Is Ally Invest better than Firstrade? After testing 11 of the best online brokers over three months, Firstrade (78.89%) is better than Ally Invest (76.84%). While Firstrade is easy to use and terrific for Chinese-speaking investors, its overall offering struggles to stand out against brokers who also offer $0 stock trades.
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Firstrade vs Ally Invest 2021
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Overall Rating
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Firstrade Review | Ally Invest Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Fees
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Stock Trades | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $0.00 | $9.95 |
| Options (Base Fee) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options (Per Contract) | $0.00 | $0.50 |
| Futures (Per Contract) | N/A | N/A |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $19.95 | $20.00 |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
| Under $24,999.99 | 8.75% | 7.75% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 8.25% | 7.50% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 7.75% | 6.75% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 7.25% | 5.50% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 7.00% | 4.50% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 5.10% | 4.00% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 4.50% | 3.25% |
Account Fees
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $50.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $55.00 | N/A |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $75.00 | N/A |
| Returned ACH Fee | $50.00 | $30.00 |
| Returned Wire Fee | $50.00 | $30.00 |
| Stock Certificate Processing Fee | $300.00 | $300.00 |
| Stock Certificate Delivery Fee | $300.00 | $300.00 |
| Paper Statement Fee | $5.00 | $2.00 |
| Paper Confirmation Fee | $3.00 | $1.00 |
| Domestic Wire Fee | $30.00 | $30.00 |
| International Wire Fee | $50.00 | N/A |
Investment Options
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Fractional Shares |
No | No |
|
OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
|
Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Complex Options Max Legs |
4 | 4 |
|
Futures Trading |
No | No |
|
Forex Trading |
No | Yes |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
|
Mutual Funds (No Load) |
11134 | 11153 |
|
Mutual Funds (Total) |
18322 | 18352 |
|
Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Advisor Services |
No | Yes |
|
International Trading |
No | No |
|
AI Assistant Bot |
No | No |
Order Types
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Order Type - Market |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - Limit |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - Stop |
Yes | Yes |
|
Order Type - Trailing Stop |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - Contingent |
No | Yes |
|
Order Type - MultiContingent |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - OCO |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - OTO |
Yes | No |
|
Order Type - OTOCO |
No | No |
Customer Service
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Phone Support (Prospect Customers) |
No | No |
|
Phone Support (Current Customers) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Email Support |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Chat (Prospect Customers) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Chat (Current Customers) |
Yes | Yes |
|
24/7 Support |
No | No |
Trading Platforms
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Desktop Platform (Windows) |
No | No |
|
Desktop Platform (Mac) |
No | No |
|
Web Platform |
Yes | Yes |
|
Paper Trading |
No | No |
|
Trade Journal |
No | No |
|
Heat Mapping |
Yes | No |
|
Watch Lists - Total Fields |
47 | 21 |
Charting Features
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Charting - Trade Off Chart |
No | No |
|
Charting - Indicators / Studies |
102 | 117 |
|
Charting - Drawing Tools |
8 | 36 |
|
Charting - Historical Trades |
No | No |
|
Charting - Corporate Events |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - Automated Analysis |
No | Yes |
|
Charting - Save Profiles |
No | Yes |
|
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis |
No | Yes |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
6 | 5 |
|
Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
Day Trading
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
No | No |
|
Streaming Time & Sales |
No | No |
|
Streaming TV |
No | No |
|
Direct Market Routing - Stocks |
No | No |
|
Direct Market Routing - Options |
No | No |
|
Ladder Trading |
No | No |
|
Trade Hot Keys |
No | No |
|
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks |
No | No |
|
Level 2 Quotes - Options |
No | No |
|
Trade Ideas - Backtesting |
No | Yes |
|
Short Locator |
No | No |
|
Order Liquidity Rebates |
No | No |
Mobile Trading Apps
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
iPhone App |
Yes | Yes |
|
Android App |
Yes | Yes |
|
Apple Watch App |
No | No |
|
Trading - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
|
Trading - After-Hours |
Yes | No |
|
Trading - Conditional Orders |
No | No |
|
Trading - Mutual Funds |
No | No |
|
Trading - Simple Options |
Yes | Yes |
|
Trading - Complex Options |
Yes | Yes |
|
Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
|
Touch / Face ID |
Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Watch List Syncing |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Alerts |
No | No |
|
Charting - After Hours |
No | No |
|
Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | No |
|
Heatmapping |
No | No |
|
Stream Live TV |
No | No |
|
Barcode Lookup |
No | No |
| Mobile Trading |
Research Overview
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Mutual Funds |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - Stocks |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
|
Screener - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - Options |
No | No |
|
Screener - Bonds |
Yes | Yes |
|
Misc - Portfolio Builder |
No | Yes |
|
Misc - Portfolio Allocation |
Yes | No |
Stock Research
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Stock Research - Reports |
1 | 2 |
|
Stock Research - Earnings |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - Insiders |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - Metric Comp |
Yes | No |
|
Stock Research - SEC Filings |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - Social |
No | No |
|
Stock Research - Balance Sheet |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - ESG |
No | No |
ETF Research
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
ETFs - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Sector Exposure |
Yes | No |
|
ETFs - Risk Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Performance Analysis |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
|
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap |
Yes | No |
|
ETFs - Reports |
Yes | Yes |
Mutual Fund Research
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Prospectus |
Yes | No |
|
Mutual Funds - Reports |
No | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation |
Yes | No |
|
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation |
Yes | No |
|
Mutual Funds - StyleMap |
Yes | No |
|
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings |
Yes | Yes |
Options Trading
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Option Chains - Streaming |
No | Yes |
|
Option Chains - Total Columns |
8 | 8 |
|
Option Chains - Greeks |
5 | 1 |
|
Option Chains - Quick Analysis |
No | Yes |
|
Option Analysis - P&L Charts |
No | Yes |
|
Option Probability Analysis |
No | Yes |
|
Option Probability Analysis Adv |
No | No |
|
Option Positions - Greeks |
No | Yes |
|
Option Positions - Adv Analysis |
No | Yes |
|
Option Positions - Rolling |
Yes | No |
|
Option Positions - Grouping |
No | Yes |
Beginners
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (ETFs) |
No | No |
|
Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (Mutual Funds) |
No | Yes |
|
Education (Fixed Income) |
No | Yes |
|
Education (Retirement) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Paper Trading |
No | No |
|
Videos |
Yes | No |
|
Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
6 | 15 |
|
Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Seminars |
No | No |
|
Progress Tracking |
No | No |
|
Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
No | No |
Banking
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
|
Retail Locations |
1 | 0 |
|
Member FDIC |
No | Yes |
|
Checking Accounts |
Yes | Yes |
|
Savings Accounts |
No | Yes |
|
Credit Cards |
No | No |
|
Debit Cards |
Yes | Yes |
|
Mortgage Loans |
No | Yes |
|
No Fee Banking |
No | Yes |
Overall
| Feature | Firstrade | Ally Invest |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Firstrade Review | Ally Invest Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2021 annual broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 11 brokerages to find the best online broker. Let's compare Ally Invest vs Firstrade.
Is Ally Invest or Firstrade better for beginners?
Ally Invest is better for beginner investors than Firstrade. Ally Invest offers investors access to Education (Stocks), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Fixed Income) and Education (Retirement).
What about Ally Invest vs Firstrade pricing?
Ally Invest and Firstrade both cost $0 per trade. For options trading, both Ally Invest and Firstrade charge the same base fee of $0. Option contracts are pricier at Ally Invest, costing $0.50 versus $0 at Firstrade. For a complete commissions summary, see our best discount brokers guide.
Does Ally Invest or Firstrade offer a wider range of investment options?
Firstrade offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Ally Invest. Firstrade offers investors access to Stock Trading, OTCBB / Pink Sheets, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. Looking at Mutual Funds, Firstrade trails Ally Invest by 30 total mutual funds, with Ally Invest offering 18352 and Firstrade offering 18322.
Which trading platform is better: Ally Invest or Firstrade?
To compare the trading platforms of both Ally Invest and Firstrade, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Ally Invest offers a better experience. With research, Firstrade offers superior market research. Finally, we found Firstrade to provide better mobile trading apps.
Does either broker offer banking?
Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts and Debit Cards are offered by Firstrade while Ally Invest offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards and Mortgage Loans.
Overall winner: Firstrade
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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/19/2021 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.
