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Fidelity vs Lightspeed 2019

StockBrokers.com | November 12th, 2019

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Is Lightspeed better than Fidelity? After scoring brokers in nine separate categories for our 2019 review, Fidelity (86.62%) is better than Lightspeed (51.8%).

fideltiy

Best for Investors
Fidelity Investments charges $0 per trade and received 4.5 stars in our 2019 Review, including being awarded Best in Class for 12 different categories. It is our top recommendation for discount trading. The broker also took home the #1 awards for Research and Order Execution. Finally, Fidelity's mobile app was rated Best Mobile App for Investors. Read full review.

Lightspeed

2.5 Stars Overall
Lightspeed is a direct-access, online discount brokerage that focuses on serving active and professional traders through its in-house and third-party trading platforms. Casual traders beware though, not trading enough will mean getting stuck paying high monthly platform fees. Read full review.

Overall Rating

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Overall 4.5 2.5
Fidelity Review Lightspeed Review

Trading Fees

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Minimum Deposit $0.00 $10,000.00
Stock Trade Fee (per trade) $0.00 $4.50
ETF Trade Fee $0.00 $4.50
Options Base Fee $0.00 $0.00
Options Per Contract Fee $0.65 $0.60
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $49.95 N/A
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $32.95 $25.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Margin Rates

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Under $24,999.99 9.58% 8.50%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 9.08% 8.50%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 8.13% 7.50%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 8.08% 7.50%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 7.83% 6.75%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 5.50% 6.25%
Above $1,000,000.00 5.25% 6.00%
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Account Fees

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $35.00
IRA Closure Fee $0.00 $95.00
Returned ACH Fee $0.00 $30.00
Returned Wire Fee $0.00 $30.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee $0.00 $75.00
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee $100.00 $50.00
Paper Statement Fee $0.00 $5.00
Paper Confirmation Fee $0.00 $2.00
Domestic Wire Fee $0.00 $20.00
International Wire Fee $0.00 $50.00
Commissions & Fees 4.5 3

Investment Options

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes Yes
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 4 4
Futures Trading
 No Yes
Forex Trading
 No No
Commission-Free ETFs all 0
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 4031 0
Mutual Funds (Total)
 11782 0
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes Yes
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes No
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes No
Advisor Services
 Yes No
International Trading
 Yes No
Offering of Investments 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Order Types

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
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 3
Winner check_circle

Trading Platforms

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes Yes
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes Yes
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No Yes
Trade Journal
 Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 91 141
Two-Factor Authentication Login
 Yes Yes
Heat Mapping
 Yes No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Charting Features

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 166 20
Charting - Drawing Tools
 22 8
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes Yes
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes No
Charting - Automated Analysis
 Yes No
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes Yes
Charting - Study Customizations
 5 4
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No
Platforms & Tools 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Day Trading

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes Yes
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields
 Yes No
Streaming Time & Sales
 Yes Yes
Streaming TV
 Yes No
Direct Market Routing - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Direct Market Routing - Options
 Yes 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
 Yes Yes
Order Liquidity Rebates
 No Yes
Winner check_circle

Mobile Trading Apps

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

Mobile App Features

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Watch List Syncing
Yes No
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields
 Yes No
Charting - After Hours
 Yes No
Charting - Drawing
 No No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes No
Customizable Homescreen
 Yes No
Heatmapping
 Yes No
Stream Live TV
 Yes No
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 4.5 1.5
Winner check_circle

Research Overview

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Research - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Research - ETFs
 Yes No
Research - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB
 Yes No
Research - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Screener - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Screener - ETFs
 Yes No
Screener - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Screener - Options
 Yes No
Screener - Bonds
 Yes No
Misc - Portfolio Builder
 Yes No
Misc - Portfolio Allocation
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

Stock Research

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Stock Research - Reports
 12 0
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes No
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings
 Yes No
Stock Research - Social
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Balance Sheet
 Yes No
Stock Research - Cash Flows
 Yes No
Stock Research - News
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - ESG
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

ETF Research

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes No
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes No
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes No
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes No
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 Yes No
ETFs - Reports
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Reports
 No No
Mutual Funds - Fees Breakdown
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Asset Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Sector Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Country Allocation
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - StyleMap
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - 3rd Party Ratings
 Yes No
Research 5 1
Winner check_circle

Options Trading

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 26 60
Option Chains - Greeks
5 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes Yes
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes Yes
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes No
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 Yes No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes No
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes Yes
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes
Platforms & Tools 4.5 3
Winner check_circle

Beginners

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Has Education - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Has Education - ETFs
 Yes No
Has Education - Options
 Yes Yes
Has Education - Mutual Funds
 Yes No
Has Education - Fixed Income
 Yes No
Has Education - Retirement
 Yes No
Paper Trading
 No Yes
Videos
 Yes Yes
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 8 1
Webinars (Archived)
 Yes Yes
Live Seminars
 Yes No
Progress Tracking
 Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes No
Investor Magazine
 Yes No
Education 5 2.5
Winner check_circle

Banking

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Retail Locations
 197 0
Member FDIC
 No No
Checking Accounts
 Yes No
Savings Accounts
 Yes No
Credit Cards
 Yes No
Debit Cards
 Yes No
Mortgage Loans
 No No
No Fee Banking
 Yes No
Banking 4 0.5
Winner check_circle

Overall

Feature Fidelity Lightspeed
Fidelity Review Lightspeed Review
Overall 4.5 2.5
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 Fidelity vs Lightspeed 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. Lightspeed charges more than Fidelity for placing regular stock trades ($4.50 and $0, respectively). With options, the base fee is $0 for both Fidelity and Lightspeed. Each option contract then costs $0.65 at Fidelity and $0.60 at Lightspeed. 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. Lightspeed supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Futures Trading while Fidelity supports Stock Trading, Options Trading and Mutual Funds. As far as mutual funds go, Fidelity boasts an offering of 11782 mutual funds compared to Lightspeed's 0 available funds.

Finally, by comparing the each broker's website and platform features, we can surface interesting differences. Lightspeed has virtual trading, Fidelity doesn't. For mobile trading, Fidelity along with Lightspeed both support the 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 Lightspeed offers customers none of these.

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

Fidelity Review
Lightspeed 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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