Merrill Edge vs Axos Invest Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Merrill Edge 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: Merrill Edge vs Axos Invest (2026)
Feature Merrill Edge Axos Invest
Website https://www.merrilledge.com/ https://www.axos.com/invest
Broker Type Self-directed discount/online brokerage Discount
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal) $0 per trade (other fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? No No
Percent Allocations? No No (self-directed)
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees N/A N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes (subject to approval)
Options Fee $0 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra. $1.00 per contract ($0.80 with Axos Elite, $10/mo)
Bond Trading Available? Yes No
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No; limited options-exchange payments Yes (receives PFOF rebates)
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? No (MarketPro is browser-based, not a downloadable desktop app) No
API Trading? No (no public retail trading API) No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds Thousands 10,000+
NTF Mutual Funds Many NTF (exact count unpublished) 10,000+ (no-load)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds $0 (no-load)
Early Redemption Fee? No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days) Yes (no broker short-term fee listed)
Redemption Hold (Days) 90 days (NTF funds) None listed by broker (fund-specific possible)
Early Redemption Fee $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days) $0 (no broker fee listed)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes (self-directed; approval required, $2,000 min equity)
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP) Yes (Traditional, Roth, Rollover; SEP not listed)
HSAs Offered? Yes (Individual HSA) No
Money Market Sweep? Yes Yes (Axos Clearing Insured Deposit Program)
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs) No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Merrill Guided Investing Axos Managed Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra. 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 New York, NY Las Vegas, NV
Year Founded 2010 2009 (as WiseBanyan); rebranded 2019
Clearing Firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing) Axos Clearing LLC
Local Branches? Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026) No
New Account Minimum $0 (self-directed) $0 (Self-Directed); $50 IRA; $500 Managed Portfolios

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