
Robo-Advisor Service Core Portfolios M1 Pies (self-directed); M1 Advisory / M1 Advisor (AI, non-discretionary)
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) $3/mo platform fee if <$10k assets (waived at $10k+ or Personal Loan); advisory currently 0% (up to 0.20%)
Basics: Headquarters Arlington, VA Chicago, IL
Year Founded 1982 2015
Clearing Firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC M1 Finance LLC (self-clearing Individual/Joint); Apex Clearing (IRA/Trust/Custodial)
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 $100 (individual/joint taxable); $500 (IRAs)

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