Canadian Broker, Bank and Platform Reviews

1. Online Broker Reviews Canada: Scores at a Glance

Every score in one table. Each review is scored on the list it belongs to: brokers on the overall broker score, robo-advisors on the robo-advisor score, and banks, crypto platforms and tax software on their own scores. A rank of “1 of 20” means first among the 20 chequing accounts we score, not first of everything on the page.

Why scores are not compared across lists. A 4.6 / 5 chequing score and a 4.3 / 5 broker score come from different factors and weights, so the higher number does not mean a better provider. Compare a broker with other brokers, and a bank account with other bank accounts. The weights for each list are on our rating methodology page.

Guides without a score. Twelve of the Wealthsimple pages are guides to one part of the service, such as fees, safety, USD accounts, the RRSP, RESP, margin, options or the savings account, and the Visa Infinite+ card review compares the card’s terms. They carry no separate score; the scores that apply are those of the Wealthsimple product they describe.

2. Broker Reviews: Verdicts for Eight Online Brokers

Ranked by the overall score. The overall broker score weights cost 35%, account types 15%, US investing 15%, platform 15%, cash and margin rates 10% and safety 10%. Each card gives the score and the main reason behind it.

Questrade, 4.3 / 5. $0 commissions on Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, $0 on US equity options and US dollars in registered accounts at no extra cost earn it the top overall score and a US stocks score of 4.6 / 5, level with Desjardins Online Brokerage. Its 8.70% CAD margin rate under $100,000 holds its score back, and it charges $150 to transfer an account out. The Questrade review also scores Questwealth Portfolios at 4.1 / 5.

Interactive Brokers Canada, 4.2 / 5. It has the lowest CAD margin rate we track, 3.675%, pays 1.675% on CAD cash above CAD 13,000 and leads our options score at 4.6 / 5. Commissions are per share, CAD 0.01 with a CAD 1 minimum, so our active profile costs $36.00 a year there. It loses points because an RESP, LIRA and LIF are not described and USD in registered accounts is not stated.

Wealthsimple, 4.2 / 5. $0 commissions, fractional shares from $1, a DRIP, every account type and $0 to transfer out. The trade-off is $10 a month for a USD account on the Core tier. It ranks fourth on an unrounded score of 4.225, just behind Interactive Brokers Canada’s 4.232, and leads our beginners score at 4.7 / 5.

Qtrade Direct Investing, 4.0 / 5. $0 online trades, all 10 account types and $0.75 per options contract. It charges US$15 a quarter per USD registered account unless you have Investor Plus.

moomoo Canada, 3.7 / 5, and Webull Canada, 3.2 / 5. moomoo charges per share (minimum CA$1.49 and US$1.99), has no FHSA, RESP, fractional shares or DRIP, and publishes a CAD margin rate from 3.85%. Webull Canada charges $0 commissions but a $0.70 monthly administration fee per account, and lists only cash, margin, TFSA and RRSP accounts.

RBC Direct Investing, 2.7 / 5, and TD Direct Investing, 2.4 / 5. Both are bank-owned and earn high safety points, but $9.95 and $9.99 trades leave them with two of the three lowest cost scores. RBC lists all 10 account types and covers RBC InvestEase (3.4 / 5) in its review. At TD, the TD Easy Trade service gives the first 100 stock and ETF trades of each year at $0, then charges $9.99.

3. Wealthsimple Reviews: Every Product, Fee and Guide

Independent coverage. WealthScale is independent and not affiliated with Wealthsimple. Because Wealthsimple sells investing, managed portfolios, chequing, crypto, tax software and a credit card under one membership, we review each product on its own and link them from the main Wealthsimple review.

The tier system. Wealthsimple’s prices change with your assets. Core starts at $1, Premium at $100,000 and Generation at $500,000, measured on the higher of your net deposits or your portfolio value, and household assets can be combined. The managed investing fee falls from 0.5% on Core to 0.4% on Premium, the CAD margin rate from 4.95% to 4.45% and then 3.95%, and the USD account fee of $10 a month disappears from Premium up.

The credit card. The Wealthsimple Visa Infinite+ pays 2% cash back on all net purchases with no categories. It costs $20 a month ($240 a year), waived with $100,000 or more in individual assets or $4,000 or more a month in direct deposits. Its purchase interest rate is 20.99%.

