[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":138},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article:en:invest:investment-accounts-comparison":3,"bviMkSmVWG":48},{"article":4,"related":18},{"slug":5,"pillar":6,"locale":7,"frontmatter":8,"content":17},"investment-accounts-comparison","invest","en",{"title":9,"description":10,"tldr":11,"updatedAt":12,"tags":13},"Brokerage Account Comparison: 8 US Investment Platforms","A side-by-side look at eight major US brokerage platforms: minimums, fees, and what each lets you trade.","Zero-commission, zero-minimum brokerage accounts are standard now among Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood, E*TRADE, and Webull. The real differences sit in product breadth (options, futures, crypto, international markets) and account fees like Vanguard's $25 a year or Merrill Edge's transfer-out fee.","2026-07-27",[14,15,16],"investing","brokerage accounts","comparison","\n$0 minimums and $0 commissions on stock and ETF trades are the norm now across major US brokerages. The meaningful differences sit in what each platform lets you trade, not what it costs to open an account.\n\n::product-comparison-table{category=\"investmentAccounts\"}\n::\n\n## How to read this table\n\n- **Product breadth varies more than fees do.** Want futures or forex alongside stocks? Interactive Brokers and Schwab (via thinkorswim) go further than Fidelity or Vanguard. Want direct crypto trading in the same account as stocks? Robinhood and Interactive Brokers support it. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, and Merrill Edge don't.\n- **International market access is the biggest differentiator for global investors.** Interactive Brokers (160+ markets, 200+ countries) and Fidelity (25 countries) offer direct access to foreign exchanges. Most others limit you to US-listed securities, with international exposure only through funds or ETFs.\n- **Vanguard's model puts funds first, not account fees.** Its $25 a year brokerage fee is easy to waive, but many of its own mutual funds carry their own $3,000 minimums, a different kind of cost than a per-trade commission.\n- **Two data points here couldn't be independently confirmed.** Schwab's and Interactive Brokers' primary pricing pages blocked automated access, so those figures came from search-engine summaries of their own domains instead. Treat those two rows as accurate as of this check, not guaranteed current.\n\nNothing here recommends opening an account with a specific broker. None of these links are affiliate links. They go straight to each broker's own site. Before choosing a broker, read [investing basics](\u002Finvest\u002Finvesting-basics-beginners) first, since the right account depends on what you plan to invest in.\n",[19,29,39],{"slug":20,"pillar":6,"locale":7,"frontmatter":21,"content":28},"robo-advisors-comparison",{"title":22,"description":23,"tldr":24,"updatedAt":25,"tags":26},"Robo-Advisor Comparison: 5 US Providers","A side-by-side look at fees, minimum deposits, and portfolio style from five well-known robo-advisors, checked directly against their own pricing pages where possible.","Wealthfront and SoFi both charge a flat 0.25% with a low or no minimum. Schwab charges no advisory fee but requires $5,000 to start and holds a larger cash allocation. Fidelity Go is free below $25,000. Compare the fee against the amount you plan to invest, not the headline number alone.","2026-08-07",[27,14,16],"robo-advisors","\nA robo-advisor builds and manages a diversified portfolio for you based on your goals and risk tolerance, for a fraction of the cost of a traditional human financial advisor. Here's how five of the best-known providers compare.\n\n::product-comparison-table{category=\"roboAdvisors\"}\n::\n\n## How to read this table\n\n- **A 0% fee isn't the same as free.** Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no advisory fee, but holds a larger share of your money in cash than a typical robo-advisor, which earns Schwab money in a different way and drags on returns when markets rise.\n- **The fee matters more on larger balances.** On a small account, a flat monthly fee like Betterment's under-$24k tier costs more, in percentage terms, than a provider charging a flat annual percentage. Do the math for your own balance.\n- **Minimum deposit rules some providers out early.