Fidelity vs Robinhood | Compare Price, Features & More

If you’re looking for an investing platform with a mobile app and easy-to-use features, you might be comparing Fidelity vs Robinhood and wondering which is best for you. 

There are lots of things to consider. For example, which investment options and account types are available? Do Robinhood or Fidelity charge trading fees, and if so, how much are they?

Choosing the right platform requires some thinking on your part. What are your investment goals? How much are you willing to pay for a platform that suits your needs? Which investment tools are available?

We’re here to help with the answers to all these questions and more. In our Fidelity vs. Robinhood review, we’ll let you in on how both platforms work, which features are included, and how much they cost.

By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll have everything you need to make an informed choice about which platform to use.

Overview of Fidelity and Robinhood

Let’s start with a quick overview of both Robinhood and Fidelity. 

Both companies are registered brokerages, which means they are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. 

Robinhood was founded in April of 2013 by Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev with the goal of creating a mobile investment app that would be free and easy to use. It was the first investment platform not to charge a fee for trades.

Robinhood recently added an option for users to set up a Traditional or Roth IRA. The primary difference between Robinhood Roth IRA vs Fidelity is that Robinhood offers a 1% matching contribution with no cap.

Fidelity is a multinational financial brokerage firm headquartered in Boston. It was founded in 1946. Today, it’s one of the largest asset managers in the world and has more than $5 trillion assets under management (AUM).

Unlike Robinhood, Fidelity charges trading fees for stocks and bonds, as well as some other investments. 

Fidelity has more investment options than Robinhood, including bonds and other investment vehicles that you can’t buy on Robinhood.

Robinhood has more than 11 million active monthly users and has been dominating the market. In fact, it’s the most widely used investment app in the world.

Robinhood vs. Fidelity Comparison: Features and Price

To help you compare Fidelity Investments vs Robinhood, here’s a chart showing the features and fees of each platform.

Let’s highlight a few key differences here. The first is when comparing the Robinhood IRA vs Fidelity, only Robinhood offers matching contributions. It’s not as much as what you would get with an employer-sponsored IRA. That said, if your primary goal is saving for retirement and you don’t have employer matching, Robinhood will provide you with a way to boost your savings and investments.

Unlike Fidelity, Robinhood has a premium option, Robinhood Gold. Members who pay for the premium service get these benefits:

• 3% matching for IRA contributions (must remain a Robinhood Gold member for at least a year to retain matching funds)
• No interest on the first $1,000 you borrow for margin trading
• 4.5% APY on uninvested cash in your account

Depending on your needs and priorities, either one of these platforms might be right for you. 

Robinhood vs. Fidelity: Investment Options and Account Types

One of the most important things to consider as you weigh your options is the investment choices and account types that are available on both platforms.

Variety of Investment Options

Fidelity offers more investment options than Robinhood, such as mutual funds. Here’s a list of what you can find there.

• Stocks
• Exchange Traded Funds
• Bonds
• Mutual Funds
• Cryptocurrency (but only Bitcoin and Ethereum)
• Options
• CDs

The variety available is something that is likely to appeal to many investors, particularly those who want to spread their investments across multiple financial vehicles to minimize their risk.

Robinhood’s offerings are more limited, as follows:

• Stocks 
• ETFs
• Options
• Cryptocurrencies

One area where Robinhood really shines is in cryptocurrency choices. While Fidelity offers only two cryptocurrencies, plus a selection of crypto ETFs, Robinhood offers a far wider selection.

Pro Tip:

Sign up with Robinhood today and receive a 100% free partial share.

Comparing Account Types

Let’s break down the different account types. To start, the basic investment accounts and trading platforms offered by Robinhood and Fidelity Investments are both free.

When it comes to retirement accounts, there’s a big difference. It wasn’t that long ago that Robinhood didn’t have any retirement accounts at all. Here’s what they offer now.

• Traditional IRAs (pre-tax contributions)
• Roth IRAs (post-tax contributions)

As we mentioned above, they also offer a 1% matching contribution for regular subscribers, and 3% for Robinhood Gold subscribers.

