Best online brokers in Canada for 2024

Featured online brokers

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National Bank Direct Brokerage

$0 commission on all online stock transactions. No minimum deposit needed.

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Wealthsimple Trade

Low-fee investing for all Canadians. Plus, get a 1% match bonus on qualified transfers and deposits.

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Best Robo Advisors

Find out which Canadian robo-advisor tops our ranking and which is right for your investing goals.

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MoneySense is an award-winning magazine, helping Canadians navigate money matters since 1999. Our editorial team of trained journalists works closely with leading personal finance experts in Canada. To help you find the best financial products, we compare the offerings from over 12 major institutions, including banks, credit unions and card issuers. Learn more about our advertising and trusted partners.

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Best online brokers 2024: The top 10 firms

Here is the list of the 10 best online brokers in Canada for this year, which was derived by drilling down into the four pillars of investor experience at each firm: desktop platform, mobile platform, commissions and fees, and service availability and responsiveness. To find out more about the points, read our methodology and view the full online broker comparison tool.

Firms that ranked outside of the top 10 with 0 points scored:

• Laurentian Bank Discount Brokerage’s pros and cons

Firms that did not make the review cut, but have evaluations by Surviscor:

• Interactive Brokers’ pros and cons
• Canaccord Genuity Direct’s pros and cons

This year’s rankings show some minor shuffles from last year, but those movements did not place any stress on the top two firms, which continue to dominate the online brokerage industry. In the past year, platform enhancements were down, and fewer firms are aggressively marketing their services.  

Now, the question for Canadian online investors—and, for that matter, the online brokers themselves—is what’s the next marketing ploy to watch for? Will it be something to attract new investors? Or something to entice existing investors into switching brokers or even trying one of the newest platforms? 

One firm, HSBC InvestDirect, has exited due to RBC Royal Bank’s takeover of HSBC Canada, and there is some chatter about new players—Moomoo Canada and Webull Canada—that claim to be better than what is already available. But we have seen no good reason to advise you to consider them. If anything, we would suggest investors turn to the true Canadian firms in this study and disregard the marketing noise and dubious claims made by non-Canadian firms through search engines. 

What we implore Canadian investors, especially newbies, to understand is that self-directed investing is not always “simple” to do. This cannot be overstated. There is no platform design that can make it a cinch to choose the path of self-directed investing.. Is it possible that marketers may use words that don’t speak the truth or give the full story? Everyone knows the answer to that sad question. 

This is why we continue to publish the annual ranking of MoneySense’s picks for best online brokers, and why our list is different from others you may read. Self-directed investing is not easy, but it’s not impossible to learn, either, if you are willing to invest in yourself and learn how to best use the platforms. We never focus on the shiny marketing objects or company-directed narratives, because they only trigger caution in our thinking. 

The ranking’s design focuses on you, the Canadian investor, because we understand that each of you has different needs and levels of experience. We tally all of the key aspects of a self-directed investing relationship with an online broker for all levels of experience. The results highlight 10 categories of focus, designed to help you narrow down your search based on your needs and preferences over three best online broker groupings: the kind of platform you prefer, your investor type and firm types.

Now in its 12th 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 several hundred data points, and revised every few years to keep it relevant, Surviscor’s deep dive into the Canadian online brokerage marketplace is second to none. 

We’ve used Surviscor’s existing research and incorporated the four pillars of experience—desktop, mobile, commissions and fees, and service—into each category, knowing that most investors use interchangeable platforms for an overall experience.

Check the chart below to see which firms in Canada garnered the most points for all categories, then read more about the top three online brokers and the best ones for your investing style and goals.

Top 3 online brokers in Canada

Here’s a closer look at the top three overall winners.

Gold – Questrade

Questrade is MoneySense’s overall pick for 2024 best online broker in Canada for the second consecutive year, scoring 34 points overall and finishing either alone or tied in the top rank in six of its eight applicable categories. While we do pick on Questrade for having too many platforms, the reality is it has a well-rounded offering that is focused on satisfying all types of investor profiles, while consistently providing industry-leading customer contact methods and service responsiveness. Questrade’s most glaring drawback is always its commission and fee structure, which barely cracks the top 10 in Surviscor’s Commissions and Fees Review. That doesn’t mean Questrade is overly expensive; for most investor profiles, it falls somewhere in the middle of the pack. Other rankings you read may take a different approach to their reviews and look at the advertised costs, but Surviscor identifies, and penalizes firms for, additional trade costs, such as electronic communication network (ECN) fees and the commissions charged tosell exchange-traded funds (ETFs) despite there being no commission to purchase them.

