Is Ally Invest better than E*TRADE? After testing 15 of the best online brokers over five months, E*TRADE (91.53%) is better than Ally Invest (79.49%). Founded in 1982 as one of the first online brokerages in the United States, E*TRADE understands what investors need to succeed in the market. E*TRADE highlights include $0 trades, two excellent mobile apps, and the Power E*TRADE platform, which is great for options trading.
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E*TRADE vs Ally Invest 2020
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Promo Offer
Get $100 when you deposit just $5,000 into a new E*TRADE account! Open Account
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Overall Rating
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
| Overall | ||
| E*TRADE Review | Ally Invest Review |
Trading Fees
| Feature | E*TRADE | 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 | $19.99 | $9.95 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $25.00 | $20.00 |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Margin Rates
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
| Under $24,999.99 | 10.00% | 9.50% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 9.75% | 9.25% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 9.25% | 8.50% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 8.75% | 7.25% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 8.25% | 6.25% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 7.75% | 5.75% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 6.75% | 5.00% |
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Account Fees
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $60.00 | $50.00 |
| Returned ACH Fee | $0.00 | $30.00 |
| Returned Wire Fee | $0.00 | $30.00 |
| Stock Certificate Processing Fee | $0.00 | $300.00 |
| Stock Certificate Delivery Fee | $75.00 | $300.00 |
| Paper Statement Fee | $2.00 | $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 | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
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Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
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Fractional Shares |
No | 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) |
6663 | 11234 |
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Mutual Funds (Total) |
9291 | 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 |
No | No |
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Order Types
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
|
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 |
No | 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 | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
|
Desktop Platform (Windows) |
No | No |
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Desktop Platform (Mac) |
No | No |
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Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
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Paper Trading |
Yes | No |
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Trade Journal |
No | No |
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Watch Lists - Total Fields |
125 | 21 |
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Heat Mapping |
No | No |
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AI Assistant Bot |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Charting Features
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
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Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Indicators / Studies |
119 | 117 |
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Charting - Drawing Tools |
32 | 36 |
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Charting - Historical Trades |
Yes | 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 |
6 | 5 |
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Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Day Trading
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
|
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
No | 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 |
Yes | 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 |
No | 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 | E*TRADE | 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 |
Yes | 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 | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
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Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
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Stock Alerts |
Yes | No |
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Charting - After Hours |
Yes | No |
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Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
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Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | No |
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Heatmapping |
No | No |
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Stream Live TV |
Yes | No |
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Barcode Lookup |
Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Research Overview
| Feature | E*TRADE | 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 | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
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Stock Research - Reports |
5 | 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 |
No | 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 | E*TRADE | 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 | E*TRADE | 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 | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
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Option Chains - Streaming |
Yes | Yes |
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Option Chains - Total Columns |
30 | 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 | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
|
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 |
Yes | No |
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Videos |
Yes | No |
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Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
12 | 15 |
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Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | No |
|
Live Seminars |
Yes | No |
|
Progress Tracking |
No | No |
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Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
Yes | No |
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Investor Magazine |
No | No |
| Education | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Banking
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
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Retail Locations |
30 | 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 |
No | Yes |
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Debit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
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Mortgage Loans |
No | Yes |
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No Fee Banking |
No | Yes |
| Banking | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
Overall
| Feature | E*TRADE | Ally Invest |
| E*TRADE Review | Ally Invest Review | |
| Overall | ||
| Winner | check_circle |
The StockBrokers.com annual broker review assesses more than a dozen different brokers over six months, surfacing the best online stock brokers. This review compares Ally Invest vs E*TRADE. Is Ally Invest or E*TRADE a better online broker?
First, we will make a comparison of the stock and option trading fees for trading with both brokers. Ally Invest and E*TRADE 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 E*TRADE which charges $0.65. Note that some brokers charge a per-share fee instead of a flat-fee commission. For a full breakdown of commissions, read our online broker reviews.
For our next comparison of these two brokers, being able to trade the way you want is a must. E*TRADE provides its clients with Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading while Ally Invest provides clients access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Forex Trading. When it comes to mutual funds, Ally Invest boasts an offering of 18728 mutual funds compared to E*TRADE's 9291 available funds.
Last but not least, by breaking down important features, tools, etc that each broker offers, we can really help to separate the two. E*TRADE offers virtual trading while Ally Invest does not. For mobile trading, Both Ally Invest and E*TRADE offer clients access to an iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Furthermore, some investors like to bank online, and multiple brokerages provide these services to clients. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts and Debit Cards are offered by E*TRADE while Ally Invest offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.
Overall, between Ally Invest and E*TRADE, E*TRADE 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.
