In 1943, Fidelity started with its mutual fund business idea and became one of the industry giants. On the other hand, TD Ameritrade took off in 1975 and changed the industry with its exceptional trading platform.
Both are now considered world-class brokers with efficient, user-friendly interfaces.
Since both brokers have similar costs and features, it’s pretty challenging for active traders to decide which to use. For such traders, here’s a comparison of TD Ameritrade vs. Fidelity.
TD Ameritrade vs. Fidelity: What Do They Offer?
| Services | TD Ameritrade | Fidelity |
|---|---|---|
| Stock trading costs | $0 | $0 |
| Account minimum | $0 | $0 |
| Options trades | $0.65 per contract (no base commission) | $0.65 per contract (no base commission) |
| Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) | • Annual fee: $0 • Inactivity fee: $0 • Transfer fee: $75 full; $0 partial |
$0 account fees |
| Trading platform | Free trading platforms: • TD Ameritrade web • Thinkorswim for desktop users |
Free trading platforms: • Fidelity.com • Active Trader Pro |
| Tradable securities | • Bonds • Stocks • Mutual funds • ETFs • OptionsForex • Foreign ADRs • Futures • IPOs for qualified accounts |
• Bonds • Stocks • Fractional shares • Mutual funds • ETFs • Options |
| Cryptocurrencies | Qualified clients can trade over-the-counter crypto coin trusts, like Bitcoin futures, from CME. | Crypto-based products are available, but not cryptocurrencies. |
| Mobile apps | • TD Ameritrade mobile app • TDA thinkorswim app |
Fidelity mobile app for both iOS and Android. |
| Research and data | Third-party tools like S&P Capital IQ, Dow Jones, and more ensure research and analysis. | Free and extensive |
| User-friendly options | • Representatives are available 24/7 on the phone, email and live chat support. • In-person support is available at 250+ local branches. • Customer support is also available on Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Apple Business Chat and Amazon Alexa. |
• Representatives are available 24/7 on the phone, email and live chat. • In-person support is available at over 200 local branches. |
TD Ameritrade vs. Fidelity: Which Is a Fit For Your Needs?
Here are a few things you should look at to figure out which is your ideal choice.
User-Friendly Options
Fidelity supports three platforms: web, Fidelity Mobile App, and Active Trader Pro. This makes opening an account extremely easy.
TD Ameritrade supports four platforms: web, thinkorswim, TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader app and thinkorswim Mobile. It’s easier to open an account on TD Ameritrade but it offers numerous account types, making the process more complicated. Both brokers’ apps offer decent functionality.
Fidelity doesn’t support cryptocurrencies, futures, or options on futures, which might be considered a downside for some active traders.
Trading Technology
With impressive price improvement strategies, Fidelity now executes more than 98.40% of orders at a better price than others, offering solid savings for investors of about $18.99 for a 1,000-share marketable order, compared to the industry quote.
TD Ameritrade has also opted for price improvement and fast execution strategies. According to the company’s statistics, most marketable orders get a price improvement of a little more than $0.0219 per share.
Costs
Both Fidelity and TD Ameritrade charge no cost for stock trading and account minimum. Both also offer free commission for options, online equity and ETF trades for customers residing in the U.S.
Both brokers have similar per-contact options fees of $0.65.
Good To Know
Fidelity can be a good fit for active traders, while TD Ameritrade may be the best choice for beginners. Both offer exceptionally customizable platforms, user-friendly services, functional trading apps, and reasonable costs.
Research Facilities
The main competition between both platforms is research. Both of them offer flexible stock, mutual fund, fixed-income, ETF, and options screeners to assist you in finding ideal trade and investment opportunities.
If you trade “options,” you will like TD Ameritrade’s Option Hacker and Spread Hacker. These tools let you search for all types of “options” strategies.
On the other hand, ETF traders may like Fidelity’s screener. It allows you to customize your screens via 100 ETF criteria and helps you search by the themes.
Customer Service
Both have excellent 24/7 customer service. Fidelity is available on the phone, a limited-hour online chat facility, an email portal and Virtual Assistant.
Quite similarly, TD Ameritrade also offers 24/7 phone support and availability on many social media platforms like Twitter, Messenger, Apple Business Chat, and WeChat (in Asia). In addition, the app supports live chat and a virtual agent, Ask Ted.
Final Take
This TD Ameritrade vs. Fidelity comparison concludes that both are highly-reputable brokers in the industry.