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Surviscor
It’s the best of the best in our list of online brokers in Canada. Find out who takes the top spot—and which platform is best aligned with your goals.
Photo by Andrea Piacqua from Pexels
Last year, the talk around online investing was about the increasing numbers of Canadians who signed up for online brokerage accounts. We no longer have being “too busy” as a barrier to learning about self-directed investing. People had more time during the pandemic lockdowns, and that nudged a new batch of DIY investors. Many of them were attracted by the $0 fees, an influx of government subsidy money and a market driven by meme stock gambling disguised as investing.
Today though, Canadians are being marketed to at levels not seen since the early 2000s. You can’t miss the steadfast high-profile TV ads from bank-owned firms during the Super Bowl and the NHL playoffs. They’re competing against the traditional independent firms that have made a habit of having deep digital advertising pockets.
In addition, National Bank Direct Brokerage and Desjardins Online Brokerage entered the pure $0-commission arena, bringing the number of no-rules $0 firms to three in Canada. Then there are now two Big Bank-owned firms claiming $0 fees for select customers and/or platforms, TD and CIBC, as RBC Direct Investing recently ended its free trade program (a limited time offer for new clients).
But—and there is always a “but”—they are not without some rule or constraint which is common for bank-owned firm advertising. For example, TD Direct Investing offers $0 trades on its newly branded TD EasyTrade mobile application, but it is only offered for 50 trades per 12-month period. Plus, investors must use its scaled-back mobile platform instead of the regular mobile platform. And CIBC Investor’s Edge recently actually only offers $0 commissions to investors under the age of 25.
No matter how online broker firms try to attract DIY investors (new to investing or to switch platforms), the reality is that today’s investors aren’t as easy to obtain as in past years.
There are investors who are not tempted by $0 commissions but rather a value-driven approach, meaning they appreciate paying for solid research and quotes. They look at the total compensation for the trades based on the information they get from the firm.
This is why we do the annual MoneySense best online brokers ranking every year. We tally all of the key variables associated with self-directed investing, not just the odd shiny marketing object that other rankings may rely on. Now in its tenth year, the ranking again reflects analysis provided by Surviscor, a leading Canadian research and consulting firm specializing in digital and direct financial services’ customer experiences. Customized for MoneySense to include hundreds of data points—including price, customer service, product offerings and mobile capabilities—Surviscor’s deep-dive into the Canadian online brokerage marketplace is second to none.
Check the chart below to see which firms in Canada ranked in the most points for all categories, then read more about the top three online brokers and the best ones depending on your investing style and goals.
Here is the list of the 10 best online brokers in Canada for this year. To find out more about the points, read about our methodology.
| Firms | Points awarded | Surviscor Review |
| TD Direct Investing | 30 | TD Direct Investing Review |
| Questrade* | 25 | Questrade Review |
| National Bank Direct Brokerage* | 17 | National Bank Direct Brokerage Review |
| Qtrade Direct Investing* | 16 | Qtrade Direct Investing Review |
| BMO InvestorLine | 10 | BMO InvestorLine Review |
| RBC Direct Investing | 8 | RBC Direct Investing Review |
| Desjardins Online Brokerage | 7 | Desjardins Online Brokerage Review |
| CIBC Investor’s Edge | 5 | CIBC Investor’s Edge Review |
| Scotia iTRADE | 2 | Scotia iTRADE Review |
| Wealthsimple Trade* | 2 | Wealthsimple Trade Review |
Here’s a closer look at the top three overall winners.
TD Direct Investing, the largest discount brokerage firm in Canada, is our overall pick as the best online brokerage firm in Canada, scoring 30 points overall and finishing either alone or tied in the top rank in four of the eight categories reviewed for this list. TD’s continued commitment to investor education, its longstanding strength of market data and its strong traditional desktop platform made TD Direct Investing the best, and well-rounded, self-directed investor choice for 2022.
However, TD Direct Investing missed the top 10 in terms of commissions and fees across all its platforms and investor profiles and has one of the slowest service request response times in its peer group, both of which are critical to investor satisfaction.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
The overall winner for 2021, Questrade slipped down to second with 24 points, and it finished with a best showing for mobile-based investors and strong showings for customer service and equity investors. Like our top firm, Questrade has a well-rounded offering and is focused on satisfying each investor profile with specific needs, while continuing to offer industry-leading customer contact options and strong service responsiveness. The most glaring drawback is its commission and fees structure that barely cracks our top 10. Other rankings you may read take a different approach to their reviews and may simply look at the advertised costs, but Surviscor docked points due to the additional trade costs that can arise, including electronic communication network (ECN) fees and the commissions charged to sell an exchange-traded fund (ETF). ETFs can be purchased with no commissions charged.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
National Bank Direct Brokerage was in the second spot in 2021, and it drops to third overall this year, at 17 points, despite finishing with top honours in fees and commissions and ETF Investing. National Bank Direct Brokerage caters to all investor spectrums through multiple programs, giving it the most competitive overall commission structure in Canada.
