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

E*Trade and Merrill Edge 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 Merrill Edge (2026)
Feature E*Trade Merrill Edge
Website https://us.etrade.com/home https://www.merrilledge.com/
Broker Type Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) Self-directed discount/online brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal)
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 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra.
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). No; limited options-exchange payments
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 (MarketPro is browser-based, not a downloadable desktop app)
API Trading? Yes (Developer Platform REST API; unattended algo orders prohibited) No (no public retail trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing) Thousands
NTF Mutual Funds 6,000+ Many NTF (exact count unpublished)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply) No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply) 90 days (NTF funds)
Early Redemption Fee $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes (Individual HSA)
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 Merrill Guided Investing
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Arlington, VA New York, NY
Year Founded 1982 2010
Clearing Firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing)
Local Branches? No Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026)
New Account Minimum $0 $0 (self-directed)

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