E*TRADE Review 2024

Why choose E*TRADE

E*TRADE is a US stockbroker regulated by top-tier authorities SEC and FINRA.

It offers low trading fees, including free stock and ETF trading. In addition, it has one of the best mobile trading platforms on the market, and offers plenty of high-quality research tools such as trading ideas and strategy builders. It is a good choice for beginner investors.

E*TRADE‘s product portfolio only covers US markets and forex trading is not available. The broker doesn't accept bank cards or electronic wallets for money transfers.

AwardBroker gave E*TRADE a 4.5/5 rating based on analyzing 600+ criteria and testing via opening a live account.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ Low trading fees (free stock and ETF trading) ❖ User-friendly mobile trading platform ❖ Great research tools ❖ Pays interest on uninvested cash	❖ Only US markets, no forex ❖ Only bank transfer

E*TRADE at a glance

🗺 Country of regulation	USA
💰 US stock fee	Free stock and ETF trading
💰 Inactivity fee charged	No
💰 Withdrawal fee	$0
💰 Minimum deposit	$0
🕖 Time to open an account	1-3 days
🎮 Demo account provided	No
🛍️ Products offered	Stock, ETF, Fund, Bond, Options, Futures, Crypto

Fees

Score: 3.8/5

E*TRADE offers free stock and ETFs trades; some bonds and mutual funds are also free to trade. Non-trading fees are low. On the negative side, fees for mutual funds that aren't free are high.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ Free stock and ETF trading ❖ Some mutual funds and bonds are free ❖ Low non-trading fees	❖ High fees for non-free mutual funds

We compared E*TRADE‘s fees with two similar brokers we selected, Charles Schwab and Fidelity. These competitors were selected based on objective factors like products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed comparison of E*TRADE alternatives.

Commission-free stock and ETFs

It’s extremely great as E*TRADE has commission-free US stock trading.

Broker	US stock
E*TRADE	$0.0
Charles Schwab	$0.0
Fidelity	$0.0

High margin rates

E*TRADE USD margin rate fees are higher than the industry average. USD margin rate fees are calculated as follows: Base rate + tiered markup. Markup under $10,000: +2.50%

Broker	USD margin rate
E*TRADE	14.2%
Charles Schwab	13.6%
Fidelity	13.6%

E*TRADE's margin rate is volume-tiered. It applies a base rate plus a premium/discount depending on the financed amount. The base rate is set at E*TRADE's discretion and may be readjusted from time to time; at the time of our review, the base rate was 11.45%.

Low options commission

E*TRADE US stock index options fees are about half of the industry average. US stock index options fees are calculated as follows: $0.65 fee per contract; $0.50 with 30+ trades per quarter

Broker	US stock index options
E*TRADE	$6.5
Charles Schwab	$6.5
Fidelity	$6.5

E*TRADE charges a volume-based fee. The fee is $0.65 per contract for the first 30 trades per quarter and $0.50 per contract above that limit.

No inactivity fee, average withdrawal fee

It charges no inactivity fee and no account fee.

Broker	Inactivity fee	Withdrawal fee
E*TRADE		$0
Charles Schwab		$0
Fidelity		$0

There is no withdrawal fee if you use ACH transfer. Withdrawals to other banks using wire transfer cost $25.

Other commissions and fees

High mutual fund commission: trading mutual funds involves the following charges – $19.99 per trade; ca. 4,500 free mutual funds.

Average futures fees: US index futures fees are as follows – $1.50 fee per contract.

Low bond commission: US treasury bonds come with the following charges – $0 for Treasury bonds, other bonds secondary transaction fee: $1/bond, min $10, max $250..

Broker	Mutual fund	US micro e-mini stock index futures
E*TRADE	$20.0	$15.0
Charles Schwab	$25.0	$22.5
Fidelity	$37.5	–

Safety

E*TRADE is overseen by top-tier US regulators and you are protected by a high investor protection amount, but there is no negative balance protection.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ Majority of clients belong to a top-tier financial authority ❖ High level of investor protection ❖ Banking background	❖ No negative balance protection

Is E*TRADE regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Is E*TRADE safe?

To be certain that a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• the background of the broker.

How you are protected

This is important for you because the investor protection amount and the regulator differ from country to country.At E*TRADE, this is not an issue as all customers are handled by E*TRADE Securities LLC (ETS) or Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (MSSB), and are covered by the US investor protection scheme called SIPC.
One exception however is clients opening futures accounts, as they are handled by E*TRADE Futures LLC, which provides no investor protection.

In February 2020, E*TRADE was acquired by investment giant Morgan Stanley, and has continued providing its brokerage services under the new owner.
E*TRADE notes that throughout 2023, ETS will be transitioning existing clients to MSSB. This is not expected to have any effect on investor protection for clients.

The SIPC investor protection scheme protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. This is substantially higher than what most other investor protection schemes provide.
Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investment company shares, and other registered securities. It does not cover instruments such as unregistered investment contracts, unregistered limited partnerships, fixed annuity contracts, currency, and interests in gold, silver, or other commodity futures contracts or commodity options.
E*TRADE does not provide negative balance protection.

