Vanguard vs Robinhood Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)
Vanguard and Robinhood 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 | Vanguard | Robinhood |
|---|---|---|
| Website | https://investor.vanguard.com/ | https://robinhood.com/ |
| Broker Type | Full-Service | Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend) |
| Trading: Stock & ETF? | Yes | Yes |
| ETF & Stock commission | $0 online | $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply) |
| Fractional Shares? | Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading | Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs) |
| Percent Allocations? | Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools | No |
| Crypto Trading? | No | Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI) |
| Crypto Fees | Not applicable | MM routing: $0 commissions (RH rebate in spread); exchange routing: 0.00-0.95% volume-tiered maker/taker; transfers $0 + network fees |
| Options Trading? | Yes | Yes |
| Options Fee | $1/contract | $0 commissions for stock/ETF options; $0.35 Gold/$0.50 non-Gold per index contract plus regulatory/exchange fees |
| Bond Trading Available? | Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs | No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available) |
| Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? | No | Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto) |
| Interface: Web trading? | Yes | Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps) |
| Desktop trading? | No | No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable. |
| API Trading? | No | Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API. |
| Mutual Funds: Offered? | Yes | No |
| Total Mutual Funds | Over 3,000 | 0 |
| NTF Mutual Funds | Over 1,800 | 0 |
| Non-NTF Fund Fee | $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds | N/A |
| Early Redemption Fee? | No | N/A |
| Redemption Hold (Days) | 60 days | N/A |
| Early Redemption Fee | $50 | N/A |
| Accounts: Margin Accounts? | Yes | Yes |
| IRAs Offered? | Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover, and Custodial | Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP) |
| HSAs Offered? | No | No |
| Money Market Sweep? | Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep | Yes |
| CDs Offered? | Yes | No |
| Robo-Advisor: Offered | Yes | Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios) |
| Robo-Advisor Service | Vanguard Digital Advisor | Robinhood Strategies |
| Robo-Advisor Fees | 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix | 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra. |
| Basics: Headquarters | Valley Forge, PA | Menlo Park, CA |
| Year Founded | 1975 | 2013 |
| Clearing Firm | Vanguard Brokerage Services | Robinhood Securities, LLC |
| Local Branches? | No; phone/online service | No |
| New Account Minimum | $0 |
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