Questrade review
- Stock Trading Fee
- $4.95 - $9.95
- Account Fee
- $0
- FX Fee
- 1.5%
- Min. Deposit
- $1,000
- Available Asset Types
- Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Forex, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs
Our verdict
Low fees, many types of securities and a rich array of research tools are just some of Questrade's perks.
Consider Questrade if you want to cut down on fees and take the lead on managing your investments. Look elsewhere if you don't have $1,000 upfront to open an account.
Best for: Self-directed investors.
Pros
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Fully online application
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Low trade fees
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Real-time quotes
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Advanced trading tools
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Instant deposits up to $10,000
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Many types of securities & accounts (individual & corporate)
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Market orders, limit orders and options
Cons
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Minimum $1,000 to open an account
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Minimum $5,000 for bonds, GICs and IPOs
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No futures or fractional share trading
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No joint accounts
How we rated Questrade’s features
| Fees | ★★★★★ | Low stock trade fees. Buy ETFs for free (there’s a fee to sell). No annual fees for RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs, RRIFs and FHSAs. |
| Available securities | ★★★★★ | Stocks, ETFs, options, forex, IPOs, CFDs, mutual funds, bonds, GICs, precious metals and international equity derivatives. |
| Customer support | ★★★★★ | You can contact customer support by phone or online chat from Monday to Friday. Email support also available. |
| Mobile app | ★★★★★ | Users praise recent improvements to the mobile app but report some features could be more convenient. |
| Research and tools | ★★★★★ | Real-time quotes; access to snap quotes, Level 1 and Level 2 data; research and insight from Seeking Alpha and TipRanks; advanced charting and technical tools. |
| Reliability | ★★★★★ | 99.931% uptime in the last 90 days according to Downtime Expert. No major recent outages reported. |
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read our methodology at the bottom of the page.
Questrade is best for self-directed investors
One of Canada’s most well-known online discount brokerages, Questrade is best for investors who feel comfortable taking charge of their investments. However, the platform offers professionally-managed portfolios if you want expert help.
The benefits of investing with Questrade include low trading fees, many investment options and an easy-to-use digital platform that’s suitable for both beginners and experts.
For seasoned traders who trade frequently, Questrade Edge offers advanced trading and charting tools to capitalize on moment-by-moment market movements.
What you can trade on Questrade
Where Questrade shines
Besides offering a wide range of investments and account types, Questrade’s desktop and mobile platforms are easy to use. Sign up for an account in minutes, upload a handful of personal documents, fund your account and then start trading at home or on the go with Questrade‘s desktop and mobile apps.
Use the Edge version of the platform if you’d like to take advantage of price alerts, a profit and loss calculator and hotkeys to more precisely execute trades. Not quite sold yet? A representative can help you take the platform for a test run with a Questrade practice account.
Where Questrade falls short
Questrade’s biggest drawback is its high minimum deposit. You need at least $1,000 to open an account and at least $5,000 to trade bonds, GICs or IPOs.
Many other online trading platforms like Wealthsimple, CIBC Investor’s Edge, Interactive Brokers and Qtrade have low or no minimum balance requirements.
Questrade’s fees
| Minimum deposit | $1,000 |
| Annual fee | $0 |
| Stocks trades | Between $4.95 and $9.95 (buy and sell) |
| ETF trades | Free (buy), $4.95–$9.95 (sell) |
| Inactivity fee | $0 |
| Transfers |
|
| Stop payment, NSF fees | $25 per stop payment, $30 per NSF cheque/returned item |
Is Questrade legit?
Yes. Questrade is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.
Questrade offers several platforms with rich tools
Questrade offers five trading platforms:
- Questrade Trading — a web-based platform that lets you view your account balance, research investments and trade stocks and ETFs.
- QuestMobile — a mobile app with all the functionality of Questrade Trading.
- Questrade Edge — available in both web and desktop versions, this advanced trading platform offers stock, ETF and options trading, a customizable trading interface and hotkeys to help you more precisely execute trades.
- Questrade Edge Mobile — a mobile app with much of the functionality of the Questrade Edge platform.
- Questrade Global — available as both a desktop and mobile app, this platform lets you trade forex and commodities on international markets.
Questrade Trading and QuestMobile
Questrade Trading and its mobile counterpart—QuestMobile—provide you with a clean interface and the basic features you need to start investing in stocks and ETFs.
Both versions of the platform make it easy to place market and limit orders, and trading commissions for stocks on the platform are relatively cheap—ranging from $4.95 to $9.95, depending on the size of the trade. Meanwhile, buying ETFs is free (but there’s a $4.95 to $9.95 fee to sell).
