Best RRSP Accounts in Canada for 2026

Best RRSP Account Canada 2026: Ranking at a Glance

This table lists the 13 self-directed brokers that offer an RRSP, in score order. Scores are out of 5 and rounded to one decimal; ties follow the unrounded score, then the name. “Not named” means the account type did not appear on the broker’s own pages when we checked, not that it is certainly unavailable.

To see what these prices cost for the way you invest, the calculator below works out the yearly cost at every broker from your Canadian and US trades, adding up commissions, options fees and account fees.

Master Comparison Table: 13 RRSP Brokers

Search and sort the table to compare brokers on what matters for an RRSP. Yearly costs come from our two scoring profiles for a $20,000 account: buy-and-hold (one Canadian trade a month) and active (two Canadian and one US trade a month). Each cost is commissions plus any account fee that applies at that balance. At $20,000, none of the small-account RRSP fees in this table apply.

Yearly costs use each broker’s standard published commission on a $2,000 order of 40 shares. “Not described”, “not named” and “not listed” mean the item did not appear on the pages we checked.

The 13 Self-Directed RRSP Brokers Ranked

Each card explains the score and then the RRSP details that matter over decades: spousal plans, US dollars, the RRIF you will need at 71, locked-in accounts, and the fees on small or inactive RRSPs. Sub-scores are out of 5.

Managed RRSP Options: Robo-Advisors Ranked

A managed RRSP suits investors who want an ETF portfolio built, rebalanced and reinvested for them over the decades before retirement. We rank the four robo-advisors that publish both their management fee and fund costs; all four offer an RRSP. Robo scores weigh fees 45%, account types 15%, portfolio choice 15%, minimum 10% and access to advice 15%.

Wealthsimple Managed Investing (4.2 / 5). It offers RRSPs, spousal RRSPs, RRIFs and LIRAs, with Classic, Summit, Income and Automated Investing portfolios. The fee drops from 0.5% to 0.4% once your total Wealthsimple assets reach $100,000 (Premium), which the $100,000 and $250,000 columns assume. Tax-loss harvesting, offered only on Premium and Generation, has no effect inside an RRSP. See our Wealthsimple Managed Investing review.

Questwealth Portfolios (4.1 / 5). It is the cheapest ranked robo at every balance, and its fee falls to 0.20% from $100,000. It offers RRSPs, spousal RRSPs, locked-in RRSPs, LIRAs, RRIFs and LIFs. Its weak spot is advice: client-facing advice is not described.

CI Direct Investing (3.7 / 5). It scores full marks on advice, with access to planners and “unlimited advice”, and offers the widest retirement menu of the four: RRSPs, spousal RRSPs, RRIFs, spousal RIFs, LIRAs, locked-in RRSPs and LIFs. Its fee is blended across all your CI accounts, and it covers up to $150 of the other firm’s transfer fee on transfers of $25,000 or more.

RBC InvestEase (3.4 / 5). It offers only TFSAs, FHSAs, RRSPs and non-registered accounts, so you would need to move to another RBC service or provider for a spousal RRSP or a RRIF. It reimburses up to $200 of transfer fees on $15,000 or more and charges $150 plus tax to transfer out to a non-RBC account.

Not ranked. BMO SmartFolio (RRSP and RRIF offered) publishes an advisory fee of 0.4% to 0.7% without breakpoints or fund costs. Justwealth (RRSP, spousal RRSP, LIRA, RRIF and LIF offered) shows its fee tiers only as an image and has a $5,000 minimum. We could not confirm that TD Automated Investing, Nest Wealth or Qtrade Guided Portfolios accept new clients. Our best robo-advisors page ranks all of them across every account type.

RRSP Savings Accounts and GIC Options

An RRSP can hold savings deposits and GICs. Interest earned inside an RRSP is not taxed until you withdraw it. Savings and GIC rates are sorted by rate, not scored, and only registered rates we verified on October 22, 2026 are listed.

Why GICs suit some RRSPs. Someone within a few years of converting to a RRIF may want part of the RRSP in GICs that mature as withdrawals begin. A 1 to 5-year ladder spreads the maturities so that one GIC comes due each year. RRSP deposits at a CDIC member are insured up to $100,000 as their own category, separate from your TFSA and non-registered deposits, and RRIF deposits form another separate category.

