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

Robinhood and Merrill Edge 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: Robinhood vs Merrill Edge (2026)
Feature Robinhood Merrill Edge
Website https://robinhood.com/ https://www.merrilledge.com/
Broker Type Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend) Self-directed discount/online brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply) $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal)
Fractional Shares? Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs) No
Percent Allocations? No No
Crypto Trading? Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI) No
Crypto Fees MM routing: $0 commissions (RH rebate in spread); exchange routing: 0.00-0.95% volume-tiered maker/taker; transfers $0 + network fees N/A
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 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra.
Bond Trading Available? No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available) Yes
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto) No; limited options-exchange payments
Interface: Web trading? Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps) Yes
Desktop trading? No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable. No (MarketPro is browser-based, not a downloadable desktop app)
API Trading? Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API. No (no public retail trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? No Yes
Total Mutual Funds 0 Thousands
NTF Mutual Funds 0 Many NTF (exact count unpublished)
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds
Early Redemption Fee? N/A No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A 90 days (NTF funds)
Early Redemption Fee N/A $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP) Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes (Individual HSA)
Money Market Sweep? Yes Yes
CDs Offered? No Yes (brokered CDs)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios) Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Robinhood Strategies Merrill Guided Investing
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra. 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Menlo Park, CA New York, NY
Year Founded 2013 2010
Clearing Firm Robinhood Securities, LLC Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing)
Local Branches? No Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026)
New Account Minimum $0 $0 (self-directed)

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