Online Broker Fee Comparison 2026

Q: Is Interactive Brokers the cheapest?

Interactive Brokers Pro has the lowest margin rates in the industry at 5.14% for balances under $100K (BM + 1.5%), dropping further for larger balances. However, for options trading, brokers like Robinhood and Webull offer $0 per-contract fees compared to IBKR's $0.65. IBKR is cheapest overall for active traders who use margin and trade international markets.

Q: Do any brokers offer free options trading?

Yes. Robinhood, Webull, SoFi, Public, Firstrade, moomoo, and Wealthsimple Trade (Canada) all offer $0 options contracts with no per-contract fee. Note that some of these brokers generate revenue through payment for order flow (PFOF), which can affect execution quality.

Q: What is the best broker for beginners?

Fidelity and Charles Schwab are consistently rated best for beginners. Both offer $0 stock/ETF trades, extensive educational content, strong customer support, and user-friendly platforms. Schwab offers the thinkorswim platform with paper trading, while Fidelity provides fractional shares and no PFOF for better execution.

Q: Which broker has the best margin rates?

Interactive Brokers Pro offers the lowest margin rates at 5.14% for balances up to $100K, dropping to 4.64% for $100K–$1M and 4.39% for $1M+. By comparison, Schwab and Fidelity charge over 11%, and E*TRADE charges over 12%. Robinhood Gold offers 6.75%, making it competitive for smaller accounts.

Margin Rates Compared

Interest rate charged on a $50K margin balance. Lower is better.

Key Findings

FINDING 01

Commission-Free Is Now Standard

19 of 22 brokers offer $0 stock/ETF commissions. Only Questrade ($4.95), CIBC ($6.95), and Lightspeed ($4.50) still charge per trade. The fee war is over — and investors won.

FINDING 02

Margin Rates Vary 7x

Interactive Brokers Pro charges 5.14% on margin while Schwab charges 12.33% — more than double. On a $100K margin balance, that's a $7,190/year difference. Margin rate is the hidden cost most investors overlook.

FINDING 03

7 Brokers Offer Free Options

Robinhood, Webull, SoFi, Public, Firstrade, moomoo, and Wealthsimple offer $0 per-contract options fees. The traditional $0.65/contract is no longer the floor.

FINDING 04

International Access Is Rare

Only 7 of 22 brokers offer international market access. Interactive Brokers leads with 150+ markets. Most US-focused brokers limit you to domestic stocks and ETFs.

FINDING 05

Canada Lags on Fees

Canadian brokers still charge stock commissions (Questrade $4.95, CIBC $6.95) except Wealthsimple Trade. Canada's $0 options revolution is behind the US, though Wealthsimple now offers free options.

Full Comparison

Click any column header to sort. Filter by country or search by name.

Broker	Stock Fee	Options/Contract	Margin Rate	Account Min	Fractional	Crypto	Int'l	Research	Mobile

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about broker fees and selection.

Which broker has the lowest fees?

For stock trading, most major US brokers now offer $0 commissions — including Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood, and Interactive Brokers. For options, Robinhood, Webull, Firstrade, Public, SoFi, moomoo, and Wealthsimple charge $0 per contract. For margin lending, Interactive Brokers Pro offers the industry's lowest rates starting at 5.14% (BM + 1.5%), which is less than half what Schwab or Fidelity charge.

Is Interactive Brokers the cheapest?

For margin rates and international trading, yes — IBKR Pro is unmatched at 5.14% margin and 150+ markets. However, for options trading, several brokers (Robinhood, Webull, moomoo, Firstrade) offer $0/contract vs. IBKR's $0.65. The "cheapest" depends on your trading style: IBKR wins for margin-heavy and international traders, while Robinhood/Webull win for options-heavy retail traders.

Do any brokers offer free options trading?

Yes — 7 brokers in our study offer $0 options with no per-contract fee: Robinhood, Webull, SoFi, Public, Firstrade, moomoo, and Wealthsimple Trade (Canada). Some of these brokers earn revenue through payment for order flow (PFOF), which can affect execution quality. Traders making large options orders may get better fills at a broker like Fidelity (which doesn't accept PFOF) despite the $0.65/contract fee.

What is the best broker for beginners?

Fidelity and Charles Schwab consistently rank highest for beginners. Both offer $0 stock and ETF trades, comprehensive educational content, strong customer support (Schwab has 420+ physical branches), and user-friendly mobile apps. Fidelity edges ahead on research tools and doesn't accept payment for order flow. Schwab's thinkorswim platform offers excellent paper trading for learning. Robinhood's simplicity also appeals to beginners, though it lacks research depth.

Which broker has the best margin rates?

Interactive Brokers Pro dominates margin lending. At 5.14% for balances up to $100K, it's roughly half the rate of Schwab (12.33%), Fidelity (11.33%), or E*TRADE (12.20%). For a $100K margin balance, the annual interest difference between IBKR Pro and Schwab is approximately $7,190. Robinhood Gold (6.75%) and moomoo (6.80%) are competitive mid-tier options. If you use margin regularly, broker selection based on margin rate alone can save thousands annually.

Methodology

This study compiles fee and feature data across 22 online brokers serving the US and Canadian markets. Data was collected from:

Official broker pricing and fee schedule pages
NerdWallet's 2026 Best Online Brokers review
Investopedia's 2026 Best Online Brokers evaluation (92 criteria, 27 brokers)
StockBrokers.com 2026 Annual Review (3,000+ data points)
Bankrate's broker comparison guides

Margin rates are quoted for a $50,000 USD balance on the broker's standard/default pricing plan. Options fees shown are per-contract on top of any base commission ($0 for most brokers). Research and mobile ratings are on a 1–5 scale synthesized from multiple review sources. All data reflects publicly available information as of March 2026.

Brokers not included: Several niche or region-specific platforms were excluded due to limited public fee disclosure or very small user bases. Crypto-only exchanges (Coinbase, Kraken) are not included as they are not traditional brokerages.

Cite this research:
Westmount Research. "Online Broker Fee Comparison 2026." Published March 9, 2026.
https://westmountresearch.com/broker-fees