Charles Schwab vs Merrill Edge

Charles Schwab is a good choice for beginning and advanced investors looking to invest in ETFs and mutual funds or investors that require extensive research. How does it compare to Merrill Edge? Read our comparison chart below.

Charles Schwab offers stock and ETF trades at $0 commission and options trading at $0 commission + $0.65 per contract. There is no minimum deposit, no maintenance fee, and no inactivity fee.

While Merrill Edge (a subsidiary of Bank of America) offers stock trades at $0 commission and options trading at $0 + $0.65 per contract. There is no account minimum, no maintenance fee, and no inactivity fee.

Compare Charles Schwab with Merrill Edge, side-by-side.

	Charles Schwab	Merrill Edge
	SPECIAL OFFER $0 Commissions on Online Stock, ETF, and Options Trades - Learn More Read Charles Schwab Review	SPECIAL OFFER $100 Bonus Offer - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Stock Trading	$0 commission on U.S. stocks and ETFs	$0 per trade
Options Trading	$0 + $0.65 per contract	$0 + $0.65 per contract
Annual Fee	None
Cryptocurrency Trading	No
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0
Mutual Fund Trading	$0 for funds from Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource and up to $74.95 per purchase for all other funds	$0 for no load, no-transaction-fee funds ($39.95 short-term redemption fee if the fund is held less than 90 days) $19.95 for no load, transaction-fee funds
Commission Free ETFs	2,000+ across asset classes and fund companies, $0 commission through Schwab ETF OneSource™.
Broker Assisted Trades	$25.00 service charge	$29.95
Inactivity Fee	None	None
Maintenance Fee	$0	$0
Banking	Yes	Through Bank of America
Mobile App	Yes	Yes
Desktop App	Yes	Yes
Forex Trading		No
Futures Trading	$2.25 per contract	No
Customer Service	24/7	24/7
Locations	300 locations	More than 2,100 Bank of America locations
Online Community	Yes	No
Seminars	Yes	Yes
Trading Platform	Desktop, Web Trading, Mobile Apps
Virtual Trading	Yes (thinkorswim platforms)	No
	CreditDonkey® Reviews
Stock Trading
Options Trading
Mutual Fund Trading
Online Platform
Banking
Mobile App
Commissions and Fees
Ease of Use
Research
Pros & Cons	Pros: Vast selection of commission-free ETFs and mutual funds 2 platforms (one for beginners and one for advanced traders) 24/7 customer service including online chat Cons: Commission costs on mutual funds outside of the commission-free funds Robo-advisor option requires a minimum investment of $5,000
Bottom Line	Good choice for beginning and advanced investors looking to invest in ETFs and mutual funds or investors that require extensive research... Read full review
	$0 Commissions on Online Stock, ETF, and Options Trades 500 Commission-Free Online and Options Trades Schwab's Referral Offer - Up to $1,000 Bonus	$100 Bonus Offer $150 Bonus Offer $250 Bonus Offer
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Charles Schwab: Pricing information from published websites as of 01/22/2025. Merrill Edge: Pricing information from published websites as of 08/01/2024.

Still need help deciding which investing is better? Read the in-depth reviews below. You may also be interested in comparing Charles Schwab or Robinhood.

Articles on Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab is one of the oldest names in the world of investing. With low fees, no account minimums, and robust research tools, it's a good brokerage for all levels of investors.