Personal Finance · head to head
Fidelity vs Charles Schwab
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Fidelity options trades carry a 0.65 USD per contract fee on top of zero commission; Charles Schwab broker-assisted trades cost $25 and automated phone trades cost $5 in addition to the standard $0 online commission, per the App Store listing for Schwab Mobile
- They diverge on capability: Fidelity covers Advisory services, Charles Schwab covers Wealth management.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fidelity and Charles Schwab actually diverge.
| Attribute | Fidelity | Charles Schwab |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 | 1971 |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (transaction), free tier (No), platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Fidelity
- Advisory services
Only in Charles Schwab
- Wealth management
Both cover
- Commission-free trading
- Retirement planning
- Research tools
- Bank accounts
- Investment accounts
- Web support
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Fidelity
- Commission free trading of US stocks and ETFsnot Charles Schwab
- Holding IRAs, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accountsnot Charles Schwab
- Trading bonds, options and mutual funds from one accountnot Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab
- Budget Managementnot Fidelity
- Expense Trackingnot Fidelity
- Investment Trackingnot Fidelity
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fidelity
- Options trades carry a 0.65 USD per contract fee on top of zero commission
- Non Fidelity mutual funds carry a 49.95 USD transaction fee per purchase
- Secondary market bonds cost 1.00 USD per bond, while new issues are free
- A foreign settlement fee of 50 USD applies per trade
- Margin rates are tiered by debit balance, from 11.825 percent below 25,000 USD down to 7.50 percent at 1 million USD or more, against a base rate of 10.575 percent effective 12 December 2025
- Margin liquidation by the broker costs 32.95 USD per liquidation
Charles Schwab
- Broker-assisted trades cost $25 and automated phone trades cost $5 in addition to the standard $0 online commission, per the App Store listing for Schwab Mobile
- Options trades carry a $0.65 per-contract fee on top of the $0 online commission, per the App Store listing for Schwab Mobile
Pricing, plan by plan
Fidelity
On request- Brokerage$undefined/month
- Commission-free trading
- Research tools
- Advisory$undefined/month
- Personal advisor
- Wealth management
Charles Schwab
On request- Individual BrokerageFree
- Commission-free trading
- Research tools
- Schwab Advisor Services$undefined/month
- All Brokerage features
- Wealth management
- Personal advisors
Which should you pick?
Choose Charles Schwab if
- You need wealth management.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
Questions people ask
- Is Fidelity or Charles Schwab better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fidelity starts at On request and Charles Schwab at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fidelity or Charles Schwab?
- Fidelity starts at On request and Charles Schwab at On request.
- Does Fidelity or Charles Schwab run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Fidelity best used for?
- Fidelity is most often used for commission free trading of us stocks and etfs, holding iras, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts, trading bonds, options and mutual funds from one account. Of those, commission free trading of us stocks and etfs and holding iras, 401(k) plans and taxable brokerage accounts are not what Charles Schwab is typically brought in for.
- What can Fidelity do that Charles Schwab cannot?
- Fidelity covers Advisory services. Charles Schwab covers Wealth management. Both handle Commission-free trading, Retirement planning, Research tools, Bank accounts.