Fidelity vs. Robinhood [2025]: Where To Invest Your Money

Fidelity vs. Robinhood

When to go with Fidelity Investments

Fidelity has been around for more than 75 years and serves 40 million account holders. In addition to catering to individual investors, Fidelity also helps businesses manage their benefits plans.

Fidelity offers access to a variety of taxable and tax-advantaged accounts, including providing investors the ability to use IRAs, 529s, and HSAs to invest for the future. In addition to offering the ability to trade individual stocks and direct your own account, Fidelity also offers managed portfolios.

No matter your comfort level with portfolio management and stock trading, Fidelity offers access to various investment products. It's even possible to get planning help and advice, as well as access to an extensive library of educational resources.

You should go with Fidelity if you value access to a wide range of account types, asset classes, and digital trading platforms. Fidelity would also be a good choice for those who value the security and robust services that come with such an established, traditional brokerage.

Learn more in our Fidelity Investments review.

When to go with Robinhood

Founded in 2013, Robinhood has a self-declared mission to democratize investing and personal finances. Robinhood was one of the early brokerages to pioneer no-commission fee trading on all ETFs and stocks. Robinhood makes it easy to open an account and begin trading in a matter of minutes.

Robinhood offers two tiers: its free tier and its Robinhood Gold tier, which costs $5 per month. With the Gold tier, you get access to instant deposits in your account, as well as margin trading.

In addition to offering stocks, ETFs and options trading, Robinhood also offers access to a limited number of individual cryptocurrencies. Robinhood now allows you to transfer certain crypto assets in and out of your account using crypto wallets.

You can use Robinhood to open a brokerage account, a crypto account, or a margin account. Robinhood also began offering individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You can open a Robinhood Retirement account and even get a 1% match on qualified deposits you make.

You should go with Robinhood if you want access to crypto trading, as Fidelity doesn't currently offer crypto services to retail investors. Robinhood may also be a good choice for those new to investing who are looking for a simple, cheap, app-based way to learn the ropes of investing.

Visit Robinhood | Learn more when you read our Robinhood review.

What both Fidelity and Robinhood excel at

Whether you're investing with Fidelity or Robinhood, you won't have to worry about trading commissions on stocks and ETFs. Additionally, neither brokerage requires a minimum balance to open an account. You can also start trading fractional shares with both Fidelity and Robinhood with as little as $1.

Even though both brokerages offer educational tools and resources, Fidelity has a more extensive library. Additionally, both offer research tools, but Fidelity's are free for many account holders, whereas you might need to pay for a Gold account to access some analysis tools through Robinhood.

Overall, both make it possible for anyone, from new investors to experienced investors, to open an account and begin investing. Both also offer margin accounts with competitive rates, though Robinhood's margin rate is lower than Fidelity's.

5 important differences between Robinhood vs. Fidelity

When considering Fidelity versus Robinhood, it's important to consider your needs, as well as what each offers to meet those needs. There are some differences between Fidelity and Robinhood you should take into account when deciding which is best for you.

1. Tax-advantaged investment accounts

Fidelity and Robinhood both offer tax-advantaged investment accounts, but only Fidelity also offers access to tax-advantaged investing through health savings accounts (HSA) and 529 accounts.

2. Asset selection

Although both Fidelity and Robinhood provide access to stocks, ETFs and options, Fidelity has a wider selection of asset classes. Fidelity has a variety of mutual funds, bonds, and other assets to choose from. You can even invest in annuities through Fidelity.

Robinhood doesn't offer the same array of available asset classes. If you want more fixed-income assets such as certificates of deposit and bonds, Fidelity can offer you that access. However, Robinhood does have better access to crypto.

3. Cryptocurrencies

If you're interested in how to buy cryptocurrency, Robinhood can be a better choice than Fidelity. Fidelity only lets you access crypto exposure through ETFs that include companies focused on the metaverse and blockchain technology. You can use your employer-sponsored 401(k) to add bitcoin to your portfolio, but that's a different process than opening your own account through Fidelity.

Robinhood lets you buy and sell bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies on an individual basis. Additionally, through Robinhood's wallets, you can move cryptocurrencies in and out of your Robinhood account.

4. Fees

Even though both Fidelity and Robinhood offer commission-free trading, there are other fees to be aware of. For example, when trading options, Robinhood doesn't charge a per-contract fee. Fidelity, on the other hand, doesn't charge a trading commission, but it does charge a per-contract fee.

However, Fidelity has some funds that don't come with expense ratios, whereas you still have to consider expense ratios for ETFs on Robinhood, even without the trading fee.

Depending on the type of account you get with Fidelity, you might pay a percentage of the assets in your portfolio as a management fee. With Robinhood, a flat $5 is the fee for Robinhood Gold, which offers access to margin and some other features.

5. Account bonus

Robinhood offers free stock when you open an account. Fidelity doesn't provide a bonus offer for investors.

FAQs

Bottom line

When deciding between Fidelity versus Robinhood, it's important to consider your portfolio strategy and goals. You should also compare different brokerages to see which offer the tools you need. Some of the things to consider when deciding on a brokerage include:

• Available accounts: If you're looking for a 529 or HSA account, Robinhood likely won't work for you, whereas Fidelity offers these. Consider your goals and needs for the investments, and then look at the account types to see what's likely to provide your best choices.
• Available asset classes: Think about the types of investments you want. Both Fidelity and Robinhood offer stocks, ETFs, and options. However, if you want access to mutual funds and bonds, you need to turn to Fidelity. On the other hand, if you want access to individual cryptocurrencies, it might make more sense to use Robinhood.
• Fees: How much you pay in fees can make a difference in your real returns over time. Both Fidelity and Robinhood offer commission-free trading, so you don't have to worry about commissions when you make your stock or ETF trades. However, Fidelity has a higher margin rate and charges per-contract fees for options. If you expect to trade a lot of options, using Robinhood can make sense as it reduces your overall costs.
• Other features: Don't forget about the features you're interested in. Fidelity has a more extensive library of research and analytical tools. Robinhood's mobile interface and mobile app is easier to use than Fidelity's. Additionally, Fidelity offers managed portfolios, similar to what you see with the best robo-advisors. If that's important to you, and you don't want to direct your portfolio on your own, it can make sense to look for a broker that does the heavy lifting of asset allocation.

Figure out which features matter more to you as you weigh your choices. Both are among the best investment apps, so choosing between Fidelity and Robinhood depends on your unique needs.

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Robinhood Benefits

• Buy and sell stocks 24 hours a day, 5 days a week with Robinhood's "24 Hour Market"
• Commission-free trading (other fees may apply)
• No account minimum
• Trade stocks, options, ETFs, and more
• Earn 4.00% (as of 12/27/24) APY¹ <p>Annual Percentage Yield. Rate valid as of April 12, 2024. To earn interest, a cash balance is needed. If you have a margin balance, there is no cash balance to earn interest. Interest rates for cash sweep and margin investing can change at any time. Fees may reduce interest earnings.</p> on your uninvested cash with Robinhood Gold, subscription fee applies

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FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

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