Firstrade vs Robinhood Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Firstrade 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: Firstrade vs Robinhood (2026)
Feature Firstrade Robinhood
Website https://www.firstrade.com/ https://robinhood.com/
Broker Type Discount (self-directed online brokerage) Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online ($19.95 broker-assisted) $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? Yes (most U.S. stocks/ETFs; $5 min) Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs)
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? No Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI)
Crypto Fees N/A 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 commission and $0/contract; plus pass-through ORF (~$0.02/contract from Jul 2026) and SEC sell 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 (web only; net yield basis/markup) No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto)
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps)
Desktop trading? No No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable.
API Trading? No Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API.
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds 11,000+ 0
NTF Mutual Funds 11,000+ 0
Non-NTF Fund Fee $0 online; $19.95 broker-assisted (no-load) N/A
Early Redemption Fee? No ($19.95 if held <90 days) N/A
Redemption Hold (Days) 90 days N/A
Early Redemption Fee $19.95 N/A
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes (approval; $2,000 min assets; not IRAs/custodial/ESA) Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, Rollover) Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (FDIC sweep via Apex; 0.15%; not margin/SIMPLE IRA/ESA) Yes
CDs Offered? Yes (primary $30; secondary net yield) No
Robo-Advisor: Offered No Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios)
Robo-Advisor Service N/A Robinhood Strategies
Robo-Advisor Fees N/A 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Flushing, NY Menlo Park, CA
Year Founded 1985 2013
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Robinhood Securities, LLC
Local Branches? Yes (Flushing, NY HQ office, Mon-Fri 10am-4pm ET); no nationwide network No
New Account Minimum $0 $0

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