Best Canadian Online Brokers – April 2025

As we roll into April 2025, it’s time to take another look at our Best Online Brokerages in Canada rankings. With RRSP season behind us, and a new “tariff season” to look forward to, it’s more important than ever to get the easy DIY investing wins.

I’ve been covering Canadian discount brokerages for nearly two decades, and it’s wild to see how far the space has come. Trading fees have dropped, platforms are way easier to use, and the competition has led to real benefits for everyday investors. Between my own firsthand experience opening accounts at most of Canada’s top  online brokers, and the steady stream of insights from the Million Dollar Journey community (700+ emails and comments each year), I’ve got a pretty strong pulse on what’s working – and what’s not.

Whether you’re trying to compare Qtrade, Questrade, TD Direct Investing, Wealthsimple, Scotia iTRADE, RBC Direct Investing, or CIBC Investor’s Edge, this guide breaks it all down. We cover everything from trading fees and platform usability (on both desktop and mobile), to sign-up bonuses, account options, and customer support.

Top Online Brokers in Canada Comparison

What Are The Best Canadian Trading Platforms?

When people look at the cheapest ways to invest their money,  the Canadian trading platforms that they are probably referring to are online discount brokerages. Online brokers are the companies that create the websites and apps that allow you to login and buy-and-sell stocks. You can also buy and sell ETFs, fixing income (like Cash ETFs or bond ETFs), options, and other types of assets – but most people stick to basic index ETFs and stocks.

Canada’s online brokerages used to charge $30 per trade – for transactions that mostly took place over the phone! Yes, that was actually a thing when I started investing!

Today, of course, you can see from our online brokerage comparison above that fees are all under $10, and are easily made from your phone or desktop. Perhaps it’s important to note that I use the terms “online brokerage,” online brokerages,” “stock trading apps,” and “Canadian discount brokerages” interchangeably. They’re all referring to these companies that Canadians go to in order to cut fees to the bone through DIY investing.

Our 2025 Stock Broker Choices

Picking the best online brokerage account for your individual needs and tastes isn’t an exact process. There are just too many variables involved to definitely say. “This is the Best Canadian Broker for every single person.” Hence, we go into great depth with our Canadian trading platform reviews, and designate each broker for the type of customer that could benefit most from using it.

With that being said, we have 4 ranking pillars that we use to determine the quality of each of Canada’s discount brokerages:

1. Stock and ETF trading Fees
2. Brokerage Accounts Fees
3. Quality of Customer Service
4. Promotions and Bonuses

Qtrade Direct Investing – MDJ’s Top Canadian Broker

After all of that anecdotal and quantitative research, we think that Qtrade is likely to be the best online broker in Canada, at least for most people in 2025. That said, as always, we’ll be paying attention to our comment boards and inboxes in order to implement any real-time feedback we get from the Million Dollar Journey community.

Don’t take our word for it… longtime Canadian personal finance veteran, Rob Carrick of the Globe and Mail says that:

No other broker is good in so many different areas and no other broker makes such consistent year-by-year improvements.

Qtrade’s commitment to innovating additional value to their platform – while keeping the site incredibly user-friendly for both new investors and veterans – means that Qtrade has actually expanded its lead over the last few years. That they’ve been able to consistently deliver such an elite product – while cutting fees to amongst the lowest in Canada – has allowed the broker to continue to set that value bar higher and higher.

In addition to the Qtrade’s consistent excellence, they currently have by far the best promo offer out there. They know Canadians pay the most attention to their investment accounts in the winter months (RRSP season) and consequently they have an incredible offer on right now where you can get a quick and easy $400 cash back just by starting a new account and investing $5,000.

If you move an account from an existing brokerage over to Qtrade – that counts – AND you can get up to $150 cash back if you have more money to invest or are moving a larger account over.

The only real competitor to Qtrade when it comes to offering well-rounded broker features for rock-bottom prices is Questrade. Read on to find out why we have Questrade at #2, and what types of investors might benefit more from the other trading platforms we review.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	4.9 / 5
User Experience	Excellent
Customer Service	World Class
Free ETF Trading	Yes – Buy & Sell More Than 100 ETFs For Free
Trading Fees	$6.95 – $8.75
Minimum Balance	$1
Current Promotion	$150 Cashback
Full Review	Qtrade Review

Runner Up Canadian Trading Platform – Questrade

Questrade is a solid option and as of March 2025, they’ve officially joined the zero-commission trading club. That means $0 trading fees on stocks and ETFs.

With trading fees now down to $0 + ECN Fees (as well as the usual currency exchange fees when you buy stocks or ETFs on the USA stock exchanges), Questrade remains one of the lowest-cost options in Canada, making it an attractive platform for both beginners and experienced investors.

In recent years, Questrade has made significant improvements to both its desktop platform and mobile app. The upgrades have greatly enhanced usability, allowing for smoother trade execution, better portfolio tracking, and more customization for active traders. While it’s still not as sleek as some of the best brokerage platforms out there, it gets the job done efficiently, and long-time users will appreciate the refinements.

