Questrade Review 2026: Fees, Pros & Cons
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Last updated: August 2026
Questrade® moved to $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs, and that change reshapes the entire Canadian brokerage conversation. This review covers what Questrade actually costs in 2026, where the remaining fees hide, how safe your money is, and how the platform stacks up against Wealthsimple and the big-bank brokerages.
We hold accounts at multiple Canadian brokerages and verified every fee in this review directly against Questrade’s published fee schedule on August 28, 2026. Where a number matters, we tell you the date it was checked.
Our verdict up front: 4.5 out of 5. Questrade is the strongest all-around self-directed brokerage in Canada right now, with genuine $0 stock and ETF commissions, free dual-currency accounts, and the widest account lineup we have seen from any Canadian online broker. It loses half a star for the 1.5% currency conversion fee, the $9.95 journaling charge that took the shine off Norbert’s Gambit, and support hours that stop short of what a beginner might expect.
Questrade® is where we hold our own research accounts: $0 commissions on Canadian and US-listed stocks and ETFs, TFSA, RRSP and FHSA accounts, and CIPF coverage as a CIRO member. Open a Questrade account.
Comparing it against the other app we use? Read our Wealthsimple review.
Questrade Rating Breakdown
| Category | Rating (out of 5) |
|---|---|
| Fees and commissions | 5 |
| Account selection | 5 |
| Platform and app | 4.5 |
| Safety and regulation | 5 |
| Customer support | 3.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
What Changed at Questrade
If you last looked at Questrade when it charged a penny per share (minimum $4.95) for stock trades, the pricing page reads differently now. As of August 28, 2026, Questrade’s standard account costs $0 per month and includes:
- $0 commissions on Canadian and US stocks and ETFs, buying and selling
- $0 commissions on US equity options contracts, with free assignment
- No annual account fees and no inactivity fees
- Free dual-currency accounts, so you can hold US dollars inside registered accounts and trade US securities without forced conversions
- Free real-time Level 1 quotes and snap quotes
There is also a paid subscription tier, Questrade Plus, at $19.99 per month. It adds options cashback (5 cents CAD per US equity contract), a 1% RRSP deposit match up to the CRA annual limit, unlimited free share journaling, and expanded market data. Most investors do not need it; active options traders and heavy RRSP contributors should run the math.
Questrade Fees in 2026: The Full Picture
$0 commissions are real, but “free” never means every line on the fee schedule is zero. Here is the current schedule, verified on questrade.com as of August 28, 2026.
Trading commissions
| Product | Fee |
|---|---|
| Canadian and US stocks | $0 to buy and sell |
| Canadian and US ETFs | $0 to buy and sell |
| US equity options | $0 per contract, $0 assignment |
| Canadian options | $0 + $0.99 CAD per contract |
| US index options | $0 + $0.99 USD per contract (flat rate effective September 28, 2026; tiered volume pricing before then) |
| Options exercise | $24.95 |
| Mutual funds | $9.95 per trade |
| Bonds | $24.95 per trade ($5,000 minimum purchase) |
| GICs | $0 ($5,000 minimum purchase) |
| International (non-North American) equities | 1% of trade value, min. $195 USD |
| Dividend reinvestment (DRIP) | Free |
The fees that still matter
Currency conversion: 1.5%. Questrade charges a 1.5% conversion fee between Canadian and US dollars, built into the exchange rate you receive. On a $10,000 conversion that is roughly $150. This is the single most important fee on the schedule for anyone buying US stocks with Canadian dollars.
Journaling: $9.95 per request. Norbert’s Gambit, the classic trick for cheap CAD/USD conversion, requires journaling shares between currencies. Questrade now charges $9.95 per online journaling request (free and unlimited on Questrade Plus). The gambit still beats a 1.5% conversion on large amounts, but it is no longer free.
Transfer out: $150. Moving an account to another institution costs $150, full or partial. On the flip side, Questrade rebates transfer-in fees charged by your old institution up to $150 per account, with no limit on the number of accounts, when you submit the statement within 60 days (terms verified on questrade.com, August 28, 2026).
ECN fees: rare, but real. Orders for Canadian securities carry no ECN fees. For US securities, ECN fees apply only in edge cases: direct-routed orders where you manually pick the exchange, US OTC securities ($0.000005 per share), and fills in the overnight session between 8pm and 2am ET ($0.003 per share). If you place normal smart-routed orders during market hours, you will not see them. US sell orders also carry the SEC fee of 0.0000206 times trade value, about 5 cents on a $2,500 sale, which every US broker passes through.
Market data upgrades. Real-time Level 1 quotes are free. The Expanded package (direct US exchange streaming plus live US options data) runs CAD $9.95 per month ($0 with Plus), and the Advanced package with full Level 2 depth costs USD $44.95 per month. Casual investors need neither.
All figures: questrade.com fee schedule, data as of August 28, 2026.
Is Questrade Safe?
