- E*Trade has approximately 30 branch offices in 13 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia. TD Ameritrade has more than 100 branches in 34 states. Branch offices are convenient for last-minute applications and document signing, making deposits and withdrawals, and dropping off stock certificates.
- Online stock brokers usually provide lower commissions for buying and selling stock than live brokers in an office. Commission rates are for any size stock trade.
E*Trade has a tiered commission structure. The basic rate is $12.99 for an order. If an account has a balance of greater than $50,000 and executes more than 30 trades per quarter, the commission is $9.99. With a greater-than-$50,000 balance and between 150 and 1,499 trades per quarter, the rate is $7.99. Traders who make more that 1,500 trades in a three-month period pay $6.99 per trade. If broker assistance is required on a trade, $45 is added to the base rate for which the account qualifies.
TD Ameritrade has a simple rate structure:
Internet order: $9.99
Automated phone order: $34.99
Broker-assisted order: $44.99 - For options trading, both E*Trade and TD Ameritrade charge the regular stock commission plus 75 cents for each contract. Both also charge $19.99 for option assignment or exercise.
Both companies have an extensive list of no-load mutual funds that can be invested in without fees. Purchase of no-load funds not on the list costs $19.99 through E*Trade and $49.99 with TD Ameritrade.
E*Trade has significantly lower margin interest rates than TD Ameritrade for larger accounts. At TD Ameritrade, a $250,000 margin account would pay interest at 7 percent while the same size account would be charged 4.99 percent at E*Trade. Rates valid as of September 2009.
E*Trade has a $40 service fee per quarter for non-retirement accounts that fall below $2,000 in value. - TD Ameritrade provides online tools to help with portfolio and retirement planning. E*Trade has the full host of planning tools, but also offers expanded banking services and global stock trading. The global stock trading allows investors to directly purchase stocks in the stock markets of Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the United Kingdom.
- For investors with accounts of less than $50,000, TD Ameritrade provides better commissions and useful investing and trading tools. For investors with larger accounts and active traders, E*Trade is probably the better choice. E-Trade offers a wider variety of services for the sophisticated investor.