jp morgan vs charles schwab

Charles Schwab vs JP Morgan Chase (2025)


Charles Schwab vs JP Morgan (Chase): which firm is better? Compare (Roth) IRA accounts, online investing fees, stock broker mutual fund rates, and differences.


JP Morgan vs Schwab: Overview


Charles Schwab has a large percentage of the brokerage world’s business. But J.P. Morgan Investing wants to change that. Can it succeed? We may have the answer.


Services


Broker Review Cost Investment Products Trading Tools Customer Service Research Overall Rating
Charles Schwab
Chase


Category #1: Cost


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
Chase $0 $0 $0.65 per contract $0 $0


Category #2: Investment Styles


J.P. Morgan Investing:

J.P. Morgan Investing offers only self-directed accounts. These cost nothing and have no minimum balance. A decent selection of investment vehicles is available. It includes:

- Equities
- Options
- Mutual and exchange traded funds
- Fixed income assets

Schwab:

Unlike its competitor, Schwab has managed and self-directed accounts. Schwab also offers both automated and old-school packages with human advisors and all sorts of customizable features. Robo accounts have no management fees.


Schwab vs Chase


Self-directed accounts at Schwab deliver all the investment vehicles J.P. Morgan Investing offers plus futures contracts and foreign stocks. Schwab also has fewer restrictions on penny stocks.

Winner: Schwab


Promotions


Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.

Chase: Get $0 stock commissions at J.P. Morgan.



Category #3: Websites


J.P. Morgan Investing:

J.P. Morgan Investing uses the same website that Chase Bank customers use. Brokerage accounts appear in a discrete section.


JP Morgan vs Schwab


Investment tools tend to be rather elementary. Charting, for example, has several flaws. A graph cannot be displayed the full width of the computer monitor, and it’s not possible to expand it vertically, either.

The order ticket for self-directed accounts only has 4 trade types (market, limit, stop, and stop limit).

Schwab:

Schwab is a totally different animal. It has several web-based tools, including a trade bar and a browser platform. The latter has full-screen charting, a very advanced order ticket, and some very sophisticated options tools.


Schwab vs JPM


The website by itself can be used to research, investigate, and track performances. Although there’s a lot more on the site compared to J.P. Morgan Investing’s site, it is still easy to navigate.

Winner: Schwab


Category #4: Other Software


J.P. Morgan Investing:

J.P. Morgan Investing clients can use the Chase Bank app. Investment accounts, whether automated or self-directed, will be found inside. The same charting software from the website is used. A chart cannot be rotated horizontally, which is a must for us.


Chase vs Schwab


There is a watchlist on the app (synced from the website), but alerts are missing in action. The website order ticket is used on the mobile platform.

J.P. Morgan Investing clients have nothing else in this category, so the mobile app is it.

Schwab:

Schwab has a mobile app (actually two) and much more. The broker-dealer has rolled out a desktop platform and a smartwatch app.


Schwab versus Chase


Schwab’s mobile apps have many great resources, including a large selection of educational and research widgets. This library includes podcasts, streaming CNBC, and audio market updates. Charting and order entry are on a higher level than the tools we found on the J.P. Morgan Investing app.

Schwab’s watch app of course has fewer resources, but there are some useful ones. And the broker’s desktop platform is a great resource for advanced traders. We especially like the order ticket, which has Level 2 quotes integrated.

Winner: Schwab


Category #5: Margin


J.P. Morgan Investing:

J.P. Morgan's margin schedule starts at 12.25% and ends at 7.25% for balances above $10 million.

Schwab:

Schwab does offer margin accounts (and option spreads) for self-directed customers. The company’s margin schedule starts at 12.575% and drops for large balances.

Winner: Tie


Category #6: Education and Security Research


J.P. Morgan Investing:

On both the J.P. Morgan Investing website and mobile app, we found a decent selection of learning materials. These tend to be in article format, although there are a few videos. Topics gravitate towards personal finance rather than investing specifically.

Security profiles at J.P. Morgan Investing have minimal amounts of data on them. Research reports on some stocks are available from CFRA and J.P. Morgan Equity Research.

Schwab:

Schwab’s website has tons more information on stock profiles. There are reports from no less than 6 analysts. Profiles have details that won’t be found at J.P. Morgan Investing, including information on preferred shares, if any, and peer performances.

For general education, Schwab also has more materials, including podcasts and slideshows.

Winner: Schwab


Category #7: Miscellaneous Services


Extended Hours Trading: Available at Schwab but not at J.P. Morgan Investing.

Banking Tools: Checks and debit cards are available with both brokerage firms via linked bank accounts. Schwab has the most generous ATM policies and the lowest account fees.

DRIP Service: Stocks and funds inside self-directed accounts at both firms can be set up to pay cash dividends as additional shares.

Individual Retirement Accounts: Schwab has more IRA types. Plus, J.P. Morgan Investing customers have to pay $75 to close a retirement account.

Initial Public Offerings: Schwab, but not J.P. Morgan Investing, offers access to impending IPOs.

Fractional Shares: Schwab has a service called Stock Slices. The securities that make up the S&P 500 index can be purchased in whole dollars. There’s a $5 minimum. J.P. Morgan Investing has no such service.

Periodic Mutual Fund Investing: Both firms offer this.

Winner: Schwab


Finally, Our Recommendations


ETF/Stock Trading: With better software, research resources, and fractional-share trading, hands down it is Schwab.

Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Both brokerage firms have IRAs and target-date mutual funds. But only Schwab has individual 401k accounts, annuities, and traditional financial planning services. We endorse Schwab.

Mutual Fund Trading: With twice the number of mutual funds and better fund research tools, Schwab gets the nod.

Small Accounts: For automated investing, Schwab is the only option. For self-directed trading, Schwab has the advantage.

Beginners: Schwab has better learning materials. Plus, its desktop platform has a demo mode, which makes it easy to practice.


Promotions


Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.

JP Morgan Chase: Get $0 stock commissions at J.P. Morgan.



JP Morgan vs Charles Schwab Judgment


If J.P. Morgan Investing wants to take business away from Charles Schwab, it has much work to do.


Updated on 6/3/2025.


About the Author
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.