Best Online Brokers in Canada for 2026

Best Online Brokerage Canada 2026: Ranking at a Glance

All 13 brokers in score order. Scores are out of 5 and shown to one decimal; where two brokers share a rounded score, the one with the higher unrounded score is listed first, and an exact tie is listed by name. The Canadian and US trade costs are for a 40-share online order, the order size our methodology uses.

Tick the features you need below. The tool lists every broker that has all of them, ranked by the same overall score as the table above.

Master Comparison Table: All 13 Brokers

Type in the search box to filter (for example “FHSA” or “$0”), or select a column heading to sort. “Not published” means we could not confirm the item on the broker’s own pages when we checked on October 22, 2026; it does not mean the feature or fee is missing. Margin rates shown as prime plus a spread use a 4.45% CAD prime rate, the rate Questrade, Qtrade and Scotia iTRADE state.

The 13 Online Brokers Ranked

Each card shows the overall score, why the broker sits where it does, what it costs and which accounts it offers. Eight brokers have a full WealthScale review, and their cards link to it. The others are scored on the same published pricing, and their cards have no review link yet.

1. How We Ranked These Online Brokers

Six factors, fixed weights. Every broker is scored from 0 to 5 on each of the six factors in the table below, and the overall score is their weighted average. The same rules apply to all 13 brokers. The full rubric, with every point value, is on our broker rating methodology page.

Cost (35%). We price two investors with a $20,000 TFSA. The active investor makes two Canadian trades and one US trade a month. The buy-and-hold investor makes one Canadian trade a month. Each trade is a $2,000 order of 40 shares, priced at the broker’s published commission, plus any yearly account fee. The score is 5 minus the average yearly cost of the two profiles divided by $80.

Accounts and US investing (15% each). The account score gives half a point for each of 10 types: TFSA, RRSP, spousal RRSP, FHSA, RESP, RRIF, LIRA or LIF, margin, joint and corporate. The US score gives up to 3 points for holding USD in registered accounts (3 with no fee, 1.5 if a fee applies, 0.75 if not stated) and up to 2 for US commissions (2 at $0, 1.5 at $2 or less, 0 above).

Cash and margin, platform and safety. Cash and margin scores the CAD margin rate under $100,000 and any interest on uninvested cash. Platform gives one point each for fractional shares, DRIP, options, an advanced trading platform and a mobile app. Safety gives 4 when the broker states both CIRO and CIPF membership, 3.5 when CIPF membership is confirmed and CIRO membership follows from it, and adds 1 for ownership by a bank or a financial cooperative group.

What the score leaves out. Sign-up offers are not scored, because they are temporary. Research quality and customer service are not scored, because we cannot measure them the same way at every broker from published information. A feature we could not confirm scores as if it were absent, so a broker can rise when it publishes more. Our advertiser disclosure explains how WealthScale is paid and why payment never changes a score.

2. Best Online Broker in Canada by Category

One overall winner, many specialists. The overall score suits an investor who uses a bit of everything. If you have one dominant need, such as US stocks, a first account or options, that need has its own ranking with its own weights. The table below gives the leader of each list on this site and the score it earned there.

Why Interactive Brokers leads options but not beginners. The options score weights options cost at 50%, platform at 25% and cash and margin at 10%. Wealthsimple and Questrade charge $0 a contract on US equity options, but Interactive Brokers’ platform (5) and margin (5.0) scores lift it to 4.6, against 4.3 for both. The beginner score drops margin to 0% and gives 25% to a beginner platform test and 20% to safety. Interactive Brokers and Wealthsimple both get 5.0 on that test, and Wealthsimple wins on cost (5.0 against 4.7) and account types (5.0 against 4.0), so it scores 4.7 against 4.4.

Why Desjardins and Questrade share the US-stocks lead. The US-stocks score gives 40% to US investing and 25% to cost. Both brokers get 5.0 on each, from $0 US trades and US dollars in registered accounts with no fee stated. Their unrounded US-stocks scores are identical (4.575), so under our tie rule Desjardins is listed first by name. National Bank follows at 4.5 / 5. Interactive Brokers falls to eighth on that list (3.6 / 5), because USD in its registered accounts is not described and each US trade carries a commission.

