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

M1 Finance and Tradestation 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 Tradestation (2026)
Feature M1 Finance Tradestation
Website https://www.m1finance.com/ https://www.tradestation.com/
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; routing/clearing fees may apply
Fractional Shares? Yes (to 1/100,000th of a share) No
Percent Allocations? Yes (M1 Pies with custom target % allocations) No
Crypto Trading? Yes (Bakkt Crypto Account; BTC, ETH, LTC; US 18+) Yes
Crypto Fees Bakkt 1% (100 bps) on buys/sells (in exec. price); M1 $0 commission Tiered maker/taker pricing based on account balance
Options Trading? No Yes
Options Fee N/A $0.80/contract standard tier; $0.40/contract multi-leg
Bond Trading Available? No Yes; Treasuries, corporate, and municipal bonds
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 Yes; TradeStation Desktop/Web/Mobile
API Trading? No Yes; TradeStation WebAPI and FIX APIs
Mutual Funds: Offered? No Yes
Total Mutual Funds None Over 2,000
NTF Mutual Funds None Not publicly stated
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A $14.95
Early Redemption Fee? N/A Varies by fund
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A Fund-specific
Early Redemption Fee N/A Fund-specific
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, SIMPLE, and Rollover
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). No
CDs Offered? No No
Robo-Advisor: Offered No (self-directed Pies/auto-invest; optional non-discretionary M1 Advisory) No
Robo-Advisor Service M1 Pies (self-directed); M1 Advisory / M1 Advisor (AI, non-discretionary) None
Robo-Advisor Fees $3/mo platform fee if <$10k assets (waived at $10k+ or Personal Loan); advisory currently 0% (up to 0.20%) Not applicable
Basics: Headquarters Chicago, IL Plantation, FL
Year Founded 2015 1982
Clearing Firm M1 Finance LLC (self-clearing Individual/Joint); Apex Clearing (IRA/Trust/Custodial) TradeStation Securities, Inc. (self-clearing)
Local Branches? No No; corporate offices only
New Account Minimum $100 (individual/joint taxable); $500 (IRAs)

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