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Ally Invest vs. Robinhood: Which Broker Is Right for You?

Updated
Matt Frankel, CFP®
By: Matt Frankel, CFP®

Our Brokerages Expert

Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page.

If you're planning to start investing, or simply looking for a change from your current broker, there is no shortage of choices. Ally Invest and Robinhood are relatively new online brokers, and both could be solid choices for many investors. We'll take a closer look at both, focusing on the key differences and the features each offers to see if Ally Invest or Robinhood might be the better option for you.

Ally Invest vs. Robinhood: At a glance

Offer


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Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Commissions $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options

$0 stock and ETF trades

Account Minimum $0 $0
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Ally Invest vs. Robinhood: Commissions & fees

When it comes to pricing, both Ally Invest and Robinhood are on the lower end of the spectrum, and there are some areas where they are identical. For example, both charge no commissions for online and mobile stock and ETF trades, and neither has a monthly account maintenance fee.

That said, there are some big differences. When it comes to options, Robinhood is one of the only places where investors will get $0 commissions on all option trades. Ally doesn't charge a base commission, but there is a $0.50 fee per contract. Ally is still quite reasonable -- many rivals charge more per contract.

It's also worth discussing pricing for the products only offered by one or the other. Robinhood doesn't yet offer mutual fund investing, while Ally has an excellent selection of mutual funds, and its standard mutual fund commission is one of the lowest. Conversely, Ally doesn't allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies, while Robinhood is one of the only places you can trade several cryptocurrencies with no fees.

Ally Invest Robinhood
Stock & ETF Commissions $0 $0
Options Commissions $0 + $0.50 per contract $0
Crypto Commissions N/A $0
Mutual Fund Commissions $9.95 N/A
Account Transfer Fee $50 $75
Account Maintenance Fee $0 $0

Ally Invest vs. Robinhood: Investments available

Ally Invest and Robinhood both offer stocks, ETFs, and options, but that's where the similarities end. Robinhood has the advantage, in the sense that it offers fractional share investing, which can be a big perk especially for newer investors, and also offers cryptocurrency trading. Ally Invest is a far more full-featured broker than Robinhood, which is primarily designed to buy and sell stock.

Ally Invest offers over 12,000 mutual funds for one of the lowest commission rates we've seen. Investors can buy and sell bonds, which can be a portfolio staple for income-seeking investors.

Ally has a banking division, so it also offers high-yield CDs as part of an investment strategy. The bank currently offers CDs with terms from three months to five years, and many intervals in between.

Ally Invest Robinhood
Stocks and ETFs Yes Yes
Fractional Shares No Yes
Options Yes Yes
Mutual Funds Yes No
CDs Yes No
Bonds Yes No
Futures No No
Crypto No Yes
Currencies (Forex) Yes No

Ally Invest vs. Robinhood: Account types available

In this category, Ally is a big winner. To be fair, Robinhood is designed for simplicity and with one type of account in mind -- a standard, taxable, individual brokerage account. It offers margin privileges to Robinhood Gold members, and offers an interest-bearing cash management account, but that's about the extent of Robinhood's account offerings. However, it's worth mentioning that the company has said retirement accounts are in the future plans.

Meanwhile, as a full-featured broker, Ally Invest offers pretty much every type of account you could want. You can open a standard taxable brokerage account jointly with another owner (like a spouse). You can open a retirement account, including traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs. And you can open a custodial account like an UGMA or UTMA for a child. Ally also offers a highly-rated robo-advisory service for customers who want to put some or all of their investing on auto-pilot.

It's also worth noting that Ally is a bank in addition to a brokerage (prior to 2010, it was known as GMAC Bank, the financial arm of General Motors). So you can also open a checking account, savings account, or CD. Ally also offers a variety of lending products, including mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans. In short, Ally could be a good choice for people who like to keep all of their financial accounts in one place.

Ally Invest Robinhood
Taxable Brokerage Yes Yes
Joint Tenant Yes No
Margin Yes Yes, with Robinhood Gold
Robo-Advisor Yes No
Traditional IRA Yes No
Roth IRA Yes No
Other IRA Yes No
Custodial Yes No
Checking Yes No
Savings Yes Yes
Credit Card Yes No

Ally Invest vs. Robinhood: Mobile app and trading platforms

Both have highly rated apps that are easy to use. Ally Invest holds ratings of 4.7 and 4.0 out of 5 stars on the App Store and Google Play store respectively. Robinhood's ratings are 4.2 and 3.8. Robinhood's ratings were higher prior to the "meme stock" craze of early 2021, when it suspended trading in certain volatile stocks, disappointing many customers.

Ally reviews often call out the all-in-one nature of the app and praise the live chat and customer service features. Robinhood's app offers one of the most seamless ways to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies and manage an investment portfolio.

Final take

Both of these are excellent brokerage options, but are targeted to different types of investors. Ally Invest is a full-featured brokerage and bank, and offers investment products and accounts designed to meet the needs of all investors. For example, if you want to open a retirement account or buy mutual funds, Ally could be a good choice for you (these things aren't available through Robinhood).

On the other hand, if your main goal is to get started with stock investing and you want an easy-to-use platform that keeps expenses at a minimum, Robinhood could be worth considering. In a nutshell, the better choice for you depends primarily on your investment goals.

Alternatives to Consider

We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.

Account Fees Account Minimum
Logo for Robinhood
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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$0 for stocks, ETFs, and options $0
Logo for Fidelity
Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars.
5.0/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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$0 commission for online U.S. stock and ETF trades; trade fractional shares for as little as $1 $0
Logo for E*TRADE
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Commission-free; other fees apply $0

Our Brokerages Expert