Is Ally Invest better than Charles Schwab? After testing 15 of the best online brokers over five months, Charles Schwab (93.11%) is better than Ally Invest (79.49%). Founded in 1973, Charles Schwab is a full-service brokerage with over $3 trillion in total client assets. As a low-cost leader offering $0 stock trades, Charles Schwab provides investors excellent stock research, quality trade tools, and professional planning for the future.
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Charles Schwab vs Ally Invest 2020
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Special Offer
$0 online stock, ETF, and options commissions at Schwab. Open Account
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| Open Account |
Overall Rating
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
| Overall | ||
| Charles Schwab Review | Ally Invest Review |
Trading Fees
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trade Fee (per trade) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Base Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options Per Contract Fee | $0.65 | $0.50 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $49.95 | $9.95 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $25.00 | $20.00 |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
| Under $24,999.99 | 9.33% | 9.50% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 8.83% | 9.25% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 7.88% | 8.50% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 7.83% | 7.25% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 7.58% | 6.25% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 6.08% | 5.75% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 5.75% | 5.00% |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Account Fees
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Returned ACH Fee | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| Returned Wire Fee | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| Stock Certificate Processing Fee | $100.00 | $300.00 |
| Stock Certificate Delivery Fee | N/A | $300.00 |
| Paper Statement Fee | $0.00 | $2.00 |
| Paper Confirmation Fee | $0.00 | $1.00 |
| Domestic Wire Fee | $25.00 | $30.00 |
| International Wire Fee | $25.00 | N/A |
| Commissions & Fees |
Investment Options
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Fractional Shares |
Yes | No |
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OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
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Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Complex Options Max Legs |
4 | 4 |
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Futures Trading |
Yes | No |
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Forex Trading |
No | Yes |
| Commission-Free ETFs | all | all |
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Mutual Funds (No Load) |
7291 | 11234 |
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Mutual Funds (Total) |
9978 | 18728 |
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Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
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Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | Yes |
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Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | Yes |
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Interest Sharing |
No | No |
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Advisor Services |
Yes | Yes |
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International Trading |
Yes | No |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Order Types
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Order Type - Market |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Limit |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - Contingent |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - MultiContingent |
Yes | No |
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Order Type - OCO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTO |
Yes | Yes |
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Order Type - OTOCO |
Yes | No |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Platforms
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Desktop Platform (Windows) |
Yes | No |
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Desktop Platform (Mac) |
Yes | No |
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Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
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Paper Trading |
No | No |
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Trade Journal |
Yes | No |
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Watch Lists - Total Fields |
125 | 21 |
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Heat Mapping |
Yes | No |
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AI Assistant Bot |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Charting Features
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Indicators / Studies |
41 | 117 |
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Charting - Drawing Tools |
15 | 36 |
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Charting - Historical Trades |
No | No |
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Charting - Corporate Events |
Yes | Yes |
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Charting - Automated Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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Charting - Save Profiles |
Yes | Yes |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
7 | 5 |
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Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Day Trading
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
Yes | No |
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Streaming Time & Sales |
Yes | No |
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Streaming TV |
Yes | No |
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Direct Market Routing - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Direct Market Routing - Options |
No | No |
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Ladder Trading |
No | No |
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Trade Hot Keys |
Yes | No |
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Level 2 Quotes - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Level 2 Quotes - Options |
Yes | No |
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Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
Yes | Yes |
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Short Locator |
No | No |
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Order Liquidity Rebates |
No | No |
| Winner | check_circle |
Mobile Trading Apps
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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iPhone App |
Yes | Yes |
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Android App |
Yes | Yes |
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Apple Watch App |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - After-Hours |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Conditional Orders |
No | No |
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Trading - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
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Trading - Simple Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Complex Options |
Yes | Yes |
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Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
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Touch / Face ID |
Yes | Yes |
| Winner | check_circle |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts |
No | No |
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Charting - After Hours |
No | No |
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Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | No |
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Heatmapping |
Yes | No |
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Stream Live TV |
Yes | No |
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Barcode Lookup |
No | No |
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Research Overview
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Mutual Funds |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | Yes |
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Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Stocks |
Yes | No |
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Screener - ETFs |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Options |
Yes | No |
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Screener - Bonds |
Yes | Yes |
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Misc - Portfolio Builder |
Yes | Yes |
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Misc - Portfolio Allocation |
Yes | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Stock Research
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Stock Research - Reports |
8 | 2 |
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Stock Research - Earnings |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Insiders |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Metric Comp |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - SEC Filings |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Social |
Yes | No |
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Stock Research - Balance Sheet |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Research - ESG |
No | No |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
ETF Research
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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ETFs - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Sector Exposure |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Risk Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Performance Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
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ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap |
Yes | No |
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ETFs - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Mutual Fund Research
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Prospectus |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
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Mutual Funds - Country Allocation |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - StyleMap |
Yes | No |
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Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
| Research | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Options Trading
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Option Chains - Streaming |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Chains - Total Columns |
44 | 8 |
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Option Chains - Greeks |
5 | 1 |
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Option Chains - Quick Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Analysis - P&L Charts |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Probability Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Probability Analysis Adv |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Greeks |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Positions - Adv Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Positions - Rolling |
Yes | No |
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Option Positions - Grouping |
Yes | Yes |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Beginners
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
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Education (ETFs) |
Yes | No |
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Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
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Education (Mutual Funds) |
Yes | Yes |
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Education (Fixed Income) |
Yes | Yes |
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Education (Retirement) |
Yes | Yes |
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Paper Trading |
No | No |
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Videos |
Yes | No |
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Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
50 | 15 |
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Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | No |
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Live Seminars |
Yes | No |
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Progress Tracking |
No | No |
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Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
No | No |
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Investor Magazine |
Yes | No |
| Education | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Banking
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
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Retail Locations |
357 | 0 |
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Member FDIC |
Yes | Yes |
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Checking Accounts |
Yes | Yes |
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Savings Accounts |
Yes | Yes |
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Credit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
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Debit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
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Mortgage Loans |
Yes | Yes |
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No Fee Banking |
Yes | Yes |
| Banking | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Overall
| Feature | Charles Schwab | Ally Invest |
| Charles Schwab Review | Ally Invest Review | |
| Overall | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Using data from our latest annual broker review which tested more than a dozen different online brokers over six months, we can compare Ally Invest vs Charles Schwab to determine which broker is best. Let's dive in.
First, we will break down the commission charges of both brokers for placing stock and options trades. Ally Invest and Charles Schwab both cost $0 per trade. Looking at options, the base fees charged are the same for both brokers, $0. Ally Invest's per contract rate of $0.50 is less than Charles Schwab which charges $0.65. Instead of flat rate fees, several brokers charge a per-share fee instead. For a complete review of trading charges, read our full online broker reviews.
Next, investors want to make sure they can trade the investment vehicle they want. Charles Schwab supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading while Ally Invest supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Forex Trading. As far as mutual funds go, Ally Invest offers its clients access to 18728 different mutual funds while Charles Schwab has 9978 available funds, a difference of 8,750.
Finally, by comparing the each broker's website and platform features, we can surface interesting differences. Ally Invest nor Charles Schwab offers virtual trading. For mobile trading, Both Ally Invest and Charles Schwab offer clients access to an iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Online banking is also used by many customers, and multiple full-service brokerages provide these services. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are found at Ally Invest alongside Charles Schwab.
Overall, between Ally Invest and Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab is the winner.
All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/20/2020 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. For stock trade rates, advertised pricing is for a standard order size of 500 shares of stock priced at $30 per share. For options orders, an options regulatory fee per contract may apply.