Account-based lists. If you already know the account you want, start from the account. Our listings for the best TFSA accounts and best RRSP accounts rank only the brokers that offer that account, by this same overall score.

3. Costs Compared for Four Investor Profiles

How we priced each profile. Every figure below uses each broker’s published standard online price for a self-directed account, plus account fees, with nothing else added. Per-share commissions assume a 40-share order, and prices quoted in US dollars (Interactive Brokers, moomoo and some options prices) are added as quoted. The recurring fee column includes only a fee you cannot avoid at any balance, which on this list is Webull’s $0.70 a month per account; balance-based fees are covered in section 8. ECN, exchange and regulatory pass-through fees, exercise and assignment fees, and promotions are not included.

Profile 1: Monthly ETF buyer (12 Canadian trades a year, no US dollars)

The bank-broker exceptions. All four bank brokers that charge commissions have a way to cut this profile to $0. The 12 trades fit inside TD Easy Trade’s 100 $0 trades a year and RBC GoSmart’s 50. CIBC charges $0 on more than 180 ETFs, Scotia iTRADE on more than 200, RBC on more than 50 and TD on select ETFs bought digitally, so the result depends on whether your ETF is on the list.

Profile 2: Active US trader (10 US trades a month)

Where the money goes. At the seven $0 brokers, an active US trader pays no commission at all, and Webull’s only cost is its $8.40 yearly account fee. Per-share pricing keeps Interactive Brokers at $120.00 (120 x $1.00) and moomoo at $238.80 (120 x $1.99). The four bank brokers that charge commissions cost from $834.00 at CIBC (120 x $6.95) to $1,198.80 at TD and Scotia iTRADE (120 x $9.99). Pass-through fees on US sales, such as the SEC fee, come on top at most brokers and are not included.

Profile 3: Mixed investor (two Canadian and one US trade a month)

The profile behind the cost score. This is the active profile our cost score uses, alongside profile 1. The seven $0 brokers cost nothing except Webull’s $8.40 account fee. Interactive Brokers costs $36.00 (36 x $1.00) and moomoo $59.64 (24 x $1.49 + 12 x $1.99 = $35.76 + $23.88). At the bank brokers that charge commissions, the same 36 trades cost $250.20 at CIBC (36 x $6.95), $358.20 at RBC (36 x $9.95) and $359.64 at TD and Scotia iTRADE (36 x $9.99). Averaged with profile 1, these totals set each broker’s cost score: 5 minus the average divided by $80.

Profile 4: Options trader (4 US equity options trades a month, 2 contracts each)

Minimums decide small trades. At National Bank and Desjardins, two contracts at $1.25 come to $2.50, so the $6.25 and $8.75 minimums set the price. Exercise and assignment fees sit on top: $24.95 to exercise at Questrade, US$45 for an early exercise at Wealthsimple, $28.95 at National Bank, a flat $30 assignment at Qtrade and $1 per line item at Webull. Our best options trading platforms page ranks brokers for this profile.

Enter your own pattern below. The calculator totals commissions and unavoidable account fees at every broker on this page, using the same published prices.

4. Cheapest Online Broker in Canada: Commissions Compared

Three pricing models. Seven brokers charge $0 on online Canadian and US stock and ETF trades. Two charge per share with a minimum: Interactive Brokers and moomoo. Four charge a flat fee per trade: CIBC ($6.95), RBC ($9.95), TD ($9.99) and Scotia iTRADE ($9.99). For an investor who trades only Canadian ETFs, the cheapest online broker in Canada is any of the six $0 brokers without a monthly account fee, as long as you meet any balance-based fee waiver (section 8). The same six also cost $0 on the active US trader and mixed profiles in section 3.

How per-share pricing scales. At Interactive Brokers, 40 shares at CAD 0.01 is $0.40, so the $1 minimum applies; 300 shares cost $3.00 (300 x $0.01). At moomoo, 300 Canadian shares cost $4.47 (300 x CA$0.0149). Interactive Brokers caps the commission at 0.5% of the trade value on Canadian stocks and 1% on US stocks. Per-share pricing is cheapest for small share counts in higher-priced stocks, and it costs more for large blocks of low-priced shares.

