M1 Finance vs Axos Invest Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

M1 Finance and Axos Invest 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: M1 Finance vs Axos Invest (2026)
Feature M1 Finance Axos Invest
Website https://www.m1finance.com/ https://www.axos.com/invest
Broker Type Self-directed discount brokerage Discount
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 commission; $3/mo platform fee if assets <$10k (waived at $10k+ or with loan) $0 per trade (other fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? Yes (to 1/100,000th of a share) No
Percent Allocations? Yes (M1 Pies with custom target % allocations) No (self-directed)
Crypto Trading? Yes (Bakkt Crypto Account; BTC, ETH, LTC; US 18+) No
Crypto Fees Bakkt 1% (100 bps) on buys/sells (in exec. price); M1 $0 commission N/A
Options Trading? No Yes (subject to approval)
Options Fee N/A $1.00 per contract ($0.80 with Axos Elite, $10/mo)
Bond Trading Available? No No
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF ~$0.002/share) Yes (receives PFOF rebates)
Interface: Web trading? Yes (web m1.com and iOS/Android apps) Yes
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? No Yes
Total Mutual Funds None 10,000+
NTF Mutual Funds None 10,000+ (no-load)
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A $0 (no-load)
Early Redemption Fee? N/A Yes (no broker short-term fee listed)
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A None listed by broker (fund-specific possible)
Early Redemption Fee N/A $0 (no broker fee listed)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes; Individual/Joint brokerage accounts include M1 Margin Loan by default ($2,000 min equity). Not for IRAs. Yes (self-directed; approval required, $2,000 min equity)
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs available ($500 minimum). Yes (Traditional, Roth, Rollover; SEP not listed)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes; High-Yield Cash Account has FDIC bank sweep. Invest-account cash does not auto-sweep (transfer required). Yes (Axos Clearing Insured Deposit Program)
CDs Offered? No No
Robo-Advisor: Offered No (self-directed Pies/auto-invest; optional non-discretionary M1 Advisory) Yes
Robo-Advisor Service M1 Pies (self-directed); M1 Advisory / M1 Advisor (AI, non-discretionary) Axos Managed Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees $3/mo platform fee if <$10k assets (waived at $10k+ or Personal Loan); advisory currently 0% (up to 0.20%) Model fee 0.20–0.59% AUM (varies by model/AUM); $40 min annual if model fee <$10/qtr; +0.20% optional TLH ($25k+)
Basics: Headquarters Chicago, IL Las Vegas, NV
Year Founded 2015 2009 (as WiseBanyan); rebranded 2019
Clearing Firm M1 Finance LLC (self-clearing Individual/Joint); Apex Clearing (IRA/Trust/Custodial) Axos Clearing LLC
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $100 (individual/joint taxable); $500 (IRAs) $0 (Self-Directed); $50 IRA; $500 Managed Portfolios

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