J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing vs Vanguard 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 J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing vs Vanguard.

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 J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers more comprehensive new investor education for beginning investors than Vanguard. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Bonds) and Education (Retirement), while Vanguard offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks) and Education (Retirement). Neither have Paper Trading.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing and Vanguard charge the same amount for regular stock trades, $0.00. Option contracts are pricier at Vanguard, costing $1.00 per contract versus $0.65 per contract at J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing and Vanguard both charge (Not offered) per option 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 Vanguard offers a more comprehensive offering than J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing ranks #10 out of 18 brokers for our Investment Options category, while Vanguard ranks #9.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers investors access to Stock Trading, Fractional Shares, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds and Advisor Services, while Vanguard offers investors access to Stock Trading, Options Trading, OTC Stocks, Mutual Funds and Advisor Services. Neither have Futures Trading and Forex Trading. Looking at Mutual Funds, Vanguard trails J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing in its offering of no transaction fee (NTF) mutual funds, with J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offering 3500 and Vanguard offering .

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 neither J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing or Vanguard offer crypto trading.

To compare the day trading platforms of J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing and Vanguard, 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, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers a better experience.

After testing 25 features across the stock trading apps of J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing and Vanguard, we found J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing to be better overall. The best stock market apps are easy to use, have excellent design, and deliver a fully featured online trading experience. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing ranks #12 out of 18 brokers, while Vanguard ranks #18.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Trading App Gallery

Vanguard Trading App Gallery

For research, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers superior market research than Vanguard. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing ranks #8 and Vanguard ranks #9.

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.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing requires a minimum deposit of $0.00, while Vanguard requires a minimum deposit of $0.00. From our testing, we found that SoFi is the only broker that requires a minimum deposit.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing charges 13.25% for accounts under $25,000 while Vanguard charges a margin rate of 13.75%. The industry average of the 18 brokers we track is 9%.

While J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offers fractional shares, Vanguard does not. 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 J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing and Vanguard allow you to trade penny stocks. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing charges $0.00 per trade while Vanguard charges $0.00. 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. Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans are offered by J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, while Vanguard offers neither of these.

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.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing could not be tested or rated due to the fact it does not offer phone support for prospective customers.

Vanguard was rated 6th out of 13 brokers, with an overall score of 8.33 out of 10.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing makes it easy for Chase Bank customers to invest and allows access to J.P. Morgan research. On the downside, the broker features are sparse compared to industry leaders.

In the 2024 StockBrokers.com Annual Awards, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed ranked No. 1 for New Tool and placed among Best in Class for Bank Brokerage.

Vanguard is aimed squarely at buy-and-hold investors, and its platform reflects that focus. Vanguard is known for its low-cost funds, and the investment platform is really built for those looking to invest solely in mutual funds and ETFs.