Qtrade vs Questrade: Both Charge $0 to Trade, So What Actually Differs

This comparison is built from both brokers’ published pricing and fee schedules, checked on 2026-10-14. We do not link to a referral offer for either broker in this article.

For years the Qtrade-versus-Questrade question was about commissions: Questrade charged little but not nothing, Qtrade charged $8.75, and the answer depended on how often you traded. That comparison is over. Questrade moved to $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs for orders placed from 2025-02-10, and Qtrade followed on 2025-10-28, when it also dropped its quarterly administration fee. Reviews written before those dates, including our own Qtrade review, describe a pricing model that no longer exists.

What is left is a set of smaller differences. Some matter a great deal to one kind of investor and not at all to another. This guide lists them, then works through five investors so you can see which differences apply to you.

The short version

• Buying Canadian-listed ETFs in a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA: $0 at both. There is no cost difference for this investor.
• U.S.-dollar money in registered accounts: Questrade lets you hold U.S. dollars in a TFSA or RRSP at no charge. Qtrade charges US$15 a quarter for each U.S.-dollar registered account (not available for the FHSA).
• Currency conversion: Questrade publishes 1.5%. Qtrade does not publish a rate and says it may earn revenue on foreign exchange transactions.
• Fractional shares: Questrade offers them, free. We found no fractional-share offering on Qtrade’s pricing, fee or account pages.
• Mutual funds: $0 to buy or sell online at Qtrade; $9.95 per trade at Questrade.
• Options: $0.75 a contract at Qtrade. At Questrade, Canadian-dollar options are $0.99 a contract and U.S. equity options carry no per-contract fee.
• Leaving: both charge $150 to transfer an account out.
• Arriving: both reimburse your old broker’s transfer-out fee up to $150 per account. Qtrade requires a transfer of $15,000 or more; Questrade states no minimum balance.
• Protection: both are CIRO investment dealers and CIPF members, so client property is covered up to $1 million per account category if the firm fails. CIPF does not cover investment losses.

Fees, side by side

Qtrade Investor Plus requires $500,000 in assets or 150 trades in the prior quarter and waives some fees. Both brokers change pricing without notice, and fees on this page are in the currency each broker charges them in.

The U.S.-dollar question

This is the one place where the two brokers are genuinely different, and it matters only if you buy U.S.-listed securities.

Questrade lets registered accounts hold U.S. and Canadian dollars side by side, and lets you choose how proceeds settle: in the currency of the trade, or converted to one currency overnight. Hold U.S. dollars in your TFSA or RRSP and buy a U.S.-listed ETF, and no conversion happens at all. Conversion at Questrade costs 1.5% when you do convert.

Qtrade will hold U.S. dollars in registered accounts too, at US$15 a quarter for each account. That is US$60 a year per account, so a TFSA and an RRSP both holding U.S. dollars cost US$120 a year before you have bought anything. Qtrade also does not publish what it charges to convert, so you cannot work out the cost of a trade in advance.

An illustration with the numbers that are published. Converting $5,000 of Canadian dollars at Questrade’s 1.5% costs about $75. Journaling shares instead (Norbert’s Gambit: buy a dual-listed ETF in one currency, journal it to the other ticker, sell) costs $9.95 per request at Questrade, or nothing with Questrade Plus, but can take up to five business days and leaves you exposed to price moves while the request is pending. We cannot make the same calculation for Qtrade because its conversion rate is not published.

For Canadian-listed ETFs such as XEQT or VEQT, none of this applies, and the two brokers cost the same.

Fractional shares and mutual funds

Two differences point in opposite directions.

Fractional shares favour Questrade. It offers fractional shares on a selection of stocks and ETFs, from as little as $1, with no commission. Two limits are worth knowing: fractional shares cannot be transferred in kind to another broker (you sell them or buy up to a whole share first), and they carry no voting rights until they add up to a whole share. If you invest a fixed dollar amount every month, fractions mean every dollar is invested rather than leaving a few dollars of cash idle.