Head to head. Our Wealthsimple vs Questrade, Wealthsimple vs Interactive Brokers, Wealthsimple vs moomoo and Wealthsimple vs EQ Bank pages put it beside its closest rivals. Against the bank-owned brokers, Wealthsimple vs TD Direct Investing (4.2 / 5 against 2.4 / 5) and Wealthsimple vs RBC Direct Investing (4.2 / 5 against 2.7 / 5) show where the banks still win on safety points, and Wealthsimple vs Webull compares two $0-commission apps. Wealthsimple Tax vs TurboTax sets the top-scored tax software against a 4.5 / 5 rival.

4. Bank and Chequing Reviews: EQ Bank and Wealthsimple Chequing

How banks are scored. Chequing accounts are scored on fees (35%), interest (20%), transactions (15%), ATM access (15%), and protection and features (15%). Twenty accounts are scored; the top eight all have a $0 monthly fee (at KOHO Essential, $0 with direct deposit or $1,000 a month in deposits).

EQ Bank, 4.6 / 5. The Personal Account pays 1.00% on every dollar, or 2.75% when you direct deposit your pay (rates effective May 15, 2026), with a $0 monthly fee, $0 fees on unlimited transactions and e-Transfers, and ATM fees reimbursed anywhere in Canada. Equitable Bank, which trades as EQ Bank, is a CDIC member, so eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per insured category. It loses points for having no cheque writing. Its US Dollar Account pays 2.50%.

Wealthsimple Chequing, 4.4 / 5. It pays 1.25% on Core, 1.75% on Premium and 2.25% on Generation, with a $0 monthly fee and eligible ATM operator fees reimbursed. Wealthsimple is not itself a CDIC member: deposits are held in trust at CDIC member institutions for up to $1,000,000 in combined coverage, which scores slightly lower on protection than a bank that is a member in its own right.

Savings and GICs. Savings accounts and GICs are not scored; our high-interest savings accounts and GIC rates pages sort them by rate, with the date each rate was checked.

5. Robo-Advisor, Crypto and Tax Software Reviews

Robo-advisors. Four robo-advisors publish both a management fee and fund costs, so four are ranked. Wealthsimple Managed Investing leads at 4.2 / 5 (0.65% all-in on $50,000), Questwealth Portfolios follows at 4.1 / 5 and is the cheapest at 0.37%, CI Direct Investing scores 3.7 / 5 and RBC InvestEase 3.4 / 5. Questwealth is reviewed inside our Questrade review and RBC InvestEase inside our RBC Direct Investing review. The full ranking is on our best robo-advisors page.

Crypto. Wealthsimple Crypto ranks first of nine CSA-authorized platforms at 4.6 / 5, on a 0.5% fee with no spread on limit orders, 170+ coins, staking, crypto withdrawals and a CIRO-member dealer. NDAX is second at 4.3 / 5 with the lowest published fee, a flat 0.20%, and has no WealthScale review yet. Crypto is not CIPF-protected at the platforms that state their coverage. See the best crypto platforms ranking.

Tax software. Wealthsimple Tax ranks first of seven NETFILE-certified products at 4.8 / 5. Its Basic tier is pay what you want, including $0, for up to two returns with no limits on income types; Plus costs $40 plus tax and Pro $80 plus tax. H&R Block Canada and TurboTax Canada tie at 4.5 / 5. Compare all seven on our best tax software page, or read our guide to filing your taxes online in Canada.

6. Providers We Score but Have Not Reviewed Yet

Scored with the same rules. Five brokers are scored from their published prices and appear in our rankings and comparison tables, but do not yet have a full WealthScale review. They are listed below without links. The active profile is two Canadian trades and one US trade a month, priced as commissions plus any yearly account fee.

Worth a look. Desjardins Online Brokerage ranks second of all 13 brokers and National Bank Direct Brokerage fifth. Both charge $0 online commissions, list US dollars in registered accounts with no fee and outscore Qtrade Direct Investing on the overall list. BMO InvestorLine also charges $0 on stocks and ETFs and $0.90 per options contract. CIBC Investor’s Edge and Scotia iTRADE still charge $6.95 and $9.99 a trade, which keeps their cost scores low.

Other scored providers without a review. CI Direct Investing (3.7 / 5) among robo-advisors; NDAX, Newton, Coinbase Canada, Crypto.com, Netcoins, Shakepay, Robinhood Canada and Kraken among crypto platforms; H&R Block Canada, TurboTax Canada, CloudTax, UFile, GenuTax and StudioTax among tax software; and 18 of the 20 chequing accounts. Each appears, scored, on the matching list page.