What we left out. EQ Bank publishes conflicting GIC rates across three of its pages, so its registered GICs are not listed until it confirms one set. Tangerine’s registered savings promotion showed placeholders for its terms. Wealthsimple describes a savings option for registered accounts, but its pages give conflicting rates, so we do not show one. Compare everyday rates on our high-interest savings accounts page and all terms on our GIC rates page.

1. How We Ranked the Best RRSP Accounts

The same score on every list. Each broker carries the overall score it has on our best online brokers ranking and on every list in our compare online brokers section. This page simply keeps the 13 brokers that offer an RRSP. Scores are not tuned per page, and no provider can pay to move up.

How cost is measured. The cost score is 5 minus the average yearly cost of the two profiles in the master comparison table, divided by $80. Each profile counts commissions and account fees, and the US score uses USD in registered accounts and US commissions.

Tax tables. The tax savings tables on this page are not part of any score; they show what the RRSP deduction itself is worth.

Ties, updates and independence. Scores show one decimal, and ties follow the unrounded score. Questrade (4.325) therefore ranks above Desjardins (4.275), and Interactive Brokers (4.232) above Wealthsimple (4.225) and National Bank Direct Brokerage (4.175). The full rubric is on our broker rating methodology page, our accuracy rules are in our editorial standards, and how the site earns money is on how WealthScale makes money.

2. RRSP Costs for Four Investor Profiles

An RRSP is often left alone for years, so account-size fees can matter more than commissions. This table prices four hypothetical RRSP investors at each broker’s published rates on October 22, 2026.

Every trade is a $2,000 order of 40 shares. Each cost is commissions plus any account fee that applies at that balance.

Assumptions. The investor is over 30, has been a client for more than a year, holds no other account or banking package at the firm and makes no pre-authorized contributions. For the small RRSP, the four trades fall one per quarter, so TD’s three-trades-a-quarter waiver does not apply. Optional USD account fees (Wealthsimple’s $10 a month plus tax on Core and Qtrade’s US$15 a quarter) are not included; section 4 covers them.

The small RRSP. At $10,000, the five $100 small-account fees listed in section 6 (Disnat, National Bank, CIBC, Scotia iTRADE and TD) each take 1% of the balance every year ($100 / $10,000). Scotia and TD also charge $9.99 a trade, for $139.96 in total ($100 + 4 x $9.99).

The US-focused RRSP. Commissions decide this profile. Six brokers cost $0.00 for 12 US trades a year: Questrade, Desjardins, Wealthsimple, National Bank, Qtrade and BMO. Webull also charges $0 commission but adds its $8.40 account fee. Interactive Brokers costs $12.00 (12 x US$1) and moomoo $23.88 (12 x US$1.99), while CIBC costs $83.40 (12 x $6.95), RBC $119.40 (12 x $9.95), and Scotia iTRADE and TD $119.88 each (12 x $9.99). Section 4 shows which RRSPs can hold US dollars and what that costs.

Not included. The table leaves out ETF fund fees, which are the same at every broker, plus transfer fees and moomoo’s CA$50 charge on each RRSP withdrawal.

3. Spousal RRSP Support by Provider

How a spousal RRSP works. You contribute to an RRSP in your spouse’s or common-law partner’s name, using your own deduction room, and you claim the deduction. Your spouse owns the plan and is normally taxed on withdrawals. The aim is to split retirement income so the couple pays less tax in total. Your spouse’s own room is not affected.

The three-year attribution rule. If your spouse withdraws in a year when you contributed to any spousal RRSP for them, or in either of the two previous calendar years, the withdrawal is generally taxed in your hands. The contributor reports it on Form T2205.

Contributing after 71. You must stop contributing to your own RRSP on December 31 of the year you turn 71, but you can keep contributing to a spousal RRSP until the end of the year your spouse turns 71, as long as you still have room from earned income. This example is hypothetical: you are 73, your spouse is 68 and you have $12,000 of unused RRSP deduction room carried forward. You can still put $12,000 into a spousal RRSP and deduct it, at any time until the end of the year your spouse turns 71.

Is a spousal RRSP still worth it? From 65, up to 50% of eligible pension income, including RRIF payments, can be split with a spouse on a joint Form T1032. A spousal RRSP still helps when one spouse will draw retirement income before 65, or when you want to move more than half of it. If you need a spousal plan, choose a provider that names it, so you do not have to move later. Our RRSP guide covers the attribution rule in more depth.

