Fidelity vs Schwab Fees: Complete Comparison 2025

Trading Commissions

Both Fidelity and Schwab eliminated commissions on US stock and ETF trades in late 2019, following the industry-wide move triggered by Robinhood and TD Ameritrade. Today, both brokerages charge $0 for online US stock and ETF trades.

For options traders, both platforms charge $0.65 per contract with no base commission per trade. Heavy options traders should check each platform's tools and screening capabilities rather than fee differences, which are identical.

Index Fund Expense Ratios: Where Fidelity Wins

This is the most significant fee difference between the two brokerages for long-term buy-and-hold investors. Fidelity offers a line of zero-expense-ratio index funds under the ZERO brand: FZROX (US total market), FZILX (international), FZIPX (extended market), and FNILX (S&P 500 equivalent). These funds have 0.00% expense ratios, meaning you pay nothing annually to hold them.

Schwab's equivalent index funds charge small but non-zero expense ratios. SWTSX (US total market) charges 0.03%. SWISX (international) charges 0.06%. SWPPX (S&P 500) charges 0.02%. These are already among the lowest expense ratios in the industry, but Fidelity's ZERO funds undercut them.

The practical dollar difference on a $100,000 portfolio:

• -Fidelity ZERO funds: $0 per year in fund expenses
• -Schwab equivalent funds: $20 to $60 per year in fund expenses

This difference is real but tiny in absolute dollars at most portfolio sizes. It becomes more significant at very large balances or over very long time horizons where the compounding effect of even small costs matters.

Margin Rates

If you use margin, the interest rate charged matters significantly. Both Fidelity and Schwab offer tiered margin rates that decrease as your debit balance increases.

Fidelity generally offers slightly lower margin rates than Schwab across most tiers. For active traders using significant margin, this can represent meaningful savings. Neither Fidelity nor Schwab competes with Interactive Brokers on margin rates, which run considerably lower for large accounts.

Account Minimums and Fees

Both Fidelity and Schwab have no minimum balance to open a brokerage account and no inactivity fees. This is standard across major discount brokerages today. You will not be charged for having a small account or for not trading for a period of time.

There are some miscellaneous fees to be aware of:

• -Wire transfer fees: Fidelity charges $10 outgoing domestic wire, $25 international. Schwab charges $25 outgoing domestic, $25 international.
• -Paper statement fees: Both may charge for physical mailed statements if requested.
• -Transfer out (ACAT) fees: Fidelity charges $0. Schwab charges $50 per account for full transfers out. This matters if you ever decide to transfer your account to another brokerage.

The ACAT fee difference is worth noting. Schwab's $50 charge per account for transferring out creates a small but real friction cost if you ever want to move your account elsewhere.

Cash Sweep and Money Market Rates

Where your uninvested cash sits and what it earns is an often-overlooked fee factor. Both Fidelity and Schwab automatically sweep uninvested cash into money market or cash management accounts. The rates and default options differ.

Fidelity's SPAXX (Government Money Market) has historically offered competitive yields. Schwab's default cash sweep (Bank Sweep) has been criticised for paying below-market rates on cash balances compared to money market alternatives. Schwab does offer access to money market funds that pay competitive rates, but they are not always the default. If you hold significant cash balances, compare where your uninvested cash goes and what it earns at each brokerage.