Is Fidelity better than Lightspeed? After testing 11 of the best online brokers over three months, Fidelity (99.36%) is better than Lightspeed (61.3%). Fidelity is a value-driven online broker offering $0 trades, industry-leading research, excellent trading tools, an easy-to-use mobile app, and comprehensive retirement services. Serving over 32 million customers, Fidelity is a winner for everyday investors.
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Fidelity vs Lightspeed 2021
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No commissions to trade online U.S. stocks, ETFs, and options.1
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Overall Rating
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Fidelity Review | Lightspeed Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Trading Fees
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
| Minimum Deposit | $0.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Stock Trades | $0.00 | $4.50 |
| ETF Trade Fee | $0.00 | $4.50 |
| Mutual Fund Trade Fee | $49.95 | N/A |
| Options (Base Fee) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Options (Per Contract) | $0.65 | $0.60 |
| Futures (Per Contract) | N/A | $1.29 |
| Broker Assisted Trades Fee | $32.95 | $25.00 |
Margin Rates
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
| Under $24,999.99 | 8.33% | 7.50% |
| $25,000.00 to $49,999.99 | 7.83% | 7.50% |
| $50,000.00 to $99,999.99 | 6.88% | 6.50% |
| $100,000.00 to $249,999.99 | 6.83% | 6.50% |
| $250,000.00 to $499,999.99 | 6.58% | 5.75% |
| $500,000.00 to $999,999.99 | 4.25% | 5.25% |
| Above $1,000,000.00 | 4.00% | 5.00% |
Account Fees
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
| IRA Annual Fee | $0.00 | $35.00 |
| IRA Closure Fee | $0.00 | $95.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Partial) | $0.00 | $95.00 |
| Account Transfer Out (Full) | $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 |
Investment Options
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Stock Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Fractional Shares |
Yes | No |
|
OTCBB / Pink Sheets |
Yes | Yes |
|
Options Trading |
Yes | Yes |
|
Complex Options Max Legs |
4 | 4 |
|
Futures Trading |
No | Yes |
|
Forex Trading |
No | No |
| Crypto Trading | No | No |
|
Mutual Funds (No Load) |
3786 | 0 |
|
Mutual Funds (Total) |
9842 | 0 |
|
Bonds (US Treasury) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Bonds (Corporate) |
Yes | No |
|
Bonds (Municipal) |
Yes | No |
|
Advisor Services |
Yes | No |
|
International Trading |
Yes | No |
|
AI Assistant Bot |
Yes | No |
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 |
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 |
|
Heat Mapping |
Yes | No |
|
Watch Lists - Total Fields |
91 | 141 |
Charting Features
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Charting - Trade Off Chart |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - Indicators / Studies |
129 | 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 |
|
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
5 | 4 |
|
Charting - Custom Studies |
No | No |
Day Trading
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Stock Alerts - Basic Fields |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Alerts - Advanced Fields |
Yes | No |
|
Streaming Time & Sales |
No | 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 |
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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 |
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 | Yes |
|
Trading - Complex Options |
Yes | Yes |
|
Trading - Option Rolling |
No | No |
|
Touch / Face ID |
Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading |
Mobile App Features
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Watch List Syncing |
Yes | No |
|
Stock Alerts |
Yes | Yes |
|
Charting - After Hours |
Yes | No |
|
Charting - Drawing |
No | No |
|
Charting - Study Customizations |
Yes | No |
|
Heatmapping |
Yes | No |
|
Stream Live TV |
Yes | No |
|
Barcode Lookup |
No | No |
| Mobile Trading |
Research Overview
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Research - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - ETFs |
Yes | Yes |
|
Research - Mutual Funds |
Yes | No |
|
Research - Pink Sheets / OTCBB |
Yes | No |
|
Research - Fixed Income |
Yes | No |
|
Screener - Stocks |
Yes | Yes |
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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 |
Stock Research
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Stock Research - Reports |
11 | 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 |
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Stock Research - Balance Sheet |
Yes | No |
|
Stock Research - Cash Flows |
Yes | No |
|
Stock Research - News |
Yes | Yes |
|
Stock Research - ESG |
Yes | No |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Beginners
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Education (Stocks) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (ETFs) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Options) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Education (Mutual Funds) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Fixed Income) |
Yes | No |
|
Education (Retirement) |
Yes | No |
|
Paper Trading |
No | Yes |
|
Videos |
Yes | Yes |
|
Webinars (Monthly Avg) |
15 | 1 |
|
Webinars (Archived) |
Yes | Yes |
|
Live Seminars |
Yes | No |
|
Progress Tracking |
Yes | No |
|
Interactive Learning - Quizzes |
Yes | No |
Banking
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
|
Retail Locations |
200 | 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 |
Overall
| Feature | Fidelity | Lightspeed |
| Overall | ||
| Commissions & Fees | ||
| Offering of Investments | ||
| Platforms & Tools | ||
| Mobile Trading | ||
| Research | ||
| Education | ||
| Ease of Use | ||
| Fidelity Review | Lightspeed Review | |
| Winner | check_circle |
Comparing brokers side by side is no easy task. For our 2021 annual broker review, we spent hundreds of hours assessing 11 brokerages to find the best online broker. Let's compare Fidelity vs Lightspeed.
Is Fidelity or Lightspeed better for beginners?
Fidelity is better for beginner investors than Lightspeed. Fidelity offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Fixed Income) and Education (Retirement).
What about Fidelity vs Lightspeed pricing?
Lightspeed, with its regular stock trades costing $4.50, is more expensive than Fidelity's rate of $0 per trade. For options trading, both Fidelity and Lightspeed charge the same base fee of $0. Each option contract then costs $0.65 at Fidelity and $0.60 at Lightspeed. For a complete commissions summary, see our best discount brokers guide.
Does Fidelity or Lightspeed offer a wider range of investment options?
Fidelity offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Lightspeed. Fidelity offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, OTCBB / Pink Sheets, Options Trading, Mutual Funds, Advisor Services and International Trading. Looking at Mutual Funds, Lightspeed trails Fidelity by 9,842 total mutual funds, with Fidelity offering 9842 and Lightspeed offering 0.
Which trading platform is better: Fidelity or Lightspeed?
To compare the trading platforms of both Fidelity and Lightspeed, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Fidelity offers a better experience. With research, Fidelity offers superior market research. Finally, we found Fidelity to provide better mobile trading apps.
Does either broker offer banking?
Online banking can be a benefit for investors, and some brokerages do provide banking services to customers. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards and Credit Cards are available to clients of Fidelity while Lightspeed offers customers none of these.
Overall winner: Fidelity
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All pricing data was obtained from a published web site as of 01/19/2021 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.
1Sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal.
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.
