Qtrade Direct Investing fees explained

Updated

Personally tested

Data-driven

Independent

Overview of Qtrade Direct Investing 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, Qtrade Direct Investing is an OK choice, as it has average fees in general. Check our toplist for cheaper brokers.

I found Qtrade Direct Investing's trading fees fairly average

Oskar Golebiowski

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 Qtrade Direct Investing fared:

Qtrade Direct Investing charges average fees for trading stocks and ETFs.
There is an inactivity fee if you don't trade for an extended period of time.
The basic withdrawal fee is $0, but some transactions may cost more.
Read our full review of Qtrade Direct Investing for info on safety, trading platforms and funding.

Qtrade Direct Investing fees at a glance
Assets	Fee level	Fee terms
US stock fee	Average	CAD 8.75 per trade (CAD 6.95 if you make 150+ trades per quarter or have a CAD 500k+ account balance)
EURUSD fee	-	FX not available
US tech fund fee	Low	CAD 8.75 per trade (CAD 6.95 if you make 150+ trades per quarter or have a CAD 500k+ account balance)
Inactivity fee	Low	$25 per quarter, charged as account fee if you fail to make a minimum number of trades or deposits during a quarter

Visit broker

You can get a discount on stock and options fees if you trade more and/or have a higher account balance.

Average stock and ETF commission

It also offers 115 Canadian and US-listed ETFs that you can trade commission-free with no minimums.

Qtrade Direct Investing stock and ETF fees by market
	Qtrade Direct Investing Qtrade Direct Investing	RBC Direct Investing RBC Direct Investing	Questrade Questrade
US stock Estimated commission of a $2,000 trade, assuming a $50 stock price	$8.8 CAD 8.75 per trade (CAD 6.95 if you make 150+ trades per quarter or have a CAD 500k+ account balance)	$7.4 CAD 9.95 per trade; CAD 6.95 if you make more than 150 trades per quarter	$5.0 $0.01 per share, min $4.95, max $9.95; buying ETFs is free, selling costs $0.01 per share

Average margin rates

Qtrade Direct Investing annual margin rates
	Qtrade Direct Investing Qtrade Direct Investing	RBC Direct Investing RBC Direct Investing	Questrade Questrade
USD margin rate	9.8% Base rate plus up to 1.25% markup, depending on your debit balance	9.8% Investment account: 8.75% annual financing rate for CAD accounts, while 9.5% for USD accounts	13.0% Non-registered accounts: base rate + markup. Markup is 4.5% for debit balance below $100,000 and 3.5% for debit balance above

High options commission

Qtrade Direct Investing stock index options commission
	Qtrade Direct Investing Qtrade Direct Investing	RBC Direct Investing RBC Direct Investing	Questrade Questrade
US stock index options Estimated commission for 10 contracts	$21.3 $8.75 flat fee and $1.25 per contract, but the flat fee is $6.95 if you trade 150+ per quarter or have at least $500k account balance	$16.6 CAD 9.95 + CAD 1.25 per contract, if you have more than 150 trades per quarter then CAD 6.95 + CAD 1.25 per contract	$20.0 $9.95 + $1 per contract

Low inactivity fee, no withdrawal fee

Deposits and withdrawals are free of charge, but there's an account fee that functions similarly to an inactivity fee.

Qtrade Direct Investing inactivity, withdrawal and other fees
Broker	Inactivity fee	Withdrawal fee
Qtrade Direct Investing		$0
RBC Direct Investing		$0
Questrade		$0

Other commissions and fees

You can find Qtrade Direct Investing's fees for other asset classes below. Click 'Show more' for details.

Low mutual fund commission

Fees for a $2,000 fund purchase
	Qtrade Direct Investing Qtrade Direct Investing	RBC Direct Investing RBC Direct Investing	Questrade Questrade
Mutual fund Estimated commission of a $2,000 US domiciled fund trade	$6.5 CAD 8.75 per trade (CAD 6.95 if you make 150+ trades per quarter or have a CAD 500k+ account balance)	$0.0 No fee	$10.0 $9.95 per trade

Low bond commission

Fees for a $10,000 bond trade
	Qtrade Direct Investing Qtrade Direct Investing	RBC Direct Investing RBC Direct Investing	Questrade Questrade
US Treasury bond Estimated commission of a $10,000 US treasury bond trade	$25.0 $1 per $1,000 face value, $24.99 min and $250 max	$18.5 Commission is included in the quoted price. Minimum commission: CAD 25 per transaction. Maximum commission: CAD 250 per transaction.	$0.0 No fees, but minimum $5,000 purchase

Qtrade Direct Investing offers primarily Canadian government, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds. It charges CAD 1 per CAD 1,000 of face value, with a minimum of CAD 24.99 and a maximum of CAD 250.

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