Pros:

• Strong customer service responsiveness
• Great initial customer experience with transparent offerings and fees, straightforward account opening experience, etc.
• Its legacy mobile platform experience is similar to its online experience, which makes it easy to switch between them
• Questrade is an industry influencer that is progressive and dedicated to improving investor experiences through products, platforms, service and general digital experiences
• Commitment to investor growth through education along an investor’s learning curve

Cons:

• Investors must spend time figuring out which of Questrade’s mobile platforms is right for them.
• Investors must spend time figuring out which of Questrade’s mobile platforms is right for them. The average investor falls somewhere in the middle of the two platforms, QuestMobile and Questrade Edge.
• Charges ECN fees, as well as additional transaction fees that can considerably increase commission costs above what’s advertised
• Charges commissions on ETF sell orders (buys are commission-free)
• Lacks account and market notifications
• Its commercials (OK, we are having fun with that one!)

Are you interested in better understanding the good, the bad and the ugly about Questrade’s desktop and mobile platforms? Or how about Questrade’s service levels and the real story around its commissions and fees? Read the complete Questrade Surviscor review.

Silver – TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing scored 31 points overall to remain in second place, finishing either alone or tied in the top rank in three of its eight applicable categories. TD’s continued commitment to investor education, its long-standing strength of market data and its strong traditional desktop-based investor platform make TD Direct Investing a well-rounded choice for self-directed investors.

We looked at the TD Direct Investing desktop and mobile platform experience, along with the TD Easy Trade mobile application—an app designed for marketing purposes, not investor growth, in our opinion. Make no mistake, an account using the TD Easy Trade mobile platform is a TD Direct Investing account. Our suggestion is to use the traditional platforms in most cases, as the underwhelming TD Easy Trade platform just doesn’t cut it.

Of note, TD Direct Investing’s overall commissions and fees across all its platforms and investor profiles is expensive, with the exception of small stock and ETF traders who make fewer than 50 trades per year. The caveat is that these investors are required to place all trades via the not-so-impressive TD Easy Trade mobile platform to receive the discounts.

Would you like our self-directed investing hack when it comes to TD Direct Investing? Place your first 50 trades on the TD Easy Trade platform to take advantage of the marketed $0 fees, then run as fast as you can back to the TD Direct Investing platform. Free is free, but it comes at a cost.

Pros:

• Initial impression is a good integration of a self-directed brokerage service within a bank-based site
• Well-rounded offering that can cater to investors with any level of experience
• Good depth and breadth of market data
• Commitment to investor education and understanding of its platform
• Responsiveness of customer service has improved dramatically over the past year—but there is still room for improvement

Cons:

• The marketing message around TD Easy Trade and how simple it makes investing is misleading. The platform is weak, and it is encouraging users to stay on it does not promote their investing knowledge.
• Long-standing customers pay high commissions and fees compared to those using other online brokerage firms 
• To qualify for the yearly “50 free trades” promotion, customers must use the substandard mobile-based TD Easy Trade platform

Are you interested in better understanding the good, the bad and the ugly about TD Direct Investing’s desktop and mobile platforms? Or maybe learning about TD Direct Investing’s service levels and where its commissions and fees rank amongst other firms? Read the complete TD Direct Investing Surviscor review.

Bronze – Qtrade Direct Investing

Qtrade Direct Investing scored 24 points overall and finished in the top three in seven of its eight applicable categories. 

Qtrade Direct Investing is not as aggressive in the marketplace as it has been in the past, and perhaps it is going through some identity struggles. But traditionally it has provided a well-rounded experience for Canadian investors of all types. Time will tell if it can stay in the top three, as many other firms are becoming more competitive. 