Mutual funds favour Qtrade. Qtrade charges $0 to buy and sell mutual funds online, apart from a 1% early-sale fee (minimum $45) if you sell within 90 days. Questrade charges $9.95 each way. If you hold a low-cost index mutual fund and add to it regularly, that adds up; if you use ETFs, it does not apply.

Options, accounts and withdrawals

Options. Qtrade charges $0.75 a contract on every option. Questrade charges $0.99 a contract on Canadian-dollar options, lists U.S. equity options with no per-contract fee, and charges $24.95 to exercise. If you trade U.S. options, Questrade’s schedule is cheaper; a Canadian-dollar options trader pays a similar amount at either.

Registered withdrawals. Taking money out of an RRSP costs $100 for a full withdrawal at Questrade and $125 at Qtrade; partial withdrawals are $50 at both. The gap is wider on the Home Buyers’ Plan: Questrade charges $25 for a partial HBP withdrawal and $50 for a full one, against $50 and $125 at Qtrade. If you plan to use the HBP, that is a real, if small, difference.

Paper. Qtrade charges $6 a quarter for paper statements and $2.50 for a paper trade confirmation. Questrade’s eStatements are free. If you take everything electronically, neither costs you anything.

Platform and tools

Pricing is verifiable; platform quality is a judgment. Ours, stated as such.

• Qtrade is a conventional brokerage built around its web platform: screeners, research, portfolio analytics and phone support that can place trades. It suits an investor who wants to be walked through things and who values a familiar layout.
• Questrade offers Questrade Edge on the web and desktop and Questrade Pro (the platform its own guides use for options trading), plus mobile apps. It is the more flexible of the two for self-directed investors who want more control: fractional shares, dual-currency registered accounts and journaling are all things you do yourself, online. The trade-off is that there is more to learn.

If you value service and a conventional layout, that is Qtrade’s case. If you value flexibility on currency and cost, that is Questrade’s. Neither is objectively better; they are built for different people.

Five investors, five answers

The monthly XEQT buyer, registered accounts only. Costs are identical: $0 to buy, $0 to hold, no conversion. The tie-breaker is fractional shares. Questrade’s let a $300 contribution buy a full $300 of XEQT; at Qtrade a partial unit’s worth of cash may sit uninvested until the next purchase. Otherwise choose on the interface you prefer.

The U.S. ETF buyer who wants a TFSA or RRSP. Questrade, by a clear margin. Holding U.S. dollars costs nothing there, so you can convert once (or journal shares) and then buy and sell U.S.-listed ETFs without converting each time. At Qtrade the U.S.-dollar registered account costs US$60 a year per account and the conversion cost is unpublished.

The mutual fund holder. Qtrade. If you add to a mutual fund every month, $0 a trade beats $9.95 a trade by about $120 a year on a monthly purchase.

The options trader. Compare your actual contract mix. Qtrade is $0.75 a contract across the board. Questrade is cheaper on U.S. equity options and similar on Canadian ones, but check its exercise fee if you exercise rather than close.

The investor who wants service. Qtrade’s phone trading desk and conventional platform are its case here; paper statements are available at $6 a quarter if you want them. Questrade is built for people who are comfortable doing it themselves.

Switching between them

Moving a registered account between brokers is a transfer, not a withdrawal: your TFSA room and RRSP status are untouched as long as you transfer to the same account type. Both pay the transfer-out fee your old broker charges, up to $150: Questrade on any balance if you send the statement within 60 days, Qtrade on transfers of $15,000 or more. Moving between the two costs $150 to leave either, which the receiving broker will usually reimburse.

If you are transferring a taxable account, a transfer in kind (moving the securities rather than selling them) avoids realizing capital gains. Ask for it explicitly. Fractional shares cannot be transferred in kind.

Where this fits

The brokerage is the last decision, not the first. Decide the account (TFSA vs RRSP, FHSA), then what to hold (all-in-one ETFs, and which account should hold what), then where. For the other brokerage question, see Wealthsimple vs Qtrade.

Pricing on this page was checked against both brokers’ published schedules on 2026-10-14 and can change without notice. This is education, not a recommendation; the right broker depends on what you trade and which accounts you need.