7. What Every Review Covers

The same structure every time. Every provider review follows one template, so you can find the same facts in the same place for each provider. Figures come only from the provider’s published pricing, account and help pages and from regulators’ lists, all dated.

What reviews do not include. We do not publish testimonials, star ratings from app stores or claims of hands-on account testing. A review says what a provider publishes, what it costs at published prices and how that compares, and it marks anything the provider does not publish as not published. Worked examples are labelled hypothetical, and every number in them is calculated in full.

8. How We Review Without Paid Placement

Scores cannot be bought. A provider’s score, rank and whether it is listed at all come from the published rules on our broker rating methodology page. No provider can pay for a review, a better score, a higher position or a faster re-check.

No affiliate links today. WealthScale has no paid or affiliate links on the site today. Partner applications are in progress. If partner links are added, they will be labelled “Partner link”, and payment will never change inclusion, score, order or how a listing looks. Our page on how WealthScale makes money sets this out, and reviewers’ pay is a flat fee that never depends on rankings.

Who writes and checks. Reviews are written by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA, and WealthScale’s investing and account pages are reviewed by Neha Gupta, CFA, a CFA charterholder; each page shows its own review status. Our editorial standards explain how figures are sourced, dated and corrected.

When a review changes. When a provider changes a price, rate or feature that feeds its score, we update the review, recalculate the score and change the checked date. If you see a figure that looks wrong, please tell us through our contact page with the page and where the provider publishes the correct figure.

9. Safety Checks in Every Review: CIRO, CIPF and CDIC

Investments and deposits are protected differently. Brokers are investment dealers regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). The Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) protects client property if a member firm fails, up to $1,000,000 for general accounts, $1,000,000 for retirement accounts and $1,000,000 for RESPs. Bank deposits are covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) up to $100,000 per insured category. Neither covers a fall in the value of your investments.

How safety feeds the score. In the broker score, a firm that states both CIRO and CIPF membership earns 4 safety points, a firm confirmed only on CIPF’s list earns 3.5, and ownership by a bank or co-operative group adds 1 point, up to 5. Safety is 10% of the overall score and 20% of the beginners score. Our Is Wealthsimple safe? guide shows how CIPF and CDIC apply to one provider’s different accounts.

10. How to Use a Review to Choose

Start from your needs, not the score. A high score means a provider does well across our weighted factors. It does not mean it is the best fit for you. Please use the reviews this way:

1. List what you need. Write down the accounts you will hold, how often you trade, whether you buy US shares and whether you want a managed portfolio.
2. Shortlist by score. Pick the top three or four on the list that matches you: overall, US stocks, beginners, options, a single account type or robo-advisors.
3. Read the cost section. Check commissions, options pricing and any account fee against your own pattern, and run the numbers in our cost calculator.
4. Read the cons. Each review lists what the provider does not offer or does not publish. A missing RESP or an unpublished margin rate can rule a provider out.
5. Compare two head to head. Use a versus page to see your final two on every row, then open the account and request a direct transfer.

Where to find the cost calculator. Our compare online brokers page prices your trading pattern at every broker at once, and our broker comparison hub has a head-to-head page for the most common pairs, such as Questrade vs Interactive Brokers.

Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale

Sharad Gondaliya, CPAWriter and tax reviewerCPA Ontario No. 61040184

Sharad is a CPA Ontario member (No. 61040184) and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington and Montana, with more than 15 years in accounting and tax, a Diploma in Banking and Finance and a Certificate in Small Business Finance. He checks WealthScale content against primary sources. WealthScale is independent of his firm, Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation, and provides general information only, not personal financial, investment, tax or legal advice.

• Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA Ontario
• Certified Public Accountant, Washington (No. 57629) and Montana (No. PAC-CPAP-LIC-033176)
• Writing on tax and registered accounts since 2021
• Reader’s Choice Award 2025 Winner, Best Accountant (Toronto)

Read Sharad’s profile and verify his credentials

Neha Gupta, CFAFinancial ReviewerCFA charterholder

Neha Gupta is a CFA charterholder based in Winnipeg who has worked in financial markets since December 2005. She has published more than 2,600 investment articles and is Head of Operations and Finance at Whiteland Real Estate. She reviews WealthScale’s investing pages for accuracy.

• CFA charter, CFA Institute (awarded 2023)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Finance), 2008
• In financial markets since December 2005
• More than 2,600 published investment articles

Read Neha’s profile and verify her credentials