** If you're starting with a small amount, Fidelity Go's $10 minimum or SoFi's $0 minimum remove that constraint entirely.\n\n## A data note worth flagging\n\nSeveral of these fees came from a search-indexed snippet of the provider's own site rather than a direct page fetch, since some pricing pages load their numbers dynamically or blocked automated access. Rates and minimums for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Wealthfront's minimum deposit fall into this category. Treat those as accurate as of this check, not guaranteed current.\n\nNothing here recommends a specific provider. None of these links are affiliate links. They go straight to each provider's own site.\n",{"slug":30,"pillar":31,"locale":7,"frontmatter":32,"content":38},"digital-accounts-comparison","credit",{"title":33,"description":34,"tldr":35,"updatedAt":12,"tags":36},"Digital Bank Account Comparison: 5 Online Banks Worth Knowing","A side-by-side look at five fee-free online banks and neobanks in the US, and what differentiates their savings rates and perks.","All five accounts here charge no monthly fee. The real differences sit in savings APY, ATM access, and how fast you get paid, not in avoiding fees, which is table stakes now.",[37,16],"digital banking","\nFee-free checking and savings used to be a differentiator. Now it's the baseline. The real differences between online banks sit in savings rates, ATM access, and small conveniences like early direct deposit.\n\n::product-comparison-table{category=\"digitalAccounts\"}\n::\n\n## A note on who's not on this list\n\nDiscover Bank stopped accepting new applications for savings, checking, CD, and money market accounts in late January 2026, following Capital One's acquisition of Discover Financial Services. New customers get redirected straight to a Capital One 360 product. Discover's credit cards remain open to new applicants (see our [rewards card comparison](\u002Fcredit\u002Fshopping-cards-comparison)), but its bank accounts sit off this list since new applications are no longer accepted.\n\n## How to read this table\n\n- **APY figures move with the Fed.** A savings rate that looks great today often shifts within months. Check the provider's current rate before opening an account for the yield alone.\n- **Tiered rates need a closer look.** Chime, SoFi, and Varo each publish a headline top rate that requires a qualifying direct deposit or subscription tier. Read the fine print on what \"qualifying\" means before you assume you'll get the top number.\n- **ATM access matters more than it seems.** A no-fee account with a small ATM network often costs more in out-of-network fees than a competitor's slightly lower savings rate.\n\nNothing here recommends opening an account with a specific provider. None of these links are affiliate links.\n",{"slug":40,"pillar":31,"locale":7,"frontmatter":41,"content":47},"mortgages-comparison",{"title":42,"description":43,"tldr":44,"updatedAt":12,"tags":45},"Mortgage Lender Comparison: 7 US Lenders and Their Down Payment Programs","A side-by-side look at seven major US mortgage lenders and what's confirmable about their down payment programs, since live rate quotes change by the hour.","30-year mortgage rates move daily and get quoted per borrower. This table focuses on what stays stable and comparable across lenders: down payment programs and minimums. As of late July 2026, the national average 30-year rate (Freddie Mac PMMS) sat around 6.58%. Treat that as market context, not a lender-specific quote.",[46,16],"mortgages","\nMortgage rate tables on lender websites update multiple times a day and depend heavily on your credit, down payment, and loan type. A number published today is often stale by tomorrow. This table skips per-lender rates that would go stale almost immediately and focuses on what stays comparable: down payment programs and minimums.\n\n::product-comparison-table{category=\"mortgages\"}\n::\n\n## Why there's no single \"rate\" column with real numbers\n\nMost major lenders (Chase, Bank of America, Better.com, US Bank, loanDepot, Wells Fargo) render their live rate tables with JavaScript that an automated check can't see. Even where a number shows up, it's usually a rate-and-point example for one specific scenario, not the rate you'll get. Rocket Mortgage was the one exception with dated, lender-published state-level examples, included above for reference. For everyone else, \"see lender\" is the honest answer. Go to the live rate page and run the numbers for your state, credit score, and loan type.