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

Merrill Edge and SogoTrade 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 SogoTrade (2026)
Feature Merrill Edge SogoTrade
Website https://www.merrilledge.com/ https://www.sogotrade.com/
Broker Type Self-directed discount/online brokerage Discount (online self-directed)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal) $0 qualifying limit (100+ sh or ≥$2k principal, ≥$1/sh); $2.88 market/odd-lot/OTC
Fractional Shares? No No
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? No Yes, via Bakkt (individual non-retirement accounts; ~33 coins; all 50 US states, NY USDC restriction).
Crypto Fees N/A Greater of $1 or 1% of trade value (Bakkt); other account fees may apply.
Options Trading? Yes Yes.
Options Fee $0 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra. $0 + $0.50 per contract online; $25 + $0.50 broker-assisted; plus ORF/OCC/regulatory fees.
Bond Trading Available? Yes Yes, broker-assisted only ($30 + $1 per bond, $250 max) for Treasuries, corporates, CDs.
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No; limited options-exchange payments Yes
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes (SogoTrade Pro web platform and mobile app).
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, broker-assisted only
Total Mutual Funds Thousands Not verified
NTF Mutual Funds Many NTF (exact count unpublished) None
Non-NTF Fund Fee $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds $25 broker-assisted
Early Redemption Fee? No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days) Not verified
Redemption Hold (Days) 90 days (NTF funds) not applicable
Early Redemption Fee $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days) not applicable
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP) Yes
HSAs Offered? Yes (Individual HSA) No
Money Market Sweep? Yes No
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs) No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Merrill Guided Investing Power 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. 0.75%
Basics: Headquarters New York, NY New York, NY
Year Founded 2010 1986
Clearing Firm Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing) Apex Clearing
Local Branches? Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026) No
New Account Minimum $0 (self-directed) unavailable

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