That said, like with all other firms, it’s not all roses; the process of signing up is not as slick as with its competitors, and its service options and responsiveness are below average.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Everything will not appeal to everybody. We know that the areas that some online brokers excel will be important to certain customers. That is why we select the best online brokers for each category below. Also check out some good investing 411 info, as well as our methodology for the MoneySense best online brokers.
Ads for investing platforms tend to focus on fees—and with good reason. Given that some charge commission fees of $0 and others just shy of $10, monthly trading costs do quickly add up. To get a clearer picture on fees, Surviscor analyzes more than 13,000 individual trades, using five different trade-volume related investor profiles. We compared the research on commission fees for stocks, options and ETF trades.
Unfortunately, the advertised fees rarely tell the whole story of what your experience will be, as many low-cost firms charge the investor elsewhere in the investing process or limit the availability of a product or service in exchange for the lower fees. There are too many examples to list here, which should tell you something about the industry.
Some firms charge ECN fees, which can severely impact your commission costs, from $0 to $35 on $10 stocks or as high as an additional $70 on $1 stocks. Some firms charge above-average foreign exchange rates while driving investors to invest in U.S.-based stocks and ETFs. Others charge platform fees for more in-depth quote data, which can run investors an extra $30 per month. We could go on and on, but our point is made.
Of course, it’s important to understand that the lowest price is not always best when it comes to fees. You should also consider what you’re getting for your money.
Even if you are a conservative or passive investor, paying a few extra dollars (or pennies!) per trade may be worth it if the service includes access to free education, analysts’ recommendations and tools and resources, such as unlimited real-time quotes and depth of data.
Surviscor’s message is always “buyer beware” for self-directed investing, as each firm attempts to get a leg up on its peers with the minor points of differentiation. (It’s like choosing to read an article about four-minute abs, when there’s another claiming you can get it in five minutes.) Don’t fall for the shiny marketing messages. Do your homework and ask yourself: “Do I really believe that a firm is willing to pay for my fees and lose money just so I can be a customer?” Probably not.
(See “What does $0 commission really mean?” in the “Online brokerage fast facts” section below.)
National Bank Direct Brokerage is the 2022 online broker winner for fees. It dropped its standard rate of $6.95 per trade on stocks to $0 per trade to complement its already competitive $0 commissions on all ETF buy and sell orders in both Canada and the U.S. National also offers competitive options commissions and account interest rates. Other online brokers either charge commissions on ETF sales and/or offer a limited number of ETFs.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Desjardins Online Brokerage made a bold and aggressive move in the $0 commission arena, following that of National Bank Direct Brokerage. This propelled them into second place this year, finishing just below its Quebec-based peer, by introducing its own $0 commission structure for stocks and ETF trading, while continuing to boast competitive options commissions and account administration fees.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Customer service can be the key differentiator between firms. This category should never be taken lightly, but the reality is most of the Canadian online brokerage firms show little interest in addressing the realities of their poor customer service, exposed through Surviscor’s ongoing service monitoring.
What does that mean to you, the investor?
Over the past 20 years, Surviscor’s position has always been to look at the way firms treat potential customers. This ensures an accurate evaluation of how committed the firms are to servicing investors. We’ve warned, and will continue to advise, that you should not be fooled by the big brand names and assume one firm is better than the other because of its size or its position on the coattails of a well-known bank. Today’s landscape is changing drastically in regards to service. And, based on our data, that’s not for the betterment of Canadian investors.
Take live chat, for example. It is meant to be a real person conversing. Now though, you will see a virtual assistant chatting instead. What’s “live” about a robot!? While some firms call it artificial intelligence (AI), in essence the experience is just a sophisticated way to share answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs).
We’ve noticed that many firms skipped the live chat option and went straight to the robot FAQ. Add on shortened service hours and little to no weekend support (aside from the Mr. Robot chats), with social media channels marketed as safe and un-penetrable places to interact, despite our research indicating otherwise.
