Ally Invest vs Tradier 2024

Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. We spend hundreds of hours each year testing the platforms, mobile apps, trading tools and general ease of use among online brokerages, as well as comparing commissions and fees, to find the best online broker.

Though many U.S. brokers offer basic trading features, such as an app, charting tools, stock research and educational content, the depth of those features can vary widely. Let's compare Ally Invest vs Tradier.

In stock trading, the more you know, the better you’ll do. Taking advantage of resources like articles, webinars, videos and interactive elements is a great way to shorten the learning curve. In our analysis, we examine the availability of several different types of educational materials.

For 2024, our review finds that Ally Invest offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Tradier. Ally Invest offers investors access to Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while Tradier offers investors access to Paper Trading. Neither have Videos.

Ally Invest and Tradier charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Option contracts are pricier at Ally Invest, costing $0.50 per contract versus $0.35 per contract at Tradier. Ally Invest and Tradier both charge (Not offered) per option contract. For a deeper dive, see our best brokers for free stock trading or options trading guides.

Looking at a full range of investment options, including order types and international trading, our research has found that Ally Invest offers a more comprehensive offering than Tradier. Ally Invest ranks #8 out of 18 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Tradier ranks #13.

Ally Invest offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds and Advisor Services, while Tradier offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. Neither have Fractional Shares, Futures Trading and Forex Trading. Looking at Mutual Funds, Tradier trails Ally Invest in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Ally Invest offering 3900 and Tradier offering 0.

In our analysis of top U.S. brokerages, we research whether each broker offers the ability to trade cash cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ethereum. Though crypto has risen steadily in popularity, availability still varies from broker to broker. Our review finds that neither Ally Invest or Tradier offer crypto trading.

To compare the day trading platforms of Ally Invest and Tradier, we focused on trading tools and functionality across both web and desktop-based platforms. Popular day trading platform tools include streaming real-time quotes, stock alerts, trading hotkeys, direct market routing, streaming time and sales, customizable watch lists, backtesting, and fully functional charting packages, among many others. For day trading, Tradier offers a better experience.

After testing 25 features across the stock trading apps of Ally Invest and Tradier, we found Ally Invest to be better overall. The best stock market apps are easy to use, have excellent design, and deliver a fully featured online trading experience. Ally Invest ranks #13 out of 18 brokers, while Tradier ranks #15.

Ally Invest Trading App Gallery

Tradier Trading App Gallery

For research, Ally Invest offers superior market research than Tradier. Ally Invest ranks #7 and Tradier ranks #16.

Over the years, we've found that the best brokers provide rich market commentary, a variety of third-party research reports, and thorough quote screens that are not just easy to navigate, but that also include a comprehensive selection of fundamental data. Robust stock, ETFs, and mutual fund screeners are also must-haves for trade idea generation.

Ally Invest requires a minimum deposit of $0.00, while Tradier requires a minimum deposit of $0.00. From our testing, we found that SoFi is the only broker that requires a minimum deposit.

Ally Invest charges 13% for accounts under $25,000 while Tradier charges a margin rate of 9.5%. The industry average of the 18 brokers we track is 9%.

Fractional shares are not offered by either broker. Our research has found that 46% of brokers offer fractional shares investing. Fractional shares allow traders to buy a part of a whole share of stock. For example, if Amazon is trading at $1,000, you could buy half a share for $500.

Ally Invest offers clients access to penny stock trading while Tradier does not. Ally Invest charges $4.95 per trade. Penny stocks are companies whose shares trade for under $5 and are listed over the counter (OTC). For brokers that do offer penny stock trades, the average commission is $3.

Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are offered by Ally Invest, while Tradier offers neither of these.

StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research group Confero to conduct phone tests from locations across the United States to thoroughly evaluate the quality and speed of brokerage customer service. (Read more about How We Test.) Here are the results of our current testing.

Ally Invest was rated 4th out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 8.69 out of 10.

Tradier was rated 11th out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 6.93 out of 10.

For current Ally customers looking to invest in stocks, Ally's universal-accounts experience and easy-to-use website offer a convenient solution. Its website is far stronger than the mobile app.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, Ally Invest ranked among Best in Class for Bank Brokerage and Customer Service.

If you’re trying out advanced charting applications and want to trade from them, Tradier Brokerage is a very logical choice, though as a stand-alone broker it trails the offerings of industry leaders.