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

Merrill Edge and Firstrade 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 Firstrade (2026)
Feature Merrill Edge Firstrade
Website https://www.merrilledge.com/ https://www.firstrade.com/
Broker Type Self-directed discount/online brokerage Discount (self-directed online brokerage)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal) $0 online ($19.95 broker-assisted)
Fractional Shares? No Yes (most U.S. stocks/ETFs; $5 min)
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees N/A N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra. $0 commission and $0/contract; plus pass-through ORF (~$0.02/contract from Jul 2026) and SEC sell fees
Bond Trading Available? Yes Yes (web only; net yield basis/markup)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No; limited options-exchange payments Yes
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 11,000+
NTF Mutual Funds Many NTF (exact count unpublished) 11,000+
Non-NTF Fund Fee $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds $0 online; $19.95 broker-assisted (no-load)
Early Redemption Fee? No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days) No ($19.95 if held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) 90 days (NTF funds) 90 days
Early Redemption Fee $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days) $19.95
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes (approval; $2,000 min assets; not IRAs/custodial/ESA)
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP) Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, Rollover)
HSAs Offered? Yes (Individual HSA) No
Money Market Sweep? Yes Yes (FDIC sweep via Apex; 0.15%; not margin/SIMPLE IRA/ESA)
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs) Yes (primary $30; secondary net yield)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes No
Robo-Advisor Service Merrill Guided Investing N/A
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra. N/A
Basics: Headquarters New York, NY Flushing, NY
Year Founded 2010 1985
Clearing Firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing) Apex Clearing Corporation
Local Branches? Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026) Yes (Flushing, NY HQ office, Mon-Fri 10am-4pm ET); no nationwide network
New Account Minimum $0 (self-directed) $0

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