4. USD RRSP: US Dollars and the Treaty Exemption

Why US shares often belong in an RRSP. Article XXI(2) of the Canada-US tax treaty exempts dividends and interest paid to an arrangement operated exclusively to provide pension or retirement benefits. RRSPs, RRIFs, LIRAs and LIFs qualify, so US-listed securities held directly in them are exempt from US withholding once your broker has the account documented. A TFSA or FHSA does not qualify, and loses 15% of US dividends.

A worked comparison. This example is hypothetical. $2,000 of dividends from directly held US-listed shares loses $300 in a TFSA ($2,000 x 15%) and $0 in an RRSP. If the dividends stay at $2,000 a year for 10 years, the RRSP avoids $3,000 of US withholding ($300 x 10).

The fund-layer catch. The exemption reaches only US-listed securities you hold directly. A Canadian-listed ETF that owns US shares has US tax withheld inside the fund, and the RRSP cannot recover it. A US-listed ETF held directly in the RRSP avoids that layer. This is a structural point about where tax is withheld, not a recommendation of any fund.

Plan for 71 now. A USD account that works in your RRSP may not carry over to your RRIF. Wealthsimple, for example, does not offer a USD account in a RRIF or LIF, so check the RRIF side before you build up US-dollar holdings in an RRSP there. Our best RRSP accounts for US stocks ranking weights US investing at 40% (Desjardins Online Brokerage and Questrade lead at 4.6 / 5), our how to buy US stocks guide walks through placing a US trade, and our guide to CIPF vs CDIC explains how investments and deposits are protected.

5. RRIF Conversion: Where Your RRSP Goes at 71

The deadline. December 31 of the year you turn 71 is the last day to contribute to your own RRSP. By then you must withdraw it (fully taxable), transfer it to a RRIF, or buy an annuity. A direct transfer to a RRIF has no tax withheld; the money is taxed later as RRIF payments are made.

Converting where you are. Ten of the 13 brokers offer a RRIF, so you can convert without moving. moomoo, Webull and TD Direct Investing did not list one on the pages we checked. If your RRSP is at one of those, plan a transfer before the end of the year you turn 71.

Minimum withdrawals. No minimum is due in the year you set up the RRIF. From the next year, the minimum is the RRIF’s value on January 1 multiplied by a prescribed factor for your age at the start of the year: 4.00% at 65, 5.00% at 70, 5.28% at 71, 5.40% at 72, 5.82% at 75, 6.82% at 80, 8.51% at 85, 11.92% at 90 and 20.00% from 95. You can elect to use your spouse’s age when you set up the RRIF; a younger spouse gives a lower minimum.

A worked minimum. This example is hypothetical. You are 72 at the start of the year and your RRIF is worth $200,000 on January 1, so this year’s minimum is $10,800 ($200,000 x 5.40%). If you had elected the age of your spouse, who is 65 at the start of the year, the minimum would be $8,000 ($200,000 x 4.00%). Tax is withheld only on the part you take above the minimum, at the lump-sum rates in section 9.

The calculator below projects your RRIF minimum year by year.

Compare RRIF providers on our best RRIF accounts page, see every factor on our RRIF minimum withdrawal table, or plan withdrawals with the RRIF calculator.

6. RRSP Account Fees: Admin, Withdrawal and Transfer Fees

Small-account fees. Five brokers can charge $100 a year on a small or quiet RRSP: Disnat (an RRSP under $15,000), National Bank Direct Brokerage (under $20,000 on May 31, unless you are 30 or younger), CIBC (a total balance of $10,000 or less), Scotia iTRADE (combined retirement accounts under $25,000 with fewer than 12 trades a year) and TD Direct Investing ($25 a quarter if household assets are under $15,000). Webull charges $0.70 a month at every balance.

Ways around them. National Bank waives its fee at 30 or younger; CIBC waives it in your first year and for young and student investors with qualifying chequing; TD waives it with $100 a month of pre-authorized contributions or three commission trades in the prior quarter; and Scotia’s fee disappears once you make 12 trades a year or pass $25,000. Questrade, Wealthsimple, Qtrade, BMO (under $25,000), RBC and moomoo list no account fee on an RRSP.

