Fidelity, WellsTrade, and Schwab Comparison
Key Takeaways:
• Brokerage and investment-advisory accounts can be opened at Fidelity, WellsTrade, and Schwab.
• Banking products are available at all three investment firms, too.
• The list of tradable products varies somewhat among these three firms.
Are you thinking about opening a new brokerage account? If so, you need to take a look at Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, and WellsTrade from Wells Fargo Advisors.
Pricing
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Fidelity
|
$0
|
$49.95
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
WellsTrade
|
$0
|
$35
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Fidelity: Currently, no promotions.
WellsTrade: does not offer promotions.
Trading and Investing
All three firms in this three-way comparison offer managed and brokerage accounts. Either investment approach can be set up as a full-service or budget account. A full-service account will come with a financial advisor located at a branch location. On the discount side of things, a brokerage or managed account can be opened online.
Robo accounts at all three securities firms invest in small selections of exchange-traded funds. Because these are budget advisory accounts, the management fees are very low (Schwab's is free, and Fidelity's is free under $25k).
Self-directed brokerage accounts have no management fees and come with larger investment lineups. We're talking stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, and closed-end funds. Fidelity has cryptocurrencies, and Schwab has futures and forex. Foreign stocks are available at both Fidelity and Schwab.
Winner: Tie between Fidelity and Schwab
Cash Management
Schwab customers can open checking and savings accounts; a debit card can be attached to either one. Schwab reimburses all ATM fees incurred with its card anywhere in the world. Fidelity has the same policy, although it uses a hybrid brokerage-bank account called its Cash Management Account.
WellsTrade is owned by Wells Fargo, a relationship that links Wells Fargo Bank accounts to investing accounts. Besides checking and savings accounts, there is a large suite of credit cards. Only withdrawals at Wells Fargo ATMs are fee-free. Wells customers who would rather skip the banking side of the company altogether can get checks and a debit card with their brokerage accounts.
FDIC-sweep programs, which provide more insurance than the standard $250,000 policy, are available at
all three brokers.
Winner: Pretty even overall
Margin
A brokerage account at any securities firm in this faceoff can be enabled for margin trading. Shorting is possible at any of the three, although WellsTrade does not offer option spreads.
The cost of borrowing money at Fidelity and Schwab starts at 11.825% with lower prices for high margin
balances. WellsTrade's stepped margin schedule begins at 12.5%.
Unfortunately, the WellsTrade site has no margin calculator or other useful tools for margin traders. Fidelity's site, on the other hand, has a margin calculator, and Schwab's site shows the margin maintenance requirement for individual stocks and ETFs.
Winner: Schwab and Fidelity
Computer Trading
To kick off the software battle, we have WellsTrade's website; it is rather simple. During our probing, we found multiple watchlists, alerts, screeners, and interactive charting. A graph can't quite be displayed the full width of the PC screen, although there are several nice graphing tools.
Over at Fidelity, we get even more graphing tools. For example, there are over 40 drawing gadgets. And a chart can be expanded the full width of the monitor. Fidelity's site has multiple trade tickets for a very advanced trading experience; we found OTO and OCO orders. And there are many more calculators and planning tools, all of which are free of charge.
One tool the Fidelity site doesn't have is a web-browser platform. On the Schwab site, we found thinkorswim, a useful trading platform that occupies a tab within a browsing window. thinkorswim delivers some really nice features; we especially like paperMoney, which is a simulator.
paperMoney reappears on thinkorswim desktop; here we find a very advanced platform that even professional traders will find more than satisfactory. Direct-access routing is one example feature.
Over at Fidelity, investors can use Active Trader Pro, a desktop program which is quite sophisticated in its own right. We really enjoyed using ATP's option tools and its multi-leg trade ticket.
WellsTrade has no desktop program.
Winner: Schwab
Mobile Trading
Moving on to mobile software, we find a very good app from Fidelity. The platform has watchlists that sync with the website, and we really like horizontal charting with tools. The software's trade ticket can submit orders for stocks, mutual funds, and options.
Schwab customers get to use two apps: a regular app and a thinkorswim platform. The latter is used to trade futures and forex primarily; it can also submit orders for stocks and options. Schwab's regular app has its own advanced features, including a great deal of educational materials.
WellsTrade's app focuses on banking and personal finance due to the firm's relationship with Wells Fargo Bank. The trading section has market news, simple charting, chains for calls and puts, and an order ticket with discrete selections for sell short and buy to cover.
Winner: Schwab
Supplementary Services
Extended Hours: WellsTrade customers can trade securities after the closing bell. Fidelity and Schwab also offer pre-market trading. Schwab has overnight trading in a short list of securities.
Fully-paid Stock Lending: Fidelity and Schwab traders can earn income by loaning out their equity shares.
Automatic Mutual Fund Purchases: Investors can set up systematic purchases of mutual funds at any one of the three broker-dealers in this survey. Schwab customers can set up recurring sales, too. Fidelity customers can establish autopilot purchases of stocks and ETFs.
IPO Access: Primary stock releases are available at Fidelity and Schwab.
Fractional-share Trading: All three brokerage houses have some form of partial-share trading.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: DRIP is available at all three broker-dealers.
Individual Retirement Accounts: An IRA can be opened at any brokerage firm in this contest; only WellsTrade charges an IRA termination fee.
Winner: Schwab
Recommendations
Stock and ETF Trading: Schwab with its outstanding software.
Mutual Funds: Schwab or Fidelity.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: For do-it-yourselfers, we suggest Fidelity or Schwab.
For advisory customers, any of the three.
Small Investors: Small robo investors should go with Fidelity. For a taxable brokerage account, we would go with any of the three. For a tax-sheltered brokerage account, Fidelity or Schwab.
Beginners: A managed account at any firm in this competition will work.
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Fidelity: Currently, no promotions.
WellsTrade: does not offer promotions.
Final Judgment
A good showing from all three investment firms with a small lead for Schwab over Fidelity.
Updated on 3/15/2026.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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