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

M1 Finance and Stash 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 Stash (2026)
Feature M1 Finance Stash
Website https://www.m1finance.com/ https://www.stash.com/
Broker Type Self-directed discount brokerage Subscription-based digital brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 commission; $3/mo platform fee if assets <$10k (waived at $10k+ or with loan) $0 trade commission; $12/month subscription plan
Fractional Shares? Yes (to 1/100,000th of a share) Yes
Percent Allocations? Yes (M1 Pies with custom target % allocations) No
Crypto Trading? Yes (Bakkt Crypto Account; BTC, ETH, LTC; US 18+) No (crypto ETFs only)
Crypto Fees Bakkt 1% (100 bps) on buys/sells (in exec. price); M1 $0 commission Not applicable
Options Trading? No No
Options Fee N/A Not applicable
Bond Trading Available? No No
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF ~$0.002/share) Yes
Interface: Web trading? Yes (web m1.com and iOS/Android apps) Yes
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? No No
Total Mutual Funds None None
NTF Mutual Funds None None
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A Not applicable
Early Redemption Fee? N/A Not applicable
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A Not applicable
Early Redemption Fee N/A Not applicable
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes; Individual/Joint brokerage accounts include M1 Margin Loan by default ($2,000 min equity). Not for IRAs. No
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs available ($500 minimum). Yes; Traditional and Roth
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; Apex FDIC-insured sweep
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) Smart Portfolio
Robo-Advisor Fees $3/mo platform fee if <$10k assets (waived at $10k+ or Personal Loan); advisory currently 0% (up to 0.20%) $12/month plan; 0.25% of managed balance quarterly (>= $1,000)
Basics: Headquarters Chicago, IL New York, NY
Year Founded 2015 2015
Clearing Firm M1 Finance LLC (self-clearing Individual/Joint); Apex Clearing (IRA/Trust/Custodial) Apex Clearing
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $100 (individual/joint taxable); $500 (IRAs)

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