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Firstrade vs Fidelity 2020

StockBrokers.com | January 21st, 2020

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  3. Firstrade vs Fidelity Review

Is Fidelity better than Firstrade? After scoring brokers on over 3,500 data points for our 2020 review, Fidelity (95%) is better than Firstrade (76.33%).

fideltiy

Best research experience - Open Account
Trade Commission-Free: No commissions to trade online U.S. stocks, ETFs, and options.1

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

Firstrade

Best for Chinese-speaking investors - Open Account
Special Offer: Commission-Free Trading on 700+ ETFs

Firstrade offers $0 stock, ETF, and options trades, and is best known for its easy-to-use website, alongside its Chinese language services. While Firstrade offers Morningstar research and a variety of tools, its overall offering struggles to stand out against household name brands who are also priced at $0. Read full review

Overall Rating

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Overall 4 5
Firstrade Review Fidelity Review

Trading Fees

Feature Firstrade 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 $0.00 $0.65
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $0.00 $49.95
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $19.95 $32.95
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Under $24,999.99 9.00% 9.33%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 8.75% 8.83%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 8.25% 7.88%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 7.75% 7.83%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 7.50% 7.58%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 5.60% 5.25%
Above $1,000,000.00 5.00% 5.00%
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $0.00
Returned ACH Fee $50.00 $0.00
Returned Wire Fee $50.00 $0.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee $300.00 $0.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee $300.00 $100.00
Paper Statement Fee $5.00 $0.00
Paper Confirmation Fee $3.00 $0.00
Domestic Wire Fee $30.00 $0.00
International Wire Fee $50.00 $0.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5

Investment Options

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
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 No
Commission-Free ETFs all all
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 10746 3957
Mutual Funds (Total)
 14939 11246
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes Yes
Interest Sharing
 No Yes
Advisor Services
 No Yes
International Trading
 No Yes
Offering of Investments 4 4.5
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Firstrade 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
 No Yes
Offering of Investments 4 4.5
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 No Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 No Yes
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Trade Journal
 No Yes
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 47 91
Heat Mapping
 Yes Yes
AI Assistant Bot
 No Yes
Platforms & Tools 2.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 No Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 58 166
Charting - Drawing Tools
 8 22
Charting - Historical Trades
 No Yes
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 2.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

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

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 No Yes
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes Yes
Trading - Conditional Orders
 No No
Trading - Mutual Funds
 No 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 Firstrade 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
 No Yes
Stream Live TV
 No Yes
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 3.5 5
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature Firstrade 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
 No Yes
Screener - Bonds
 Yes Yes
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 No Yes
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes Yes
Research 4 5
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Stock Research - Reports
 1 16
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
 No Yes
Stock Research - Balance Sheet
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Cash Flows
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - News
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG
 No Yes
Research 4 5
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Firstrade 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 4 5
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes Yes
Mutual Funds - Reports
 No 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 4 5
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Option Chains - Streaming
 No Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 8 26
Option Chains - Greeks
5 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 No Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 No Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 No Yes
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 No Yes
Option Positions - Greeks
No Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 No Yes
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping
 No Yes
Platforms & Tools 2.5 4.5
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 No Yes
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 Yes
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 6 8
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes Yes
Live Seminars
 No Yes
Progress Tracking
 No Yes
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 No Yes
Investor Magazine
 No Yes
Education 3 5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Retail Locations
 1 197
Member FDIC
 No No
Checking Accounts
 Yes Yes
Savings Accounts
 No Yes
Credit Cards
 No Yes
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 No No
No Fee Banking
 No Yes
Banking 2 4
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Firstrade Fidelity
Firstrade Review Fidelity Review
Overall 4 5
Winner check_circle

Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our annual broker review, we assess over a dozen brokers on hundreds of different variables to find the best online broker. Yielding a database of over 4,000 data points, let's compare Fidelity vs Firstrade.

To start this comparison, first, we will take a look at the online broker commission rates for placing regular stock and options trades. Fidelity and Firstrade charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0. Looking at options, the base fees charged are the same for both brokers, $0. Each option contract then costs $0.65 at Fidelity and $0 at Firstrade. It's important to note that not all brokers charge a flat fee per trade. Thus, it is important to read the full commission notes for each broker, which we include with each online broker review.

Next to commission rates, being able to trade what you want is important. Fidelity alongside Firstrade offer clients Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. Looking at mutual funds, Firstrade offers its clients access to 14939 different mutual funds while Fidelity has 11246 available funds, a difference of 3,693.

Trading access aside, by comparing popular features and functionality, we can break down relevant differences between both brokers. Neither broker offers virtual trading. Taking a look at mobile trading, Fidelity and Firstrade both have a iPhone App, iPad App and Android App. Not to be left out, online banking is also a nice benefit for many investors, and some brokerages provide these services to clients. Clients can have Checking Accounts and Debit Cards at Firstrade while customers at Fidelity can have Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards and Credit Cards.

Overall, between Fidelity and Firstrade, Fidelity is the winner.

Fidelity Review
Firstrade Review

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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/20/2020 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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