SoFi Invest vs Vanguard Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

SoFi Invest and Vanguard 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: SoFi Invest vs Vanguard (2026)
Feature SoFi Invest Vanguard
Website https://www.sofi.com/invest/ https://investor.vanguard.com/
Broker Type Discount (self-directed online brokerage + robo-advisor) Full-Service
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 commissions $0 online
Fractional Shares? Yes ($5 min on select stocks/ETFs) Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading
Percent Allocations? No Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools
Crypto Trading? Yes. SoFi Crypto offers 28 cryptocurrencies (as of May 2026); requires SoFi Checking & Savings. No
Crypto Fees Tiered 1.90%/1.50%/1.25%/0.90% of trade value by monthly volume (<$1k/$1-5k/$5-10k/$10k+); possible ≤0.10% spread. Not applicable
Options Trading? Yes. Options trading available (long calls/puts, covered calls, cash-secured puts; 0DTE and IRAs). Yes
Options Fee $0 commissions and $0 contract fees. Regulatory fees apply (e.g., ORF $0.02, OCC $0.025 per contract). $1/contract
Bond Trading Available? No. Individual bonds not offered; exposure via bond ETFs and mutual funds only. Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes. Receives payment-for-order-flow revenue share via Apex Clearing. No
Interface: Web trading? Yes. Full trading on SoFi mobile app (iOS/Android) and sofi.com website. Yes
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds 6,800+ Over 3,000
NTF Mutual Funds 6,800 Over 1,800
Non-NTF Fund Fee 0.2% of purchase (max $20); 2% for interval/tender funds $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds
Early Redemption Fee? Yes (no SoFi short-term fee) No
Redemption Hold (Days) Fund-specific (CDSC varies by fund); no SoFi-imposed hold. 60 days
Early Redemption Fee Fund-specific CDSC (varies); SoFi charges none (purchase tx fee 0.2% max $20). $50
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes (Self-Directed; apply, $2,000 min). Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes: Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs. Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover, and Custodial
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (optional FDIC bank sweep via Apex). Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep
CDs Offered? No Yes
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service SoFi Automated Investing (Robo Investing) Vanguard Digital Advisor
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.25% annual wrap/advisory fee plus fund expenses; $50 min. 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix
Basics: Headquarters San Francisco, CA Valley Forge, PA
Year Founded 2011 1975
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Vanguard Brokerage Services
Local Branches? No No; phone/online service
New Account Minimum $0

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