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Firstrade vs Ally Invest 2019

StockBrokers.com | November 15th, 2019

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  3. Firstrade vs Ally Invest Review

Is Firstrade better than Ally Invest? After scoring brokers in nine separate categories for our 2019 review, Firstrade (67.1%) is better than Ally Invest (62.44%).

Firstrade

Great For Chinese Americans - Open Account
Special Offer: Commission-Free Trading on 700+ ETFs

Founded in 1985, Firstrade has a long history of providing value for its customers. Known for its easy-to-use website, Firstrade offers $0 stock and options trading. Firstrade offers Morningstar research; however, its trading platform struggles to stand out against industry leaders. Read full review.

Ally Invest

Best for IRA Accounts Overall
Among the bank and brokerage combinations, Ally shines and competes with the best in the industry. Ally’s high-yield savings account is easy to use and offers competitive annual yields above 2%. Also, Ally does not nickel and dime its customers; it embraces no-fee banking. Read full review.

Overall Rating

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
Overall 3.5 3
Firstrade Review Ally Invest Review

Trading Fees

Feature Firstrade 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 $0.00 $0.50
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $0.00 $9.95
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $19.95 $20.00
Commissions & Fees 4 3.5
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Firstrade
Open Account 		Ally Invest
Under $24,999.99 9.50% 9.50%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 9.00% 9.25%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 8.50% 8.50%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 8.00% 7.25%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 7.75% 6.25%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 6.00% 5.75%
Above $1,000,000.00 5.25% 5.00%
Commissions & Fees 4 3.5
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $50.00
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
Commissions & Fees 4 3.5

Investment Options

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 2 4
Futures Trading
 No No
Forex Trading
 No Yes
Commission-Free ETFs all all
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 5234 11234
Mutual Funds (Total)
 12603 18728
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Advisor Services
 No Yes
International Trading
 No No
Offering of Investments 3.5 4
Winner check_circle

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 Yes
Order Type - Contingent
 Yes Yes
Order Type - MultiContingent
 Yes No
Order Type - OCO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTOCO
 No No
Offering of Investments 3.5 4
Winner check_circle

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
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 13 21
Heat Mapping
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 2 2.5
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 No No
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 58 117
Charting - Drawing Tools
 5 36
Charting - Historical Trades
 No No
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis
 No Yes
Charting - Save Profiles
 No Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 6 5
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 2 2.5
Winner check_circle

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
Winner check_circle

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
 No Yes
Trading - Option Rolling
 No No
Touch / Face ID
 Yes Yes
Winner check_circle

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 3.5 3
Winner check_circle

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 No
Screener - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Screener - Options
 No No
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 No Yes
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes No
Research 4 2
Winner check_circle

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
Research 4 2
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
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
Research 4 2
Winner check_circle

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 No
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
Research 4 2
Winner check_circle

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
Platforms & Tools 2 2.5
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 No No
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 No Yes
Has Education - Fixed Income
 No Yes
Has Education - Retirement
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Videos
 Yes No
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 5 15
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes No
Live Seminars
 No No
Progress Tracking
 No No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 No No
Investor Magazine
 No No
Education 3 3.5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
Retail Locations
 2 0
Member FDIC
 No Yes
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 No Yes
Credit Cards
 No Yes
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 No Yes
No Fee Banking
 No Yes
Banking 2 4
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Firstrade Ally Invest
Firstrade Review Ally Invest Review
Overall 3.5 3
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 Firstrade 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 Firstrade have equal fees for trading stocks (equities), $0 per trade. With options, the base fee is $0 for both Ally Invest and Firstrade. Each option contract then costs $0.50 at Ally Invest and $0 at Firstrade. 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. Firstrade supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds while Ally Invest supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Forex Trading. As far as mutual funds go, Ally Invest boasts an offering of 14000 mutual funds compared to Firstrade's 12603 available funds.

Finally, by comparing the each broker's website and platform features, we can surface interesting differences. Neither broker offers virtual trading. For mobile trading, Both Ally Invest and Firstrade 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 and Debit Cards are offered by Firstrade while Ally Invest offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

Overall, between Ally Invest and Firstrade, Firstrade is the winner.

Ally Invest Review
Firstrade Review

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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 02/18/2019 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.

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