Withdrawal fees. moomoo charges CA$50 for each RRSP withdrawal. BMO lists $0 for RRSP and RRIF deregistration and for Home Buyers’ Plan and Lifelong Learning Plan withdrawals. Most other brokers do not publish an RRSP withdrawal fee, so ask before you plan a series of small withdrawals.

Transfer-out fees and rebates. Eight brokers charge $150 to send an RRSP to another institution; moomoo charges $75 per currency and Wealthsimple $0. Questrade rebates up to $150 per account, RBC up to $200 on $15,000 or more, Wealthsimple up to $150 per account on $25,000 or more, and Qtrade up to $150 per client on $15,000 or more under its current offer.

Debit balances. If fees push an RRSP’s cash below zero, the interest is high: 21.00% at National Bank, CAD prime + 8.10% at Questrade, prime + 7.5% at Webull, 7.00% at CIBC and prime + 5.00% at Scotia iTRADE. Keep a small cash balance in any RRSP that pays fees.

7. RRSP Rules Recap for 2026: Limit, Room and Deadline

The deduction limit. Your RRSP deduction limit for a year is the lesser of 18% of your previous year’s earned income and that year’s dollar limit, minus any pension adjustment and past service pension adjustment, plus any pension adjustment reversal and your unused room carried forward. The 2026 dollar limit is $33,810 and the 2027 limit, already published, is $35,390.

Income needed for the maximum. To reach the full 2026 limit from new room alone, you needed $187,833.33 of earned income in 2025 ($33,810 / 18%). For the 2027 limit, you need $196,611.11 of earned income in 2026 ($35,390 / 18%). Below those incomes, your new room is 18% of the previous year’s earned income, minus any pension adjustment from a workplace pension.

Carrying room and deductions forward. Unused deduction room carries forward with no time limit. You can also contribute now and deduct later: contributions you do not deduct can be claimed in a future year, which can be worth more if your income, and so your tax rate, will be higher then.

The deadline. The RRSP contribution year ends on the 60th day of the following year. The deadline for the 2025 tax year was March 2, 2026. For the 2026 tax year, the 60th day lands on Monday, March 1, 2027, so that is the deadline.

Over-contributions. You can be up to $2,000 over your deduction limit without penalty if you were 18 or older at any time in the previous year. Anything above that is taxed at 1% a month. You report it on Form T1-OVP within 90 days after the end of the calendar year, and you can ask for a waiver on Form RC2503 if the excess came from a reasonable error. Payroll contributions to a group RRSP at work use the same room, so add them up before you contribute on your own. Our RRSP contribution limit page shows how to read your limit and reconcile contributions.

8. What an RRSP Deduction Is Worth in 2026

The deduction, not the account, saves tax. Every RRSP on this page gives the same deduction. What changes the value is your income and province. This table shows the 2026 tax saved by a $10,000 RRSP deduction, worked out as the tax on your income minus the tax on your income less $10,000.

Calculated with 2026 federal and provincial or territorial brackets and basic personal amount credits, the Ontario surtax and Ontario Health Premium, the Ontario and B.C. tax reductions, and the 16.5% Quebec abatement of federal tax. Other credits (CPP, EI, employment and so on) are not included.

Reading the table. At $75,000 in Ontario, the deduction saves $3,115: $2,050 of federal tax ($10,000 x 20.5%), $915 of Ontario tax ($10,000 x 9.15%) and $150 of Ontario Health Premium ($750 – $600). At $100,000 in Ontario the saving is slightly lower, $3,058.30, because the Health Premium is already at its $750 cap at both $90,000 and $100,000; the Ontario surtax adds $93.30 back. The highest figure in the table is $4,746.00 in Quebec at $150,000.

When a deduction is worth less. At $50,000 the saving is between $1,800.00 (Nunavut) and $2,895.00 (Nova Scotia), so a lower-income year is when carrying the deduction forward (section 7) can pay. If you expect a higher tax rate in retirement than today, a TFSA may suit you better; our TFSA vs RRSP comparison works through both cases.

Enter your income, province and contribution in the calculator below to see your own 2026 refund estimate.

The RRSP tax refund calculator page explains each input and shows more worked cases.

