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Merrill Edge fees explained

Your expert
Adam N.
Fact checked by
Updated
Dec 2024
Personally tested
Data-driven
Independent

Overview of Merrill Edge fees and charges

When trading or investing at an online broker, fees can have a big impact on your results, so it's good to know what kind of charges you'll be facing and how these compare to fees at other brokers.

If fees are your top concern, Merrill Edge is a good choice, as it has low fees in general. Check our toplist for cheaper brokers.

I found Merrill Edge's trading fees fairly low
Adam
Adam Nasli
Regulation • Fighting Scams • Market Analysis

I've personally tested dozens of global brokers, carefully looking at their fees not just on their website but also in the course of live trading. Here's how Merrill Edge fared:

  • Merrill Edge charges low fees for trading stocks and ETFs.
  • There is no inactivity fee even if you leave your account idle for a long time.
  • The basic withdrawal fee is $0, but some transactions may cost more.
  • Read our full review of Merrill Edge for info on safety, trading platforms and funding.
Merrill Edge fees at a glance
Assets Fee level Fee terms
US stock fee Low Commission-free stock and ETF trading
EURUSD fee - FX not available
US tech fund fee High $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 charges zero commission for stocks, ETFs and bonds. Fees for mutual funds are high, but options fees are competitive compared to its competitors. For all product types, it costs $30 to initiate a representative-assisted online trade.

Commission-free stock and ETF trading

Merrill Edge stock and ETF fees by market
US stock
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
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New
Stock Fee Calculator

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.

Before doing so, check out our Privacy Policy and our General Terms and Conditions.

USD
Select stock
USD

High margin rates

Merrill Edge annual margin rates
USD margin rate
11.0%
12.8%
13.0%
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Low options commission

The broker charges $0.65 per contract. Sales of options are subject to an additional transaction fee of between $0.01 and $0.03 per $1,000 of principal.

Merrill Edge stock index options commission
US stock index options
$6.5
$6.5
$10.0
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No inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee

There is no inactivity fee and no account opening fee. There are also no deposit or withdrawal fees.

Broker
Inactivity fee
Withdrawal fee
Merrill Edge
$0
Fidelity
$0
Vanguard
$0
Merrill Edge inactivity, withdrawal and other fees
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Other commissions and fees

You can find Merrill Edge's fees for other asset classes below. Click 'Show more' for details.

High mutual fund commission

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Low bond commission

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Interest on uninvested cash

Merrill Edge pays 4.2% interest on uninvested USD for accounts above $100k.

This is how it works: your uninvested cash is placed by Merrill into a deposit account with Bank of America, called a Preferred Deposit. The money is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), up to applicable limits.

You can access your Preferred Deposit balance — through your financial advisor — to quickly and easily redirect these assets for your personal needs or to take advantage of other opportunities.

Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.

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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.

author
Adam Nasli
Author of this article
I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.
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