The main drawback of using Qtrade Direct Investing is its commissions and fees, which are on the high side. Other shortcomings include a new mobile platform that Qtrade is taking a long time to perfect and the firm’s continued difficulty in understanding who its target market is. Is it all investors? Or just new investors? 

Pros:

• Customer service options and responsiveness
• Streamlined inter-platform account opening process
• Depth and breadth of market data
• Student investment programs, with “young investor” rates and fees no minimum balance required.

Cons:

• Commissions and fees are on the high side
• Platform improvements take a long time to be completed 
• New mobile platform has a long way to go before providing an optimal experience
• Hard to pinpoint what level of investor Qtrade is targeting after years of targeting all types  

Are you interested in better understanding the good, the bad and the ugly about Qtrade Direct Investing’s desktop and mobile platforms? Or maybe learning more about Qtrade Direct Investing’s service levels and where its commissions and fees rank amongst other firms? Read the complete Qtrade Direct Investing Surviscor review.

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Best online brokers by category

Surviscor’s message for self-directed investing is always “buyer beware,” as each firm attempts to get a leg up on its peers with only minor points of differentiation. It’s like choosing between two airlines that offer different baggage fees; to save $5 will most likely cost you $10 more for the flight. 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?” The answer: “Probably not.” 

Not everything will appeal to everybody. We know that the areas some online brokers excel at will be important to certain customers, but maybe not you. That is why we select the best online brokers for each category, and why we have divided the results into three main areas: platform experiences, investor type and firm type. Also check out some good investing 411 info, as well as our methodology for the MoneySense best online brokers ranking.

• Best online brokers for user experience
• Best online brokers for account experience
• Best online brokers for trading experience
• Best online brokers for investor resources experience

Results by investor type

• Best online brokers for new investors
• Best online brokers for seasoned investors

Results by firm type

• Best $0 commission online brokers
• Best commission online brokers
• Best bank-owned online brokers
• Best non-bank online brokers

Best online brokers for user experience

The user experience category examines 16 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, to see how easy it is for investors to use a website or app. This category checks off how easy it is to use the pre-login and secure areas of the website or app on both desktops/laptops and phones. The results are based on how many helpful features there are and how easy it is for investors to choose what they want, do things conveniently and have control over their experience.

The key measurements are onboarding experiences, service methods and availability, pre-login and secure-area designs, login security, policies and disclaimers, and an investor’s ability to customize their investing experience.

Gold – Questrade

Questrade is the clear leader in overall digital user experience, scoring 49 points—16 points ahead of runner-up RBC Direct Investing—and leading in four of the 16 areas of analysis. It ranks in the top five in all areas of analysis. Questrade provides investors with a great first impression through its account opening process, leading customization features and intuitive designs. It gives investors many ways to access its customer service. 

The picky user-experience drawback at Questrade is the presentation of mobile platform policies. 

Need to learn more about Questrade and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Questrade’s digital platforms can help.

Silver – RBC Direct Investing

RBC Direct Investing is the runner-up in overall digital user experience, scoring 33 points. It leads in one of the 16 areas of analysis and has eight top-three rankings. RBC Direct Investing boasts a banking-brokerage integration design, providing continuity and consistency between its banking and investing platforms.

The user-experience drawbacks at RBC Direct Investing include a lack of user customization options and a weaker onboarding process.  

Need to learn more about RBC Direct Investing and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of RBC Direct Investing’s digital platforms can help.

Return to categories list.

Best online brokers for account experience

The account experience category examines 12 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, to see how easy it is for investors to find information about their investment accounts using a browser or its mobile app. Surviscor monitors how helpful the information is for keeping track of your account and making decisions about your investments.

The key measurements are additional account onboarding experiences, secure-area service methods and availability, product availability, the presentation and usability of account information including holdings and trades, and the ability to self-manage the experience through digital account management and notification capabilities.

Gold – Questrade

Questrade is the leader in overall digital account experience, scoring 35 points. It leads in two of the 12 areas of analysis and ranks in the top five in all but one area of analysis. Questrade provides a wide array of products and offers investors the presentation and usability of account information including holdings and trades. 

The account-experience drawback at Questrade is the lack of desktop-based account notifications.  