9. RRSP Withdrawals, Withholding and the Home Buyers’ Plan

Withholding at source. When you withdraw from an RRSP, the issuer withholds tax and sends it to the government. The rate depends on the amount and where you live. Withholding is a prepayment; the whole withdrawal is added to your income and the final tax is settled on your return.

A worked withdrawal. This example is hypothetical. An Alberta resident with $80,000 of income withdraws $20,000. The broker withholds $6,000 ($20,000 x 30%). The withdrawal raises her 2026 tax by $6,100 (tax on $100,000 minus tax on $80,000), so she owes another $100 when she files ($6,100 – $6,000). At moomoo she would also pay the CA$50 withdrawal fee.

The Home Buyers’ Plan. First-time buyers can withdraw up to $60,000 from RRSPs under the Home Buyers’ Plan without tax, provided they have a written agreement to buy or build, intend to live in the home within one year, and are resident in Canada. For first withdrawals made from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2028, repayment starts in the fifth year after the withdrawal and runs for up to 15 years. Contributions made in the 89 days before an HBP withdrawal may not be deductible. You can use the HBP and an FHSA for the same home; see our Home Buyers’ Plan guide and FHSA vs RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan.

The Lifelong Learning Plan. You can withdraw up to $10,000 a year and $20,000 in total to pay for full-time education for you or your spouse, and repay it over 10 years.

Room does not come back. Unlike a TFSA, a regular RRSP withdrawal never restores the room you used. Only HBP and LLP amounts are repaid into the plan. That is why an RRSP is a poor place for an emergency fund.

10. Where to Open RRSP Accounts: How to Choose

An RRSP may stay with one provider for 30 years or more and then become a RRIF. These steps put the long-term features first.

1. Choose self-directed, managed or savings. Decide who will manage the money. A robo-advisor costs 0.37% to 0.83% a year all-in on $50,000 among the ranked four; a self-directed RRSP can cost $0 a year in commissions.
2. List the accounts you will need. If you want a spousal RRSP, a LIRA for a pension transfer, or a RRIF at 71, pick a provider that names them now.
3. Decide on US dollars. If you will hold US-listed shares for the treaty exemption, choose an RRSP that holds US dollars at no extra cost and check whether the RRIF does too.
4. Price your pattern. Enter your yearly Canadian and US trades in the cost calculator near the top of this page.
5. Check fees at your balance. Under $25,000, look for the small-account fees listed in section 6.
6. Move existing RRSPs by direct transfer. Ask the new provider to start it and to cover the exit fee.

Which is the best RRSP platform for you?

Starting out. If this is your first investing account, our best brokers for beginners ranking and our how to invest in Canada guide cover the basics, and our best TFSA accounts page ranks the same brokers for a TFSA. Our Questrade vs Interactive Brokers comparison sets Questrade, ranked first here, beside Interactive Brokers, ranked third.

11. How to Transfer an RRSP Without Tax

Use a direct transfer. Open the new RRSP first and ask the new provider to transfer the plan from the old one. The money moves between institutions without passing through your hands, so nothing is withheld and nothing is added to your income. Please never withdraw and redeposit: the withdrawal is taxed, tax is withheld, and the room you used is gone for good.

What a withdrawal would cost instead. This example is hypothetical. Withdrawing a $20,000 RRSP to move it yourself means $6,000 withheld outside Quebec ($20,000 x 30%) and $20,000 added to your income. Redepositing it needs $20,000 of fresh deduction room, which you may not have, and the original $20,000 of room is not restored.

Fees and who pays them. Section 6 lists every broker’s exit fee and which receiving brokers cover it. Among robo-advisors, CI Direct Investing covers up to $150 of the other firm’s fee on transfers of $25,000 or more. Partial transfers cost $25 per security at Disnat and $50 at moomoo and Webull, so moving the whole plan at once is often cheaper.

In kind, locked-in and spousal plans. Moving holdings in kind avoids selling and buying again. If you are moving a LIRA, check that the receiving provider offers one: Interactive Brokers does not describe LIRAs, and moomoo and Webull do not list them. Keep spousal RRSPs separate from your own when you transfer. Our transfer guide covers the forms and what to check afterwards.

What You Need and What You Get

8 RRSP Account Strategies That Cut Costs and Tax

Illustrative Example: Consolidating Two RRSPs

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.

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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)
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