Best Online Brokers in Canada (2026): Fees and Platforms Compared

This page compares Canada’s online brokers and trading platforms on what they actually charge and what they let you hold, then points to a full review of each one. Commissions have fallen to $0 at several brokers , so the differences that remain sit elsewhere: currency conversion on US trades, account and transfer fees, which registered accounts a broker supports, and whether the platform suits how often you trade. Every fee below comes from the broker’s own pricing page as of September 2026; broker pricing changes often, so confirm it before you open an account.

Commissions at Canadian online brokers

The table lists the standard online commission for a Canadian or US stock or ETF trade, and the costs that most often change the picture.

Two newer apps also compete for active traders: Webull charges $0 on stock and ETF trades, and Moomoo charges a per-share commission (CA$1.49 minimum on Canadian trades) but lists no currency exchange fee. Their reviews cover the tools each is built around.

Costs beyond the commission

A $0 commission does not make a broker free. These are the charges that decide the real cost for most investors.

Currency conversion on US trades

Buying a US-listed stock or ETF with Canadian dollars means converting currency, and the broker’s conversion charge can outweigh any commission. Wealthsimple charges 1.5% on US trades placed from a CAD account, and Questrade’s standard conversion is 1.5%. At 1.5%, converting $10,000 costs $150. Interactive Brokers converts at 0.20 basis points of the trade value with a US$2.00 minimum. Investors who hold a US-dollar balance, or who convert with Norbert’s Gambit, avoid most of that spread; how to buy US stocks from Canada compares the options, including Canadian-listed ETFs that hold US stocks.

Account, administration and inactivity fees

Most discount brokers no longer charge an annual fee on registered accounts, but a few still do below a balance threshold: National Bank Direct Brokerage charges $100 a year unless a waiver applies, and CIBC Investor’s Edge charges $100 when combined balances are $10,000 or less. Questrade lists no annual account fee and no inactivity fee. Check the fee schedule for the balance you will actually hold in the first year, since a flat fee weighs most on a small account.

Transfer-out fees

The institution you leave charges the transfer-out fee, not the one you join. Questrade, for example, charges $150 to transfer an account out, and the fee is per account, so moving a TFSA, an RRSP and a non-registered account means three fees. Some receiving brokers reimburse transfer fees for qualifying balances; those offers change often, so get the current terms before you start. The guide to transferring an account to Wealthsimple walks through the process step by step.

Options, ECN and other per-trade fees

Options usually carry a per-contract fee even where the base commission is $0: $0.75 at Qtrade, $0.90 at BMO InvestorLine and $1.25 plus the commission at TD Direct Investing, while Questrade lists $0 per contract on all US equity options. Questrade charges no ECN fees on Canadian orders and applies them only to a small set of US orders: orders you route directly to a particular exchange, OTC securities and fills in the overnight session. The options trading platforms comparison sets the per-contract, exercise and assignment fees side by side.

How to choose an online broker

The broker that is cheapest on paper is not always the right one. Four questions narrow the list quickly.

1. How do you invest? Someone buying one all-in-one ETF each month needs a simple platform with $0 commissions and automatic deposits. An active trader needs real-time data, advanced order types and low per-trade costs; the day trading guide explains the CRA’s business-income test that applies to frequent traders.
2. Does it offer the accounts you need? Not every broker offers every registered account. Confirm the RESP, RRIF, LIRA, spousal RRSP, corporate or margin account you want before opening, and check whether USD can be held inside your TFSA and RRSP.
3. How much of your money is in US dollars? If you buy US-listed securities often, currency conversion will cost more than commissions ever did. Compare conversion rates and whether the broker supports a USD balance or journaling for Norbert’s Gambit.
4. What does it cost to leave your current broker? Add up transfer-out fees per account and any reimbursement offer from the new broker.

Beyond cost, service and platform quality differ. Bank-owned brokers let you move money instantly from a chequing account at the same bank, while app-first brokers such as Wealthsimple are built around the phone. Recent reviews of support response times are more useful than an overall star rating.

Which type of broker fits which investor

Are online brokers safe?

Canadian investment dealers are regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), and most are members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). CIPF protects securities and cash held by a member firm that becomes insolvent (not crypto, not market losses), up to $1,000,000 for all general accounts combined (including TFSAs and FHSAs), a separate $1,000,000 for registered retirement accounts and another $1,000,000 for RESPs. Check that a broker is a CIPF member before opening an account; the member list is on cipf.ca.

Online broker or robo-advisor?

A robo-advisor builds and rebalances an ETF portfolio for you and charges an annual management fee on top of the ETFs’ own costs, while a self-directed account at an online broker costs only the ETF fees and any trading costs. The robo-advisor comparison covers fees and minimums at each provider, and robo-advisor vs a DIY ETF portfolio works through when the fee is worth paying.

Broker guides in this section

Online broker reviews

• Wealthsimple review: Wealthsimple Trade, managed investing, USD accounts and account tiers
• Questrade review: fees, platforms and account types
• Interactive Brokers Canada review: per-share pricing, currency conversion and global markets
• Qtrade Direct Investing review: research tools and DRIP
• National Bank Direct Brokerage review: the first bank-owned broker to drop commissions
• BMO InvestorLine review
• CIBC Investor’s Edge review
• RBC Direct Investing review, including the GoSmart account
• Scotia iTRADE review
• TD Direct Investing review, including WebBroker and TD Active Trader
• Moomoo Canada review and Webull Canada review

Robo-advisors

• Best robo-advisors in Canada
• Robo-advisor fees at every balance
• Robo-advisor vs building your own ETF portfolio
• Robo-advisor vs financial advisor vs DIY
• Questwealth Portfolios review, Justwealth review and CI Direct Investing review

Head-to-head comparisons

• Wealthsimple vs Questrade
• Questrade vs Wealthsimple vs Interactive Brokers
• Wealthsimple vs Interactive Brokers
• Questrade vs Interactive Brokers
• Qtrade vs Questrade and Qtrade vs Wealthsimple Trade
• Wealthsimple vs the Big 5 bank brokerages
• Robo-advisor match-ups: Wealthsimple vs Questwealth, Wealthsimple vs Justwealth and Wealthsimple vs CI Direct Investing

Platform roundups

• Commission-free trading platforms and their hidden costs
• Investing and stock trading apps compared
• Options trading platforms compared

How-tos and strategies

• How to buy US stocks from Canada
• Norbert’s Gambit: converting CAD to USD cheaply
• Transferring an account to Wealthsimple
• Margin accounts in Canada
• Day trading in Canada: rules and tax
• Options vs stocks