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

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

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