The reality is that firms are spending tons of money advertising to the investors they will eventually be ignoring; or poorly servicing. This says a lot about the senior executives at most online brokerage firms. As mentioned above, when it comes to fees, the numbers don’t always add up. And when it comes to service responsiveness, our scores do not lie.
RBC Direct Investing is the best choice for overall customer service due to its vast improvement in service responsiveness and its availability of various service options. RBC takes just over an average of seven hours to respond to a general enquiry. This is the only category in which RBC Direct Investing ranked within the top two spots, and it is one of its two appearances within a top five positioning.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Questrade comes in at second place for best online broker for customer service in 2022, after many years as the top firm. This is mainly due to a slip in its typical industry-leading service responsiveness. Despite the small service hiccup, Questrade should be commended for its commitment to customer service and its industry-leading live chat capabilities along with the option to correspond via social media for investors who prefer those channels.
For decades, Canadians have turned to mutual funds for diversification. As passive products became more prevalent and fees became more transparent, ETFs have attracted market share. Like mutual funds, an ETF is a basket of investments, but generally tracks an entire market instead of relying on fund managers to select specific securities from that market. As a result, the fund management fees (called a management expense ratio, or MER) for ETFs are generally much lower than for mutual funds. That said, there are more passive index mutual funds available now as well as active ETFs coming to market that are blurring the lines between the two options.
Now in 2022, with several online brokers offering no-fee ETF purchases and/or trades, ETF investing now is more popular than ever. The difficult part, of course, is choosing the right ETFs for your needs, since they range from broad-index ETFs, tracking a market index such as the S&P 500; to more recent pandemic-recovery themed ETFs, which group together assets expected to perform well during the COVID-19 recovery, including airlines, cruise lines, resorts and gaming companies. (For a comprehensive guide to choosing ETFs, check out our list of the best ETFs in Canada for 2022, and the MoneySense ETF Finder Tool.)
To rank the best online brokers for ETFs, we looked at the overall experience of investing in an ETF, including the fees associated with placing the transactions (commissions and market data), the availability of commission-free products, and research (such as screeners and market information) to help investors narrow down investment options. We also looked at the general experience of placing a trade through both the desktop and mobile-based investing platforms.
National Bank Direct Brokerage remains the best firm for ETF investing from 2021 to 2022. It offers no-commission buying and selling on all available North American ETFs. There are minor trading restrictions, including a minimum amount of 100 shares, placing non-phone trades and subscribing to electronic statements. The drawbacks are its research tools and general trading experience.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
2. TD Direct Investing
Despite not offering true no-cost ETFs, TD Direct Investing narrowly finishes in second place in 2022 due to available products, strong market analysis, ETF screening tool and general trading experience using its desktop or laptop platforms. It’s worth noting, TD’s mobile-based EasyTrade is substantially weaker than its other platforms, so it could be improved upon.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Equities, more commonly referred to as stocks, represent the core of self-directed investing. One could argue that our whole review is geared toward stock investing, but this adapted category narrows in on the stock investing process, just as we’ve done with ETFs above. We also grade buying and selling stocks on both the desktop and mobile-based digital platforms.
For this category ranking, we focused on the overall experience of investing in a North American stock, including the fees associated with placing the transactions (commissions and market data), the availability of marketplaces, research (such as screeners and market information) that can help investors narrow down investment options, and the general user experience of placing a trade through any digital platform.
TD Direct Investing gets the nod for an overall stock-focused investor in 2022, due to its extensive market data, its stock related resources and its seamless user experience for placing stock trades. The bonus with TD Direct Investing for stock-based investors is that both the desktop and mobile platforms provide a top-notch experience, even though its services may cost a bit more than other online brokers.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Questrade earns the runner-up nod for stock investors because of its strong usability features and functionality across both the desktop and mobile-based platforms, as well as its mobile-based data and resources across the various sub-platforms. Like with TD Direct Investing, you should be prepared to pay more but as we state repeatedly, fees are usually worth the value you receive in this industry.
The term “online broker” was introduced in the late 1990s with the adoption of investing over the internet. It has since become the most popular verbiage when speaking about investment firms who offer a self-directed platform for DIY investors.
Let’s narrow in on the fact that two distinct digital platforms exist—desktop and mobile. Why? The reality is that many self-directed investors tend to opt for one of the platforms more than the other. This is the newest category on our best online brokers list, and it explores self-directing investing for investors who rely mostly on using a desktop, laptop or even a larger tablet. Here we will explore the overall customer experience of investing using the platform.