If there’s one area where Questrade has struggled, it’s customer service. During the pandemic, wait times exploded, with some customers reporting hold times of four hours or more for both chat and phone support. Email responses often took a week or longer. While they have worked to improve response times, this remains Questrade’s Achilles’ heel.

That said, if you’re not the type to rely heavily on customer support and are comfortable managing your investments independently, then Questrade’s zero-commission trading, strong platform, and solid reputation make it one of the best brokerage choices in Canada. Check out our Qtrade vs Questrade article to see how our two top choices stack up!

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	4.4 / 5
User Experience	Excellent
Customer Service	Lacking in the last 2 years
Free ETF Trading	Free to buy and sell
Trading Fees	$0 (plus ECN fees)
Minimum Balance	$1,000
Current Promotion	$50 in Free Trades
Full Review	Questrade Review

TD Direct Investing – Great Platform & Best Big Bank Brokerage

TD Direct Investing is the best of the big bank brokerage options in Canada. It was the first one to open up in 1984, and it has been near the top ever since. Basically, you’re trading paying a little more in fees for arguably the best trading platform in Canada – at least for desktop users. While their mobile app isn’t the best, it is also a very good product and overall user reviews are very positive.

If you already bank with TD, or if you know you are going to make a lot of use of their excellent trading platform, then signing up with TD Direct Investing is probably a good idea. Rob Carrick from the Globe and Mail loves TD Direct Investing as he thinks their platform is the most user friendly, and likes the various types of tools that investors get access to.

It’s important to note that the mobile app TD Easy Trade is NOT the same thing as TD Direct Investing, although you can access your accounts from either one. TD Easy Trade’s direct ancestor was the TD GoalAssist platform. That mobile investing app often gets significantly lower scores than the desktop platform.

If TD were to really embrace free ETF trades, they could start challenging for the top spot. If you want the safety and security (as well as the obvious convenience) of keeping all of your assets under the umbrella of one of Canada’s big banks, TD Direct Investing is a great choice.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	4.2 / 5
User Experience	Excellent
Customer Service	Very Good
Free ETF Trading	$9.99 per ETF trade
Trading Fees	$9.99 ($7 for Active Traders)
Minimum Balance	None – But fees apply to accounts holding less than 15K
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	TD Direct Investing Review

BMO InvestorLine – Solid If Unspectacular

Much like their fellow big bank cousins, BMO InvestorLine is a perfectly serviceable brokerage option – it’s just not your best bet. The $9.95 per trade fees, as well as various account fees just make it too pricey to take the top spot.

That said, if convenience is your main goal and you want to keep all of your banking and investing services under one roof, then BMO’s broker can do everything that you need it to. If you have a large portfolio to invest, BMO will also lessen the account fees that you’ll have to pay.

One place BMO InvestorLine stands out amongst the big banks is that they do have 80 ETFs that they allow to be bought and sold for free. They are unique in this regard. Qtrade allows 100+ ETFs to be traded for free, and Questade allows all ETFs to be purchased for free (but not sold for free) – but BMO is the only big bank brokerage with this feature.

If you’re looking for a brokerage that excels at customer service and user experience though, you probably want to look in another direction. BMO ranked #13 on the latest Surviscor Canadian brokerage rankings.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	3.8 / 5
User Experience	Solid – could use a refresh
Customer Service	Better than average
Free ETF Trading	$9.95 per ETF trade (aside from 80 free ETFs)
Trading Fees	$9.95 ($7.95 for elite accounts)
Minimum Balance	$0
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	BMO InvestorLine Review

Lowest Fees Canadian Broker – National Bank Direct Brokerage

National Bank Direct Brokerage shook up the world in August of 2021 when they announced that they would be the first of Canada’s “Big Banks” to roll out commission-free purchases of not only ETFs, but also shares of Canadian stocks as well. This was a crafty move by NBDB, as the online broker has struggled to make any headway in the past, and this has garnered the a unique value proposition.

If per-trade fees are the be-all and end-all when it comes to what you need from your broker account, then National Bank Direct Brokerage is definitely worth a look. That said, there are several reasons why the broker perennially receives one of the lowest grades in Canada from many of the personal finance authorities. 

NBDB does not have a mobile app of any kind yet, and its online platform leaves much to be desired when compared to the well-oiled machines that our top choices bring to the table. Finally, there are no real portfolio analysis tools or investor information sources available at NBDB, so it really is the “no frills” option when it comes to the Big Bank brokerages.

If you’re wondering how NBDB is going to make money if they don’t charge any fees, it’s important to point out that they will charge you a $100 account fee if you’re account is under $20,000, and that they will make money off currency exchange when you buy stock in US Dollars, and/or when you “buy on the margin” (borrow money from National Bank in order to make investments).  So don’t worry about poor old National Bank – they’ll still do just fine!

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	2.8 / 5
User Experience	Lacking – Bad platform and no mobile app
Customer Service	Mediocre at best
Free ETF Trading	Free buying and selling of ETFs
Trading Fees	$0 for Canadian or US stock trades
Minimum Balance	$0
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	National Bank Direct Brokerage Review

Other Canadian Online Brokers

Even though Qtrade and Questrade are practically neck and neck for the title of the best online broker, and BMO represents the best compromise option when it comes to using a discount broker that Canadians are familiar with, that doesn’t mean they are the only viable choices. Luckily, we Canucks have plenty of good options available if you want to see if there is a better fit.