Background

E*TRADE was established in 1982. The longer track record a broker has, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.
E*TRADE Bank,an affiliated company of E*TRADE Securities LLC under E*Trade Financial Corporation, has a banking license, and as such, it is subject to tougher regulation than brokers.
E*TRADE Financial Corporation is listed on the NASDAQ, which is a big plus for safety as E*TRADE releases financial statements regularly and transparently.
Having a banking license, being listed on a stock exchange, providing financial statements, and being regulated by a top-tier regulator are all great signs for E*TRADE's safety.

FIND YOUR SAFE BROKER

Deposit and withdrawal

Score: 1.6/5

E*TRADE charges no deposit fees and transferring money is easy. On the negative side, you can only use bank transfer and there is a high fee for wire transfer withdrawals.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ No deposit fee ❖ User-friendly	❖ Credit/Debit card not available ❖ High fee for wire transfer withdrawal

Account base currencies

At E*TRADE, the only available base currency is USD.

Broker	Number of base currencies
E*TRADE	1
Charles Schwab	1
Fidelity	16

If you have a personal bank account in a currency other than USD, then you will be charged a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These usually offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates, as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

Deposit fees and options

E*TRADE charges no deposit fees.

You can use checks, ACH and wire transfers to deposit funds.
Unfortunately, credit/debit cards and electronic wallets are not accepted, similarly to E*TRADE's closest competitors.
However, if you have access to E*TRADE's banking services, E*TRADE credit/debit cards are accepted for deposits.
We tested ACH transfer and it took 2 business days.

Due to US regulations, US citizens cannot use credit cards to fund their brokerage accounts. They can only use debit cards, where available.

Broker	Bank transfer
E*TRADE
Charles Schwab
Fidelity

A bank transfer can take several business days. You can only deposit money from accounts that are in your name.

E*TRADE review – Deposit and withdrawal – Deposit

E*TRADE withdrawal fees and options

E*TRADE charges no withdrawal fees if you use ACH withdrawal, but wire transfers cost $25.

Broker	Bank transfer
E*TRADE
Charles Schwab
Fidelity

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.

How long does it take to withdraw money from E*TRADE? We tested the ACH withdrawal and it took 2 business days.

How do you withdraw money from E*TRADE?

• Log in to the account.
• Go to ‘Accounts'.
• Select the ‘Transfers' menu, then click ‘Transfer money'.
• Choose your E*TRADE account in the ‘Transfer from' field and your previously linked external account in the ‘Transfer to' field.
• Add the amount you wish to withdraw and set the frequency and date of the withdrawal.
• Review and initiate the withdrawal.

Account opening

Score: 4.4/5

Account opening at E*TRADE (only available for US clients) is fully digital and user-friendly, but the account verification process is slow.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ Fully digital ❖ No minimum deposit ❖ User-friendly	❖ Slow account verification

Can you open an account?

Yes, you can open an account at E*TRADE if you live in the United States!

the United States

VISIT BROKER

E*TRADE caters to US clients. Similarly to Robinhood and Webull, the retail brokerage branch of E*TRADE is available for US-based clients only.

What is the minimum deposit at E*TRADE?

The required E*TRADE minimum deposit is $0.

The minimum deposit can be more if you want to trade on margin or use E*TRADE's asset selection services.

Trading preferences	Minimum deposit
Basic accounts	$0
Margin account*	$2,000
E*TRADE Personalized Investments	$500-$2,500

*You trade with money borrowed from the broker, also called trading on leverage.

Account types

E*TRADE provides several account types.

Account type	Short description
Individual account	The account is owned by a single individual
Joint account	Two or more account owners
Business account	The account is owned by a legal entity
Retirement account (Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, etc.)	Individual retirement accounts
Pension account	Accounts for self-employed individuals and small businesses
Education Savings Account	Allow you to save for kindergarten through graduate school
Custodial accounts	Special accounts for custodial purposes
E*TRADE Personalized Investments	Accounts for trading portfolios managed by E*TRADE

In this review, we tested the Individual Brokerage Account withthe basic option level.
E*TRADE offers 4 different levels of option trading. If you are looking for uncovered option trading, you need a margin account and level 3 or 4 upgrades. You can find further information about the different option levels here.

How to open your account

The account opening process is user-friendly and fully digital. After completing the online account opening form, you can easily upload a copy of your ID card of choice and your SSN. Although online application only took some 15 minutes, account verification was very slow, as it took 7 business days.
Steps to open an E*TRADE account:

1. Choose the account type.
2. Add personal information and other details needed to verify your account, such as your Social Security Number, residency and employment status.
3. Select your investment profile and margin trading preferences.
4. Review your application and create your E*TRADE account ID.
5. Set up funding preferences.

E*TRADE review – Account opening

Show less about Account opening

Mobile app

Score: 4.5/5

E*TRADE‘s mobile trading platform is one of the best on the market. It's very easy to use and offers a lot of features.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ User-friendly ❖ Good search function ❖ Good variety of order types	None

Similar to the web trading platforms, we tested the E*TRADE mobile application, but a Power E*TRADE mobile application is also available.
It is available for both iOS and Android. We tested it on iOS.

