Fidelity vs. Acorns Introduction
Thinking about opening a new brokerage account? If so, it’s worth taking a close look at Fidelity,
Acorns, and Charles Schwab. All three provide investing platforms along with a range of additional financial services.
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
|
|
Fidelity
|
$0
|
$49.95
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Acorns
|
na
|
na
|
na
|
$3, $6, or $12 per month
|
$3, $6, or $12 per month
|
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Acorns:
Get $20 when you open an Acorns account with this referral link.
Fidelity: Currently, no promotions.
First Category: Investing
Acorns provides a robo-advisor that automatically invests in a limited lineup of ETFs. The platform does not support self-directed trading, so users are restricted to the available fund choices. In exchange for this hands-off service, Acorns charges a flat monthly fee of $3 (with higher tiers at $5 and $9).
Fidelity and Schwab also offer automated investing options (Fidelity uses its own mutual funds instead of ETFs). Schwab does not charge a management fee, while Fidelity charges 0.00% on the first $25k. Both Schwab and Fidelity go beyond Acorns by offering traditional advisory accounts with access to human advisors in various service levels.
Self-directed accounts are another area where Fidelity and Schwab stand out. These accounts provide access to a much broader
range of tradable assets, including stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, and closed-end funds.
Fidelity also supports cryptocurrency trading, while Schwab offers futures. Both firms allow OTC and foreign stocks,
and neither charges a monthly fee for self-directed investing.
Winner: Tie between Fidelity and Schwab
Second Category: Banking
All three companies offer cash-management accounts to help complete a full financial setup. With its basic plan, Acorns provides a Visa debit card that includes round-ups and limited fee-free ATM access. Higher-tier plans include a free emergency fund account, though it does not pay interest. The most expensive plan ($9 per month) adds a kids debit card with parental controls.
Fidelity offers Bloom, which is aimed at younger users rather than children. It includes perks such as cash back and round-ups, and customer funds are held in a money market mutual fund currently yielding 4.97%.
Fidelity also provides a standard Cash Management Account geared toward more traditional users. This account includes unlimited ATM fee reimbursements nationwide at Visa-compatible machines and an FDIC sweep feature.
Schwab does not offer an FDIC sweep, but it does provide something Fidelity’s cash accounts do not: worldwide ATM fee refunds. Schwab also has a savings account, although the interest rate is fairly low (around 0.48% at the moment). Best of all, neither Schwab nor Fidelity charges fees for their cash-management services.
Winner: Dead heat between Fidelity and Schwab
Third Category: PC Software
Each of the three companies offers a clean, easy-to-use website for trading, research, and account management. For Acorns, the platform is primarily focused on basic account management.
For more advanced trading, Fidelity and Schwab provide both web-based platforms and desktop software. Schwab also offers a browser-based trading platform. Across all platforms, the overall experience is strong. Schwab now has two desktop platforms. One of them, thinkorswim, offers what we consider top-tier features, including a backtesting tool that can replay historical price data back to 2009. The other desktop system, thinkorswim, includes built-in profit-and-loss diagrams on the order ticket along with preloaded options strategies.
Both of Schwab’s desktop platforms support simulated trading, which Fidelity’s desktop platform does not offer.
Winner: Schwab
Fourth Category: Mobile Apps
Moving over to mobile, the pattern is similar. Acorns focuses on simplicity, with fewer advanced features. One positive is its large collection of educational content, which is also available on the website.
The Fidelity app offers much more depth. Along with its own learning library, it streams Bloomberg TV live. Users get access to news articles and market data from several sources, on top of full trading capabilities for options, stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. Charts can be viewed in landscape mode, and a variety of useful tools are included.
Schwab provides two mobile apps that together match much of what Fidelity offers. Notable features include built-in options spreads, live financial news from CNBC, mutual fund trading, and advanced landscape charts with multiple tools. Both Fidelity’s app and Schwab’s main app include chatbots that are helpful for answering common questions.
Winner: Schwab
Fifth Category: Margin
While Acorns does not support margin trading, both Fidelity and Schwab do. Fidelity charges margin interest
on a tiered schedule that starts at 11.825% and falls to 7.525%. Schwab’s tiered rates begin at the same starting level as Fidelity’s and drop to 10.125% (with negotiated, and potentially lower, rates available for very large balances).
Schwab’s trading tools, unlike Fidelity’s, display maintenance margin requirements for entered symbols, which is helpful since some securities have special margin rules.
Winner: Schwab
Sixth Category: Bonus Services
Systematic Mutual Fund Purchases: Both Fidelity and Schwab allow clients to schedule recurring purchases of mutual funds.
DRIP: Automatic dividend reinvestment is available for self-directed traders at both Schwab and Fidelity.
Fully-paid Securities Lending Program: All three brokers offer this feature.
Extended Hours: Fidelity and Schwab both support pre-market and after-hours trading in select securities. Fidelity’s trading windows are slightly longer. Cryptocurrency trading is available nearly 24/7 at Fidelity, while futures trade 24/6 at Schwab.
Initial Public Offerings: Fidelity and Schwab once again lead in IPO access.
Fractional-share Trading: Fidelity supports whole-dollar trading for stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Schwab limits fractional trading to the 500 stocks in the S&P Index.
IRA Service: All three firms offer IRAs. Fidelity and Schwab provide more IRA options than Acorns.
Winner: Small advantage to Fidelity
Recommendations
Active ETF and Stock Trading: Either Schwab or Fidelity is a strong choice. We give a slight edge to
Charles Schwab due to the thinkorswim platform.
Beginners: Since Acorns does not offer access to human advisors, an advisory account at Fidelity or Schwab may be a better fit.
Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: Fidelity and Schwab both provide annuities, solo 401(k) plans, target-date funds, branch access, and many other long-term planning tools.
Small Accounts: With its flat monthly pricing, Acorns is hard to justify for small balances. Schwab also requires $5,000 to open a robo account.
Mutual Funds: Fidelity lists 9,453 mutual funds, while Schwab offers 5,933. Schwab’s fund screener is stronger, though. Call it a draw.
Charles Schwab vs. Acorns vs. Fidelity: Verdict
Acorns’ monthly subscription fee makes it less competitive, while Schwab’s advanced trading platforms give it the overall edge in this comparison.
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Updated on 2/6/2026.
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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