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

M1 Finance and Fidelity 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 Fidelity (2026)
Feature M1 Finance Fidelity
Website https://www.m1finance.com/ https://www.fidelity.com/
Broker Type Self-directed discount brokerage Full-service
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 commission; $3/mo platform fee if assets <$10k (waived at $10k+ or with loan) $0 online US stocks/ETFs
Fractional Shares? Yes (to 1/100,000th of a share) Yes (7,000+ US stocks/ETFs, $1 min)
Percent Allocations? Yes (M1 Pies with custom target % allocations) Yes (Fidelity Basket Portfolios)
Crypto Trading? Yes (Bakkt Crypto Account; BTC, ETH, LTC; US 18+) Yes, via Fidelity Crypto® (BTC, ETH, SOL, LTC, FIDD) for US retail; also crypto ETPs in brokerage.
Crypto Fees Bakkt 1% (100 bps) on buys/sells (in exec. price); M1 $0 commission 1% of executed market value on buys/sells (Fidelity Crypto®/IRAs); none on FIDD vs USD.
Options Trading? No Yes
Options Fee N/A $0 commission + $0.65/contract online; $0 for buy-to-close ≤$0.65. Extra fees for some indexes/pros.
Bond Trading Available? No Yes; $0 online for new issues/US Treasuries; $1 per bond secondary (caps apply).
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF ~$0.002/share) Yes (receives PFOF on equities from wholesalers and on options).
Interface: Web trading? Yes (web m1.com and iOS/Android apps) Yes (Fidelity.com web; Fidelity Investments iOS/Android app; Fidelity Trader+).
Desktop trading? No Yes (Fidelity Trader+ Desktop, PC/Mac; Active Trader Pro Classic also available)
API Trading? No No (no official public retail trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? No Yes
Total Mutual Funds None Over 10,000
NTF Mutual Funds None Thousands (all Fidelity funds plus many NTF third-party)
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A $49.95 per purchase (some up to $100); $0 redemption
Early Redemption Fee? N/A No ($49.95 Fidelity short-term fee on most NTF funds held <60 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A 60 days (NTF FundsNetwork non-Fidelity funds)
Early Redemption Fee N/A $49.95 online (NTF funds held <60 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes; Individual/Joint brokerage accounts include M1 Margin Loan by default ($2,000 min equity). Not for IRAs. Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs available ($500 minimum). Yes (traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes
Money Market Sweep? Yes; High-Yield Cash Account has FDIC bank sweep. Invest-account cash does not auto-sweep (transfer required). Yes
CDs Offered? No Yes (brokered CDs)
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) Fidelity Go
Robo-Advisor Fees $3/mo platform fee if <$10k assets (waived at $10k+ or Personal Loan); advisory currently 0% (up to 0.20%) $0 under $25,000; 0.35%/yr for $25,000+
Basics: Headquarters Chicago, IL Boston, MA
Year Founded 2015 1946
Clearing Firm M1 Finance LLC (self-clearing Individual/Joint); Apex Clearing (IRA/Trust/Custodial) National Financial Services LLC
Local Branches? No Yes, ~215 U.S. Investor Centers
New Account Minimum $100 (individual/joint taxable); $500 (IRAs) $0

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