Active trader prices rarely help. The bank discounts start at 150 trades a quarter, which is 50 a month. An investor making that many trades would pay $0 at seven other brokers, so the discount mostly matters to clients who want to stay with their bank for other reasons.

Phone and assisted trades. Commission-free pricing covers online orders only. A phone trade at Wealthsimple costs $45 (waived for Active Trader clients, who make 50 or more manual trades in a calendar month), and a Desjardins trade placed by a representative has a $45 minimum. Please place orders online unless you need help, because one assisted trade can cost more than a year of online trading at a per-share broker.

Pass-through fees. A $0 commission does not remove exchange and regulatory charges on US trades. The SEC fee on US sales that Questrade passes on is 0.0000206 times the sale value ($0.206 on a $10,000 sale). Our page on commission-free trading platforms lists every remaining cost for each $0 broker.

5. Account Types Compared

Why account range matters. Moving accounts between brokers costs time and often a transfer fee, so a broker that offers every account you may need later saves trouble. A first job may only call for a TFSA; within a few years you may want an FHSA for a home, an RRSP and an RESP for a child. Questrade, Wealthsimple, Qtrade and RBC offer all 10 account types we score.

“Not listed” is not “no”. “No” means the broker says the account is not available, as moomoo does for the FHSA, RESP, joint and corporate accounts. “Not listed” means the account did not appear on the pages we checked. Large brokers often offer more than their main pages show, so please ask before you rule one out.

FHSA and RESP gaps. Eleven of the 13 brokers offer an FHSA; moomoo does not, and Webull does not list one. Nine offer an RESP. The 2026 FHSA limit is $8,000 a year and $40,000 for life, and the 2026 TFSA limit is $7,000, so the account you need first is often the FHSA or TFSA rather than the RRSP.

6. US Investing and USD Accounts

Three things shape US investing at a broker. The first is the commission on each US trade. The second is whether your TFSA, RRSP or other registered account can hold US dollars, and whether that carries an account fee. The third is US withholding tax on dividends, which depends on the account type. Our investment fee calculator adds up what your broker and funds cost each year.

Which accounts can hold US dollars. Questrade holds USD in registered accounts at no extra cost. National Bank offers USD TFSA, RRSP, RRIF and LIRA accounts (not the FHSA), and Desjardins offers US plans for the RRSP, TFSA, LIRA, RRIF and LIF, with no USD fee stated by either. Wealthsimple’s USD account, which can be added to a TFSA, FHSA or RRSP, costs $10 a month on Core and nothing on Premium ($100,000 in assets) or Generation ($500,000). Qtrade charges US$15 a quarter per USD RRSP, RRIF or TFSA (no USD FHSA), waived for Investor Plus clients. These rules feed 3 of the 5 points in our US score; the other 2 come from the US commission.

US withholding tax depends on the account. Under the Canada-US tax treaty, US dividends paid to a Canadian resident are taxed at 15% when a Form W-8BEN is on file, and at 30% without one. RRSPs, RRIFs, LIRAs and LIFs are exempt, because the treaty exempts arrangements operated to provide retirement income. TFSAs, FHSAs and RESPs are not exempt, and the 15% cannot be recovered inside them. In a non-registered account, you can claim a foreign tax credit on Form T2209. Our guide to US stocks in a TFSA works through the numbers.

Rankings for US investors. Our best brokers for US stocks list re-weights the score toward US investing, and our step-by-step guide to buying US stocks in Canada explains the process from account to first order. If you buy shares for their income, the best brokers for dividend investing page ranks the brokers that list a DRIP.

7. Margin Rates and Interest on Cash

Two rates that are easy to overlook. Uninvested cash earns 0% at most brokers that publish a rate, and margin loans cost far more at some brokers than at others. Both count for 10% of our overall score. If you keep a cash buffer in your account or borrow to invest, these rates can cost more than commissions.

What the spread costs. On a $20,000 margin loan held for a year, 3.675% is $735 and 8.70% is $1,740, a gap of $1,005. Wealthsimple, for example, accrues margin interest daily and charges it monthly, and rates set as prime plus a spread move with the prime rate. The lowest margin rates page ranks every broker that publishes a rate.

