e*Trade vs. Robinhood: A Comprehensive Comparison for Investors

If you want to build wealth over time and meet other financial goals, one of the best ways to do so is through investing. There are a number of brokers that offer you the chance to easily buy and sell various assets, including stocks and ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

Two of the more popular online brokers are e*Trade and Robinhood. If you’re trying to decide between e*Trade vs. Robinhood, here’s what you need to know.

In this article

• e*Trade vs. Robinhood
• How does e*Trade work?
• How does Robinhood work?
• What both investment platforms excel at
• 5 important differences between e*Trade vs. Robinhood
• Which investment platform should you choose?
• FAQs
• Bottom line

e*Trade vs. Robinhood

e*Trade and Robinhood both make it easy to trade and learn how to invest money — without paying commissions on regular trades. However, they offer different types of accounts, and you’ll find that e*Trade has more choices and a wider variety of assets than Robinhood. Yet, Robinhood offers cryptocurrencies, while e*Trade does not.

e*Trade

Minimum investment

• None for a basic brokerage account
• Investment minimums vary for a Personalized Investment Portfolio

• None
• For margin accounts: $2,000 (or 100% of the security’s price, whichever is lower)

Account fees

• None for a basic brokerage account
• 0.30% annual fee for Core Portfolio
• 0.65-0.90% annually* for a Blend Portfolio
• 0.95-1.25% annually* for a Dedicated Portfolio
• 0.35-0.75% annually* for a Fixed Income Portfolio

• None for Robinhood Basic
• $5/month for Robinhood Gold

Asset classes

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Exchange-traded funds
• Options
• Futures
• Mutual funds
• CDs

• Stocks
• Exchange-traded funds
• Options
• Cryptocurrencies
• American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)

Account types available

• Individual taxable account
• Joint taxable
• Custodial
• Coverdell education savings account (ESA)
• IRA (Traditional and Roth)
• Rollover IRA
• Solo 401(k)
• SEP IRA
• FDIC-insured checking and savings accounts

• Individual taxable account
• FDIC-insured cash management

Features

• Custodial accounts for kids
• Margin trading
• Access to human financial advice
• Access to managed portfolios
• Mobile app

• Access to crypto
• Margin trading
• Option to buy fractional shares (ETFs and stocks)
• Cash management
• Mobile app

Distributions Cash distributions or dividend reinvestment Cash distributions or dividend reinvestment Taxes No tax-loss harvesting No tax-loss harvesting Best for... Investors interested in the perks a traditional brokerage offers, including managed portfolios Investors who want to manage their own portfolio
Visit Robinhood

*Note: Pricing varies based on total assets under management.

How does e*Trade work?

e*Trade, which was recently acquired by Morgan Stanley, was one of the first online brokers. In addition to being accessible online, e*Trade also offers branches across the United States. e*Trade offers two platforms: its traditional e*Trade platform and Power e*trade. Both platforms are available online and via iOs and Android mobile apps. The company has no account minimums and no trading commissions. It also gives investors access to managed portfolios for a management fee.

In addition to its brokerage account and managed portfolios, e*Trade also offers custodial accounts, giving you the option to invest on behalf of your children. You could also choose to save for college with a Coverdell ESA through e*Trade, and choose from various tax-advantaged retirement accounts for individuals and businesses. Finally, e*Trade offers FDIC-insured savings accounts and checking accounts.

There’s no minimum to open a basic account and begin trading with e*Trade. Though they come with an annual fee, its managed portfolios are a nice option for investors who prefer to be more hands-off with their investments.

How does Robinhood work?

Robinhood’s stated mission is to democratize finance. The company was started by two former hedge fund traders who made it a point to offer commission-free trades and easy access to the markets. Robinhood makes it relatively easy to trade stocks and ETFs, as well as more complicated products, such as options. Investors can choose to trade online or through the Robinhood mobile app, which is available for iOs and Android.

While Robinhood doesn’t offer a wide variety of accounts (no custodial or retirement accounts), it does make it relatively simple to make trades — including making it easy to trade options and cryptocurrencies.

In addition to its regular trading account, or Instant account, Robinhood offers its Gold account. Users who upgrade from Instant to Robinhood Gold get access to Morningstar research and margin at a higher level, as well as the ability to make larger deposits and gain quicker access to funds. Robinhood Gold costs $5/month. Robinhood also offers an FDIC-insured cash management account with a debit card for its brokerage customers.

Read our Robinhood review.