Many can say the overall ranking and the desktop experience category go hand in hand, but most self-directed investors use desktop and mobile platforms. So most online brokers attempt to satisfy the customer journey by offering both. The truth is, though, there are unfortunate discrepancies existing between desktop and mobile-based platforms, which can push users to one or the other.
TD Direct Investing tops the desktop-first category with a photo-finish win, due to its comprehensive customer experience for self-directed investors who mainly rely on a computer or tablet for managing investments, regardless of activity level. TD provides a strong overall user experience with industry-leading depth of desktop resources, trading capabilities, market depth, account information and continued enhanced design. Note, though, this does not take into consideration commissions and fees or customer service responsiveness, where TD is lacking.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Qtrade Direct Investing is the runner-up in the desktop category, despite that it could use a refresh on its older design. But it still works! The site has a lot to offer a desktop-based investor if they can get around the design. The good news is that the site is pretty intuitive and simple to navigate. Qtrade has long been an industry leader, offering its customers above average account and transactional experiences coupled with strong educational resources.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Every year, in this this ranking we declare that the Canadian discount brokerage industry continues to lag behind Canadian banking sites and discount brokerage firms south of the border. And sadly, here we are doing the same this year.
Just when we thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, bridging the gaps between customer experiences and content on desktops and the sophisticated mobile devices, the industry’s focus on snagging young adult investors has led to firms offering multiple mobile platforms. The marketing message “less is more” can end up convoluted with confusing, multiple platform experiences in order to offer a no-frills product with no fees.
However, the firms who’ve taken this approach seem to be chasing Wealthsimple Trade, which first introduced the $0 trade with its order-taking mobile platform years ago. If you follow our annual “Best online brokers” ranking closely, you know we dispute the concept of the marketing messages of simple and easy investing. Firms like TD Direct Investing, with its highly advertised scaled down TD EasyTrade mobile platform, and Wealthsimple Trade end up providing less products and services to aid a rookie investor.
The fact is, these platforms are easy to use because they lack depth and, ironically, are more apt for a seasoned investor simply looking for order entry capabilities as they come with better pricing.
That said, thankfully, there are some online brokers that do have a near-full account experience via their mobile platforms, offering the same tools and analysis investors would find on their desktops platforms. But, generally speaking, most Canadian firms are far from this level of expertise. Self-directed investors tend to be forced to change platforms as their confidence around investing grows, opting for less commissions on scaled-backed platforms.
Questrade is one of the firms teetering on that “less is more” slippery slope, with its introduction of a new mobile platform specifically for new investors alongside its standard investor and active trader platforms. Despite the confusion, the seamless integration between its standard online and mobile platforms allows Questrade to remain our top choice for a mobile-based investor. This app integration makes the offering as robust on a smartphone as it is on a desktop, providing the transactional, account and market data tools and experiences that are missing from most firms’ mobile offerings.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
BMO InvestorLine arrives as the runner up for its mobile-based investing user experience, despite having an industry original design. The positioning here says a lot about the state of self-directed mobile-based investing in Canada, when it is still using its original platform. Once an industry leader in the self-directed investing industry’s early years, BMO InvestorLine’s mobile application is still very much the same yet it packs a punch with in-depth market data and account information. The platform has plenty of room for improvement and hopefully management won’t remove products and services in an effort to enhance the usability and look and feel—that’s something at which most other firms have failed miserably.
We make the rankings relevant each year to stay in line with what industry firms are telling us, so this year we are introducing a new category that narrows in on what we have labeled the “new investor.” Most online reviews follow the firms’ marketing and only focus on price for this category. But this is where our rankings differ. Surviscor’s 20-plus years of experience has taught us that price should never be the key or only variable to consider, especially when new investors trade between zero to four trades per month (typically on the low end of that). More activity than that could arguably define the firm’s definition of a “new investor” as a “gambler” and “meme-stock trader.” Both are risky ventures and not considered true investing per se.
For this ranking, our definition of a “new investor” is someone who is a rookie or uneducated investor, regardless of age. The firms, on the other hand, typically consider a new investor to be a “young adult” (a student or even younger) and throw away commission and fees as the key lure in marketing. Our definition, though, is about user platform experience, good access to in-depth market data, supporting resources and educational content. These are just as important as fees.
New investors should proceed with caution when starting out and slowly learn through trial and error. But they should also demand from their online broker educational tools with a strong user experience, coupled with more resources necessary to make informed decisions and learn and grow money. Educational support should include instructional and educational videos on how to use the platform and/or general investing subjects, seminars, webinars and articles.
