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Is Merrill Edge free?

Your expert
Nicole C.
Fact checked by
Gyula L.
Updated
Jan 2024
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Data-driven Data-driven
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Is Merrill Edge free as of January 2024?

Merrill Edge is in fact a zero-commission broker when it comes to buying and selling stocks. Zero commission is especially useful if you trade relatively low volumes, like buying stocks for less than $500 per trade, because you won't be hit with any minimum fees the broker might charge.

We should note that the payment-for-order-flow model, which is used by some zero-commission brokers to generate income (rather than relying on commissions), could potentially create a conflict of interest between you and your broker. This could result in trade execution (like routing your orders to specific market makers) that might be unfavorable for you under certain market conditions, especially when using market orders (as opposed to limit orders, which seem to be less affected).

Keep in mind that at some brokers, you could incur non-trading charges like withdrawal or inactivity fees. Also, if you trade on margin, the margin rate charged by brokers can differ wildly. In the next chapter, we'll find out what these charges are at Merrill Edge and how they compare with fees charged by its closest competitors.

If you want to read our full review, including fees, deposit options and other platforms (like web and desktop) then skip to the Merrill Edge review.

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Confused about fees? Use this tool to see what the commission fee of a specific stock trade would be at Merrill Edge. To check and compare fees at other brokers, go to our main Fee calculator page.

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BrokerChooser score
4.6 4.6 /5
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Overview of Merrill Edge fees and charges

It's safe to say that Merrill Edge's fees are low in general. They either don't charge a brokerage fee for things that other brokers do, or they only charge a small amount.

Here's a high-level overview of Merrill Edge's fees

Merrill Edge Fees snapshot
Assets Fee level Fee terms
US stock fee Low Commission-free stock and ETF trading
EURUSD fee - FX not available
US mutual fund fees Average $19.95 per transaction, but there are also more than 800 funds that are free to trade
Inactivity fee Low No inactivity fee

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Merrill Edge fees explained

Online brokerages in general charge much lower brokerage fees than traditional brokerages do - this is largely because online brokerages' businesses can be much better scaled: from a purely technical standpoint, it doesn't make that much of a difference for them if they have 100 or 5,000 clients.

This is not to say, however, that they don't charge any fees at all. They make money by charging you various rates for various actions or events. Usually you need to keep an eye on the following three types of fees:

  • Trading fees - these are brokerage fees that you pay when you actually carry out a trade, like buying an Apple share or an ETF. What you pay is either a commission, a spread or a financing rate. Some brokers apply all of these.
    • A commission is either fixed or based on the traded volume.
    • A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
    • A financing rate or overnight rate is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.
  • Non-trading fees. These are usually related to some operations you carry out in your account, such as depositing money, withdrawing money, or not trading for an extended period.

We compare Merrill Edge fees with its closest competitors, Fidelity and Vanguard.

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Merrill Edge trading fees

Merrill Edge's trading fees are low, which makes it suitable for you even if you trade often (i.e. several times a week).

Let's break down trading fees according to the different asset classes available at Merrill Edge.

Trading fees

Merrill Edge's trading fees are low.

Stock fees and ETF fees

Merrill Edge has low stock trading fees.

Stock fees of a $2,000 trade
US stock
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
UK stock
-
$11.3
-
German stock
-
$20.5
-

Data updated on January 26, 2024

Fund fees

Merrill Edge fund fees are average.

Fees of a $2,000 fund purchase
Mutual fund
$20.0
$37.5
$20.0
EU mutual fund
- -
-

Data updated on January 26, 2024

Bond fees

Merrill Edge has low bond fees.

Fees of a $10,000 bond trade
US Treasury bond
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
EU/UK government bond
-
-
-

Data updated on January 26, 2024

Options fees

Merrill Edge's options fees are low.

Options fees for 10 contracts
US stock options
-
$6.5
$10.0
US stock index options
$6.5
$6.5
$10.0
UK stock index options
-
-
-
German stock index options
-
-
-

Data updated on January 26, 2024

Margin rates

Merrill Edge margin rates are high.

Merrill Edge margin rates
USD margin rate
12.6%
13.6%
13.8%
EUR margin rate
-
-
-

Data updated on January 26, 2024

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Merrill Edge non-trading fees

When it comes to non-trading fees, Merrill Edge is a rather cheap broker.

Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at Merrill Edge that are not related to buying or selling assets. This can be a withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee or account fee.

A high-level overview of how Merrill Edge stacks up in terms of non-trading fees
Withdrawal fee
$0
$0
$0
Deposit fee
$0
$0
$0
Inactivity fee
No
No
No
Account fee
No
No
No

Data updated on January 26, 2024

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BrokerChooser score
4.6 4.6 /5
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Merrill Edge deposit fee

Usually, brokers don't charge anything for deposits, and Merrill Edge is no different.

Merrill Edge deposit methods
Bank transfer
Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card
No No No
Electronic wallets
No Yes No
Deposit fee
$0
$0
$0

Data updated on January 26, 2024

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Merrill Edge withdrawal fee

Merrill Edge generally doesn't charge a withdrawal fee.

Merrill Edge withdrawal fees and options compared
Bank transfer
Yes Yes Yes
Credit/debit card
No No No
Electronic wallets
No Yes No
Withdrawal fee for bank transfer
$0
$0
$0

Data updated on January 26, 2024

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Merrill Edge inactivity fee

Merrill Edge does not apply an inactivity fee, which is great because your account won't be charged even if you do not trade for an extended period (like several months or years).

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Author of this article

Nicole Conrad
Nicole Conrad

Nicole is a former intern content contributor for BrokerChooser. She came with experience and certification in Accounting, and pursued graduate studies in Economic Policy. Nicole wrote broker reviews to provide transparency for customers: highlighting brokers’ exceptional services and holding them accountable for questionable practices.

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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