This is the question behind searches like “is Questrade legitimate,” and the answer is yes, with the same protections the big-bank brokerages carry:
- Questrade, Inc. is a registered investment dealer and a member of CIRO, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, the national self-regulatory body that oversees all investment dealers in Canada.
- Questrade, Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). If a member firm becomes insolvent, CIPF protection generally covers up to $1 million for all general accounts combined (cash, margin, TFSA, FHSA), plus a separate $1 million for registered retirement accounts combined (RRSP, RRIF, LIF), plus $1 million for RESPs (Source: cipf.ca, as of August 28, 2026). CIPF covers custody risk, not market losses.
- Scale: Questrade is Canadian-owned, has operated for 27 years in the Canadian market, and reports $80 billion in assets under administration (Source: questrade.com, as of August 28, 2026).
One nuance worth knowing: Questwealth Portfolios®, the managed-investing arm, is run by Questrade Wealth Management Inc., which is not itself a CIRO or CIPF member. Custody of Questwealth assets sits with Questrade, Inc., which is. Questrade discloses this on its own site.
Account Types: The Widest Lineup in Canada
Questrade’s account selection is a genuine differentiator. As of August 28, 2026, the lineup includes:
- Registered: TFSA, RRSP, Spousal RRSP, Locked-In RRSP, LIRA, LIF, RRIF, FHSA, RESP, and Family RESP
- Non-registered: individual and joint cash, individual and joint margin
- Business: corporate cash, corporate margin, partnership, sole proprietorship
- Trust and estate: informal trusts, formal trusts, estate accounts
- Forex and CFD: individual and corporate
The FHSA matters for first-time homebuyers, and full FHSA support in a $0-commission self-directed account remains far from universal among Canadian brokers. The corporate, trust, and forex lineup is the kind of breadth you associate with full-service dealers, not discount platforms.
All registered accounts are free to open with no annual account fees.
Platforms and App
Questrade’s platform stack in 2026 covers three levels:
- Web and mobile app: the core experience for most investors. Clean quotes, watchlists, alerts, order entry with market, limit, and stop orders, and free real-time Level 1 data. The app handles the full account lineup, so your TFSA, RRSP, and margin accounts live in one place.
- Questrade Edge: the desktop-class platform for active traders, with advanced charting, custom order routing, and deeper data integration.
- Questwealth Portfolios®: the hands-off option, covered below.
The mobile app is polished and fast for everyday buying and selling. Power users will want Edge on a desktop; the two share the same accounts, so switching between them is seamless.
Questwealth Portfolios: The Managed Option
If you want Questrade’s pricing without picking ETFs yourself, Questwealth Portfolios charges 0.25% per year on balances from $250 to $99,999 and 0.20% on $100,000 or more, plus the MERs of the underlying ETFs (data as of August 28, 2026). That undercuts every big-bank mutual fund by a wide margin and beats Wealthsimple’s managed tiers (0.5% under $100K, 0.4% above) on headline fee.
Questrade vs Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is the other name in every Canadian commission-free conversation, and it is the more beginner-friendly of the two. Here is the honest comparison, with both fee schedules verified August 28, 2026:
| Feature | Questrade | Wealthsimple |
|---|---|---|
| Stock and ETF commissions | $0 | $0 |
| USD accounts | Free, all account types | $10/month on Core; free at $100,000+ in assets |
| CAD/USD conversion | 1.5% | 1.5% on Core (tiered down to 0% for $100K+ conversions in USD accounts) |
| US equity options | $0 per contract | $0 per contract (additional fees per its disclosure) |
| Managed investing fee | 0.25% / 0.20% | 0.5% / 0.4% / 0.2%–0.4% by asset tier |
| Fractional shares | No | Yes |
| Account lineup | Full: incl. LIRA, LIF, RESP, corporate, trust, forex/CFD | Core registered and personal accounts |
| Advanced desktop platform | Questrade Edge | No equivalent |
| Extras | Pre-IPO access, precious metals, IPO/new issues | Chequing, credit card, crypto, mortgages |
Choose Wealthsimple if you are starting with a small balance, want fractional shares to buy expensive stocks with $50, or want your chequing, saving, and investing in one app.
Choose Questrade® if you hold US dollars (the free dual-currency accounts beat a $10 monthly USD fee at Core-tier asset levels), need any account beyond the basics, want a real desktop trading platform, or want the cheapest managed portfolios.
Both are CIPF-covered. Neither is a wrong answer; they are tuned for different investors.
Questrade vs the Big-Bank Brokerages
The gap here is wider. TD Direct Investing, the largest bank-owned brokerage, charges $9.99 per online stock trade at its standard tier, with options at $9.99 plus $1.25 per contract (Source: td.com, as of August 28, 2026). A twice-monthly investor pays roughly $240 a year in commissions there versus $0 at Questrade. Bank brokerages counter with branch integration and research depth, and their commissions have not moved in response to the $0 wave as of this writing. For self-directed investors buying Canadian stocks or dividend payers on a schedule, the math heavily favours the $0 platforms.
