【Updated 2024.8】The debit card linked to this account has been updated and many fees have been eliminated. ATM withdrawals are now reimbursed, and foreign transaction fees have also been removed. It’s now something you can carry worldwide, similar to the Schwab card.

About Fidelity

With the rise of ultra-discount brokerages such as Robinhood, traditional brokers have also been forced to cut prices to attract younger customers. Fidelity is one of those long-established brokerages that has adapted. In this article, we’ll go over the key features of this account.

Note: although this account can come with a debit card, the card linked to this account historically did not reimburse ATM operator fees, unless you are a Fidelity Premium, Private Client Group, or Wealth Management customer, or you complete more than 120 stock, options, and bond trades per year. Because of that, we generally did not recommend requesting the ATM card for this account. Fidelity also offers a Cash Management Account, which provides worldwide ATM fee reimbursements. We recommend opening both accounts and using them together: use the brokerage account for investing, and the cash management account for withdrawing cash or as a checking account.

Trading Fees

First, let’s talk about what most people care about most: fees. Fidelity eliminated commissions on regular stock trades back in 2019. Current pricing is as follows:

  • Stock trading commission: $0
  • Options trading commission: $0.65 per contract
  • Mutual funds: Fidelity funds and no-transaction-fee FundsNetwork funds are free; FundsNetwork funds that are not NTF cost $49.95 per transaction
  • Account fee: $0, with no funding or Direct Deposit requirement

Active Trader Perks, Including Free TurboTax

As long as you make more than 120 stock, bond, and options trades within 12 months, you qualify for Active Trader benefits. You can see the full list of benefits here.

One highlight is that Active Traders can get free TurboTax Premier. The online version is officially included. Although the website does not say so, testing shows that the desktop download version also works, with the same allowance of five federal e-files and one state e-file. If you need more than one state return, you will need to pay extra for additional states.

Non-Active Traders can also get a $20 TurboTax discount, though it usually isn’t much better than discounts available through other channels.

Pros of the Fidelity Brokerage Account

  • $0 stock trading commissions, making it beginner-friendly, while fees for other products are also very reasonable
  • Fidelity’s order execution quality is among the best in the industry, giving you a better chance of getting a more favorable price
  • Supports fractional share trading, which is especially useful for beginners buying higher-priced stocks without needing to purchase a full share
  • Offers many no-transaction-fee mutual funds, including some funds with a zero expense ratio
  • Cash in the account is automatically swept into a low-risk money market fund (Fidelity Government Money Market Fund). The yield is variable, roughly 1-2% annualized, much higher than typical bank deposit interest. You can also choose to sweep cash to a bank instead, though the interest rate is lower
  • Provides free research reports from more than 20 research firms, including Thomson Reuters and McLean, for investment reference
  • Accounts at the Active Trader level can receive free TurboTax Premier
  • You can also open a cash management account to get worldwide ATM fee reimbursements

Cons of the Fidelity Brokerage Account

  • The web trading interface is just average: quotes do not auto-refresh, so you need to manually click to refresh
  • Only US residents are allowed to open an account. If you are a nonresident alien, opening an account is very complicated; please refer to this article
  • Margin interest rates are relatively high; see the rate table

Platforms: Web, Mobile App, and Active Trader Pro

Fidelity also provides trading tools across all major platforms. The web interface looks a bit dated, but it is still quite full-featured. One long-standing issue is that stock quotes and account values are not updated in real time, so manual refresh is required. The mobile app has a similar issue.

Fidelity stock research page

Therefore, for people who trade stocks more frequently, we recommend Fidelity’s free Active Trader Pro, even though the interface is even more traditional-looking.

Asset Safety

This brokerage account is also covered by SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) insurance. If the brokerage fails, coverage is up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 for cash. Fidelity also carries its own additional brokerage insolvency insurance, with cash coverage up to $1.9 million per account, no limit for securities, and a total firmwide policy limit of $1 billion.

Our Take: Who Is It Best For?

Because Fidelity has eliminated trading commissions and supports fractional shares, we think Fidelity is now suitable both for beginners who want to start small and practice, and for more serious self-directed investors as well as long-term passive investors.

For people who use margin heavily, however, Fidelity may not be the best choice because its rates are relatively high (as high as 8%). Therefore, we do not recommend it for that use case.

Stock Basics

Below are introductions and sign-up bonuses for several commonly used U.S. stock brokerages.

Review Sign-up bonus Quick take
Moomoo (Futu) $200 stock card + $1,000 NVDA + 8.1% APY Feature-rich, with a good Chinese-language experience. Market data, Level 2, options, and cash management are all practical, making it suitable for everyone from beginners to active traders.
TradeUp (Tiger Brokers) 50 NVDA shares + chance to win 5 shares + 4% for three months Good for active trading. Trading fees and margin are relatively competitive for U.S. tax residents, and it supports Web Trading, Level 2, and Chinese-language customer service.
Webull 12 fractional shares + 1 month of Premium membership Strong market-monitoring and active-trading features, with relatively complete charts, technical indicators, options, and pre-market/after-hours trading. Best for users who trade frequently.
BBAE Up to $650 bonus Relatively convenient account opening for Chinese users, and you can apply without an SSN/ITIN. Chinese-language support is good, but there is currently a Platform Fee, so it is not ideal for small-balance high-frequency trading.
Robinhood Chance to get 1 stock Simple interface and easy to use, suitable for beginners buying U.S. stocks for the first time. Gold users also get a high yield on idle cash and a lower Margin Rate.
Interactive Brokers Up to $1,000 Highly professional, with support for global markets and multiple currencies. Margin costs are competitive, and it also supports account opening for Chinese residents, making it suitable for advanced and global investors.
TradeStation $250 Geared more toward professional and active trading, with strong advanced charting, strategy backtesting, and automated trading features. Ordinary long-term investors may not need it.
Schwab Up to $1,000 Good for long-term investing and larger asset balances, and convenient for buying ETFs and CDs. Checking and worldwide ATMs are also strengths, but the default interest rate on idle cash is relatively low.
Fidelity brokerage account Sign-up link A long-established full-service brokerage, suitable for long-term investing, ETFs, and retirement accounts. Cash management is also solid, making it a good primary brokerage for the long run.
BIT (formerly Matrixport) Deposit and trade to get $210 Suitable for Chinese users and digital-asset users. You can use funds such as USDT/USDC to allocate to U.S. stocks. It is not a traditional U.S. brokerage, so fees and the asset custody structure need to be reviewed separately.
SoFi Invest Open an account to get $75 Simple to use and supports Stock Bits, making it suitable for small-balance and long-term investing. Professional market data and trading tools are limited, so it is not suitable for frequent trading.
M1 Finance Invest Deposit money to get $10 Focuses on Pies and automated investing. It is suitable for long-term recurring investments after setting your stock and ETF allocations, but not for users whose main focus is active trading.

If you do not have an SSN/ITIN but still want to trade U.S. stocks, you can consider the brokerages/platforms below. They can be registered entirely with Chinese documents, using either an ID card or passport. None participate in China's CRS.

  • BBAE: Chinese-user-friendly; you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
  • BIT (formerly Matrixport): You can open an account with an ID card, and approval can take just a few hours.
  • Bitget platform: Identity verification can be completed with an ID card or Chinese passport.

If you are in mainland China and want to invest in U.S. stocks, see this summary: