Both brokers now charge $0 commission on Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, which quietly erased the reason most people used to pick one over the other. What's actually left to compare in 2026: currency conversion fees, account variety, robo-advisor pricing, and how the platforms feel to use. Both now charge $0 commission on stocks and ETFs. Here's what's actually still different in 2026.
For plain stock and ETF trading, it no longer matters which one you pick. Both are commission-free now. What still separates them is the currency conversion fee, how many account types each one supports, robo-advisor pricing if you want a managed portfolio, and whether you'd rather use a simple app (Wealthsimple) or a more powerful self-directed platform (Questrade).
Questrade removed commissions on stock and ETF trades in February 2025. A lot of "Wealthsimple vs Questrade" comparisons still online were written before that and describe Questrade's old per-share pricing. If you've read that Questrade charges to trade stocks, that's out of date now.
| Wealthsimple | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|
| Stock trades (CA & US) | $0 | $0 |
| ETF trades (CA & US) | $0 | $0 |
| Options | $0 + $0/contract | $0 + $0.99/contract |
| Account / inactivity fees | None | None |
| Minimum to open | $1 | $0 |
| Account closure fee | None | $150 |
Some Questrade order types can trigger a small Electronic Communication Network (ECN) fee depending on how an order routes. It's not a flat per-trade cost, and standard market or limit orders (what most casual investors already use) avoid it.
With trading itself free at both, currency conversion is the fee that actually matters if you ever buy US-listed stocks or ETFs (which includes plenty of popular ones) from a CAD account.
| Wealthsimple | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|
| Standard FX fee | 1.5% | ~1.5–2% |
| How to avoid it | Hold a separate USD account ($10/mo on the Core tier; fee drops further at $10,000+ USD balance, reaching 0% at $100,000+) | Norbert's Gambit (a manual DIY conversion using a dual-listed stock) or a USD account |
FX fee figures are the most-cited current rates as of Aug 2026, but both brokers adjust pricing periodically, so confirm the live rate before a large conversion. If you only buy Canadian-listed securities, this entire section doesn't apply to you.
| Account | Wealthsimple | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| TFSA | Yes | Yes |
| RRSP | Yes | Yes |
| FHSA | Yes | Yes |
| RESP | Yes | Yes |
| LIRA | Yes | Yes |
| Non-registered / margin | Yes | Yes |
| RRIF | No | Yes |
| Trust / corporate | No | Yes |
If you're still decades from retirement, this section barely matters. It starts to matter for RRIF conversions in retirement, or if you're investing through a small business or family trust.
Both brokers also offer a "do it for me" managed option, and here the pricing genuinely diverges: Questrade's is cheaper at every tier.
| Wealthsimple Invest | Questwealth Portfolios | |
|---|---|---|
| Under $100,000 | 0.50% | 0.25% |
| $100,000+ | 0.40% | 0.20% |
| $500,000+ | 0.20–0.40% | 0.20% |
Both fees are on top of the underlying ETF MERs inside the portfolio (typically ~0.1–0.2% more). Wealthsimple's Premium tier ($100,000+) adds tax-loss harvesting and a higher interest rate on uninvested cash, which can partly offset the fee gap for larger accounts.
Most people just getting started (opening a first TFSA or RRSP, buying a broad ETF like XEQT, and not touching it often) will find the trading-fee difference between these two is now zero. So the decision comes down to which app you'd rather open every week. If that's an easy call for you already, that's a perfectly good reason on its own. If you're specifically optimizing for the lowest cost on a managed portfolio, or you need an account type like an RRIF, Questrade is the more deliberate pick.
Finance Simulator projects TFSA, RRSP and FHSA growth on your real contribution amount and timeline, whichever broker you land on. Free, no account, nothing sent to a server.
For basic stock and ETF trading, they're now essentially tied: both charge $0 commission on Canadian and US-listed stocks and ETFs. The real cost difference shows up in currency conversion (Wealthsimple's standard 1.5% is lower than Questrade's roughly 1.5-2%) and in their robo-advisor products, where Questrade's Questwealth Portfolios (0.20-0.25%) undercuts Wealthsimple's managed portfolios (0.4-0.5%).
No. Questrade removed commissions on stock and ETF trades in February 2025. Before that, Questrade charged per-share fees on stock trades while ETF purchases were already free -- a lot of older comparisons online still describe that outdated pricing.
Wealthsimple's standard currency conversion fee is 1.5% on CAD-account trades of US-listed securities, dropping in tiers if you hold a large USD balance. Questrade's is commonly cited around 1.5-2%. Both can be avoided by holding a separate USD account (Wealthsimple) or using a manual conversion strategy like Norbert's Gambit (Questrade), and either broker's exact rate is worth confirming directly since FX pricing changes over time.
Questrade supports a wider range: TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, RRIF, LIRA, margin, cash, trust, and corporate accounts. Wealthsimple covers TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, non-registered, and margin accounts, which is enough for the large majority of individual investors, but doesn't include RRIF, trust, or corporate accounts.
Wealthsimple is generally considered easier to start with: a simpler mobile-first app, a managed portfolio option that requires no investing knowledge, and a more guided account setup. Questrade's self-directed platform (especially the advanced IQ Edge desktop platform) has a steeper learning curve but more tools once you're comfortable, which suits investors who want more control.
Yes, at either broker individually, and you can also split accounts across both if you want -- for example a self-directed TFSA at one and a managed RRSP at the other. There's no rule limiting you to a single brokerage, though consolidating tends to make tracking your overall portfolio simpler.
Fee figures on this page reflect publicly available pricing as of August 2026 and were cross-checked against official broker pricing pages and independent broker-comparison sources -- both brokers change pricing periodically, so confirm current rates directly with Wealthsimple/Questrade before acting. This page is educational and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. See the terms of use.