Fidelity vs Charles Schwab 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 Fidelity vs Charles Schwab.

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 Fidelity offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Charles Schwab. Both Fidelity and Charles Schwab offer Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement). Neither have Paper Trading.

Fidelity and Charles Schwab charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Fidelity and Charles Schwab both charge $0.65 per option contract. For futures, Charles Schwab charges $2.25 per contract and Fidelity charges (Not offered) per 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 Charles Schwab offers a more comprehensive offering than Fidelity. Fidelity ranks #3 out of 18 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Charles Schwab ranks #2.

Fidelity offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds and Advisor Services, while Charles Schwab offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds, Futures Trading, Forex Trading and Advisor Services. Looking at Mutual Funds, Fidelity trails Charles Schwab in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with Charles Schwab offering 6085 and Fidelity offering 3401.

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 Fidelity offers crypto trading, while Charles Schwab does not.

To compare the day trading platforms of Fidelity and Charles Schwab, 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, Charles Schwab offers a better experience.

After testing 25 features across the stock trading apps of Fidelity and Charles Schwab, we found Fidelity to be better overall. The best stock market apps are easy to use, have excellent design, and deliver a fully featured online trading experience. Fidelity ranks #3 out of 18 brokers, while Charles Schwab ranks #4.

Fidelity Trading App Gallery

Charles Schwab Trading App Gallery

For research, Charles Schwab offers superior market research than Fidelity. Fidelity ranks #5 and Charles Schwab ranks #1.

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.

Fidelity requires a minimum deposit of $0.00, while Charles Schwab requires a minimum deposit of $0.00. From our testing, we found that SoFi is the only broker that requires a minimum deposit.

Fidelity charges 13.575% for accounts under $25,000 while Charles Schwab charges a margin rate of 13.575%. The industry average of the 18 brokers we track is 9%.

Fidelity and Charles Schwab allow traders to trade fractional shares. Our research has found that 54% 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.

Both Fidelity and Charles Schwab allow you to trade penny stocks. Fidelity charges $0.00 per trade while Charles Schwab charges $6.95. 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. Debit Cards and Credit Cards are offered by Fidelity, while Charles Schwab offers Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

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.

Fidelity was rated 1st out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 9.31 out of 10.

Charles Schwab was rated 3rd out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 9.1 out of 10.

Fidelity is a value-driven online broker offering $0 trades, industry-leading research, excellent trading tools and an easy-to-use mobile app.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, Fidelity was rated No. 1 Broker Overall and No. 1 for Innovation, Phone Support, Beginners, Commissions & Fees, IRA Accounts, Penny Stock Trading, Customer Service, and Education. It also placed among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Research, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Investment Options, Education, Ease of Use, Day Trading, and High Net Worth Investors.

With the addition of TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim platforms and the enhancement of several features, Schwab is now a vigorous competitor with thought-provoking research and commentary and a client experience to fit any preference.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, Charles Schwab was ranked No. 1 for Research, High Net Worth Investors, Bond Research, Desktop Stock Trading Platform, and Trader App. It was among Best in Class for Commissions & Fees, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading Apps, Investment Options, Education, Ease of Use, Day Trading, Beginners, Customer Service, Futures Trading, Options Trading, Penny Stock Trading, IRA Accounts and Overall.