E*TRADE

Zero commissions on US-listed stocks, ETFs, and no-load mutual funds. Options run $0.65 per contract, dropping to $0.50 if you cross 30 trades per quarter — competitive with tastytrade's $1 cap but without the per-leg limitation.

Futures cost $1.50 per contract per side, standard across the industry. Crypto futures run $2.50. Bonds on the secondary market cost $1 per bond ($10 minimum, $250 maximum). Treasury auctions trade free. For context on how these fees stack up, see our brokerage fee comparison.

Where E*TRADE gets expensive:

• Margin rates: Base rate 9.95% with the Fed funds rate at 3.64%. Accounts under $10,000 pay 12.45%. Even at $100K–$250K, you're paying 10.95%. Interactive Brokers charges roughly half.
• OTC stocks: $6.95 per trade ($4.95 for active traders). Fidelity and Schwab charge nothing.
• Broker-assisted trades: $25 surcharge. In 2026, no phone call should cost $25.
• Uninvested cash sweep: 0.01%–0.15% interest on idle cash sitting in your brokerage account. That's not a typo. While the Premium Savings Account pays 4.00% APY, cash sitting in your trading account earns almost nothing. You have to manually move it.
• Paper statements: $2 each, waived for accounts over $10,000.
• Account transfer out: $75 full transfer fee — standard but still painful.

Power E*TRADE is the reason options traders should pay attention. Real-time streaming Greeks, probability analysis, risk/reward visualizations, and a strategy optimizer that scans for trades matching your outlook. The options chain layout lets you build multi-leg strategies visually, see max profit and loss before execution, and paper trade without capital at risk.

The mobile version mirrors the desktop experience — a genuine achievement when most brokers ship watered-down mobile apps. Compare this to Robinhood's simplified options interface and the gap is obvious.

Active traders who cross the 30-trade threshold get $0.50 per contract automatically. No application, no negotiation. That undercuts Schwab's flat $0.65 and gets close to tastytrade's $1-per-trade cap for single-leg positions.

Power E*TRADE Pro is the newest addition — a redesigned desktop platform built for active traders who run multiple monitors. Up to six custom workspaces, each supporting 20 tools, for a total of 120 charts simultaneously. Customizable options chains, market screeners, and futures ladders. If thinkorswim's interface feels dated, Pro is Morgan Stanley's direct answer.

The platform also handles futures, including micro futures for smaller accounts. Charting includes 100+ technical indicators and fully customizable layouts. E*TRADE's Dime Buyback Program is a quiet perk: close short options priced at $0.10 or less for zero contract fees. That saves meaningful money over hundreds of trades.

This is where the acquisition actually pays off for customers.

E*TRADE's Premium Savings Account pays 4.00% APY for the first six months through Morgan Stanley Private Bank. No monthly fees, no minimum deposit, FDIC insured up to $500,000 through program bank arrangements. That promotional rate beats most high-yield savings accounts and having savings next to your brokerage with instant transfers is genuinely convenient.

Max-Rate Checking offers worldwide ATM fee refunds and foreign transaction fee refunds — perks that normally require a premium banking relationship. The $15 monthly fee is waived with a $5,000 average balance.

The real power move: securities-based lines of credit. Borrow against your portfolio for major purchases without selling investments and triggering capital gains. This is a wealth management product from Morgan Stanley's institutional playbook, now available to E*TRADE retail clients.

CDs round out the banking lineup with competitive fixed rates. For someone consolidating their financial life under one login — investing, savings, checking, retirement, credit, home loans — E*TRADE's banking integration is its strongest argument against Fidelity or Schwab.

One caveat: the gap between the savings rate (4.00% APY) and the brokerage cash sweep rate (0.01%–0.15%) is enormous. Other brokers like Fidelity automatically sweep uninvested cash into money market funds yielding closer to 4%. At E*TRADE, you have to move the money yourself. Lazy cash costs you real yield.

ETRADE's biggest gap is narrowing, but it's not closed yet. Morgan Stanley announced plans in late 2025 to bring spot cryptocurrency trading to ETRADE by the first half of 2026, starting with Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana through a ZeroHash partnership. Morgan Stanley invested in ZeroHash's $104 million Series D-2 round, signaling serious commitment.

