Fidelity vs Vanguard: Compare Fees, Accounts, and Access

Why this matters when choosing a broker

The two brokers overlap on the main account, investment, and platform categories. Exact fund access, product minimums, fee waivers, and transfer plans can still change a shortlist.

A $0 online stock or ETF commission does not include every possible cost. Fund transaction fees, product expenses, options contracts, assisted orders, foreign activity, margin interest, spreads, regulatory charges, account service, and transfers can be separate.

This comparison uses current repository records and official Fidelity and Vanguard pages checked on August 10, 2026. It is educational information, not a personalized broker, account, transfer, or investment recommendation.

Fidelity vs Vanguard quick comparison

The table separates current site records from extra conditions on the providers' official pages. A zero applies only to the named account, product, channel, or transaction. Unknown and excluded costs are not treated as free.

How do Fidelity vs Vanguard accounts and investment access compare?

Both site records cover a standard brokerage account, Traditional IRA, and Roth IRA. Vanguard's record also covers a SEP IRA. Fidelity's official account directory separately lists a SEP IRA, but the current site record does not model that support. Vanguard limits its current SEP IRA offer to eligible self-employed people and business owners without employees. Check the exact registration and current eligibility terms before relying on either listing.

Both records cover stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and options. Vanguard's record also includes bonds. Fidelity's official brokerage account page lists bonds too, but the current site record does not model them for Fidelity. These differences show the scope of the database, not a judgment about either provider's full product range.

Options require provider approval and may be limited by account. A broad fund or bond category also does not confirm that a specific security is available, transferable, or eligible for a fee-free transaction.

• Confirm the precise account registration and eligibility rules.
• Search for each required fund or security at the provider.
• Check whether an existing position can transfer in kind before relying on broad investment support.

Which Fidelity vs Vanguard platforms are recorded?

Both current records include web, iOS, and Android. Fidelity states that its mobile app is available on Apple and Android devices. Vanguard provides online brokerage trading and an app for iPhone and Android devices.

A platform label confirms an access channel, not feature parity. Check the required order type, research tool, document, transfer function, and account feature on the device you intend to use. The official pages do not support a general service or usability ranking in this comparison.

How do Fidelity vs Vanguard modeled costs compare?

For eligible online US stock and ETF trades, both current records model a $0 broker commission. They model a standard online option contract at $0.65 for Fidelity and $1 for Vanguard. The Vanguard asset-based option waivers cannot be calculated from the site's current activity inputs, so the standard $1 record must be checked against the official schedule.

Fund costs remain unknown in a general calculation because the selected fund changes the charge. Fidelity's current fund summary is $0 to $49.95, while Vanguard's is $0 or more. The official pages add fund family, transaction-fee status, holding period, qualifying assets, and fund-specific purchase or redemption conditions.

The current record models Fidelity's account and full transfer charges at $0. It records Vanguard's possible $25 annual account fee as unknown because waiver eligibility is not collected, and it models a $100 full transfer. Vanguard's official conditions can waive both charges, so a calculator result is a scenario estimate rather than a bill prediction.

What should you verify before choosing between Fidelity vs Vanguard?

Start with the account and exact investments. Then use one activity pattern for both brokers and separate costs the site can calculate from costs that remain conditional, unknown, or excluded.

Open the provider pages again before opening, funding, or transferring an account. Prices, qualifying-asset thresholds, waivers, and product availability can change after August 10, 2026.

• Match the account registration, not only the word brokerage or IRA.
• Check each mutual fund's transaction status, prospectus, minimum, purchase fee, and redemption fee.
• Apply options rates to contracts and check whether an asset-level trade waiver applies.
• Confirm whether Vanguard's e-delivery or other account-fee waiver applies.
• Confirm whether the transfer is full or partial and whether every asset can move in kind.
• Keep margin, foreign activity, spreads, product expenses, taxes, and regulatory charges outside the total unless each rule is known.

Worked comparison

How to apply this

Open a functional destination with the relevant country or account filter applied. Recheck current official terms before acting.