Robinhood vs E*Trade Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)
Robinhood and E*Trade 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.
| Feature | Robinhood | E*Trade |
|---|---|---|
| Website | https://robinhood.com/ | https://us.etrade.com/home |
| Broker Type | Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend) | Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available) |
| Trading: Stock & ETF? | Yes | Yes |
| ETF & Stock commission | $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply) | $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply) |
| Fractional Shares? | Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs) | Yes, select listed stocks/ETFs (up to 3 decimals, $5 min notional; expanding) |
| Percent Allocations? | No | No (Prebuilt templates with suggested allocations; Core Portfolios managed) |
| Crypto Trading? | Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI) | Yes; BTC, ETH, SOL via linked zerohash account for US individual brokerage clients. |
| Crypto Fees | MM routing: $0 commissions (RH rebate in spread); exchange routing: 0.00-0.95% volume-tiered maker/taker; transfers $0 + network fees | 0.50% of notional value (no spread/markup); charged by zerohash (E*TRADE receives a portion). |
| Options Trading? | Yes | Yes |
| Options Fee | $0 commissions for stock/ETF options; $0.35 Gold/$0.50 non-Gold per index contract plus regulatory/exchange fees | $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees. |
| Bond Trading Available? | No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available) | Yes; 50,000+ bonds/CDs from many issuers. |
| Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? | Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto) | Yes (receives PFOF on NMS stocks, ETFs, and options). |
| Interface: Web trading? | Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps) | Yes; E*TRADE web/app and Power E*TRADE web/app/desktop. |
| Desktop trading? | No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable. | Yes, Power E*TRADE Pro (Windows/Mac download) |
| API Trading? | Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API. | Yes (Developer Platform REST API; unattended algo orders prohibited) |
| Mutual Funds: Offered? | No | Yes |
| Total Mutual Funds | 0 | 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing) |
| NTF Mutual Funds | 0 | 6,000+ |
| Non-NTF Fund Fee | N/A | $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus |
| Early Redemption Fee? | N/A | Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply) |
| Redemption Hold (Days) | N/A | None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply) |
| Early Redemption Fee | N/A | $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply |
| Accounts: Margin Accounts? | Yes | Yes |
| IRAs Offered? | Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP) | Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others) |
| HSAs Offered? | No | No |
| Money Market Sweep? | Yes | Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP) |
| CDs Offered? | No | Yes |
| Robo-Advisor: Offered | Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios) | Yes |
| Robo-Advisor Service | Robinhood Strategies | Core Portfolios |
| Robo-Advisor Fees | 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra. | 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.) |
| Basics: Headquarters | Menlo Park, CA | Arlington, VA |
| Year Founded | 2013 | 1982 |
| Clearing Firm | Robinhood Securities, LLC | Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC |
| Local Branches? | No | No |
| New Account Minimum | $0 | $0 |
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.
Compare Robinhood to All Brokers
- Compare Robinhood to Ally Invest
- Compare Robinhood to Alpaca
- Compare Robinhood to Axos Invest
- Compare Robinhood to Charles Schwab
- Compare Robinhood to E*Trade
- Compare Robinhood to Fidelity
- Compare Robinhood to Firstrade
- Compare Robinhood to Interactive Brokers
- Compare Robinhood to M1 Finance
- Compare Robinhood to Merrill Edge
- Compare Robinhood to Public.com
- Compare Robinhood to SoFi Invest
- Compare Robinhood to SogoTrade
- Compare Robinhood to Stash
- Compare Robinhood to Tastytrade
- Compare Robinhood to Tradestation
- Compare Robinhood to Tradier
- Compare Robinhood to Vanguard
- Compare Robinhood to WeBull
- Compare Robinhood to ZacksTrade