Read on to find out a little more about “the best of the rest”, including what we like and dislike about each of the other trading platform options in Canada.  We also have detailed reviews for all of those companies which will be linked from the relevant part of text – so if you want to learn more about a specific one you can simply click the review link and get all the added info you need.

RBC Direct Investing – 2nd Best Mobile App (After Qtrade)

As mentioned above, all of the big banks trading platforms are quite comparable and could all be classified as ‘elite products’. The biggest upside is of course the fact that if you already bank with them, opening a brokerage account with a specific bank becomes easier and much more convenient. In that regard, RBC is no different.

RBC Direct Investing offers you the same trade-off as other big banks do – you pay higher fees and in return enjoy an excellent platform and a lot of account options to choose from. In RBC’s case, their biggest advantage is their mobile app, which has the best ratings out of all the options listed on this page.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	3.9 / 5
User Experience	Excellent
Customer Service	Good
Free ETF Trading	$9.95 per ETF trade
Trading Fees	$9.95 ($6.95 elite accounts)
Minimum Balance	$0
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	RBC Direct Investing Review

CI Direct Investing – Competitive Fees + Best Brokerage for Canadian Expats

Formerly known as Virtual Brokers, CI Direct Investing is an excellent brokerage option for Canadian expats who are now residing overseas. The vast majority of Canada’s online brokers will not accept expat clients, so CI’s broker really distinguishes itself in this regard.

It’s also worth noting that CI is one of the biggest financial companies in Canada and the brokerage has been in the business since 2009 – so it’s not a small newcomer to the scene.

While CI has continued Virtual Broker’s tradition of having low fees, it has yet to really catch up to our market leaders when it comes to the trading platform’s user experience, as well as overall customer service.

The mobile app in particular has been much criticized.  The lack of an attractive promotional offer makes it even more difficult to recommend this Canadian broker to anyone other than expats.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	3.7 / 5
User Experience	Bad
Customer Service	Good
Free ETF Trading	$1.99 To Buy and $7.99 to Sell
Trading Fees	$1.99 – $7.99
Minimum Balance	$25,000 – Only applies to non-residents
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	CI Direct Trading Review

Scotia iTrade –  Excellent for Traders Who Like Scotiabank

Like most of the big banks, Scotia’s trading product is an elite one. The platform is modern and integrates very easily with all other Scotia products so you get a very good ‘all in one’ solution for your financial needs. 

Scotia iTrade is particularly attractive for those who want to deposit large amounts of money and be very active with their accounts. If you do that, then it somewhat mitigates the higher fees and the overall convenience and ease of use really shines through.

Scotia’s trading fees are higher than the top brokers on this list, but are on par with all the other big banks. The only real major downside is their mobile stock trading app – it got abysmal reviews and hasn’t been updated in a long while.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	3.7 / 5
User Experience	Good, except for the mobile app
Customer Service	Good
Free ETF Trading	$9.95 per ETF trade
Trading Fees	$9.95
Minimum Balance	None
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	Scotia iTrade Review

Editor’s Note: Still looking for more brokers? Read our reviews of HSBC, Interactive Brokers or Desjardins. All 3 are perfectly fine choices, but we failed to identify any field where they shine above the rest, and our user’s reviews weren’t stellar to say the least.

CIBC Investor’s Edge – Not Canada’s Best Online Broker

Look, not every online broker can be “one of the best in Canada.” By definition, someone has to be on the outside looking in.

At the moment, that “someone” is CIBC’s brokerage account. You can read our CIBC Investor’s Edge Review for all the details on the platform, but suffice it to say that the mediocre user experience doesn’t really justify the high account fees.

If you have the rest of your accounts at CIBC, it’s not the end of the world to also have a CIBC Investor’s Edge account. You might even be able to use that account to negotiate a slightly better mortgage rate, or get some savings account fees removed.

That said, there is just no denying that while IE’s per-trade fees are competitive, those annual account maintenance fees can really chew up your returns when you’re getting started with investing. The lack of any sort of free ETF trading is also a big negative in my opinion.

Finally, there is just no denying the substantial amount of negative feedback that we’ve received in the comment section of our review over the years. It’s certainly possible that a company with the resources that CIBC has (I mean… the company made $5 billion last year) could take a great leap forward at any time – but for now, Investor’s Edge ranks near the back of the discount brokerage pack.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	3.5 / 5
User Experience	Average
Customer Service	Below Average
Free ETF Trading	$6.95 per ETF trade
Trading Fees	$6.95
Minimum Balance	None
Current Promotion	None
Full Review	CIBC Investor’s Edge Review

Wealthsimple Trade (Self Directed Invested) – You Get What You Pay For

Wealthsimple Trade (now often referred to as Wealthsimple Self-Directed Investing) is part of the ever-expanding Wealthsimple universe of products. Originally, Wealthsimple made its name as being the easiest way to access passive index-investing philosophies through their robo advisor (then called Wealthsimple Invest, and now called Wealthsimple Managed Investing).

