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Charles Schwab vs Fidelity 2020

StockBrokers.com | January 16th, 2020

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  3. Charles Schwab vs Fidelity Review

Is Fidelity better than Charles Schwab? After scoring brokers in nine separate categories for our 2019 review, Fidelity (86.62%) is better than Charles Schwab (84.06%).

fideltiy

Best research experience
With over $2 trillion in client assets, Fidelity is a value-driven online broker offering $0 stock trades, industry-leading research, excellent trading tools, an easy-to-use mobile app, and comprehensive retirement services. Overall, Fidelity is a winner for everyday investors. Read full review

Charles Schwab

Best for IRA accounts - Open Account
Special Offer: $0 online stock, ETF, and options commissions at Schwab.

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. Read full review

Overall Rating

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Overall 4 4.5
Charles Schwab Review Fidelity Review

Trading Fees

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
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 $0.65
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $49.95 $49.95
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $25.00 $32.95
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Under $24,999.99 9.33% 9.33%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 8.83% 8.83%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 7.88% 7.88%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 7.83% 7.83%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 7.58% 7.58%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 6.08% 5.25%
Above $1,000,000.00 5.75% 5.00%
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $50.00 $0.00
Returned ACH Fee $25.00 $0.00
Returned Wire Fee $25.00 $0.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee $100.00 $0.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee N/A $100.00
Paper Statement Fee $0.00 $0.00
Paper Confirmation Fee $0.00 $0.00
Domestic Wire Fee $25.00 $0.00
International Wire Fee $25.00 $0.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5

Investment Options

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
Fractional Shares
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 4 4
Futures Trading
 Yes No
Forex Trading
 No No
Commission-Free ETFs all all
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 7291 3957
Mutual Funds (Total)
 9978 11246
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Advisor Services
 Yes Yes
International Trading
 Yes Yes
Offering of Investments 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
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 Yes
Order Type - OCO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTO
 Yes Yes
Order Type - OTOCO
 Yes Yes
Offering of Investments 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes Yes
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Trade Journal
 Yes Yes
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 125 91
Heat Mapping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 41 166
Charting - Drawing Tools
 15 22
Charting - Historical Trades
 No Yes
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes Yes
Charting - Automated Analysis
 Yes Yes
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 7 5
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes Yes
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields
 Yes Yes
Streaming Time & Sales
 Yes No
Streaming TV
 Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Options
 No Yes
Ladder Trading
 No No
Trade Hot Keys
 Yes Yes
Level 2 Quotes - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Level 2 Quotes - Options
 Yes Yes
Trade Ideas - Backtesting
 Yes No
Short Locator
 No Yes
Order Liquidity Rebates
 No No
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 Yes Yes
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes Yes
Trading - Conditional Orders
 No No
Trading - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Trading - Simple Options
 Yes Yes
Trading - Complex Options
 Yes Yes
Trading - Option Rolling
 No No
Touch / Face ID
 Yes Yes
Winner check_circle

Mobile App Features

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Watch List Syncing
Yes Yes
Stock Alerts
 No Yes
Charting - After Hours
 No Yes
Charting - Drawing
 No No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes Yes
Heatmapping
 Yes Yes
Stream Live TV
 Yes Yes
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 4 4.5
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Research - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Research - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Research - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB
 Yes Yes
Research - Fixed Income
 Yes Yes
Screener - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Screener - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Screener - Options
 Yes Yes
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes Yes
Research 5 5
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Stock Research - Reports
 8 14
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - SEC Filings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Social
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Balance Sheet
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Cash Flows
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - News
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG
 No Yes
Research 5 5
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Reports
 Yes Yes
Research 5 5
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 Yes Yes
Research 5 5
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 44 26
Option Chains - Greeks
5 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Retirement
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Videos
 Yes Yes
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 50 8
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes Yes
Live Seminars
 Yes Yes
Progress Tracking
 No Yes
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 No Yes
Investor Magazine
 Yes Yes
Education 4.5 5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Retail Locations
 357 197
Member FDIC
 Yes No
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 Yes Yes
Credit Cards
 Yes Yes
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 Yes No
No Fee Banking
 Yes Yes
Banking 4.5 4
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Charles Schwab Fidelity
Charles Schwab Review Fidelity Review
Overall 4 4.5
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 Charles Schwab vs Fidelity 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. Charles Schwab and Fidelity charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0. Looking at options, the base fees charged are the same for both brokers, $0. Option contracts at both of the brokerages are the same at $0.65 each. 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. Fidelity supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds while Charles Schwab supports Stock Trading, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Futures Trading. As far as mutual funds go, Fidelity offers its clients access to 11246 different mutual funds while Charles Schwab has 9978 available funds, a difference of 1,268.

Finally, by comparing the each broker's website and platform features, we can surface interesting differences. Neither Charles Schwab and Fidelity offer virtual trading. For mobile trading, Both Charles Schwab and Fidelity 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 and Credit Cards are available to clients of Fidelity while Charles Schwab offers customers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

Overall, between Charles Schwab and Fidelity, Fidelity is the winner.

Charles Schwab Review
Fidelity Review

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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/14/2020 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.

1$0.00 commission applies to online U.S. equity trades, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and options (+ $0.65 per contract fee) in a Fidelity retail account only for Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC retail clients. Sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee (from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). There is an Options Regulatory Fee (from $0.03 to $0.05 per contract), which applies to both option buy and sell transactions. The fee is subject to change. Other exclusions and conditions may apply. See Fidelity.com/commissions for details. Employee equity compensation transactions and accounts managed by advisors or intermediaries through Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions® are subject to different commission schedules.

Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. Before trading options, please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request.

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