To be crystal clear, TD Direct Investing is not the best firm for new investors because of its TD EasyTrade platform or its free trades promotions. It’s because of its advantage in helping new investors grow in skill and confidence using the depth of both TD Direct Investing’s regular desktop and mobile platforms. The free trades are a bonus, but limiting the availability of the offer to a scaled-back, repurposed platform is something a seasoned investor should consider, not a new one.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Qtrade Direct Investing is our choice as runner-up for new investors, despite its rebranding to attract new investors, as well as my feelings toward its name change from Qtrade Investor to Qtrade Direct Investing. The reality is that setting up an account with Qtrade Direct Investing provides newbie investors with an opportunity to learn and grow, especially through its desktop platform. The drawback, though, is that it will cost a bit more than it would with other online brokers.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Since we awarded an online broker for its services for the rookie, it makes sense to also look for the best online broker for the more seasoned, self-directed investor.
We define the “seasoned investor” as an investor who actively trades, on average, between 10 to 33 times per month and can confidently research their investment choices to make educated decisions.
One advantage for a seasoned investor is that they are typically awarded better fees and commissions because of their activity levels, and they get access to more timely and in-depth market data. In turn, a seasoned investor does not rely solely on its online broker for their research but does expect a quick and seamless trading experience on both desktop and mobile-based platforms.
TD Direct Investing is the top online broker choice for seasoned investors. Although it is one of the costlier options, this platform builds in price to profit and trading decisions for seasoned investors. Since the costs end up being so small, comparing based on fees becomes less relevant for this type of investor. TD’s vast amount of market data depth and different platform options makes TD Direct Investing the obvious choice for a seasoned investor.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
Questrade comes in as the runner-up for seasoned investors. They understand how to navigate around some of the pricey fees and commissions and provide a well-rounded and experienced offering. It gives users choices along with alternative trading products—such as foreign exchange and precious metal trading—not offered at most other online brokerage firms.
Read the complete Surviscor review.
To view all the data in the table, slide the columns right/left/up/down using your fingers or mouse.
| 2022 COMPARISON GRID | BMO InvestorLine | CG Direct | CIBC Investor's Edge | CI Direct Trading | Desjardins Online Brokerage | HSBC InvestDirect | Laurentian Bank Discount Brokerage | National Bank Direct Brokerage | Qtrade Direct Investing | Questrade | RBC Direct Investing | Scotia iTRADE | TD Direct Investing | Wealthsimple Trade | Interactive Brokers |
| The basic stock trading commissions charged and product restrictions | $9.95 ✘ Restricitions | ✘ | $6.95 ✘ Restricitions | $9.99 ✘ Restricitions | $0 ✘ restrictions | $6.88 ✘ Restricitions | $9.95 ✘ Restricitions | $0.00 ✘ restrictions | $8.75 ✘ Restricitions | 1-cent per share Minimum $4.95 Maxiumum $9.95✘ Restricitions | $9.95 ✘ Restricitions | $9.99 ✘ Restricitions | $9.99 ✘ Restricitions | $0.00 ✔ Restrictions(Not all Stocks and ETFs are available) | CDN $0.01/share US $0.005/share Min $1.00 for both AND max 0.5% of trade value for CDN and 1% for US ✘ Restricitions |
| The lower and/or higher commissions charged for different circumstances | ✘ | ✘ | $0 <25 years old with bank account OR $4.95 active traders OR $5.95 >25 year old students | $3.99 150 or more completed trades per quarter | ✘ | $4.88 150 or more completed online trades per quarter (North American stocks and ETFs) | ✘ | ✘ | $6.95 150 or more completed trades per quarterOR> $500,000 in AssetsOR$7.75 for qualified 18-30 year olds | $0.01 per share ($6.95 max) | $6.95 150 or more completed trades per quarter | $4.99 150 or more completed trades per quarter | $7.00 150 or more completed trades per quarter | ✘ | ✘ |
| Participation in pre- and post-market North American trading sessions | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ By phone only | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ By Phone only | ✘ | ✘ By Phone only | ✘ By Phone only | ✔ | ✘ By Phone only | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Access to trade international stocks online | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ Hong Kong, London, Paris, Frankfurt exchanges | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| ECN fee on top of regular commission | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price) | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price) | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price) | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price | ✘ | ✔ After-hours trading in U.S. markets ($0.005 per share) | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price) | ✘ | ✔ Fees for removing liquidity (from $0.0008/share to $0.004/share depending on exchange and security price) |