The mobile trading platform is available in the following languages:

• English
• French
• Spanish

Look and feel

In functionality and design, it's almost the same as the web trading platform. The E*TRADE mobile trading platform is user-friendly.
Though the web and the mobile trading platforms are quite similar, we assign a higher weight to simplicity and ease-of-use when scoring mobile trading platforms. That is why the E*TRADE mobile trading platform has a higher score than the web trading platform.

Login and security

E*TRADE provides only a one-step login for its mobile platform. A two-step authentication would be more secure and adding this feature should be high on any company's list of security changes.

E*TRADE only allows a two-step login via the VIP Access App for its web platform.

You can log in using biometric authentication, which is a convenient feature.

Search functions

The search functions are good.

Placing orders

E*TRADE provides many order types on the mobile trading platform.

Market	Limit	Stop
Stop-limit	Trailing stop %	Trailing stop $
Contingent order	Stop-loss order

There is a single order time limit you can use: Good 'til end of the day (GTD).

E*TRADE review – Mobile trading platform – Order panel

Alerts and notifications

You can set alerts and notifications on the E*TRADE mobile platform.

VISIT BROKER

Desktop platform

Score: 4.5/5

E*TRADE has a great, user-friendly web trading platform, offering a clear fee report. On the negative side, it cannot be customized.

✅ Pro	❌ Cons
❖ User-friendly ❖ Clear fee report ❖ Two-step (safer) login	❖ Limited customizability (for charts, workspace)

VISIT BROKER

Product selection

Score: 2.9/5

You can trade plenty of asset classes at E*TRADE from stocks to futures, but only on the US market; in addition, forex trading is not available.

E*TRADE has a solid product range, but it doesn't stand out in any category, with the possible exception of bonds.

Broker	Stocks
E*TRADE
Charles Schwab
Fidelity

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

Stocks and ETFs

Similarly to its closest competitors, E*TRADE covers the US market only.

Broker	Stock markets (#)
E*TRADE	5
Charles Schwab	4
Fidelity	25

You can trade stocks on the following stock exchanges: NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, OTCBB, OTC (other).

Funds

E*TRADE's fund selection is OK.

Broker	Fund providers (#)
E*TRADE	600
Charles Schwab	600
Fidelity	550

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

You will find funds from the biggest fund providers such as BlackRock and Vanguard, but also from smaller ones.

Bonds

E*TRADE has a good bond selection.

Broker	Bonds (#)
E*TRADE	88,000
Charles Schwab	60,000
Fidelity	209,000

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

The bond selection covers both government and corporate bonds.

Options

At E*TRADE, you can trade options on the major US exchanges like CBOE.

Broker	Options markets (#)
E*TRADE	5
Charles Schwab	8
Fidelity	8

This selection falls behind competing brokers. Both Charles Schwab and Fidelity offer more option markets to trade on.

Futures

E*TRADE's futures selection covers three exchanges: CME Group, ICE US and CFE.In addition, you can also trade Bitcoin futures.

Broker	Futures markets (#)
E*TRADE	3
Charles Schwab	8
Fidelity	–

This selection is average compared to competing brokers.

E*TRADE Portfolios

E*TRADE offers a few types of portfolios, which is great if you need help managing your investments. You'll get a recommendation either from an expert or E*TRADE's robo-advisor technology.We liked that the portfolios are highly customizable and easy to modify.

	Prebuilt Portfolios	Core Portfolios
Underlying product(s)	ETFs or mutual funds	ETFs
Minimum deposit	ETFs: $2,500; Mutual funds: $500	$500
Annual advisory fee	0.0%	0.3%
Risk management	3 preset categories	5 preset portfolios
Rebalancing?	No	Yes, robo

FAQ

We recommend E*TRADE for investors and traders looking for solid research and a great mobile trading platform.

Below you can find links to all aspects of E*TRADE in this comprehensive collection.

Lower fees, lower costs?

We detailed this in our E*TRADE fees article.

What about the minimum deposit?

Our ultimate guide to the E*TRADE minimum deposit is updated regularly.

How to start your E*TRADE account?

Look no further than our evaluation of the E*TRADE account opening.

How's their trading app?

Here's our expert view after checking the E*TRADE trading app.

Is the quality of customer service satisfactory?

All you need to know about the E*TRADE customer service.

Legit or scam?

Is E*TRADE legit features all the key aspects you need to look at to see if a broker is safe and legit.

Free or premium? Or both?

A glance at actual costs and whether E*TRADE is really free.

Is this broker good for beginners?

We checked it in Is E*TRADE good for beginners.

Should you buy your silver bullets on E*TRADE?

Research for silver bugs in the Silver buy on E*TRADE guide

I want to trade options, are they available at E*TRADE?

We explored the topic in Can you trade options on E*TRADE?

What is the minimum account balance at E*TRADE?

Check out the current account balance requirements at E*TRADE in our What is the minimum account balance at E*TRADE article.

Looking for commission and fees data for E*TRADE?

We collected them in E*TRADE commission and fees.

How do you withdraw money from E*TRADE?

We tested it and collected the options and costs in How to withdraw money on E*TRADE.