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5-star brokerage firm rating


Questrade Trading Fees and Products

  • Stocks and ETFs: 1 cent per share, $4.95 minimum, $9.95 maximum per trade
  • Options: $9.95 plus $1 per contract
  • All options assignments are $12.95 flat
  • Mutual funds: $9.95
  • Gold: $20 per trade
  • International stocks: 1% of the trade value (minimum charge of $125 USD)
  • Bonds: $30 per trade
  • Forex: spreads as low as 1-2 pips on the major currency pairs
  • Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, international stocks, gold, CNSX securities, bonds, term deposits, GICs, ETFs
  • Questrade minimum deposit to open account: $1,000 ($250 minimum to keep an account open)
  • All Questrade fees
  • Questrade login, Questrade promotional code

Questrade Pros

  • Very good commissions on all products
  • Ability to buy physical gold
  • No surcharges for large orders, penny stocks, or extended hours trading
  • Ability to hold U.S. dollars
  • Forex trading is available
  • Online Trading Academy courses
  • Checking account (but with annual fee)

Questrade Cons

  • Customer service needs improvement
  • No research reports
  • Quarterly $20 inactivity fee if no trades in a quarter AND account balance less than $5,000
  • Outgoing ACAT: $125 - most companies charge this fee, but few set it so high

Best Canadian Brokerage Review


Questrade Review

Questrade Promotion Link - $50 in free trades when you open account:




5-star brokerage firm rating

OptionsXpress review

OptionsXpress is a US brokerage that upon review and at their discretion will accept accounts from Canada residents. Although their account opening process is geared toward opening accounts for persons with a U.S. domestic address, they will review and open foreign accounts depending on the country of residence and at their discretion.

OptionsXpress Commissions and Products

  • Stocks and ETFs: $8.95
  • Options (active traders): $12.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.25/contract for over 10 contracts
  • Options (non-active traders): $14.95 for up to 10 contracts, $1.50/contract for over 10 contracts
  • Mutual funds: $9.95
  • Bonds: $5 per bond, $9.95 minimum
  • Futures: 1-40 contracts $6.99; 41-100 contracts $5.99; 101-300 contracts $4.99; 301-1,000 contracts $3.99; 1,001 + contracts $2.99
  • Options on Futures: 1-40 contracts $12.99; 41-100 contracts $8.99; 101-300 contracts $7.99; 301-1,000 contracts $6.99; 1,001 + contracts $5.99
  • Covered Calls: $22.90 up to 10 contracts
  • Penny Options: 1-10 contracts $4.95 flat; 10 + $0.50/contract
  • Spreads, Straddles & Combos: 2-10 contracts - $12.95 Flat (active traders) $14.95 Flat (non-active traders); 10 + contracts - $1.25/contract (active traders); $1.50/contract (non-active traders)
  • Investments: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, futures, options on futures, covered calls, ETFs
  • OptionXpress minimum deposit to open account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
  • All OptionsXpress fees

OptionsXpress Pros

  • Best customer service
  • Many well-designed trading tools and cutting-edge trading technology
  • Free streaming quotes
  • $100 bonus for opening new account
  • No fee IRA accounts
  • Great research
  • Free virtual trading
  • No money down to open new account
  • Free account transfers
  • Free instructor-led online classes
  • Free broker-assisted trading
  • Free DRIP: dividend reinvestment plan (contact customer service to set up)
  • No platform fees

OptionsXpress Cons

  • Higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs

Full Review


OptionsXpress Review

OptionsXpress Promotion Link - $100 bonus when you open account:

OptionsXpress review



3-star brokerage firm rating



Etrade Review

Etrade Commissions and Products

  • Stocks and ETFs: $9.99 if 0-149 trades per quarter; $7.99 if 150+ trades per quarter
  • Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $34.99 if 0-149 trades per quarter; $32.99 if 150+ trades per quarter
  • Options: $9.99 plus $0.75/contract if 0-149 trades per quarter; $7.99 plus $0.75/contract if 150+ trades per quarter
  • Mutual funds: $19.99
  • Futures contracts: $2.99 per contract, per side + fees
  • Forex: markup or markdown will be included in the prices quoted on the E*TRADE FX trading platform
  • Fixed Income: markup or markdown and any transaction fee will be included in the price quoted
  • Bonds: $1 per bond (minimum $10, maximum $250) for online secondary market trades. Includes Agency bonds, Corporate bonds, Municipal bonds, Brokered CDs, Pass-thrus, CMOs, Asset Backed Securities.
  • Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, forex, fixed income, futures, options, ETFs
  • Etrade minimum deposit to open account: $500 for non-retirement cash account, $0 for retirement cash account, $2,000 for margin account
  • All Etrade fees

Etrade Pros

  • Very powerful trading tools
  • No IRA account fees, and no minimums with electronic statements and confirmations
  • Minimum to open: $500 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
  • Banking products: checking, savings, money market accounts, CDs and credit cards
  • No surcharges on large orders or penny stocks
  • Great research amenities (S&P, MorningStar, Thompson Reuters, Credit Suisse, Smart Consensus)
  • Access to trading on 40 foreign exchanges
  • Free streaming quotes
  • Very broad selection of products: 8,000 mutual funds, every ETF sold, over 30,000 bonds, securities from 77 international markets, 1,300 no-load, no-transaction-fee mutual funds, 90 commission-free ETFs

Etrade Cons

  • High commissions on all investment products
  • $25 quarterly account maintenance fee if account balance is less than $5,000 or less than two trades were executed in the prior six months
  • High margin rates
  • $0.005 per share surcharge on extended hours trades (ECN fee) and on trades executed through E*TRADE Pro at an ECN during both regular market and extended hours sessions
  • E*TRADE Pro platform is available at no charge only to customers who execute at least 30 stock or options trades during a calendar quarter

Full Review


Etrade Review

Etrade Promotion Link:

Etrade Review

This article was updated on 01/23/2013.


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