Those days are now gone as Wealthsimple seems to turn a profit, and increase the margin on their products using strategies like payment for order flow where your trading activity where they get paid to route your orders through specific market makers. This is how they’re able to offer their “free” trades. 

Furthermore, Wealthsimple really began focusing on trading cryptocurrencies through their online brokerage platform, as opposed to developing the overall user experience.

Ultimately, I feel like the company is using “free trades” to get them in the door – and then re-routing customers to more profitable ventures. I’d love to see them get back to their roots again as a consumer-educating company that operated flawless platforms.

Million Dollar Journey’s Overall Rating:	3.3 / 5
User Experience	Lacking – Buggy Mobile App, solid website
Customer Service	Poor
Free ETF Trading	Free buying and selling of ETFs
Trading Fees	$0
Minimum Balance	$0
Current Promotion	$50 Off
Full Review	Wealthsimple Trade Review

Are These Canadian Stock Brokers Safe?

The first question that most risk-averse Canadians have in regards to opening a discount brokerage account is: Are Canadian online brokers safe?

In short: YES!

Look, in a day and age when the USA’s top secret files can get hacked, it would be dishonest to say anything is 100% safe from prying eyes.  That said, Canada’s online brokers have as good a safety record as any financial institution on the planet when it comes to preventing data breaches, malware, and other types of fraud.

All that to say – your money and investments are exactly as safe with an online brokerage account as they would be with any other type of investing or banking in Canada.  

You can rest easy knowing that if these brokerages ever had an internet security issue, they would most assuredly be out of business quite quickly.  They have incredibly strong incentives to make sure that they have the best talent in the world working hard to keep your information safe.

Common online broker security measures include the following:

• SSL encryption
• Ultra-secure servers
• Two-step authentication process when logging in
• Automatic logout
• Regular system monitoring

Of course, it’s not just up to the online broker. You need to be cautious as well. If you are investing online (or sharing any personal information online, really), you should take the following steps to better protect yourself online.

Recommended Steps

• Install anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on your computer
• Use strong passwords that are hard to guess
• Take advantage of two-factor authentication when offered
• Always be mindful of who is around when you are entering your account information. As much as possible, this should be done when you are alone at home. If you need to step away from the computer, make sure to log out first.

At the end of the day, yes, investing online does have risks, it’s not typically seen as a risky activity. As mentioned above, there are plenty of security measures in place and procedures you should be following as well. It’s really just about being smart and cautious with your personal information.

Are Qtrade and Questrade as safe as BMO, RBC, TD, CIBC, and Scotia?

I think most Canadians understand intrinsically that the Big Banks are safe.  After all, the massive banks have been around for over two hundred years, and are some of the biggest businesses in Canada.  People assume that their money will be safe.

Fewer Canadians make the same assumption about our other top discount brokers.

The bottom line is that Qtrade and Questrade have all of the internet safety measures that are described above, but additionally, they have the same CIPF-insurance backed accounts that the big banks enjoy.

What is the CIPF you might ask?

The Canadian Investor Protection Fund is basically an insurance coverage the the Canadian Government created in order to protect Canadian investors in case a brokerage went bankrupt or became insolvent.  

This insurance covers each investment account to $1 Million.  That’s $1 Million each for your RRSP, TFSA, non-registered, etc.

So even if the company was in trouble (which it isn’t – since Qtrade for example is owned by Canadian financial conglomerate Avisio Wealth), your personal assets would still be safe – just like BMO, TD, RBC, Questrade, and any other online broker in Canada.

Now, it shouldn’t need stating, but I’m going to say it here anyway: No broker account or financial advisor can protect you against basic investment risk!

The Canadian online broker can keep your information safe from being hacked, there are steps that can be taken to minimize vulnerability to fraud, and the CIPF will protect your assets from a company that is in trouble – but there are no guarantees when you invest in stocks, bonds, ETFs, or commodities. Again, this might be obvious to you – but you wouldn’t believe the questions that end up in our inbox sometimes!

Why did we decide to rank Qtrade above its primary rival, Questrade?

• Over the years, the inbox and comment boards at MDJ have consistently had significantly more complaints about Questrade’s customer service standards vs Qtrade’s customer service.
• While Questrade has improved its phone and line chat wait times over the last couple of years, my personal experience (as well as several 3rd-party reviewers such as Surviscor) confirms that Qtrade is still significantly ahead when it comes to both user experience and customer service.
• The current promotional offer from Qtrade is just leaps and bounds ahead of anything else out there. It’s like they took the best free trades bonus, the best cash back bonus, and the best instant money in your account bonus – and stacked them on top of each other!
• Finally, I just think that Qtrade’s overall investor education package, combined with the app and desktop platforms are a significant advantage. Both brokerages are good options, and I actually have accounts with both (I kept my old Questrade one for research purposes), but Qtrade has simply managed to out-innovate their primary rival at Questrade for several years now.

Qtrade isn’t the unchallenged leader in every single category – but they have no glaring weaknesses, and absolutely shine when it comes to free ETFs, elite customer service, and unparalleled access to information and education tools. See our in-depth Qtrade Review for more information, or this Questrade vs Qtrade comparison.