| Number of commission-free ETFs | 80 | No free ETFs | No free ETFs | All ETFs are free for buys only | All ETFs are free | No free ETFs | No free ETFs | All ETFs are free | 105 | All ETFs are free for buys only | No free ETFs | 103 | TD ETFs only and must be traded suing TD EasyTrade mobile app | Limited offering, no clear list | Limited offering, no clear list |
| Commission charged when buying an ETF | ✔ ETFs not on exempt list | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ ETFs not on exempt list | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ ETFs not on exempt list | ✔ Non-TD ETFs | ✘ WARNING: Wealthsimple determines which ETFs can be traded | ✔ ETFs not on approved list |
| Commission charged when selling an ETF | ✔ ETFs not on exempt list | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ Same rules as buys and no day-trading | ✔ Regular commissions on sell orders | ✔ | ✔ ETFs not on exempt list | ✔ Non-TD ETFs | ✘ Same issues as above | ✔ ETFs not on approved list |
| The basic options trading commissions charged and product restrictions | $9.95 base fee, $1.25 per contract | $1 per contract (minimum $10) | $6.95 + $1.25 per contract | $7.99 + $1.25 per contract | $1.25 per contract (minimum $8.75) | $6.88 + $1.25 per contract | $9.95 + $1.25 per contract | $0 + $1.25 per contract (minimum $6.25) | $8.75 + $1.25 per contract | $9.95 ticket + $1.25 per contract. | $9.95 + $1.25 per contract | $9.99 + $1.25 per contract | $9.99 + $1.25 per contract | Options trading not available | $1.25 per contract (minimum $1.50) |
| Access to bonds and/or GICs online | Both | ✘ | Both | Bonds | Bonds | Bonds | Bonds | Bonds | Both | ✘ | Both | Both | Both | ✘ | ✘ |
| Non-financial extras available to active investors | Enhanced trading platform, priority support, enhanced data and research, better margin rates, plus other fees, access to BMO private banking benefits, and exclusive IPO allocation | ✘ | Level 2 quotes, research and tools, and lower commissions | Multiple trading platforms available for a fee | Market Q platform with integrated portfolio and trading ticket, streaming data and lower commissions | Preferential interest rates on margin balances | ✘ | Better data amd better trading platform for a reduced pricing based on monthly trading volume | Lower commissions, fees, margin rates and debit interest rates for margin accounts, and a dedicated phone number | Enhanced service and trading platform | Priority service, enhanced data and research tools, and preferred margin rates and account fees | FlightDesk platform, lower commissions, additional equity research and priority service | Depth of data, access to dedicated service team and preferred margin rates | Clients can agree to purchase real-time quotes on a monthly basis | ✘ |
| Annual fees for registered and non-registered accounts | Registered $100 Non-registered $100 | Registered $125 Non-registered $0 | Registered $100 Non-registered $100 | Registered $0 Non-registered $100 | Registered $0 Non-registered $0 | Registered $0 Non-registered $0 | Registered $100 Non-registered $120 | $100 divided between all accounts | Registered $ 100 Non-registered $ 100 | ✘ No annual fees | ✘ No annual fees | Registered $100 Non-registered $100 | ✘ No annual fees | ✘ No annual fees | Registered $0 Non-registered $0 |
| The minimum required to avoid an annual fee | Registered $25,000 Non-registered $15,000 | ✘ | Registered $25,000 Non-registered $10,000 | $5,000 across all accounts, no fees for clients 26 or younger | Registered $15,000 Non-registered $15,000 or 125 completed trade per year | ✘ No annual fees | 2 completed trades in 6 months OR $25,000 registered accounts OR $15,000 for non-registered | $20,000 across all accounts OR <30 years old OR enrolled professional OR InvestCube account | 25,000 across all accounts OR young investor OR recurring $100 contribution per month OR minimum trades per month | ✘ No annual fees, but there is a $1,000 minimum required when opening an account | $15,000 across all accounts OR 3 completed trades per quarter OR quarterly deposits > $300 and banking relationships | Investors < 26 years old OR registered $25,000 or 12 completed trades per year OR non-registered $10,000 or 1 completed trade per quarter | ✘ No annual fees | ✘ No annual fees | USD$100,000 |
