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

Vanguard and Axos Invest 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: Vanguard vs Axos Invest (2026)
Feature Vanguard Axos Invest
Website https://investor.vanguard.com/ https://www.axos.com/invest
Broker Type Full-Service Discount
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online $0 per trade (other fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading No
Percent Allocations? Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools No (self-directed)
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees Not applicable N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes (subject to approval)
Options Fee $1/contract $1.00 per contract ($0.80 with Axos Elite, $10/mo)
Bond Trading Available? Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs No
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No Yes (receives PFOF rebates)
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? No No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds Over 3,000 10,000+
NTF Mutual Funds Over 1,800 10,000+ (no-load)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds $0 (no-load)
Early Redemption Fee? No Yes (no broker short-term fee listed)
Redemption Hold (Days) 60 days None listed by broker (fund-specific possible)
Early Redemption Fee $50 $0 (no broker fee listed)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes (self-directed; approval required, $2,000 min equity)
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover, and Custodial Yes (Traditional, Roth, Rollover; SEP not listed)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep Yes (Axos Clearing Insured Deposit Program)
CDs Offered? Yes No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Vanguard Digital Advisor Axos Managed Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix Model fee 0.20–0.59% AUM (varies by model/AUM); $40 min annual if model fee <$10/qtr; +0.20% optional TLH ($25k+)
Basics: Headquarters Valley Forge, PA Las Vegas, NV
Year Founded 1975 2009 (as WiseBanyan); rebranded 2019
Clearing Firm Vanguard Brokerage Services Axos Clearing LLC
Local Branches? No; phone/online service No
New Account Minimum $0 (Self-Directed); $50 IRA; $500 Managed Portfolios

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 Vanguard to All Brokers