Need to learn more about Questrade and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Questrade’s digital platforms can help.

Silver – Scotia iTrade

Scotia iTrade is the runner-up in overall digital account experience, scoring 29 points and leading in three of the 12 areas of analysis along with earning six top-three rankings. Scotia iTrade provides digital management features and easy-to-understand desktop-based account information, and it continues to improve its platform designs. 

The account-experience drawbacks at Scotia iTrade include a lack of account notifications and weaker account information on the mobile app than on the desktop platform.  

Need to learn more about Scotia iTrade and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Scotia iTrade’s digital platforms can help.

Return to categories list.

Best online brokers for trading experience

The trading experience category examines 24 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, to see how easy it is to trade through an online broker. We check everything from the availability of market information to what it’s like to place trades, including the ease of placing orders and completing transactions digitally.

The key measurements are digital-based product availability (stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, global stocks and guaranteed investment certificates), order-screen functionality and supporting features, supporting market notifications and the availability of in-depth market intelligence to support an investor’s decision needs.

Gold – Questrade

Questrade is the leader in overall digital trading experience, scoring 55 points. It leads in seven of the 24 areas of analysis and ranks in the top five in 14 areas. Questrade provides good industry-leading product availability and a strong transactional process for trading stocks and ETFs on its digital platforms.  

The trading-experience drawback at Questrade is that its supporting market information during the trading process could be more robust, something runner-up TD Direct Investing excels at.  

Need to learn more about Questrade and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Questrade’s digital platforms can help.

Silver – TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing is the runner-up in overall digital trading experience, scoring 54 points and leading in two of the 24 areas of analysis along with earning 11 top-three rankings. Although TD Direct Investing does not dominate in many of the areas, it does provide above-average experiences in most areas. One way TD shines is that it provides industry-leading market intelligence and deep data, which is the basis of any superior trading experience.  

The trading-experience drawback at TD Direct Investing is its average transactional-screen designs and process, something Questrade excels at.   

Need to learn more about TD Direct Investing and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of TD Direct Investing’s digital platforms can help.

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Best online brokers for investor resources experience

The investor resources experience category examines 14 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, to see what helpful resources are available for investors. For this category, we check both before and after customers log in to the digital platform, looking at things like articles, tools and other support.

The key measurements are the digital-based features and functionality of the investment and planning tools, interactive education, and account and market notifications available to the Canadian digital investor.

Gold – TD Direct Investing 

TD Direct Investing is the undisputed leader in overall digital investor resources experience, scoring 51 points—that’s 27 points ahead of runner-up Desjardins Online Brokerage. TD Direct Investing leads in five of the 14 areas of analysis and ranks in the top three in all but two areas—its mobile-based pre-login resources and its digital educational information. We did not find any drawbacks in the investor resources experience at TD Direct Investing.

Need to learn more about TD Direct Investing and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of TD Direct Investing’s digital platforms can help.

Silver – Desjardins Online Brokerage

Desjardins Online Brokerage is the runner-up in overall digital investor resources experience, scoring 27 points, leading in two of the 14 areas of analysis, and ranking in the top three in six areas. Desjardins Online Brokerage provides investors with diversified market research, strong fundamental data on trading targets, and seminars to help investors learn the ropes when it comes to placing trades.    

The drawback in the investor resources experience at Desjardins Online Brokerage is its limited number of market screeners.   

Need to learn more about Desjardins Online Brokerage and its platform experiences? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Desjardins Online Brokerage’s digital platforms can help.  

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Best online brokers for new investors

Finding the right online broker for a new investor is a difficult task, but making the decision to become a self-directed investor is even tougher and not one to be taken lightly. What does “new investor” really mean? To the online brokerage firms, it means opportunity. It’s the golden ticket, as the industry covets this segment more than any other. It represents new money. Our fear is that the drive to get that new investor on board comes at the expense of the seasoned investor. 

To us, a new investor is a rookie, a newbie or an impressionable investor with little to no experience who has a desire to try, not gamble with, self-directed investing. If this definition sounds like you, then consider yourself a new investor and listen closely to the message we are preaching. We have done the work at the in-depth levels of analysis you deserve. 