Debit balances in registered and cash accounts. You cannot borrow in a TFSA or RRSP, but a negative cash balance can still happen, for example when a fee posts to an empty account. Those balances are charged at much higher rates: 21.00% at National Bank, prime + 9% in a Desjardins cash account, prime + 8.10% CAD in a Questrade registered account, prime + 7.5% at Webull, and 7.00% CAD at CIBC. Please keep a small cash amount in each account to cover fees.

Cash in a brokerage account. If you hold cash for months, a high-interest savings account or a GIC inside the same TFSA may pay more. Interest on a margin loan used to earn investment income in a non-registered account is generally deductible.

8. Account Fees, Minimums and Other Costs

The fees that hit small accounts. Several brokers charge a yearly or quarterly fee on low balances or low activity. Each can be avoided, usually by holding a minimum balance, trading a few times or meeting an age rule. The table lists every recurring account fee we found and how to avoid it.

Small fees with big effects. A $100 yearly fee on a $5,000 account is 2% of the balance ($100 / $5,000). Webull’s $0.70 a month is $8.40 a year per account, or $16.80 for a TFSA and an RRSP. If your balance is small, a broker with no balance-based fee keeps more of your money invested.

Other charges to know. Wealthsimple charges $20 for a paper statement, $30 for a manual wire and $250 for a certificate withdrawal. Questrade Plus, an optional subscription, costs $19.99 a month.

9. Sign-Up Offers and Their End Dates

Offers do not change the ranking. A cash bonus is paid once; a lower commission or a waived account fee saves money every year. We list current offers so you can time a move, but no offer affects a score. The table includes only offers whose end date we verified on the broker’s own offer terms.

Ongoing offers with no end date. Wealthsimple’s 1% transfer match, effective May 4, 2026, has no fixed end date. It pays 1% of net qualifying transfers of $25,000 or more made within 30 days of registering, up to $20,000 on $2,000,000, in 24 monthly instalments, with a 730-day hold. Webull offers $50 on an initial deposit or transfer of $500 or more plus $200 once net funding reaches $20,000 and stays for 90 days, with no end date stated. BMO InvestorLine advertises a cash-back offer whose terms and end date we could not verify, so it is not listed.

Read the hold period. Offers can claw back the bonus if you move money out early: Qtrade requires the money to stay until February 5, 2028, and Wealthsimple’s 1% match has a 730-day hold. If you might need the money sooner, the bonus may not be worth the restriction. Please keep a copy of the offer terms until the last payment arrives.

10. Safety and Regulation: CIRO and CIPF

Every broker here is a CIPF member. The Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) covers client property held by a member firm that becomes insolvent. Coverage is $1,000,000 for all general accounts combined (cash, margin, TFSA and FHSA), a separate $1,000,000 for registered retirement accounts (RRSP, RRIF and LIF), and a separate $1,000,000 for RESPs. CIPF does not cover a drop in market value, unsuitable advice or crypto assets.

CIRO regulates the dealers. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) oversees every investment dealer in Canada and trading on Canada’s debt and equity marketplaces. CIPF member firms are CIRO members, so a broker on CIPF’s list is a CIRO-regulated dealer even where its pages do not repeat the CIRO statement.

CDIC is a different protection. The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation covers eligible deposits, including GICs, up to $100,000 per category at each member institution. It does not cover stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds or crypto. Cash and securities held in a brokerage account fall under CIPF, which is why CIPF membership is the test we apply to every broker here. Our CIPF vs CDIC guide sets the two protections side by side.

Account security is your part. CIPF does not cover losses from someone logging into your account. Wealthsimple reimburses passkey users for direct losses from unauthorized activity. At any broker, please turn on the strongest login protection offered and never share one-time codes. Our guide to whether Wealthsimple is safe shows how CIPF and CDIC apply to one provider’s accounts.

11. Bank-Owned Brokers vs the Best Discount Brokerage Options

Six bank-owned brokers, one cooperative, six independents. National Bank, CIBC, TD, RBC, BMO and Scotiabank each own a self-directed broker. Desjardins Online Brokerage belongs to a financial cooperative group. Interactive Brokers, Questrade, Wealthsimple, Qtrade, moomoo and Webull are not owned by a bank. Ownership adds one safety point in our method, but cost carries 35% of the score, and that is where the groups split.