Bank earnings season is a good reminder of who profits from those fees: all six big banks beat estimates in Q3 2026, with wealth-management divisions contributing meaningfully. See our Big Six banks Q3 2026 scorecard for the numbers.
Questrade Pros and Cons
Pros
- $0 commissions on stocks, ETFs, and US equity options, verified on the live fee schedule
- Free dual-currency accounts, including USD inside a TFSA or RRSP, with no forced conversions
- Widest account selection of any Canadian discount broker, from FHSA to formal trusts to corporate margin
- No annual, inactivity, or account-opening fees
- Cheapest managed portfolios in Canada at 0.20% to 0.25%
- Transfer-in fees rebated up to $150 per account with no account limit
- CIRO-regulated and CIPF-protected, 27 years in the market, $80 billion under administration
- Free real-time Level 1 quotes and a capable free platform tier
Cons
- 1.5% currency conversion fee between CAD and USD, the main real cost for US-stock investors
- Journaling costs $9.95 per request, which weakens the Norbert’s Gambit workaround unless you pay for Plus
- No fractional shares, so small accounts cannot buy partial shares of expensive stocks the way Wealthsimple users can
- Support is not 24/7: phone hours run Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 8pm ET and Friday to 5:30pm ET, with chat and a text line alongside; there are no branches
- $150 transfer-out fee if you leave
- Options exercise costs $24.95 even though assignment is free, and Canadian options still carry a $0.99 per-contract charge
Who Questrade Is For
- Investors buying Canadian and US stocks or ETFs on a regular schedule who want commissions permanently off the table
- Anyone holding US dollars: the free dual-currency registered accounts are the best USD setup at this price in Canada
- First-time homebuyers using an FHSA alongside a TFSA
- Incorporated professionals, trustees, and anyone needing corporate, trust, or locked-in accounts
- Fee-sensitive hands-off investors, via Questwealth’s 0.20% to 0.25% pricing
Who Should Look Elsewhere
- Complete beginners with small balances who want fractional shares and maximum hand-holding: start with Wealthsimple and graduate later
- Investors who want in-person service at a branch: a bank brokerage is the only route, and you will pay for it per trade
- Frequent CAD/USD converters unwilling to journal shares or pay for Plus: the 1.5% conversion fee compounds quickly
Getting Started With Questrade
Opening an account is a same-day online process: choose your account type, verify your identity, and fund the account by EFT (free up to $50,000 CAD), online bill payment, or wire. Once funded, you can open a Questrade account and trade Canadian and US markets with $0 commissions from the web platform, the mobile app, or Questrade Edge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Questrade safe and legitimate?
Yes. Questrade, Inc. is a CIRO-registered investment dealer and a CIPF member. CIPF generally protects up to $1 million per account category (general, registered retirement, and RESP categories each) if the firm becomes insolvent. It has operated for 27 years and administers $80 billion in assets (data as of August 28, 2026).
Is Questrade really commission-free?
Stock and ETF trades on Canadian and US exchanges are $0 to buy and sell, and US equity options carry no contract or assignment fee. Fees remain for currency conversion (1.5%), journaling ($9.95), mutual funds ($9.95), bonds ($24.95), options exercise ($24.95), and a few edge-case ECN scenarios. The full schedule is on questrade.com; figures here are as of August 28, 2026.
How does Questrade make money with $0 commissions?
From the disclosed fees that remain: the 1.5% currency-conversion spread, Questrade Plus subscriptions ($19.99/month), margin interest, paid market-data packages, Questwealth management fees, and ancillary charges like wire transfers. $0 commissions are a customer-acquisition engine for those businesses, the same model US brokers proved out.
Which is better, Questrade or Wealthsimple?
For beginners with small balances who want fractional shares and an all-in-one money app, Wealthsimple. For USD accounts, account variety (FHSA, LIRA, RESP, corporate, trust), an advanced desktop platform, or cheaper managed portfolios, Questrade. Both charge $0 stock and ETF commissions and both are CIPF-covered.
Does Questrade have a TFSA, RRSP, and FHSA?
Yes, all three, plus RESP, LIRA, LIF, RRIF, spousal RRSP, margin, corporate, trust, and forex/CFD accounts. Registered accounts are free to open with no annual fees.
Does Questrade charge for withdrawing money?
Electronic funds transfers are free up to $50,000 CAD (or $25,000 USD) per transaction. Wire transfers cost $20 CAD, $30 USD, or $40 international. Transferring an entire account to another institution costs $150 (data as of August 28, 2026).
Disclaimer: The content on bestcanadianstocks.ca is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. All fees verified against the published questrade.com fee schedule on August 28, 2026, and subject to change; CIPF coverage details per cipf.ca. Questrade® is a registered trademark and/or service mark of Questrade, Inc.