The newest edition of the Globe and Mail (with the help of Dalbar Canada) 2024 discount brokerage rankings just came out and once again ranked Qtrade ahead of Qtrade, earning an A grade.

Globe and Mail authors stated that, “Qtrade has lived at the top levels of this ranking for ages because it’s always making big and small improvements.”

“Any broker can fill an order to buy stocks, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, bonds and more. Qtrade helps you build a well-constructed portfolio and then monitor it to ensure it continues to work for you.” and, “They may be the king of steady year-by-year improvement.”

I should take a second to note that between 2009 and 2016 I was a very happy Questrade user. I still think they are a solid step above the big bank online brokers. It’s just the case that Qtrade currently offers more advantages (plus a significantly better promo offer) than Questrade. Unless you’re a big options trader, or making 50+ trades every month (without selling any ETFs), then Qtrade should be the choice.

I will say that there is one other area I have to rank Questrade #1: Funny Commercials. “You’re not still using your dad’s money guy are you?!” still gets me more often than not. Kudos to Questrade for actually injecting some real math into a 30-second spot in order to show Canadians just how much money MER fees are going to cost them when they invest in mutual funds instead of low-fee investing options.

Comparing Canadian Stock Broker Trading Fees for ETFs and Stocks

Everyone is looking for low investing fees in Canada, and there’s no doubt that online discount brokers offer the best rates relative to mutual funds and even robo advisors. But, just how much better off are you with a discount broker? Let’s take a look:

Broker	ETF Trading Fees	ECN Fees
Qtrade	Free to buy or sell the top 100+	$0
Questrade	Free to buy and sell	Yes, Questrade charges ECN fees
BMO InvestorLine	$9.95 to buy and sell	$0
TD Direct Investing	$9.95 to buy and sell	$0
RBC Direct Investing	$9.95 to buy and sell	$0
National Bank Direct Brokerage	Free to buy and sell	$0

When it comes to ETFs we need to remember that even though a few of the online brokers mentioned in this article offer free ETFs to buy, you often need to pay a fee to sell. This is one area that allows Qtrade, BMO, and NBDB to really shine.

Another fee that you will want to keep in mind are ECN fees. So, what exactly is an ECN fee? ECN stands for Electronic Communication Network and these fees are essentially service charges that you will pay on your trades, although they can sometimes be avoided.

You can see from the chart above what the average price of an ECN fee is for each broker.  If you’re buying and selling relatively small amounts of shares, the fee won’t add up to much. However, if you’re making large Market Orders (as opposed to limit orders) and “removing liquidity from the market” – then you might end up paying something like $2-$5 per trade on a 500 share purchase or sale. 

I think it’s also worth mentioning that Canada has some of the highest investment fees in the world. A Morningstar 2017 global study compared the investment fees and expenses in 25 different countries around the world. So, where did Canada fall on the scale? 

At the bottom. 

We paid the highest investment fees out of all the other developed countries on this list. When you read or hear stats like that, it’s really no wonder that more and more Canadians are becoming interested in taking the proverbial bull by the horns and getting into DIY investing themselves rather than paying others to do it for them. After all, the end goal is to make money – not flush it away on unnecessary expenses such as buying yachts for mega-wealthy yacht owners..  

Bottom Line: If you’re a passive investor or prefer to diversify through ETFs, you really can’t beat Qtrade’s free ETF policy.  If you’re more into margin trading, or want to specialize in trading options, then Questrade is worth a strong consideration as well.

2024 Surviscor Canadian Online Broker Rankings

The new 2024 Surviscor rankings coming out for Canadian online brokers were recently released, and as expected, my preferred brokerage continue to take the top spot.

Surviscor raved about the best broker in Canada saying: “Qtrade Direct Investing provides the best customer service experience amongst Canadian Online Brokerage firms as measured by the 2024 Surviscor Online Brokerage Service Level Experience review.”

Glenn LaCoste, the Preside of Surviscor Group stated, “Congratulations to Qtrade Direct Investing for its continued service response excellence and its breadth of service interaction choices for all types of digital investors.”

Christine Zalzal, the Head of Online Brokerage and Digital Wealth over at Qtrade was happy to accept the award stating:

“What makes a great online brokerage firm for investors is not only a great online trading experience but also being supported by a great service team. At Qtrade, we’re always listening to our customers. A strong customer-focused culture is embedded into our DNA. As more Canadians explore the world of self-directed investing, we’re continuing to invest in our people and our platform to help build their confidence to build their wealth.”

Given the expertise that Surviscor has 18 years of experience in reviewing Canada’s online brokers, they have substantial credibility with the space. The data is the culmination of approximately 2,200 individual service interactions throughout the previous year.

Qtrade continued with its Surviscor Canadian online broker ranking dominance by taking the #1 spot in the 2024 DIY investing desktop comparison. 

These rankings were released right at the end of 2024, and Surviscor confirmed my personal opinion that Qtrade’s online desktop platform is simply the best when it comes to user experience and investor education. My preferred brokerage continues to impress with new innovation each year.

2024 Globe and Mail Carrick Canadian Online Broker Ratings

Each year The Globe and Mail’s Rob Carrick releases the 2nd best (*wink*) discussion of Canada’s online brokerages.  While Rob doesn’t update his brokerage ratings throughout the year like we do, he has been writing about personal finance since almost the dawn of the discount brokerage platform in Canada, so his expertise is well known.

Here’s what he had to say about Qtrade in 2024:

Grade: A

For commissions at a flat $8.75, this consistently top-ranked broker gives you one of the better websites and apps for looking after your investments.

More than many others, Qtrade has created a mini-me app that reflects the high level of utility in the website, including a quickie chart that shows portfolio results over the past year. Online, there’s a Portfolio Score tool that slices and dices your holdings to provide insights on returns, fees, downside risk, income and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Unlike some brokers, Qtrade never coasts.

While many of Canada’s top online brokers go through ups and downs, Qtrade’s consistency is what sets them apart.  To prove my point, here’s what Carrick had to say last year:

“As has often been the case in this ranking over the years, Qtrade Direct Investing is the broker that does it best. Other brokers beat Qtrade in specific areas like commission costs, but Qtrade’s overall goodness becomes apparent as soon as you log in and find a neat little dashboard to get you up to speed on your investments.

Qtrade’s consistently strong showing in this ranking speaks to another of its virtues, constant improvement. Other brokers get better in fits and starts, while Qtrade moves ever forward.”

The Best Brokers Mobile App in Canada

Because I have a viewer-friendly dual monitor setup – and I spend too much time at my keyboard – I don’t use my online brokerage mobile app all that often. That said, I keep up to date with the latest app updates from Canada’s brokers because it’s obviously important to a lot of readers.

A note of caution when it comes to investing apps: these apps in general are set up to make you trade more. These trades are the only way that free trading apps make money (because they are selling your “order flow” as data to other companies). Consequently, they are incentivized to get you to trade as much as possible. That’s obviously not ideal from a long-term wealth management perspective.

Qtrade doesn’t sell your order information to others, and the reason I continue to rank it #1 as the best Canadian brokerage app (as well as the one I personally use the most) is that it is by far the most user friendly. Your screen isn’t crowded with “tips” and “features” that are basically useless (as you are when using other investing apps). Qtrade’s app continues to have the best app store ratings due to their simple elegance and consistent stability.

Read our full stock broker app comparison.

2025 Best Canadian Brokerage Promo Offers

Qtrade currently has the best cash-back brokerage promotional offer on the market.

In brief – they want to pay you $150 to open an account with them. Not $150 in “free trades” – just cold hard cash in your brokerage account.

Details:

Amount in New Qtrade Account	Cash Back
$1,000-$9,999	$50
$10,000-$24,999	$100
$25,000+	$150

In order to get your cash back, the minimum you have to invest is $1,000. The good news though is that your amount of “new net assets” can be spread out amongst multiple accounts. In other words, you can put $5,000 in an FHSA, $7,000 in a TFSA, and $13,000 in an RRSP in order to hit the $25,000 threshold and max out your cash back. Alternatively, you could put all $25,000 into a TFSA if you prefer.

It’s also worth noting that if you’re transferring your money from a competing brokerage, Qtrade will rebate your transfer fees (up to $150).

Who Should Use an Online Trading Platform?

In its most simple form, there are two categories that DIY investors need to seperate all new information into.

Category 1: Things you can control.

Category 2: Things you cannot control.

Here’s the surprising part: most investors – especially beginners – spend far too much time obsessing over Category 2 and not enough time focusing on Category 1.

Category 2 includes all the noise that dominates headlines and social media – stuff like:

• How the stock market performs day-to-day.
• Whether a recession is “right around the corner.”
• How inflation fears might affect commodity prices.

While these topics may be interesting to read about, there’s just no mathematical argument that they’re useful to DIY investors. Professional money managers, with massive research teams and mountains of data, get these predictions wrong all the time. So why waste your energy worrying about things that are, frankly, out of your hands?

What you can control on the other hand is cutting down on the fees you pay in order to put your money to work for you. There is a reason why the people involved with investing money are rich – it’s because they’re taking your investment dollars home with them!

The best discount brokerages in Canada allow you to cut out all of the middle men. Gone are the days of paying $30 per trade, plus 2%+ of your entire account in order to get access to the stock market. Our top Canadian discount brokerages won’t charge you any annual fees, allow you trade ETFs for free, and have very minimal per trade commissions of $5-$8. Cutting fees isn’t just smart – it’s one of the only guaranteed ways to improve your investment performance over time.

So, what sort of tradeoffs do you have to make in time and energy in return for cutting all those fees (which add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for many Canadians over their investing lifetime)?

Honestly, this stuff isn’t that hard. I like to say if you can pass grade nine math, you can handle your own investment portfolio.

If you’re willing to invest just an hour or two of your time to complete some initial paperwork and read the above guide on how to navigate these online brokerage platforms… then you can unlock massive savings over your investing lifetime – savings that could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars when compounded over decades.

For me, that tradeoff is a no-brainer. Using an online brokerage account isn’t just a way to save a few bucks, it’s the most effective way to take personal control of your financial future!

