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Merrill Edge vs Robinhood 2021

StockBrokers.com | May 6th, 2021

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Is Merrill Edge better than Robinhood? After testing 11 of the best online brokers over three months, Merrill Edge (91.72%) is better than Robinhood (62.62%). Merrill Edge offers $0 trades with industry-leading research tools (especially ESG research) and excellent customer service. Better yet, for current Bank of America customers, Merrill Edge's Preferred Rewards program provides the best rewards of any bank broker we tested in 2021.

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Overall Rating

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Overall 4.5 3
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5
Offering of Investments 4 2.5
Platforms & Tools 4 2
Mobile Trading 4.5 4
Research 4.5 2
Education 4.5 3
Ease of Use 5 5
Merrill Edge Review Robinhood Review
Winner check_circle

Trading Fees

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Minimum Deposit $0.00 $0.00
Stock Trades $0.00 $0.00
ETF Trade Fee $0.00 $0.00
Mutual Fund Trade Fee $19.95 N/A
Options (Base Fee) $0.00 $0.00
Options (Per Contract) $0.65 $0.00
Futures (Per Contract) N/A N/A
Broker Assisted Trades Fee $29.95 N/A

Margin Rates

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Under $24,999.99 8.63% 2.50%
$25,000.00 to $49,999.99 7.50% 2.50%
$50,000.00 to $99,999.99 7.50% 2.50%
$100,000.00 to $249,999.99 N/A 2.50%
$250,000.00 to $499,999.99 N/A 2.50%
$500,000.00 to $999,999.99 N/A 2.50%
Above $1,000,000.00 N/A 2.50%

Account Fees

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
IRA Annual Fee $0.00 $0.00
IRA Closure Fee $49.95 $0.00
Account Transfer Out (Partial) $0.00 $75.00
Account Transfer Out (Full) $49.95 $75.00
Returned ACH Fee $30.00 $9.00
Returned Wire Fee N/A $9.00
Stock Certificate Processing Fee $500.00 N/A
Stock Certificate Delivery Fee N/A N/A
Paper Statement Fee $5.00 $5.00
Paper Confirmation Fee $3.00 $2.00
Domestic Wire Fee $24.95 $25.00
International Wire Fee $24.95 $50.00

Investment Options

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Stock Trading
 Yes Yes
Fractional Shares
 No Yes
OTCBB / Pink Sheets
 Yes No
Options Trading
 Yes Yes
Complex Options Max Legs
 2 4
Futures Trading
 No No
Forex Trading
 No No
Crypto Trading No Yes
Mutual Funds (No Load)
 3147 0
Mutual Funds (Total)
 3469 0
Bonds (US Treasury)
 Yes No
Bonds (Corporate)
 Yes No
Bonds (Municipal)
 Yes No
Advisor Services
 Yes No
International Trading
 No No
AI Assistant Bot
 No No

Order Types

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Order Type - Market
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Limit
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Trailing Stop
 Yes Yes
Order Type - Contingent
 No No
Order Type - MultiContingent
 No No
Order Type - OCO
 No No
Order Type - OTO
 No No
Order Type - OTOCO
 No No

Customer Service

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Phone Support (Prospect Customers)
 No No
Phone Support (Current Customers)
 Yes Yes
Email Support
 Yes Yes
Live Chat (Prospect Customers)
 Yes No
Live Chat (Current Customers)
 Yes No
24/7 Support
 Yes No

Trading Platforms

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Desktop Platform (Windows)
 Yes No
Desktop Platform (Mac)
 Yes No
Web Platform
 Yes Yes
Paper Trading
 No No
Trade Journal
 No No
Heat Mapping
 Yes No
Watch Lists - Total Fields
 285 7

Charting Features

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Charting - Trade Off Chart
 Yes No
Charting - Indicators / Studies
 104 5
Charting - Drawing Tools
 22 0
Charting - Historical Trades
 Yes No
Charting - Corporate Events
 Yes No
Charting - Automated Analysis
 Yes No
Charting - Save Profiles
 Yes No
Trade Ideas - Technical Analysis
 Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations
 8 2
Charting - Custom Studies
 No No

Day Trading

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

Mobile Trading Apps

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
iPhone App
 Yes Yes
Android App
 Yes Yes
Apple Watch App
 Yes Yes
Trading - Stocks
 Yes Yes
Trading - After-Hours
 Yes Yes
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 Yes
Mobile Trading 4.5 4