The new investors category is based on 48 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors. It explores the digital experiences—including desktop and mobile platforms, commissions and fees, and service levels—as it comes across to new investors. When looking at commissions and fees, Surviscor uses an investor profile with zero to four trades per month. 

While becoming a new investor is both fun and scary, the key is not to be swayed by online brokers’ shiny marketing. They might claim to be the best—some even say in other countries—or say they provide free transactions. Paying a small fee for a better learning experience is money well spent. Not paying for commissions and not getting what you need to grow and be successful on your own is a sour cocktail for success. There is always a catch. New investors should look for a partner that can both educate and provide some initial hand-holding while they learn the ropes. 

If you want to read between the lines of Canadian self-directed investing and consumer banking messages, consider visiting Surviscor’s Between The Lines blog, where each brokerage and banking article represents an objective, non-sponsored, non-paid, factual review highlighting day-to-day personal finance experiences. 

Gold – TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing is our choice for the best online broker for new investors, scoring 115 points. However, that’s not due to its underwhelming TD Easy Trade platform but rather for the combination of mainly using the traditional TD Direct Investing digital platform and using the scaled-down TD Easy Trade platform to place your first 50 trades. 

TD Direct Investing provides new investors with good overall user experiences, investment and planning resources, prospective customer interactions and industry-leading market information and intelligence. 

The main drawback—and one of the most puzzling revelations of our analysis—is the requirement to use the TD Easy Trade platform to receive the annual “50 free trades” promotion. Really? They will let you trade for free if you use their repurposed mobile app, rebranded with the word “easy” in it to draw in new money? Come on.nded with the word “easy” in it to draw in new money? Come on.     

Would you like more information on TD Direct Investing’s investor experiences and how they may impact you as a newer investor? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of TD Direct Investing’s investor experiences can help.

Silver – Questrade 

Questrade is the next best online broker choice for new investors, scoring 114 points. As is the case with TD Direct Investing, Questrade’s QuestMobile platform is not the main reason for the runner-up ranking, as we would prefer new investors to use both the traditional digital desktop and mobile platforms. That being said, QuestMobile is improving month over month, so with become a stronger alternative for new investors. Questrade provides new investors with strong account opening and account information experiences and good service interaction methods and interaction responsiveness.  

The main drawbacks for new investors at Questrade are its commission structure and potential hidden fees, its market data costs and its lack of planning resources specific for new investors.  

Would you like more information on Questrade’s investor experiences and how they may impact you as a newer investor? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Questrade’s investor experiences can help.

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Best online brokers for seasoned investors

What does the term “seasoned investor” really mean? To firms, it means an investor who trades relatively regularly, providing them with a consistent pattern of income stream that’s tightly in sync with the level of activity in the stock market. So why does it seem like seasoned investors mean less to a firm than new investors? Because they do, or at least appear to, when all the focus is on new platforms and new pricing to attract the newbies. It’s  scary to think that many firms feel that seasoned investors will never leave and thus lose focus on providing great investing products. 

To us, a seasoned investor is one who understands self-directed investing and how to navigate their own path through the ebbs and flows of the markets. Seasoned does not equate to success, but it does indicate better-educated decision-making and a level of discipline that helps to keep the lights on at most firms. If a new investor is called a rookie or newbie, then a seasoned investor could be called the forgotten or ignored investor. The message here is that there are many online brokers to choose from, and an investor should exploit each and every opportunity while holding their existing firm to the highest standards. 

Seasoned investors make decisions based on facts and data. That is why the seasoned investors experience category is based on 49 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, and explores the digital experiences—including desktop and mobile platforms, commissions and fees, and service levels. In terms of commissions and fees, the review uses Surviscor’s data for two investor profiles: those who make five to nine trades per month, and those who make 10 to 33 trades per month.

Gold – Questrade 

Questrade is our choice for the best online broker for seasoned investors, scoring 126 points. We speak a lot about Questrade’s hidden fees. But if you are a seasoned investor, you are probably used to navigating through optimal commission scenarios and reducing or eliminating the market data costs that arise at a few firms. 