Best Online Brokers for Trading and User Experience (Ranking)

In order to determine the best online brokers for trading and user experience I relied upon my own personal experience (I currently keep 6 brokerage accounts open, with one being my main account, and the other five for research purposes) as well as the experiences of other authors at MDJ.  Between us, we have active or inactive accounts at all of the major online brokers in Canada.

I also took into consideration the dozens of comments we get on our articles, as well as the emails we receive in regards to user experiences.  Much like the Surviscor ratings actually.

After all that research, and looking into the costs and ease of trading, as well the as quality of user experience (with customer service factored in) our ranking of best online brokers for trading and user experience is (Click the links for detailed review of each):

1. Qtrade
2. Questrade
3. TD Direct Investing
4. RBC Direct Investing
5. BMO Investorline
6. Scotia iTrade
7. National Bank Direct Brokerage
8. DI Direct Investing
9. CIBC Investor’s Edge
10. Wealthsimple Trade

Alternative to Online Brokers in Canada: Robo Advisors

I should take a second to point out that if you really want the ultimate in low-maintenance hands-off investing (like many of my friends do) then the Wealthsimple robo advisor platform has really distinguished itself from the rest of the pack when it comes to instant portfolio solutions, and is rated our best robo advisor in Canada. 

You’ll pay more in fees than you would with a discount brokers account, but it is still less than 25% of what you’d be paying with a typical Canadian mutual fund. They’ll even give you $50 cash when you open an account!

Canadian Online Broker Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Best Online Broker in Canada?

Qtrade is our overall pick for the best online broker in Canada.  Their combination of low prices, elite customer service, and constant innovation is simply the best in class. 

That said, the best online brokerage account for YOU is the one that you are most likely to use.  So if low costs are your priority, then Questrade or Wealthsimple Trade might be a better bet. 

If keeping things simple and convenient by using a big bank is your preferred banking strategy, then we recommend BMO InvestorLine, with RBC and TD coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively.  See our above comparison for more detailed information.

Are Online Brokers and Buying Stocks Online Safe in Canada?

Yes. If you read the section above on all of the ways online brokers keep your investments safe, then you are likely reassured that you will not be at risk of losing money to a broker’s fraud or the brokerage going bankrupt.  There are very strict Canadian regulations on all of this stuff, and being a member of the IIROC, all the Canadian discount brokerages adhere to high safety standards.

Of course, we’re discussing safety from non-investment risk factors here. Please keep in mind that there nothing any investment platform can do to protect you from inherent investment risk. Your investments can obviously go down in value, and this has nothing to do with which brokerage you choose.

What is The Best Free Online Broker in Canada?

There is no real free online broker in Canada. You are either paying account fees, trading fees, or the brokerage is selling your information to other companies in exchange for a $0 upfront fee. The closest ones to being free are NBDB and Wealthsimple Trade. You can read my guide on the free stock trading in Canada for more information.

How Do I Open a Broker Account in Canada?

While it used to involve emailing signed documents back and forth to open a brokerage account in Canada, the last few years have seen more and more brokerages adopt online signatures in order to speed the account opening process. 

It’s now easier than ever to sign up with a Canadian online broker and begin buying and selling stocks online. 

You simply need to input your basic personal information (including your SIN), choose your account (RRSP, TFSA, Non-registered, margin, etc.) and then use the digital sign up for the platform. Processing times can vary depending on the brokerage and the time of year.

How Much Does an Online Brokerage Cost?

How much an online broker costs is going to depend on what type of investing you want to do and what level of information you want to pay for. Online brokerages generally depend on annual account fees and trading commissions as their main fees to users. 

Some brokers also have inactivity fees. You’ll see in our 2025 Canadian brokerage comparison that we reveal what each broker costs when it comes to account fees, trading commissions, and ETF commissions.

What Canadian Online Broker Has The Best Customer Service?

Qtrade consistently ranks as the best broker for customer service, followed by the big bank brokers at BMO, TD, RBC and Scotia. 

Of course, it’s not easy to quantify exactly what “great customer service” looks like, but we feel confident in stating Qtrade is at the top of the Canadian brokerage rankings due to the large number of emails and comments we get at MDJ, plus our constant reviews of both Moneysense magazine’s, and the Globe and Mail’s new broker comparisons each year. 

Never has customer service been more important to consumers as in 2021 as we have seen many online brokerages really struggle with 4 hours+ delays in responding to online and phone inquiries.  This is one of the key reasons we decided to rank Qtade above Questrade as our overall #1 Canadian discount brokerage this year. Read our detailed Qtrade vs Questrade article for a full comparison of the two.

Which Bank is The Best For Stock Trading in Canada?

While Qtrade is our best stock trading brokerage in Canada for 2025, if you feel the need to keep your financial life simple, and stick to one of the big banks, then we recommend the BMO Investorline brokerages over its competitors offerings at TD, BMO, RBC, and especially CIBC.

What Portfolio Should I Build With an Online Broker?

If you want to prioritize simplicity, we recommend an all-in-one ETF, whereas if you want to prioritize cashflow we are big fans of dividend investing.  Check out our article on the best dividend stocks in Canada for 2025 for more information.