Cost gap on our active profile. On our active profile (two Canadian and one US trade a month), the six independents cost from $0 (Questrade, Wealthsimple and Qtrade) to $59.64 (moomoo) a year. The bank-owned brokers cost from $0 (National Bank and BMO) to $359.64 (TD and Scotia iTRADE). Desjardins costs $0. On the unrounded overall score, the independents average 3.95 and the bank-owned brokers 3.09.

Two banks moved to $0. National Bank and BMO now charge $0 on online stock and ETF trades, which puts them fifth and seventh, ahead of moomoo and Webull. The other four bank brokers charge $6.95 or more per trade and rank tenth to thirteenth. If you want a bank-owned broker and trade often, those two are the place to start.

What banks still offer. Scotia iTRADE offers single sign-on from the Scotia banking apps and up to 100 $0 trades with an Ultimate Package; CIBC waives commissions and admin fees for Smart Start clients under 25. RBC reimburses up to $500 of transfer fees for Royal Circle and Royal Distinction members. These perks can outweigh the commission gap for some clients.

The independents in depth. Section 2 shows where the best discount brokerage options outside the banks lead. See our broker reviews for each one in depth, or put any two side by side on our broker comparison hub.

12. How to Choose the Best Online Brokerage in Canada

Choosing the best online broker in Canada for you comes down to matching your largest cost and your accounts to the right broker. Work through these steps in order.

1. List the accounts you need now and in five years. TFSA, FHSA, RRSP, RESP, spousal RRSP or a locked-in account from an old pension. Cross off any broker that does not list them in section 5.
2. Find your largest cost. If you buy Canadian ETFs, commissions matter most. If you buy US stocks, US commissions and the fee for holding US dollars matter most. If you trade options, contract fees and minimums matter most. Use the four profiles in section 3 or the cost calculator to price your own pattern.
3. Decide where you will hold US dollars. If you will keep US shares in a TFSA or RRSP, check that the broker offers a USD version of that account and whether it charges a monthly or quarterly fee for it (section 6).
4. Check balance-based fees against your balance. A $100 yearly fee on a $5,000 account costs 2% a year. Choose a broker without one, or meet its waiver.
5. Confirm CIPF membership. All 13 brokers here are members. If you consider a broker outside this list, please ask it to confirm in writing which dealer holds your account and that the dealer is a CIPF member before you send money.
6. Check the transfer terms both ways. Look at what your current broker charges to leave and what the new one reimburses (section 13), then time the move around any offer deadline.
7. Start with one account and one trade. Open the account you need most, fund it, place one small order and read the confirmation for any fees before moving everything.

Rankings, not recommendations. The category leaders in section 2 are rankings by published criteria, not recommendations for your situation. Our step-by-step guide on how to invest in Canada covers what to buy once the account is open.

13. How to Switch Brokers Without Paying Twice

Always start the transfer at the new broker. You open the new account and sign a transfer form there; the new broker requests the assets from the old one. For a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA or RESP, this direct transfer keeps the account registered. If you withdraw from a TFSA and redeposit yourself, the redeposit counts as a new contribution and can create an over-contribution, which is taxed at 1% a month. A direct transfer between TFSAs has no effect on your room.

In kind or in cash. An in-kind transfer moves the shares themselves, so you stay invested and avoid selling. A cash transfer sells everything first, which can trigger a capital gain in a non-registered account and leaves you out of the market for the days the transfer takes. Fractional shares are a special case: Wealthsimple states that fractional shares cannot be transferred to another institution, so they must be sold first.

Fees per account add up. Most transfer fees are charged per account. Moving a TFSA, an RRSP and a non-registered account from a $150 broker costs $450 unless the new broker covers it. moomoo charges the fee on CAD holdings and again on USD holdings, so an account with both costs $75 CAD plus $75 USD to move in full. Keep the statement that shows the fee; reimbursements usually need it.

Our guide on how to transfer an investment account walks through each form and timeline.

What You Need and What You Get

8 Strategies to Cut Your Brokerage Costs

Illustrative Example: Moving a TFSA From a $9.99 Broker

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

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