| Inactivity fee, cost and how to avoid it | ✔ $25/quarter waived if with >$15,000 in account assets OR 2 executed trades over 6 months in non-registered accounts | ✔ $20/month | ✘ no Inactivity Fee | ✔ $24.95/quarter waived $5,000 across all accounts, no fees for clients aged 26 or younger | ✔ $30/quarter waived if >$15,000 in account assets OR 6 executed trades over past 12 months OR a registered account | ✔ $25/quarter waived if combined assets of >=$25,000 CAD across all HSID accounts OR account has been opened for < 90 days OR Jade customer OR 3 executed over the past quarter | ✘ No inactivity fee | ✘ No inactivity fee | ✘ No inactivity fee | ✘ No inactivity fee | ✘ No inactivity fee | ✔ $25/quarter if non-registered <$10,000, waived if with 1 trade over 3 months OR new account OR <25 years old | ✔ $25/quarter waived if with >$15,000 household assets OR 3 trades over 3 months OR new account OR GoalsAssist account | ✘ No inactivity fee | ✔ $10/month minus USD commission money generated OR $3 base for investors >25 years old AND waived if > $100,000 USD account size |
| Ability to hold U.S. dollars in registered accounts to avoid FX fees for trades | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Desktop and/or mobile device access to analysts buy-and-sell recommendations | ✔ both | ✘ | ✔ TipRank tool | ✔ desktop only | ✔ both | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ desktop only | ✔ TipRank tool via desktop and QuestMobile | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ On both Webbroker and mobile app | ✘ | ✔ |
| Trading, account and/or market alerts through desktop and/or mobile | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ Stocks, market, watchlists and analysts rating | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ market only mobile only | ✔ | ✔ desktop only | ✔ | ✔ Via email | ✔ Stock and ETF price alerts; Watchlists; Technical | ✔ Price and volume alerts via email and mobile app, and news, ratings, indicators and events via email only | ✔ Stock and ETF price alerts | ✔ |
| Access to educational tutorials or how-to videos through desktop and/or mobile device | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ desktop only | ✔ Tutorials on all platforms | ✔ How-to videos and demos | ✔ How-to videos | ✔ On both Webbroker and mobile app | ✘ | ✔ How-to videos |
| Mobile-based access to market quotes or account balances without logging in | ✘ | ✘ No mobile offering | ✔ Quotes | ✘ | ✔ Quotes | ✘ No mobile offering | ✘ No mobile offering | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Access to human chat services | Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) | ✘ | Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (EST) | Monday through Friday, market hours | ✘ | Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) | ✘ | ✘ | Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) | Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) | ✘ | Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. | ✘ | ✘ | Monday through Friday, 24 hours; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. (EST), U.S.-based |
| Wait times for inquiries | 37 hours (79 in 2021) | 50 hours (10 in 2021) | 31 hours (107 in 2021) | 7 hours (90 in 2021) | 28 hours (97 in 2021) | 81 hours (80 in 2021) | 29 hours (48 in 2021) | 118 hours (38 in 2021) | 5 hours (10 in 2021) | 21 hours (3 in 2021) | 7 hours (35 in 2021) | 37 hours (94 in 2021) | 26 hours (53 in 2021) | 16 hours (74 in 2021) | 20 hours (48 in 2021) |
| Read more: Check out the reviews from Surviscor | BMO InvestorLine Review | Canaccord Genuity Direct Review | CIBC Investor's Edge Review | CI Direct Trading Review | Desjardins Online Brokerage Review | HSBC InvestDirect Review | Laurentian Bank Discount Brokerage Review | National Bank Direct Brokerage Review | Qtrade Direct Investing Review | Questrade Review | RBC Direct Investing Review | Scotia iTRADE Review | TD Direct Investing Review | Wealthsimple Trade Review | Interactive Brokers Review |
Notes: Between June 2021 and May 2022, there were 154 service requests per firm, and industry average response time was 34.71 hours.
Online brokers allow self-directed investors to pick, buy and trade assets such as stocks, bonds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) on their own, without the guidance or assistance of an advisor or trading agent. Because online brokerages cut out the middleman, the trading fees do not have to account for a professional’s commission, so you save the difference in the costs. This significant savings is the reason why online brokers are also known as discount brokers.
While Canada’s online brokers provide roughly the same basic DIY investing and trading services, the platforms, fees and access to investing information can differ.
For everyday investors in Canada, the low (and sometimes $0) fees charged by online brokers have been a boon. Compare the commissions and fees charged by all 15 Canadian online brokerages.
So, you may be wondering how online brokers make enough money to stay in business if they aren’t charging any fees. As this Bloomberg Businessweek article (paywall) notes, “Brokerages can make money from simply lending out the cash you aren’t using. And once you sign up for free trades, they have a chance to sell you other services.” Other costs, such as foreign exchange fees, help to ensure that online brokerages stay profitable.
