Overview of Charles Schwab fees and charges
We know that fees are on top of people's mind when selecting a broker. Brokerage fees consist of trading and non-trading fees. The most important trading fees are commission, spread, and financing rate.
- Commission: it's charged when you execute a trade (either buy or sell). Commissions can be volume-tiered or flat fees. Nowadays, there are many commission-free brokers, click on the following links to check out the best free stockbrokers in the US and the EU.
- Spread: it denotes the difference between the bid and ask price. When you trade forex, spreads can make up a significant part of your trading costs.
- Financing rate/overnight costs: if you trade on leverage, you may be charged for holding your positions overnight. This cost can be expressed as a percentage or in swap points.
- Non-trading fees: these occur when you deposit and withdraw funds, or if you don't use your account for a certain period.
Now, let's dive into the details and see what commissions, spreads, and financing rates Charles Schwab charges.
Charles Schwab commission and other trading fees
The good news is that Charles Schwab has low trading fees in general. We ranked the fees of Charles Schwab as low, average, or high based on how they compare with all reviewed brokers.
Check out this table to get an overview of whether Charles Schwab commissions, spreads, and financing rates for each asset class are low/average/high.
|
Stock and ETF
|
Low | Low | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Forex
|
Low | - | - |
|
Fund
|
High | High | High |
|
Bond
|
Low | Low | Low |
|
Options
|
Low | Low | Low |
|
Futures
|
High | Average | - |
Now let's go over the trading fees for each asset class one by one.
Charles Schwab stock and ETF commissions, spreads
Charles Schwab stock and ETF commissions are low. Charles Schwab stock and ETF commissions are charged as per the table below.
|
US stock
|
Free stock and ETF trading |
|---|
You can compare Charles Schwab stock and ETF fees with the two closest competitors.
|
US stock
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
|---|
Stock and ETF commissions are calculated for a $2,000 trade
Charles Schwab forex commissions and spreads
Charles Schwab forex fees are low. Charles Schwab forex commissions and spreads for individual currency pairs are charged as per the table below.
|
EURUSD fee description
|
The fees are built into the spread, 1.4 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
|---|---|
|
GBPUSD fee description
|
The fees are built into the spread, 1.3 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
Check out how Charles Schwab forex fees compare to its two closest competitors.
|
EURUSD benchmark fee
|
$10.8 |
-
|
-
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
GBPUSD benchmark fee
|
$5.6 |
-
|
-
|
|
AUDUSD benchmark fee
|
$11.3 |
-
|
-
|
|
EURCHF benchmark fee
|
$0.0 |
-
|
-
|
|
EURGBP benchmark fee
|
$9.2 |
-
|
-
|
Forex fees are calculated for a $20,000 trade using 30:1 leverage
Charles Schwab fund commissions
Charles Schwab fund commissions are high. The table below shows how Charles Schwab fund commissions are calculated.
|
Mutual fund
|
Standard fee of $49.95, but up to $74.95 for buying, while selling is free; there are also around 4,000 free mutual funds |
|---|
Check out how Charles Schwab fund fees compare with the competition.
|
Mutual fund
|
$25.0
|
$0.0
|
$37.5
|
|---|
Fund commissions are calculated for a $2,000 trade
Charles Schwab bond commissions
Charles Schwab bond commissions are low. The table below contains the description of Charles Schwab bond commissions.
|
US Treasury bond
|
$0 for Treasury bonds; $1 per bond for corporate bonds with $10 minimum and $250 maximum |
|---|
See how Charles Schwab bond fees stack up against the competition.
|
US Treasury bond
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
$0.0
|
|---|
Bond commissions are calculated for a $10,000 trade
Charles Schwab options commissions
You can see below the description of Charles Schwab options commissions. Charles Schwab options fees are low.
|
US stock index options
|
$0.65 per contract |
|---|---|
|
US stock options
|
$0.65 per contract |
Compare options commissions charged by Charles Schwab with those of E*TRADE and Fidelity.
|
US stock index options
|
$6.5
|
$6.5
|
$6.5
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
US stock options
|
$6.5
|
$6.5
|
$6.5
|
Options commissions are calculated for 10 contracts
Charles Schwab futures commissions
You can see below how Charles Schwab futures commissions are charged. Charles Schwab futures fees are high.
|
US micro e-mini stock index futures
|
$2.25 per contract |
|---|
Compare how the futures commissions of Charles Schwab stack up against those of E*TRADE and Fidelity.
|
US micro e-mini stock index futures
|
$22.5
|
$15.0
|
-
|
|---|
Futures commissions are calculated for 10 contracts
Charles Schwab financing rates
Charles Schwab financing rates are low. They make up a significant part of your trading costs if you hold your position for a long time.
Check out how Charles Schwab financing rates compare with those of E*TRADE and Fidelity.
|
EURUSD financing rate
|
2.1%
|
-
|
-
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
GBPUSD financing rate
|
0.9%
|
-
|
-
|
Charles Schwab non-trading fees
In addition to trading fees, it's important to see if Charles Schwab charges a fee on deposits, withdrawals, account maintenance, and inactivity. We compared these fees levied by Charles Schwab with its two closest competitors.
|
Deposit fee
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Withdrawal fee
|
$0
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Account fee
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
|
Inactivity fee
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
CFD fees are calculated for a $2,000 trade using 20:1 leverage for stock index CFDs, and 5:1 leverage for stock CFDs
Bottom line
Hopefully, by now you have a clear picture of the commissions, spreads, financing rates, and non-trading fees charged by Charles Schwab and its closest competitors. To learn more about Charles Schwab, check out this detailed review. If you would like more information about fees in general, read this article about brokerage fees.
If you're not sure which broker to choose, get a personal recommendation from our broker recommendation algorithm or compare brokers with our broker comparison table.
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Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.