Can You Buy Stocks on a Mobile App?

Yes, buying stocks on mobile apps has never been easier or more convenient.  While I personally still prefer to use my desktop, the brokerages have been steadily improving their apps over the last decade. 

Our #1 ranked mobile app for Canadian discount brokerages is Qtrade, but the major banks (TD in particular) have also poured significant resources into improving their usability over the last few years.

For more information on mobile trading, read our comparison of the best stock trading apps in Canada or this list of the best Robinhood alternatives in Canada.

What is a Discount Broker Margin Account?

A margin account is simply a regular non-registered trading account with one special feature: It lets you borrow money to invest. 

While some people are able to use a margin account to make large gains (with the broker’s money) in a shorter period of time, we generally don’t advise people to try this type of investing. 

Statistically, you’re far more likely to lose money than gain money if you’re “trading on the margin” due to fees and basic human inability to pick stocks in the short term.

What is The Best Canadian Trading Platform for Beginners?

Qtrade. When you’re just starting out as a Canadian DIY investor you want a simple intuitive platform, low fees, access to investor education resources, and great customer support in case you make a logistical error. Qtrade simply excels in exactly those areas.

What is The Best Canadian Broker For Options Trading?

Questrade or IBKR are probably the best choices for options trading in Canada, but to be honest, options aren’t really our thing.

How Do Online Brokers Make Money?

In Canada, online brokers still make most of their money through per-trade commissions. These have been coming down in recent years (and there are even a few brokerages that have almost eliminated them entirely). 

In addition to these easy-to-understand fees though, brokerages also make money by charging account fees, documentation fees, and most of all, through the forex fees that they charge if you buy stocks outside of Canada in another currency. Finally, if you keep cash balances in your account, brokerages can lend that money out like a bank does.  

Day Trading Platforms in Canada

We’re not big fans of day trading at MDJ.  The raw data against thinking you can outsmart the market enough to cover the increased trading costs just doesn’t exist.

That said, if you want to try your hand at quickly moving in and out of investment positions, then understanding what to look for in a Canadian day trading platform could make a pretty big difference to your bottom line.

You want to look for an online broker platform that emphasizes:

• Low per-trade fees (making use of “elite tier” pricing for people who make 50+ trades per month).
• The easy ability to use leverage – along with a relatively low interest rate on said leverage.
• The ability to trade non-conventional investment products like forex, CDRs, and cryptocurrencies.

There aren’t actually that many Canadian day trading platforms that meet these criteria. Interactive Brokers is probably the one most geared toward hardcore traders who what to use CDRs to place daily (hourly?) leveraged bets on market outcomes. You can also read this comparison between Questrade and Interactive Brokers.

We still think the Qtrade vs Questrade decision is the way to go if you’re a dividend investor or index investor who wants to dabble with a “core and explore portfolio”. Qtrade’s customer service can help smooth out any unexpected mistakes, while Questrade’s slightly lower non-ETF price-per-trade has to be more heavily weighted when you’re making several trades each day.

Again, worth reiterating here that we’re more about using online broker platforms to invest for the long term and cut fees to the bone, not to use them as day trading platforms meant to squeeze out small trading gains several times per day.

Final Words of Wisdom About Canada’s Online Brokers in 2025

With spring just around the corner, it’s time for a little financial spring cleaning. Out with the old dusty mutual funds (plus bad advice) model that so many Canadians rely on – and in with the fresh new low-fee look that DIY investors love.

Stock markets will always swing up and down – but if there’s one investing truth that holds year after year, it’s that simply getting started and staying invested matters more than anything else. Big companies have a funny way of continuing to make money no matter what the headlines say.

While Canada’s big banks still dominate the daily chequing account scene, their online brokerage arms are a different story. Ask your local branch advisor about their investing platform and there’s a decent chance they haven’t actually used it themselves, and they’re likely completely clueless of how to compare apples-to-apples when it comes to fees. Meanwhile, independent online brokerages like Qtrade have been quietly leading the charge when it comes to delivering a better, smoother experience for retail investors.

Of course, picking the right brokerage isn’t just about sign-up bonuses or even low fees. It’s about how confident and comfortable you feel using the platform day to day. Time and again, studies show that investors who feel at ease with their online brokerage platform are more likely to stay invested, contribute more often, and grow more wealth over time. 

It’s pretty simple psychology and math really… If you’re dreading logging in, or constantly frustrated by a clunky interface or missing features, it’s only natural that you’ll put off contributing, or even panic-sell during a dip. On the flip side, if your brokerage experience is smooth and intuitive, you’re way more likely to stay the course and consistently build wealth.

That’s been the core of my mission with Million Dollar Journey since the very beginning (nearly twenty years ago): Help Canadians get out of their own way and build real, lasting wealth with tools that make investing easier, not harder.

If you’ve recently tested out a new brokerage, switched over from a big bank, or just had an experience worth sharing (good or bad), I want to hear about it. Reader feedback is a big part of how I keep my 2025 Canadian online brokerage comparison up to date each month – and your insights help all of us make smarter decisions.