The beauty of Questrade for a seasoned investor is the abundance of choice and differentiating products. These allow a self-directed investor to progress into more advanced products and platforms when they are ready and willing to do so.    

Would you like more information on Questrade’s investor experiences and how they can help you as a seasoned investor? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Questrade’s investor experiences can help.

Silver – TD Direct Investing 

TD Direct Investing is our next-best online broker choice for seasoned investors, scoring 110 points. TD Direct Investing has been servicing the seasoned investor for more than a few decades. Many experts would agree that the firm helped millions of investors become self-directed investors and fuelled the online brokerage craze through its initial TD Green Line offering. 

Truth be told, a seasoned investor will never go wrong with TD Direct Investing, but they will likely pay more for the same things they can accomplish at other, lower-cost providers. 

Would you like more information on TD Direct Investing’s investor experiences and how they can help you as a seasoned investor? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of TD Direct Investing’s investor experiences can help.

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Best $0 commission online brokers

Want to pay no commissions on your trades? The best $0 commission online brokers category is based on 14 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, derived from the four main Surviscor pillars of experience (desktop, mobile platform, commissions and fees, and service levels) through the review of 69 individual experiences. In terms of commissions and fees, the review uses Surviscor’s investor behaviour profile of zero to four trades per month. 

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away: TD Easy Trade is not a $0 commission online broker. Why not? First off, it’s a sub-brand of TD Direct Investing and really a name to identify its reduced-commission, mobile-based platform, which only provides a total of 50 free stock trades and in-house-only ETF trades per year. No matter what the TD marketing folks and paid bloggers and writers say, know that it is not a $0 online broker. 

The $0 commission trend continues to stall despite a few hyperactive trading firms popping up over the last year. They may market $0, but they are for gamblers, not investors, and you have much better $0 choices already. Surviscor has identified only three firms in this category. And even that conclusion is generous, as all of the firms charge commissions for options, bonds and GICs. For now, these firms have the title due to their $0 commissions on stock and ETF purchases and sales. 

The Canadian bank-owned firms attempt to drive the message of $0 ETF commissions, but the reality is there are small-print caveats to consider. For example, Scotia iTrade limits the number of available $0 commission ETFs. TD Direct Investing only allows in-house products. And BMO InvestorLine offers a hybrid of both in-house products and a select number of third-party $0 ETFs. 

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. 

Gold – Desjardins Online Brokerage

Desjardins Online Brokerage is our choice for best $0 commission online broker for 2024, scoring 28 points. Canadian investors can expect $0 commissions with no restrictions for stock and ETF transactions. But what sets Desjardins Online Brokerage apart is its complimentary/complementary digital platform experiences. It has not totally fallen prey to the “provide less for $0” trend. 

Although Desjardins Online Brokerage could improve its digital platforms and investor usage experience, the good news is it provides a solid offering for $0 and also has competitive options commissions and account administration fees.

Are you unsure about what Desjardins Online Brokerage can offer you for its low, low, low commissions? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Desjardins Online Brokerage’s investor experiences can help.

Silver – National Bank Direct Brokerage*

National Bank Direct Brokerage is our next-best choice for a $0 commission online broker for 2024, scoring 27 points. Like its rival Desjardins Online Brokerage—which is also based in Quebec—it offers unrestricted availability and unlimited transactions for North American stocks and ETFs for $0.

National Bank Direct Brokerage should also be complimented for not reducing the quality of its digital platform experiences during the “less for $0” trend. It is rolling out a new mobile platform, and time will tell if it is capable of maintaining that distinction.

Are you unsure about what National Bank Direct Brokerage can offer you for its low, low, low commissions? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of National Bank Direct Brokerage’s investor experiences can help.

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Best commission online brokers

The definition of a commission-based online broker is pretty simple: a firm that charges commissions, with exceptions or limitations, for trading stocks, options and ETFs. The investors who use these firms tend to be loyal and are not tempted by $0 commissions. They prefer a value-driven approach, meaning they gladly pay for solid research and quotes, and they look at the total cost for the trades based on the information they get from the firm. 

Sometimes you get what you pay for. At least, that’s what you hope. 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, analyst recommendations, and tools and resources, such as unlimited real-time quotes and in-depth data. 

