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

Vanguard 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: Vanguard vs Merrill Edge (2026)
Feature Vanguard Merrill Edge
Website https://investor.vanguard.com/ https://www.merrilledge.com/
Broker Type Full-Service Self-directed discount/online brokerage
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online $0 online commissions (ETF sales $0.01–$0.03 per $1,000 principal)
Fractional Shares? Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading No
Percent Allocations? Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools No
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees Not applicable N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $1/contract $0 + $0.65 per contract online; $0 exercise/assignment. Broker-assisted extra.
Bond Trading Available? Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs Yes
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No No; limited options-exchange payments
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? No No (MarketPro is browser-based, not a downloadable desktop app)
API Trading? No No (no public retail trading API)
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds Over 3,000 Thousands
NTF Mutual Funds Over 1,800 Many NTF (exact count unpublished)
Non-NTF Fund Fee $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds $19.95 per online transaction (buys, sells, exchanges) for no-load TF funds
Early Redemption Fee? No No ($39.95 short-term redemption fee on NTF funds held <90 days)
Redemption Hold (Days) 60 days 90 days (NTF funds)
Early Redemption Fee $50 $39.95 (NTF funds held <90 days)
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover, and Custodial Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
HSAs Offered? No Yes (Individual HSA)
Money Market Sweep? Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep Yes
CDs Offered? Yes Yes (brokered CDs)
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Vanguard Digital Advisor Merrill Guided Investing
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix 0.45% AUM online; 0.85% with advisor (monthly in advance). Preferred Rewards discounts 0.05-0.15%. Fund expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters Valley Forge, PA New York, NY
Year Founded 1975 2010
Clearing Firm Vanguard Brokerage Services Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (self-clearing)
Local Branches? No; phone/online service Yes (~3,530 Bank of America financial centers, U.S., as of Q2 2026)
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 Vanguard to All Brokers