Fidelity has more retirement account options, including:

• Traditional IRAs
• Roth IRAs
• SIMPLE IRAs
• SEP IRAs
• 401(k)

What they don’t offer is any type of matching program. If you’re someone who is self-employed or doesn’t have an employer matching plan, you may choose Robinhood to take advantage of their matching program.

Who Should Choose Robinhood and Fidelity?

The decision about which investment accounts to use is largely based on your personal preferences. 

Robinhood is likely the best choice for younger, mobile-first investors who prefer a streamlined platform. It’s not the right place for investors who want to dig deep into the numbers or small time active traders. Instead, it’s ideal for those who want access to market news and prices at their fingertips and are comfortable making their own investment decisions. It’s also a good pick for anybody who wants to take advantage of IRA matching contributions and free Robinhood stocks.

Fidelity has a more in-depth trading platform that includes a robo advisory. Investors get access to stock screeners and can engage in certain types of riskier trading, including short selling and OTC penny stock trading for serious investors. Fidelity also offers mutual fund trading.

We would say that on the whole, Robinhood is best suited for beginner retail traders and those who want a streamlined and easy-to-use interface with the possibility of margin account savings. Fidelity may be better suited to more experienced investors.

Pro Tip:

Sign up with Robinhood today and receive a 100% free partial share.

Robinhood vs. Fidelity: User Experience

You should consider the user experience for any trading platform. Here’s our take.

How Easy Are Fidelity and Robinhood to Use?

Given that Robinhood started as a mobile app, you might expect them to have the edge in usability, and they do. That said, it’s not a huge advantage. Fidelity has done a good job with its mobile app.

We give Fidelity a slight advantage for its desktop model and online platform. It has a lot more features to help investors learn about stocks, ETFs, and so on. That said, beginners may prefer Robinhood’s simple interface.

Our final observation is that customer service isn’t as easy to access on Robinhood as it should be. Users are required to send a message through the app and wait for someone to get back to them. By contrast, Fidelity’s customer service is available 24/7.

Ideal for Different Users

Ultimately, our take is that Fidelity is ideal for advanced investors who want access to Fidelity’s rich array of research tools. With multiple charting options and in-depth analysis, Fidelity is designed to give investors the information they need to make smart investment decisions.

Robinhood is geared toward new investors who want a quick and easy way to get started. Its simplicity and clean interface make it possible to jump right into investing and learn as you go.

Is Robinhood Better Than Fidelity?

For beginning investors, we compare Fidelity vs Robinhood and choose Robinhood. It has a simple interface, and its mobile-first approach is ideal for young investors who want to get started investing without needing to jump through a bunch of hoops.

While Robinhood doesn’t offer as many investment options or features as Fidelity, we feel that its simplified approach is useful for people who may not have much knowledge about investing. You can buy fractional shares, which makes it easy to diversify your holdings.

Most of all, we like Robinhood’s democratic approach to investing. Anybody can join, anybody can invest, and overcoming the initial hurdles to investing is often the first step in a lifetime of saving (and earning) money.

Pro Tip:

Sign up with Robinhood today and receive a 100% free partial share.

Final Verdict: Which is Best for You?

Our final verdict is that we think Robinhood offers benefits for most investors, particularly those who are just starting out. People who want to access advanced features can do it for just $50 per year with Robinhood Gold: a very affordable price when compared to some other options that are available.

Now that Robinhood offers Traditional and Roth IRAs, it is one of the best choices for those who want to kickstart their retirement savings through trading platforms. Upgrading to Robinhood Gold can help you earn 3% in matching contributions.

That said, if you want to invest in mutual funds or bonds, then you should go with Fidelity. They offer more diversity in terms of investments and they also have a robo advisor, which is something that appeals to a lot of young investors who want some advice on what to buy without having to pay for a financial advisor.

If you’re a beginner, we strongly suggest getting started with Robinhood.