The best commission online brokers category is based on 14 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, derived from the four main Surviscor pillars of experience (desktop, mobile platform, commissions and fees, service levels) through the review of 75 individual experiences. In terms of commissions and fees, Surviscor uses two investor profiles: one with five to nine trades per month, and the other with 10 to 33 trades per month. 

Unfortunately, the marketing messages at commission online brokers can be misleading. Unfortunately, the marketing messages at online brokers can be misleading. At $0 commission firms, they highlight their obvious price advantage but typically leave out the compromises, such as missing functionality with TD Easy Trade or poor foreign-exchange rates at Wealthsimple Trade*. Meanwhile, commission online brokers may have hidden costs like ECN fees and unavoidable market-data platform costs or even reduced service coverage. The reality is that you can’t escape the marketing messages whereby each firm says it’s the best firm for you. 

Gold – Questrade

Questrade is our choice for best commission online broker for 2024, scoring 167 points. As mentioned above, year after year, Questrade’s ECN fees and market-data costs can become troublesome if you are not aware of how they work. But once you understand them, you can avoid them or maximize their value.   

In a tightly contested race, Questrade gets the nod over TD Direct Investing due to TD Direct Investing’s glaring shortcomings in commissions and account experiences. Otherwise, the two firms can seesaw back and forth on areas of greatness and concern, as they are both well ahead of the other commission firms. 

Would you like more information on Questrade’s individual investor experiences to better understand the whole picture of what you are paying for? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of Questrade’s investor experiences can help.

Silver – TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing is our next-best commission online broker choice, scoring 160 points. No matter what type of investor you are, you can’t go wrong with TD Direct Investing, and if you are willing to use our TD Easy Trade hack of taking advantage of the 50 free trades per year, your cost per trade should decrease significantly.

TD Direct Investing provides good overall investor experiences across its traditional digital platforms, and it boasts a good number of resources that can help customers grow into successful self-directed investors.     
Would you like more information on TD Direct Investing’s individual investor experiences to better understand the whole picture of what you are paying for? Surviscor’s likes and dislikes of TD Direct Investing’s investor experiences can help.

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Best bank-owned online brokers

Canadians love their banks and also trust them, sometimes blindly. It is unclear if the loyalty stems from familiarity, tradition or simply a lack of trust in any firm without a branch in town. The same mentality holds true in the online broker industry. If you love your bank, then you will likely give its online brokerage a go. 

The best bank-owned online brokers category is based on 14 broad areas of criteria, each containing multiple factors, derived from the four main Surviscor pillars of experience (desktop, mobile platform, commissions and fees, and service levels) through the review of 93 individual experiences. The ranking does not focus on any one investor profile but instead looks at the full spectrum of investor possibilities according to the adapted MoneySense version.

Gold – TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing is our undisputed best bank-owned online broker choice for 2024, scoring 152 points, which is 55 points better than Scotia iTrade. There is not much more to say about TD Direct Investing, as we have already done a deep dive in several of the other categories. But one thing is crystal clear: TD Direct Investing is dominating the other bank-owned firms in the self-directed online brokerage arena, and it has for some time. 

The TD Direct Investing overview goes like this: 

• Sub-brand TD Easy Trade is not a $0 commission firm 
• Limits investors to using TD Easy Trade in order to receive 50 free trades per year
• Good user experience across traditional platforms
• Great market intelligence data
• Great educational resources
• Suitable for all investor profiles

Learn more about TD Direct Investing and Surviscor’s likes and dislikes.

Silver – Scotia iTrade

Scotia iTrade is our next-best bank-owned online broker choice for 2024, scoring 97 points. It has been some time since we last praised Scotia iTrade for anything. The once leading-edge firm appears to be making some catch-up strides in terms of platform enhancements, but it still requires much work to be spoken of in the same conversation as the top overall online brokers. 

The one glaring drawback that holds Scotia iTrade back is its unwillingness to provide better service responsiveness for prospective investors. It knows that it is the worst firm at doing certain things and chooses to ignore this—that should be a red flag for customers despite the brokerage’s success in other areas. 

