Best Online Brokerages in Canada 2026: Fees Compared and a Cost Calculator

Checked October 30, 2026By Krish Paul4 min read

The short answer

Five brokerages charged $0 to buy and sell stocks and ETFs on October 30, 2026: Wealthsimple, Questrade, BMO InvestorLine, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat). Wealthsimple, Questrade and BMO InvestorLine also charge no account fees, so a buy-and-hold investor buying Canadian-listed ETFs pays nothing to trade there. The real differences now are account fees on small balances and what it costs to convert Canadian dollars to US dollars.

BMO InvestorLine became the first brokerage owned by one of Canada’s five largest banks to drop stock and ETF commissions, on September 14, 2026. TD, RBC and Scotia iTRADE still charge $9.95 to $9.99 a trade, and CIBC Investor’s Edge charges $6.95, although each offers some commission-free ETFs.

Every brokerage, side by side

Online brokerages in Canada: what a stock or ETF trade costs, checked October 30, 2026

Brokerage	Stock and ETF trade	Account fees	US dollar conversion
Wealthsimple	$0	No account fees	1.5% per conversion in CAD accounts
Questrade	$0	No annual or inactivity fees	1.5% per conversion
BMO InvestorLine	$0 since September 14, 2026	No administration or minimum balance fees	About 1.6% under US$25,000
National Bank Direct Brokerage	$0	$100 a year unless you meet an exemption, such as being 30 or younger	Spread of 2.30 cents per US dollar under $25,000 (about 1.7%)
Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat)	$0	$30 a quarter inactivity fee unless you trade 6 times a year, hold $15,000 or are 18 to 30	0.15% to 1.90%, highest on small conversions
CIBC Investor's Edge	$6.95 ($0 under 25 with a Smart Start account)	$100 a year if all your accounts total $10,000 or less (not on an FHSA)	About 1.6% under $25,000
RBC Direct Investing	$9.95 (select ETFs free)	No maintenance fee	Not published on the pricing page
TD Direct Investing	$9.99 (select ETFs free)	$25 a quarter under $15,000, with several waivers	Not published on the pricing page
Scotia iTRADE	$9.99 (some ETFs free)	$25 a quarter on non-registered accounts of $10,000 or less with no trades; $100 a year on RRSPs under $25,000 with fewer than 12 trades	Not published on the pricing page
Interactive Brokers Canada	1 cent a share, $1 minimum	No platform fees or account minimum	Not on the stock commission page

From each brokerage’s own pricing page or fee schedule, checked October 30, 2026. The table and the calculator above read from the same data.

What actually costs money

Account fees on small balances

Several brokerages charge a fee when your balance is small and you trade rarely. TD Direct Investing charges $25 a quarter on accounts under $15,000, waived if your household holds more than $15,000, you set up a $100 monthly pre-authorized contribution, you made three or more commission trades in the last quarter, in your first six months, or if you hold only an FHSA. CIBC Investor’s Edge charges $100 a year when all your accounts total $10,000 or less, except on an FHSA. Scotia iTRADE charges $25 a quarter on small non-registered accounts with no recent trades and $100 a year on RRSPs under $25,000 with fewer than 12 trades. National Bank Direct Brokerage charges $100 a year unless you meet an exemption, such as being 30 or younger. Disnat charges $30 a quarter for inactivity unless you trade six times in 12 months, hold $15,000, or are 18 to 30, and its page says TFSAs and FHSAs are subject to the fee.

Converting to US dollars

If you buy US-listed stocks or ETFs, currency conversion usually costs more than trading. Wealthsimple and Questrade charge 1.5% per conversion. BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge charge spreads of about 1.6% on conversions under $25,000, and National Bank Direct Brokerage lists a spread of 2.30 cents per US dollar under $25,000. On $10,000 converted, 1.5% is $150. Buying Canadian-listed ETFs that hold US stocks avoids conversion entirely; our US withholding tax guide covers the trade-off.

Norbert’s gambit, which converts by buying a security that trades in both currencies, costs $9.95 a request at Wealthsimple (with a USD account, about two business days), $9.95 per online journal at Questrade and $9.95 per security at National Bank Direct Brokerage. Questrade accounts hold Canadian and US dollars, including registered accounts. Wealthsimple’s USD accounts are free from $100,000 in assets and $10 a month below that.

Which one fits you

• Buying one ETF a month in a TFSA. Any $0 brokerage with no account fee: Wealthsimple, Questrade or BMO InvestorLine. The calculator above shows $0 a year for all three at 12 trades.
• You already bank with BMO. InvestorLine now matches the online brokerages on commissions and has dropped its administration fees.
• You buy US stocks often. Look at currency first: a brokerage that holds US dollars in registered accounts and supports Norbert’s gambit will save more than any commission.
• Under 25 and a CIBC customer. Investor’s Edge is $0 a trade with a Smart Start chequing account.
• Large or frequent trades. Interactive Brokers charges a cent a share with a $1 minimum, and per-share pricing helps on big orders.

Is your money protected?

If a brokerage that is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund fails and cannot return your investments, CIPF covers the missing property up to $1 million for all general accounts combined (including TFSAs and FHSAs), $1 million for registered retirement accounts and $1 million for RESPs. It does not cover a drop in the value of your investments. Check that a brokerage is a CIPF member on cipf.ca before you open an account.

How the calculator works

Yearly cost = trades a year x the commission + any account fee your balance triggers + the currency spread on the amount you convert. It applies the waivers you can see from your inputs (balance, number of trades, account type) and ignores the ones it cannot (age, other accounts at the same bank, pre-authorized contributions), so your real cost can be lower. It charges the standard commission on every trade, so it overstates the cost at TD, RBC, Scotia iTRADE and CIBC if you buy only the ETFs they trade for free. Interactive Brokers is counted at its $1 minimum per trade. Where a brokerage does not publish its currency spread, the calculator leaves conversion out and says so.

Frequently asked questions

• Pricing pages, checked October 30, 2026: Wealthsimple; Questrade; BMO InvestorLine; National Bank Direct Brokerage; Desjardins Online Brokerage (Disnat); CIBC Investor’s Edge; RBC Direct Investing; TD Direct Investing; Scotia iTRADE; Interactive Brokers Canada.
• BMO: Commission-free stock and ETF trades with BMO InvestorLine, September 9, 2026; Wealthsimple Help: Norbert’s gambit; CIPF: About CIPF coverage. Checked October 30, 2026.
• Method: the calculator and the table read from one data file. Results were checked against a separate implementation of the same rules.

General information, not investment, tax or legal advice. Fees and rules change; confirm with the provider and the official sources above before you act. Gizly is not affiliated with any provider named here and has no affiliate links on this page. See how we check the numbers and our disclosure.