Mobile App Features

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Watch List Syncing
Yes Yes
Stock Alerts
 Yes No
Charting - After Hours
 Yes Yes
Charting - Drawing
 Yes No
Charting - Study Customizations
Yes No
Heatmapping
 Yes No
Stream Live TV
 No No
Barcode Lookup
 No No
Mobile Trading 4.5 4

Research Overview

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
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 No
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 Yes

Stock Research

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Stock Research - Reports
 3 0
Stock Research - Earnings
 Yes Yes
Stock Research - Insiders
 Yes No
Stock Research - Metric Comp
 Yes No
Stock Research - SEC Filings
 Yes No
Stock Research - Social
 No No
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 Merrill Edge Robinhood
ETFs - Strategy Overview
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Top 10 Holdings
 Yes No
ETFs - Sector Exposure
 Yes No
ETFs - Risk Analysis
 Yes No
ETFs - Performance Analysis
 Yes Yes
ETFs - Ratings
 Yes No
ETFs - Morningstar StyleMap
 Yes No
ETFs - Reports
 Yes No

Mutual Fund Research

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Mutual Funds - Strategy Overview
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Prospectus
 Yes No
Mutual Funds - Reports
 Yes 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 Merrill Edge Robinhood
Option Chains - Streaming
 Yes Yes
Option Chains - Total Columns
 69 6
Option Chains - Greeks
5 5
Option Chains - Quick Analysis
 Yes No
Option Analysis - P&L Charts
 Yes No
Option Probability Analysis
 Yes No
Option Probability Analysis Adv
 No No
Option Positions - Greeks
Yes Yes
Option Positions - Adv Analysis
 Yes No
Option Positions - Rolling
 Yes No
Option Positions - Grouping
 Yes Yes

Beginners

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
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 No
Videos
 Yes No
Webinars (Monthly Avg)
 1 0
Webinars (Archived)
 No No
Live Seminars
 Yes No
Progress Tracking
 Yes No
Interactive Learning - Quizzes
 Yes No

Banking

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Retail Locations
 4300 0
Member FDIC
 Yes No
Checking Accounts
 Yes No
Savings Accounts
 Yes No
Credit Cards
 Yes No
Debit Cards
 Yes Yes
Mortgage Loans
 Yes No
No Fee Banking
 No No

Overall

Feature Merrill Edge Robinhood
Overall 4.5 3
Commissions & Fees 4.5 4.5
Offering of Investments 4 2.5
Platforms & Tools 4 2
Mobile Trading 4.5 4
Research 4.5 2
Education 4.5 3
Ease of Use 5 5
Merrill Edge Review Robinhood 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 Merrill Edge vs Robinhood.

Is Merrill Edge or Robinhood better for beginners?
Merrill Edge is better for beginner investors than Robinhood. Merrill Edge offers investors access to Videos, Education (Stocks), Education (ETFs), Education (Options), Education (Mutual Funds), Education (Fixed Income) and Education (Retirement).

What about Merrill Edge vs Robinhood pricing?
Merrill Edge and Robinhood both cost $0 per trade. Looking at options, the base fees charged are the same for both brokers, $0. Option contracts are pricier at Merrill Edge, costing $0.65 versus $0 at Robinhood. For a complete commissions summary, see our best discount brokers guide.

Does Merrill Edge or Robinhood offer a wider range of investment options?
Merrill Edge offers a more diverse selection of investment options than Robinhood. Merrill Edge offers investors access to Stock Trading, OTCBB / Pink Sheets, Options Trading, Mutual Funds and Advisor Services. Looking at Mutual Funds, Robinhood trails Merrill Edge by 3,469 total mutual funds, with Merrill Edge offering 3469 and Robinhood offering 0.

Which trading platform is better: Merrill Edge or Robinhood?
To compare the trading platforms of both Merrill Edge and Robinhood, we tested each broker's trading tools, research capabilities, and mobile apps. For trading tools, Merrill Edge offers a better experience. With research, Merrill Edge offers superior market research. Finally, we found Merrill Edge 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. Clients can have Debit Cards at Robinhood while customers at Merrill Edge can have Checking Accounts, Savings Accounts, Debit Cards, Credit Cards and Mortgage Loans.

Overall winner: Merrill Edge

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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.

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