As of April 2026, spot crypto isn't live on the platform. What ETRADE currently offers: crypto ETPs (spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded products), crypto-related ETFs and coin trusts in brokerage and IRA accounts, and crypto futures (Bitcoin, Ether, micro contracts) on Power ETRADE. That's indirect exposure — you own shares in a fund, not the coins themselves.

The planned spot trading would change that: direct ownership, no intermediary custody fees, and a proprietary digital wallet expected in the second half of 2026. A second phase may include Bitcoin yield and lending products.

For now, Robinhood already offers direct crypto and Schwab has its own spot offerings. The crypto ETPs at E*TRADE are a decent workaround — you can hold spot Bitcoin ETPs in an IRA, which is actually a tax advantage over holding crypto directly — but traders who want native spot trading still need a second account.

E*TRADE offers more retirement account types than any broker reviewed on this site:

• Traditional IRA — tax-deferred growth until withdrawal
• Roth IRA — tax-free qualified distributions, no RMDs during your lifetime
• Rollover IRA — consolidate former employer 401(k) plans
• Inherited IRA — for beneficiaries subject to RMD rules
• SEP IRA — up to 25% of earned income for self-employed
• SIMPLE IRA — businesses with fewer than 100 employees
• Individual 401(k) — self-employed owners and spouses
• IRA for Minors — children with earned income, managed by a custodian
• Coverdell ESA — tax-advantaged education savings

The standout: E*TRADE Complete IRA for account holders 59½ and older. It adds checking, online bill pay, and ATM/debit card access directly to your retirement account. No other major broker offers this. For retirees drawing regular income, eliminating the transfer step between retirement and checking accounts removes real friction.

The small business lineup — SEP, SIMPLE, Solo 401(k), and Investment-Only accounts for existing plans — is comprehensive enough that most self-employed savers won't need to look elsewhere. E*TRADE even has a Small Business Selector tool that matches you to the right plan based on your business size and goals.

E*TRADE is excellent for:

• Options traders — Power ETRADE is a top-three options platform. The $0.50 active trader rate, Dime Buyback Program, strategy optimizer, and Power ETRADE Pro desktop make it hard to beat short of thinkorswim.
• All-in-one consolidators — Brokerage, banking, retirement, managed portfolios, home loans, and credit under one roof with Morgan Stanley's balance sheet behind it.
• Retirement savers — More IRA types than anyone, including the unique Complete IRA with checking for retirees. The small business retirement plan range is comprehensive.
• High-yield seekers — 4.00% APY savings with seamless brokerage integration beats maintaining separate bank and brokerage accounts.

Look elsewhere if:

• You trade on margin — 12.45% for small accounts is punishing. Interactive Brokers charges roughly half. This remains E*TRADE's biggest weakness.
• You trade OTC or penny stocks — $6.95 when competitors charge zero is indefensible in 2026.
• You want physical branches — E*TRADE closed most locations. Schwab has 400+ branches. If you want to sit across from someone, Schwab or Merrill Edge are better bets.
• You want competitive cash sweep rates — 0.01% on idle brokerage cash is a silent drag. Fidelity's automatic money market sweep pays 20x–40x more without lifting a finger.
• You're purely cost-obsessed — Fidelity's zero-expense-ratio index funds and consistently lower margin rates make it the pure cost leader.

E*TRADE's real competitors are Schwab and Fidelity. Comparing against Robinhood is unfair to both — different products for different investors.

E*TRADE wins on: options platform (Power E*TRADE Pro is more modern than thinkorswim for most traders), banking integration (4.00% APY savings, checking, securities-based credit lines, home loans all under one platform), and retirement account variety (Complete IRA has no equivalent).

Tied: basic stock/ETF trading ($0 across all three), managed portfolio pricing (0.25–0.35% range), research quality (all three offer strong third-party research), and mobile apps (all three are polished in 2026).

E*TRADE loses on: margin rates (the most expensive of the three for small accounts), zero-cost index funds (Fidelity's ZERO funds have no equivalent), branch access (Schwab's 400+ locations vs ETRADE's largely digital presence), and uninvested cash rates (Fidelity's automatic money market sweep is far superior to ETRADE's 0.01% default).