Robinhood vs. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Highlights:
• Both Robinhood and J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing offer securities trading in brokerage accounts.
• Only Robinhood has direct crypto trading, futures, and event contracts.
• J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing does not offer robo accounts.
If you’re thinking about opening a self-directed trading account, Robinhood and J.P. Morgan are worth considering. Let’s take a look at these two.
Trading Fees
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Robinhood
|
$0
|
na
|
$0 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Chase
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
| Broker Review |
Cost |
Investment Products |
Trading Tools |
Customer Service |
Research |
Overall Rating |
|
Robinhood
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chase
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Promotions
Robinhood:
Get a FREE stock worth up to $200 + a 1% transfer match + a 2% IRA match when you sign up using a Robinhood referral link!
J.P. Morgan:
Currently, no promotions.
Trading and Investing
At J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, clients can buy and sell these investment vehicles:
- Stocks, including certain over-the-counter (OTC) stocks and ADRs, but not penny-stock purchases
- Fixed-income securities
- Options
- Mutual funds
- ETFs
- Closed-end funds
Robinhood drops bonds and mutual funds. Also missing are most OTC stocks. In their place, the brokerage firm adds cryptocurrencies, futures, and event contracts.
Then there is investment advice. At Robinhood, but not at J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, it’s possible to open a managed account through Robinhood Strategies. These accounts use portfolios tailored to a client’s financial goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
At J.P. Morgan, but not at Robinhood, it’s possible to open full-service managed and brokerage accounts with human advisors for extra help; these advisors are available online and at select Chase Bank locations.
Both firms offer joint, individual, custodial, and retirement accounts. J.P. Morgan offers self-directed trust accounts through J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, while full-service accounts with J.P. Morgan Wealth Management offer a larger selection. Robinhood also offers custodial accounts.
Winner: Overall, fairly even here
Websites
The Robinhood website delivers many useful tools in an easy-to-use package. The dashboard has trending lists, which are collections of stocks and funds; on the right-hand side is a watchlist. An asset’s profile has news articles, trading activity, short interest, analyst ratings, and much more.
The order ticket on Robinhood’s website has some advanced trade types, such as stop and trailing orders. Option trades get profit-loss diagrams, which can be very helpful for visual traders.
Legend is Robinhood’s web-browser platform; a button sits at the top of the page to launch the software. The charting widget delivers drawing tools and an auto-send feature for orders.
Over at J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, the trading experience drops a little. The broker’s software has no browser platform; the website does have an order ticket and charts with tools. A graph, however, cannot be displayed at the full width of the computer screen. Robinhood Legend does have this capability, by comparison.
Winner: Robinhood
Mobile Apps
The J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing app has equity profiles with alert and watchlist icons at the top of the screen. Further down is a link for option chains, along with news articles, analyst ratings, and more.
Robinhood’s app has some of the same features, with the primary exception being an Advanced button on every chart. Click on this button to get a graph with more tools, although there’s no horizontal mode. Further down the Advanced page are buttons for quick trading.
Besides securities, Robinhood’s app can also be used to trade futures, cryptocurrencies, and event contracts.
Winner: Robinhood
Banking
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is owned by one of the largest financial conglomerates in the world,
so it goes without saying that cash-management tools are available. A brokerage account itself has no
cash tools at all; it is possible, however, to link a checking or savings account from Chase Bank to any
investing account. Cash transfers are quick and easy among all of these accounts, which can be accessed
with a single login. A debit card can be connected to a bank account, which may have fees and/or minimums.
Robinhood offers a spending account, which comes with a prepaid card that functions as a debit card. Round-ups can be invested in a brokerage or crypto account, and eligible card offers or bonuses may apply. It can have fees at
cash machines in some cases. Chase Bank charges no fees for withdrawals from Chase ATMs.
Robinhood, but not J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, has an FDIC sweep that moves uninvested cash from
a brokerage account to partner banks. Eligible swept cash can receive FDIC insurance of up to $2.5 million for individual accounts and up to $5 million for joint accounts.
Uninvested cash in a Robinhood brokerage account earns
3.6%
interest for Gold clients.
Winner: Robinhood
Margin Access
Both broker-dealers in this faceoff offer securities accounts in both cash and margin setups. The latter framework allows an account to borrow money to buy more investments. In either case, cash or margin, option spreads and short positions are unavailable at J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing margin accounts currently support stocks, ETFs, options, and fixed income. Margin requirements, such as the long maintenance ratio, are shown on stock profiles at both firms.
As for the cost of using margin, Robinhood has the cheaper schedule. It starts at
5.25% and ends at 4.2%.
Gold customers also get the first $1,000 at zero cost. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing’s margin schedule begins at 11.75% and uses lower rates for larger balances under its tiered margin schedule.
Winner: Robinhood
Additional Features
Automatic Security Purchases: Investors at J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing can set up recurring transfers into investment accounts. Robinhood offers recurring purchases for stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.
Fractional-Share Trading: Trades for stocks and ETFs can be placed in whole dollars at either firm in this comparison.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Available only at Robinhood.
Extended Hours: Traders at both brokerage firms can buy and sell some securities before the market opens and after it closes. Only Robinhood has 24/5 trading in a select list of securities.
Individual Retirement Accounts: An IRA can be opened at either investment firm in this matchup. J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing customers have to pay a $75 fee to close a retirement account. Robinhood has a contribution match program.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: DRIP is available at both broker-dealers.
IPO Trading: Initial Public Offerings are available at Robinhood.
Winner: Robinhood
Recommendations
Small Investors: Robinhood.
Mutual Funds: J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is the only choice here. During our research, we found 2,738 funds plus a decent fund screener.
Beginners: A managed account through Robinhood Strategies.
Long-Term Investing and Retirement Saving: The IRA match with Robinhood is attractive. For a more complete agenda, assistance from a financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Wealth Management is a better way to go.
Frequent Stock Trading: We suggest Robinhood with its Legend software.
Promotions
Robinhood:
Get a FREE stock worth up to $200 + a 1% transfer match + a 2% IRA match when you sign up using a Robinhood referral link!
J.P. Morgan:
Currently, no promotions.
Verdict
J.P. Morgan may do a great job in the world of retail banking, but it does not do a spectacular job in the realm of online discount trading.
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Updated on 9/4/2026.
Chad Morris has been analyzing investment firms for Brokerage-Review.com since 2015. Backed by FINRA Series 65, 66, and SIE credentials, his work reflects a deep knowledge of the retail brokerage industry and digital trading tools.
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