\n\n## What's worth comparing here\n\n- **Low- and no-down-payment programs** vary by lender and often carry income limits, such as Chase's DreaMaker, Bank of America's Affordable Loan Solution®, or Wells Fargo's Dream. Plan. Home.® These often matter more than a fraction of a percentage point on rate.\n- **Down payment assistance grants**, like Wells Fargo's $10,000 Homebuyer Access® grant, don't show up in a rate comparison at all but are often worth more than a rate difference.\n- **FHA vs. conventional minimums** differ by lender in how they get presented, even though FHA's 3.5% minimum is a federal program, not a lender-specific perk.\n\nNothing here recommends borrowing from a specific lender. None of these links are affiliate links. For the fundamentals of how a mortgage payment gets built from principal, rate, term, and down payment, see [mortgage basics](\u002Fcredit\u002Fmortgage-basics-how-they-work), or run your own numbers with our [mortgage calculator](\u002Ftools\u002Fmortgage).\n",{"data":49,"body":52,"excerpt":-1,"toc":134},{"title":50,"description":51},"","$0 minimums and $0 commissions on stock and ETF trades are the norm now across major US brokerages. The meaningful differences sit in what each platform lets you trade, not what it costs to open an account.",{"type":53,"children":54},"root",[55,62,67,74,120],{"type":56,"tag":57,"props":58,"children":59},"element","p",{},[60],{"type":61,"value":51},"text",{"type":56,"tag":63,"props":64,"children":66},"product-comparison-table",{"category":65},"investmentAccounts",[],{"type":56,"tag":68,"props":69,"children":71},"h2",{"id":70},"how-to-read-this-table",[72],{"type":61,"value":73},"How to read this table",{"type":56,"tag":75,"props":76,"children":77},"ul",{},[78,90,100,110],{"type":56,"tag":79,"props":80,"children":81},"li",{},[82,88],{"type":56,"tag":83,"props":84,"children":85},"strong",{},[86],{"type":61,"value":87},"Product breadth varies more than fees do.",{"type":61,"value":89}," Want futures or forex alongside stocks? Interactive Brokers and Schwab (via thinkorswim) go further than Fidelity or Vanguard. Want direct crypto trading in the same account as stocks? Robinhood and Interactive Brokers support it. Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, and Merrill Edge don't.",{"type":56,"tag":79,"props":91,"children":92},{},[93,98],{"type":56,"tag":83,"props":94,"children":95},{},[96],{"type":61,"value":97},"International market access is the biggest differentiator for global investors.",{"type":61,"value":99}," Interactive Brokers (160+ markets, 200+ countries) and Fidelity (25 countries) offer direct access to foreign exchanges. Most others limit you to US-listed securities, with international exposure only through funds or ETFs.",{"type":56,"tag":79,"props":101,"children":102},{},[103,108],{"type":56,"tag":83,"props":104,"children":105},{},[106],{"type":61,"value":107},"Vanguard's model puts funds first, not account fees.",{"type":61,"value":109}," Its $25 a year brokerage fee is easy to waive, but many of its own mutual funds carry their own $3,000 minimums, a different kind of cost than a per-trade commission.",{"type":56,"tag":79,"props":111,"children":112},{},[113,118],{"type":56,"tag":83,"props":114,"children":115},{},[116],{"type":61,"value":117},"Two data points here couldn't be independently confirmed.",{"type":61,"value":119}," Schwab's and Interactive Brokers' primary pricing pages blocked automated access, so those figures came from search-engine summaries of their own domains instead. Treat those two rows as accurate as of this check, not guaranteed current.",{"type":56,"tag":57,"props":121,"children":122},{},[123,125,132],{"type":61,"value":124},"Nothing here recommends opening an account with a specific broker. None of these links are affiliate links. They go straight to each broker's own site. Before choosing a broker, read ",{"type":56,"tag":126,"props":127,"children":129},"a",{"href":128},"\u002Finvest\u002Finvesting-basics-beginners",[130],{"type":61,"value":131},"investing basics",{"type":61,"value":133}," first, since the right account depends on what you plan to invest in.",{"title":50,"searchDepth":135,"depth":135,"links":136},2,[137],{"id":70,"depth":135,"text":73},1786158480240]