Fidelity Investments vs. TD Ameritrade
Online brokerage services have existed for over 20 years. Trading investments today has never been cheaper. So while the race towards cheap trades (in some cases free) is happening, other functionality is becoming more important when selecting a stock broker.
For this review, I compare Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade. Which one is better depends on your needs? So let's examine the major features first.
We've determined with online brokerages the most critical feature customers care about is the cost per trade. The second most important feature is the minimum deposit, and the last is if the broker offers mutual funds. Let's look at how Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade stack up against each other on these points.
To start, we will consider the minimum investment required for both applications. In other words, how much does one need to invest to use the service? Both Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade have the same minimum of $0. So they are equal in this requirement.
Next I'll consider cost per trade for both brokers. Both Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade cost the same at $0.00/trade and are equal in price.
Both Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade offer mutual funds. So this feature isn't a clear difference between the stock brokers.
Overall, Fidelity Investments rates 9 out of 10, while TD Ameritrade ranks 9.5 out of 10. For more information on either, you can read our full reviews on Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade.
Compare & Alternatives
| Highlights |  |
|
| Rating | /10 | 9/10 |
| Commissions & Fees | /10 | /10 |
| Customer Service | /10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | /10 | 9/10 |
| Tools & Resources | /10 | /10 |
| Amount of Deals | /10 | 10/10 |
| Account Options | /10 | 8/10 |
| Promotions | Commission-free trades | |
| Min. Investment | $ | $0 |
| Stock Trades | $/trade | $0/trade |
| Options Trades | $0.65/contract | |
| Mutual Funds | ||
| Accounts | Taxable, Joint, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), Solo 401(k), Trusts, Limited Partnerships, Partnerships, Coverdell, 529, Custodial, Non-Profit, Annuities, Checking, Savings, Money Market, CDs | Taxable, Joint, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), Solo 401(k), Trusts, Limited Partnerships, Partnerships, Coverdell, 529, Custodial, Non-Profit, Annuities, Checking, Savings, Money Market, CDs |
| Access | Web Based, iPhone App, Apple Watch, Android App, BlackBerry App | Web Based, iPhone App, Apple Watch, Android App, BlackBerry App |
| Broker Assisted Trade | $ | $25 |
| Virtual Trades | ||
| No Fee ETFs | 300 | |
| Customer Service | Phone: 24/7; Text: 24/7; Live Chat: 24/7; Email | |
| Autotrading | ||
| TD Ameritrade |
Fidelity does not charge any mandatory restructuring fees, when a stock merges, while td ameritarde charges $38 dollars for this, so say you have 3 shares of a ten dollar stock that merges, on td ameritrade you will loose 100% of your money plus any position in the stock along with a negative 8 dollar balance. Stupid unneeded charge b/c mergers happen alot and our out of investors control, and for them to take over 100% of your invested money is crazy, I thought the idea was to build positions and shares up over time, when you have the available funds to do so, so td ameritrade kind of is counter productive to this strategy!
Thanks for sharing, pete. As a new investor with TDA, I found this out the hard way. A split and then a reverse split cost me $72 in “mandatory reorganization fees” in 3 months, which would have wiped out 45% of my year-to-date profits if I hadn’t requested the fee be waived/reimbursed. They agreed to a “one time courtesy” a second time only after some pushback due to a new customer service rep “error”. The second rep advised me to dump my positions before stocks splits, but was uncertain if such alerts were available. If using a buy-and-hold long strategy, this is especially problematic since splits and mergers are not uncommon (likely more common given the recently anounced Apple & Tesla splits). I’m surprised it isn’t more widely shared among the forums, or websites comparing the brokerage fees/commissions. Beware new investors!