Learn more about Scotia iTrade and Surviscor’s likes and dislikes.

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Best non-bank online brokers

If you have had enough of the extra fees and reduced service levels of the Big Six banks, you might be willing to try any online broker but the ones they own. . The obvious holds true. Who owns an online broker should have no bearing on deciding what firm is best for you. But we suggest that you choose a true Canadian firm because there are plenty of good ones. 

In the beginning, these firms opened up and tried to differentiate themselves on costs, but they failed to offer the same level of investor experiences as bank-owned firms. Then the pendulum swung as these newer online brokers became disruptors and pushed the investor-experience envelope using platforms designed for active traders and, in some cases, lower pricing.  

The best non-bank online brokers category is based on the same in-depth analysis of 14 areas of criteria as the bank-owned category, but in this case, there are six non-bank-owned online brokers. Our review focuses on just four of them because the other two cater more to traditional hyperactive day traders. 

Non-bank-owned firms were instrumental in changing the landscape of self-directed online brokerage experiences by providing more choices for investors. That forced the bank-owned firms to improve their overall experience. The sum of the parts has led to better competition and accountability at all online brokers. As a result, self-directed investors enjoy better choice and overall experiences.  

Gold – Questrade

Not surprisingly, our number one overall choice, Questrade, is our best non-bank online broker choice for 2024, scoring 157 points. As you read above, Questrade aims to serve many types of Canadian investor profiles with good products and services.  There is not much more that can be said about Questrade that hasn’t already been said. 

The Questrade overview goes like this:

• Great service
• Multiple platforms
• Good account information experience
• Potential significant hidden fees
• Fees for market-data 
• Suitable for all investor profiles

Learn more about Questrade and Surviscor’s likes and dislikes.

Silver – Qtrade Direct Investing

Qtrade Direct Investing is our next-best non-bank online broker choice for 2024, scoring 123 points. There was a time not too long ago when Qtrade Direct Investing would have led in several categories. Despite a lack of progress in recent years, it still provides good customer service, a streamlined account-opening process and good transactional experiences for all Canadian investor profiles. 

Learn more about Qtrade Direct Investing and Surviscor’s likes and dislikes.

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Comparing Canada’s best online brokerages ►►

To view all the data in the table, slide the columns right/left/up/down using your fingers or mouse. You can download the data to your device in Excel, CSV and PDF formats. 

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Online brokerage fast facts and FAQs

by MoneySense Editors

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See the full comparison tool of the best 15 online brokers in Canada to see how they stack up.

More Surviscor resources

Looking for more information? Surviscor provides exclusive and curated information with you, the investor, in mind. Here are some valuable links to consider:

Surviscor’s site offers unbiased analysis of Canadian online brokers based on facts, not influenced by marketing campaigns and paid reviews. There you will also see in-depth analysis of the four major investor experiences, helping investors to quickly decide on the online brokers that will work best for their goals and interests. Surviscor’s firm reviews provide a more comprehensive review of each Canadian online brokerage firm, including rankings and scores for fees, service levels and both digital platforms (desktop and mobile).

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.

Surviscor’s blog, Between the Lines, provides a deep dive into Surviscor’s annual brokerage and Canadian banking reviews.

See past “Best online brokers” rankings.

Methodology

Surviscor representatives completed a features and functionality questionnaire of nearly 8,000 questions for each firm across the various reviews, covering both desktop and mobile platforms, while performing hundreds of typical investor tasks on each individual digital platform. Surviscor also analyzed the firms’ commissions and fees across five trade-related investor profiles and reviewed 143 service interactions per firm over a 12-month period ending on April 30, 2024. Each firm was assigned a score based on its ranking within eight of the 10 categories of our review (five points for first, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth), and the overall score represents the sum of the awarded sections.

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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 he provides professional insight on brokerages and banking as an occasional television guest on the Business News Network (BNN).

Read more about investing:

• Canada’s best dividend stocks
• Best ETFs in Canada
• A guide to the best robo-advisors in Canada

About Glenn LaCoste

Glenn LaCoste, president and CEO of Surviscor Group, is a spokesperson and analyst in the online and mobile banking and brokerage industries in Canada. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial services.

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