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Written by: Adam N. Updated: Dec 2022
Expert verified

Overview of Charles Schwab fees and charges

It's safe to say that Charles Schwab's fees are low in general. They either don't charge a brokerage fee for things other brokers do charge for, or they only charge a small amount. This means that you can use Charles Schwab even in case you trade frequently like multiple times a week or daily.

Here's a high level overview of Charles Schwab's fees

Charles Schwab Fees snapshot
Assets Fee level Fee terms
US stock fee Low Free stock and ETF trading
EURUSD fee - Not available
US tech fund fee High Up to $49.95 or 74.95 for buying while selling is free; there are also around 4,000 free mutual funds
Inactivity fee Low No inactivity fee

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Charles Schwab fees
Charles Schwab fees explained

We compare Charles Schwab fees with its closest competitors, E*TRADE and Fidelity.

Charles Schwab fees
Charles Schwab trading fees

Charles Schwab's trading fees are low which makes it suitable for you even if you trade often (i.e. multiple times a week).

Let's break down the trading fees into the different asset classes available at Charles Schwab.

Trading fees

Charles Schwab's trading fees are low.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Charles Schwab has low stock trading fees.

Stock fees of a $2,000 trade
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
US stock $0.0 $0.0 $0.0
UK stock - - $11.2
German stock - - $20.3

Fund fees

Charles Schwab fund fees are high.

A $2,000 fund buy fees
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
Mutual fund $25.0 $20.0 $37.5
EU mutual fund - - -

Bond fees

Charles Schwab has low bond fees.

Bond fees of a $10,000 trade
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
US Treasury bond $0.0 $0.0 $0.0
EU government bond - - -

Options fees

Charles Schwab's options fees are low.

Stock index options fees of 10 contracts
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
US stock index options $6.5 $6.5 $6.5
UK stock index options - - -
German stock index options - - -

Futures fees

Charles Schwab's futures fees are high.

Stock index futures fee of 10 contracts
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
US micro e-mini stock index futures $22.5 $15.0 -
UK stock index futures - - -
German e-mini stock index futures - - -

Financing rates

Charles Schwab financing rates are .

If you want to trade on margin and prefer to hold your positions long, financing costs can be significant.

Charles Schwab yearly financing rates
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
Apple CFD financing rate - - -
Vodafone CFD financing rate - - -
EURUSD financing rate - - -
EURGBP financing rate - - -

Leverage is a double-edged sword and can dramatically amplify your profits. It can also just as dramatically amplify your losses. Trading foreign exchange/CFDs with any level of leverage may not be suitable for all investors.

Charles Schwab fees
Charles Schwab non-trading fees

When it comes to looking at all the non-trading fees Charles Schwab is a cheap broker. This means that they don't charge you a lot for non-trading related activities on your trading account, like withdrawal fee.

Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at Charles Schwab that you pay not related to buying and selling assets. Among some others, typical non trading fees are withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee and account fee.

A high level overview of how Charles Schwab stacks up in non-trading fees
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
Withdrawal fee $0 $0 $0
Deposit fee $0 $0 $0
Inactivity fee No No No
Account fee No No No

Charles Schwab fees
Charles Schwab deposit fee

Deposit fees are applied when you send money to your trading account from your bank account. Usually brokers don't charge money for that and Charles Schwab is not different: you will see the exact same amount on your brokerage account that you sent by any of the deposit methods Charles Schwab offers.

Charles Schwab deposit methods
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
Bank transfer Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card No No No
Electronic wallets No No Yes
Deposit fee $0 $0 $0

Charles Schwab fees
Charles Schwab withdrawal fee

Unlike some online brokers we have reviewed Charles Schwab does not charge a withdrawal fee. This means that you'll see the same amount of money on your bank account that you transferred from your brokerage account.

Charles Schwab withdrawal fees and options compared
Charles Schwab E*TRADE Fidelity
Bank transfer Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card No No No
Electronic wallets No No Yes
Withdrawal fee with bank transfer $0 $0 $0

Charles Schwab fees
Charles Schwab inactivity fee

Charles Schwab does not apply an inactivity fee which is great because your account will not be charged even if you do not trade for a longer time period (months or years).

Author of this article

Adam Nasli

Author of this article

Adam is a motivated finance expert. He is one of the first hires at BrokerChooser and has since tested almost all 100+ brokers covered by BrokerChooser. Adam holds a professional degree from CEU and he helps teach finance and programming courses at his alma mater. Previously he worked in the banking sector, including at Citi Bank. He loves researching the financial industry, managing his long-term investments, and trading with algorithms.

Adam Nasli

Analyst Head

Adam is a motivated finance expert. He is one of the first hires at BrokerChooser and has since tested almost all 100+ brokers covered by BrokerChooser. Adam holds a professional degree from CEU and he helps teach finance and programming courses at his alma mater. Previously he worked in the banking sector, including at Citi Bank. He loves researching the financial industry, managing his long-term investments, and trading with algorithms.

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

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