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

Merrill Edge and Tastytrade 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 Tastytrade (2026)
Feature Merrill Edge Tastytrade
Website https://www.merrilledge.com/ https://tastytrade.com/
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
Fractional Shares? No Yes
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? No Yes
Crypto Fees N/A 0.75% BTC/ETH; 1% other crypto (open and close)
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $0 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra. $1/contract to open; $0 to close; $10 max per leg
Bond Trading Available? Yes Yes; U.S. Treasuries/T-bills
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) Yes; tastytrade Desktop
API Trading? No (no public retail trading API) Yes; tastytrade Open API
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds Thousands None
NTF Mutual Funds Many NTF (exact count unpublished) None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 Not applicable
Early Redemption Fee? No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days) Not applicable
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; Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, and Rollover
HSAs Offered? Yes (Individual HSA) No
Money Market Sweep? Yes Yes; futures/crypto account cash sweeps
CDs Offered? Yes (brokered CDs) No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes No
Robo-Advisor Service Merrill Guided Investing None
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra. Not applicable
Basics: Headquarters New York, NY Chicago, IL
Year Founded 2010 2017
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)

Once you’ve chosen a broker, find high-performing, investable model portfolios at RecipeInvesting.com


Picked a Broker? Now Build Your Perfect Portfolio

Find high-performing, investable model portfolios (Tactical, Strategic, and Managed) at RecipeInvesting.com.

Get FREE Access
Recipe Investing Logo

Compare Merrill Edge to All Brokers