Plus, Questrade Trading and QuestMobile provide you with daily market updates as well as professional research to help inform your investment decisions.
Features of Questrade and QuestMobile include:
- Customizable stock watchlists, to help keep track of future potential stock or ETF buys
- IPO Centre for information on upcoming Initial Public Offerings
- Intraday Trader to match investment opportunities with your watchlist
- The Morning Brief for a daily outlook on the stock market
- Market analysis from TipRanks
Questrade Edge and Questrade Edge Mobile
Questrade Edge and its mobile version are Questrade’s advanced trading platforms built for seasoned traders and investors. These two platforms let you trade derivative financial products, including bracket, conditional and multi-leg options in addition to stocks and ETFs.
They also allow you to place stop and trailing stop orders. And you can use the stock screener function to help you to more efficiently sort through stocks, ETFs and options contracts based on your own criteria.
Features of Questrade Edge and Questrade Edge Mobile include:
- Customizable trading interface (only on Questrade Edge)
- Hotkeys to help more precisely execute trades (only on Questrade Edge)
- Access to market research and analysis from Seeking Alpha and TipRanks
- Price alerts to keep you updated on when it might be time to buy or sell
- Profit and loss calculator to help gauge the risk/reward ratio of an option strategy
Questrade Global
Questrade Global lets you trade forex and CFDs on more than 15 different international exchanges through a feature-rich, professional-grade trading platform available on both desktop and mobile.
Features of Questrade Global:
- Technical indicators to help you more accurately execute trades
- Price alerts via pop-ups and email
- Customizable watchlists
Summary of Questrade reviews
| QuestMobile Google Play app reviews | 3.4/5 stars based on 1.3k Questrade reviews |
| Questrade Edge Mobile Google Play app reviews | 1.7/5 stars based on 300+ Questrade reviews |
| QuestMobile Apple App Store app reviews | 3.5/5 stars based on 1.2k Questrade reviews |
| Questrade Edge Mobile Apple App Store app reviews | 2.6/5 stars based on 340+ Questrade reviews |
Ratings current as of August 13, 2024.
Questrade’s customer support
You can reach Questrade‘s customer support in 3 ways:
- Phone (Mon-Fri)
- Online chat (Mon-Fri)
How to open an account with Questrade
- Visit Questrade and select Open an account.
- Provide your name, email address and phone number and create a password to set up your profile.
- Select a service (self-directed investing or Questwealth Portfolios) and choose an account type.
- Provide extra information like your date of birth, address, employment, income, Canadian tax residency status and Social Insurance Number to finish setting up your profile. Your SIN is used to verify your identity, which does not impact your credit score.
- Answer some additional questions about how you’re using the account and your preferred language.
- Review, accept and e-sign the customer agreements.
- Upload photo ID and additional documents if required.
- After your account is created, add funds and start investing.
Eligibility and required information
- At least the age of majority in the province or territory in which you live
- Valid government-issued photo ID
- Valid Social Insurance Number
How safe is Questrade?
Questrade follows industry-standard best practices to protect users’ money and data. This includes 256-bit SSL encryption, firewalls, multifactor authentication and automated alerts. Questrade‘s Online Security Guarantee states that you’ll be 100% reimbursed for direct monetary losses due to unauthorized transactions, provided you’ve met your responsibilities.Compare Questrade with other platforms
Questrade
★★★★★
Finder rating 3.9 / 5
Available Asset Types
Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Forex, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs
Stock Trading Fee
$4.95 - $9.95
Min. Deposit
$1,000
Signup Offer
Interactive Brokers
★★★★★
Finder rating 4.2 / 5
Available Asset Types
Stocks, Bonds, Options, Index Funds, ETFs, Currencies, Futures
Stock Trading Fee
min $1.00, max 0.5%
Min. Deposit
$0
Signup Offer
CIBC Investor's Edge
★★★★★
Finder rating 3.7 / 5
Available Asset Types
Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual Funds, ETFs, GICs, Precious Metals, IPOs
Stock Trading Fee
$6.95
Min. Deposit
$0
Signup Offer
Get 100 free trades when you open a CIBC Investor’s Edge account using promo code EDGE2425. Plus, get $200 or more cash back. Valid until March 31, 2025.
How we rate trading platforms
★★★★★ 5/5 — Excellent
★★★★★ 4/5 — Good
★★★★★ 3/5 — Average
★★★★★ 2/5 — Subpar
★★★★★ 1/5 — Poor
We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability.
For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate trading platforms.
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