ZacksTrade vs Ally Invest Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

ZacksTrade and Ally 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: ZacksTrade vs Ally Invest (2026)
Feature ZacksTrade Ally Invest
Website https://www.zackstrade.com/ https://www.ally.com/invest/
Broker Type Discount Discount (online self-directed brokerage)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0.01 per share (minimum $1); 1% of trade value below $1/share $0 eligible US stocks/ETFs ($2+); $4.95 + $0.01/share if <$2
Fractional Shares? No No
Percent Allocations? Yes; Rebalance Portfolio No
Crypto Trading? No No
Crypto Fees Not applicable N/A
Options Trading? Yes Yes
Options Fee $1 for first contract + $0.75 per additional $0 commission + $0.50 per contract
Bond Trading Available? Yes; corporate and government bonds Yes
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes Yes
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes
Desktop trading? Yes; Zacks Trade Pro/Client Portal/app No
API Trading? No No
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes Yes
Total Mutual Funds Not publicly stated Thousands (500+ fund families)
NTF Mutual Funds Not publicly stated Over 5,400
Non-NTF Fund Fee $27.50 $0 (no-load); fund loads otherwise
Early Redemption Fee? Varies by fund Yes (no Ally fee)
Redemption Hold (Days) Fund-specific Varies by fund (prospectus); no Ally broker hold period listed
Early Redemption Fee Fund-specific Fund-specific (often 0–2%); Ally $0 for no-load sales
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes ($2,000 minimum equity required)
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, and Rollover Yes (Traditional/Roth/Rollover at Invest; SEP at Ally Bank)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? No Yes (Apex FDIC bank sweep; 0% interest)
CDs Offered? No Yes (brokered CDs; $24.95 per transaction)
Robo-Advisor: Offered No Yes
Robo-Advisor Service None Robo Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees Not applicable 0% cash-enhanced (30% cash buffer) or 0.30% market-focused; ETF expenses extra
Basics: Headquarters Chicago, IL Charlotte, NC
Year Founded 2013 2017
Clearing Firm Interactive Brokers LLC Apex Clearing Corporation
Local Branches? No; online broker No
New Account Minimum $0 $0

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