No doubt, $0 commissions are attractive. Who doesn’t want free transactions? But before you rush to move your money to a no-commission firm, ask yourself: “Why is this firm, which is clearly in the marketplace to make money, willing to absorb all of my costs?” After all, even a not-for-profit business still has operating costs to cover, including wages, system upkeep and general operations. Simply put, if there are no commission charges, then the brokerage is earning fees elsewhere. Perhaps it’s through inflated foreign exchange rates, limited or delayed market data, or orderflow partners (where the online broker gets paid for each order they send to a partner for processing, giving the partner information on buy and sell orders).
Wealthsimple Trade started the trend a few years back to announce its presence but has stock and ETF availability issues along with a scaled-back offering. National Bank Discount Brokerage and Desjardins Online Brokerage now offer $0 commissions for stocks and ETFs and do have some minor costs in the small print.
TD Direct Investing and CIBC Investor’s Edge jumped into the fold, too. TD offers the first 50 trades free but only on its scaled-back mobile-based platform TD EasyTrade which is basic at best. And, CIBC only offers $0 commissions to investors under 25 years of age.
The scoring methodology and the depth of the analysis makes our review the most comprehensive and investor-relevant study in Canada. We tell it like it is and do not suggest that only the top firms should be considered.
Our goal is to provide you with the facts to help you make an informed choice before signing up with an online brokerage. If you already use a platform and noticed a change in the relationship or longer wait times for service, do not feel sorry for them. We also encourage you to challenge yourself to explore other firms’ offerings, as there are many to choose from.
Whether you’re new to self-directed investing or a seasoned veteran, the “Best Online Brokers in Canada for 2022” will give you valuable insight into Canada’s ultra-competitive discount brokerage industry, and help you get the most out of DIY investing.
Go here for our full comparison tool of all 15 online brokers to see how they stack up.
Looking for more information? Surviscor properties provides exclusive and curated information with you, the investor, in mind. Here are some valuable links to consider:
Surviscor’s site offers unbiased analysis Canadian online brokers based on facts, not influenced by marketing campaigns and paid reviews. There you will also see in-depth analysis over the four major investor experiences helping investors to quickly decide on the online brokers that will work best for their own goals and interests. Surviscor’s company reviews provide a more comprehensive review on each Canadian Online Brokerage firm including its rankings and scores for fees, service levels, and both digital platforms.
Powered by Surviscor’s extensive research, scorChoice-Find your own #1 is the only tool of its kind in Canada. It allows an investor to produce a personalized scorecard of the top firms that suit the desired experience criteria. The beauty of the tool is that it can be useful for novice investors to quickly gain insight on the firms that could satisfy their initial needs. And seasoned investors can use it to not only validate current relationships but also gain insight into firms that may provide a better solution.
Between-The-Lines Surviscor blog provides informative insights into Surviscor’s annual brokerage and Canadian banking reviews.
Surviscor representatives completed a features and functionality questionnaire of nearly 8,000 questions for each firm in the survey, covering both online and mobile platforms, while performing hundreds of typical investor tasks on each individual online platform. It also analyzed the firms’ cost of services over five trade-related investor profiles and reviewed 154 service interactions over a 12-month period ending on May 31, 2022.
Each firm was assigned a score based on its ranking within the seven sections of our review (5 points for first; 4 for second; 3 for third; 2 for fourth; and 1 for fifth), and the overall score was the sum of the awarded sections.
Glenn LaCoste, president and CEO of Surviscor Group, is considered a leading Canadian spokesperson and analyst in the online and mobile brokerage and banking industries in Canada. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial services and has been actively involved in Canadian financial services ratings and ranking reviews since 2003. LaCoste is often quoted in Canadian financial services articles, and provides professional insight on brokerage and banking as an occasional television guest on the Business News Network (BNN).
If a link has an asterisk (*) at the end of it, that means it's an affiliate link and can sometimes result in a payment to MoneySense (owned by Ratehub Inc.) which helps our website stay free to our users. It's important to note that our editorial content will never be impacted by these links. We are committed to looking at all available products in the market, and where a product ranks in our article or whether or not it's included in the first place is never driven by compensation. For more details read our MoneySense Monetization policy.
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I don’t know if withdrawals from RESP are part of the fee structure criticized for Questrade. I wanted to specifically mention it though.
I’m happy with Questrade, but charge $50 per withdrawal from an account that is set designed to be withdrawn from a couple of times a year seems like a bit of a gouge.