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

E*Trade and Robinhood 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 Robinhood (2026)
Feature E*Trade Robinhood
Website https://us.etrade.com/home https://robinhood.com/
Broker Type Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? Yes, select listed stocks/ETFs (up to 3 decimals, $5 min notional; expanding) Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs)
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. Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI)
Crypto Fees 0.50% of notional value (no spread/markup); charged by zerohash (E*TRADE receives a portion). MM routing: $0 commissions (RH rebate in spread); exchange routing: 0.00-0.95% volume-tiered maker/taker; transfers $0 + network fees
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees. $0 commissions for stock/ETF options; $0.35 Gold/$0.50 non-Gold per index contract plus regulatory/exchange fees
Bond Trading Available? Yes; 50,000+ bonds/CDs from many issuers. No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF on NMS stocks, ETFs, and options). Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto)
Interface: Web trading? Yes; E*TRADE web/app and Power E*TRADE web/app/desktop. Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps)
Desktop trading? Yes, Power E*TRADE Pro (Windows/Mac download) No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable.
API Trading? Yes (Developer Platform REST API; unattended algo orders prohibited) Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API.
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing) 0
NTF Mutual Funds 6,000+ 0
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
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP) Yes
CDs Offered? Yes No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios)
Robo-Advisor Service Core Portfolios Robinhood Strategies
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Arlington, VA Menlo Park, CA
Year Founded 1982 2013
Clearing Firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Robinhood Securities, LLC
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 $0

Once you’ve chosen a broker, find high-performing, investable model portfolios at RecipeInvesting.com


Picked a Broker? Now Build Your Perfect Portfolio

Find high-performing, investable model portfolios (Tactical, Strategic, and Managed) at RecipeInvesting.com.

Get FREE Access
Recipe Investing Logo

Compare E*Trade to All Brokers