Robinhood vs Vanguard
Robinhood is a free way to trade stocks with limited bells and whistles. How does it compare to Vanguard? Read our comparison chart below.
Robinhood offers $0 stock trades by cutting out physical offices and manual account management. Only basic stock trading can be performed on the mobile app. There is no minimum deposit or maintenance fee, though there is an optional paid premier customer tier starting at $5/month.
While Vanguard offers low stock trade prices (starting at just $2) for investors with account balances over $500k. For those with smaller balances, it's best for less active traders, as trade prices go up after 25 trades/year. Vanguard offers 125+ no-transaction-fee mutual fees and 55+ commission-free ETFs. There is no minimum deposit and service fees can be waived by signing up for electronic statements.
Compare Robinhood with Vanguard, side-by-side. Read on for an in-depth look, including ratings, reviews, pros and cons.
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Robinhood | Vanguard | |
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Get a Free Stock (worth between $2.50 and $200) - | ||
Benefits and Features | ||
Stock Trading | Less than $50,000: $7 per trade for the first 25 trades per year, then $20. $50k - $500k: All trades $7. $500k - $1M: All trades $2. $1M - $5M: First 25 trades per year free, then $2. $5M+: First 100 trades per year free, then $2 | |
Options Trading | Less than $500,000: $7 + $1 per contract. $500,000+: $2 + $1 per contract | |
Annual Fee | All trades are commission-free. No platform fees. | |
Minimum Deposit | ||
Mutual Fund Trading | $0 for no-transaction-fee funds. For transaction-fee funds: $20 for account balances less than $500,000; $8 for account balances $500,000+ | |
Commission Free ETFs | All U.S. listed ETFs | Around 1,800 ETFs from about 100 other companies |
Phone Support | ||
Live Chat Support | ||
Email Support | ||
Human Advisors | ||
Robo Advisor | ||
Tax Loss Harvesting | ||
Goal Tracker | ||
Automatic Deposits | ||
Broker Assisted Trades | ||
Customer Service | ||
Good For | ||
Inactivity Fee | ||
Maintenance Fee | $20/year. Waived if account owner signs up for e-delivery service OR have at least $10,000 in Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds | |
Online Platform | ||
iPhone App | ||
Android App | ||
Banking | No service fees for Robinhood Cash Management account. Free debit card with no in-network ATM fees or foreign transaction fees | |
Mobile App | ||
Desktop App | ||
Forex Trading | ||
Futures Trading | ||
Locations | ||
Online Community | ||
Seminars | ||
Virtual Trading | ||
Fractional Shares | ||
Taxable Accounts | ||
401k Plans | ||
IRA Accounts | ||
Roth IRA Accounts | ||
SEP IRA Accounts | ||
Trust Accounts | ||
529 Plans | ||
CreditDonkey® Reviews | ||
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Stock Trading | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Options Trading | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mobile App | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Commissions and Fees | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Ease of Use | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Research | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mutual Fund Trading | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |
Pros & Cons | Pros:
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Bottom Line | Free way to trade stocks with limited bells and whistles... | Good choice for ETF and mutual fund investors interested in Vanguard-sponsored investments... |
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Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Robinhood: Pricing information from published websites as of 04/18/2020. Vanguard: Pricing information from published websites as of 09/15/2019. |
Which is Better: Robinhood or Vanguard?
Still need help deciding which investing is better? Read the in-depth reviews below. You may also be interested in comparing Robinhood or Ally Invest.
In short: Robinhood's stock trading, mobile app, and commissions and fees are noteworthy. In particular, the stock trading and commissions and fees are impressive. Vanguard's research is worth mentioning.