By OptiVal Editorial Desk
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Wealthsimple vs Questrade is the comparison almost every new Canadian investor makes first. They are the two best-known low-cost brokerages in the country, and both now charge $0 commission on stock and ETF trades. That used to settle the debate. It does not anymore.
With commissions at zero on both sides, the real differences live elsewhere: what it costs to convert currency, which accounts you can open, whether you can buy fractional shares, how the platforms feel day to day, and what happens when you would rather have someone manage the money for you. Here is the honest breakdown for 2026.
Helpful tool: sort out your contribution room before you open anything. For 2026 the TFSA annual limit is $7,000, and your personal room depends on your age and history. The broker will not stop you from over-contributing, and the CRA charges 1% per month on the excess. We built a TFSA, RRSP and FHSA Contribution Tracker for exactly this. Grab it under Templates and Tools.
Wealthsimple vs Questrade: the fee breakdown
Start with the headline both companies want you to see: $0 commission to buy and sell Canadian and US stocks and ETFs. Wealthsimple has been commission-free since the beginning. Questrade joined the club in February 2025, when it dropped its old per-share pricing entirely.
So where does the money go? Currency conversion. Both charge roughly 1.5% to convert Canadian dollars to US dollars on a standard account. On a $10,000 purchase of a US-listed stock, that is about $150 on the way in and another $150 when you sell. For a beginner buying Canadian-listed ETFs, this barely matters. For anyone reaching across the border regularly, it is the single biggest cost on either platform.
Each has an answer. Wealthsimple lets you upgrade to a USD account: $10 a month plus tax on the Core tier (with a 30-day free trial), free once your assets cross $100,000. Questrade gives every customer free dual-currency accounts, so you can hold US dollars inside your TFSA or RRSP, and it supports Norbert’s Gambit, the journal-shares technique that converts currency near the spot rate. Journaling usually runs $9.95 a request unless you are on the Plus tier, where it is free and unlimited.
The small print is genuinely small: Questrade can pass through ECN fees of a fraction of a cent per share on certain order types, and limit orders mostly avoid them. Pennies, not deal-breakers.
The managed option: 0.5% vs 0.25%
Not everyone wants to pick their own ETFs. Wealthsimple’s managed portfolios charge between 0.2% and 0.5% a year depending on your balance. Questrade’s Questwealth Portfolios charge 0.25% a year up to $100,000 and 0.20% above that, plus the underlying ETFs’ own MERs of roughly 0.09% to 0.12%.
Both are a fraction of the 2% or so baked into many bank mutual funds. If you want a hands-off portfolio, Questrade’s headline fee is lower. Wealthsimple’s edge is simplicity: one app, one login, and the managed account sits next to everything else you hold there.
Questrade also sells an optional Plus subscription at $19.99 a month (after a 30-day trial): a 1% match on RRSP contributions, five cents cashback per US equity options contract, free journaling, and streaming market data. Run the numbers before you subscribe. Most beginners will not get $20 a month of value out of it.
Accounts, fractional shares and the day-to-day experience
Account types first. Both cover the beginner staples: TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP and non-registered accounts. Wealthsimple adds crypto trading and keeps everything in one clean app. Questrade’s lineup runs wider, with corporate accounts, trust accounts, and forex and CFD trading if you ever need them.
Fractional shares are a genuine Wealthsimple advantage for small accounts: you can buy a slice of an expensive stock from $1. Questrade offers fractional trading too, but only on select US stocks and ETFs.
Then there is the feel of the thing. Wealthsimple is mobile-first and famously easy; plenty of people open their first account in an evening. Questrade’s mobile app is solid, and its Edge desktop platform gives you real charting and advanced order types for when you outgrow the basics. Wealthsimple also bundles chequing, a cash-back card and even mortgages into the same app. Questrade stays focused on investing but plays nicely with third-party tools like Passiv and TradingView.
Are they safe? The protection question
Yes, in the specific way that matters. Both are members of CIRO, Canada’s investment industry regulator, and both carry CIPF coverage: up to $1 million per account category if the brokerage itself fails. That protects you against firm insolvency. It does not protect you against markets. Your ETF can still fall 20%, and no coverage on earth changes that.
Where each one stands out
Strip away the marketing and the pattern is fairly clear.
Wealthsimple stands out for the simplest start in the industry, fractional shares from $1, the all-in-one money app, and a managed option that lives beside everything else.
Questrade stands out for free USD accounts at any balance, the wider account lineup, the proper desktop platform, cheaper managed portfolios, and friendlier pricing on US-listed securities and options ($0 contract fees on US equity options; $0.99 per contract on Canadian options).
For a beginner buying Canadian ETFs inside a TFSA, the two are closer than the internet makes them look. The gap opens up when you trade US securities often, when you want US dollars sitting inside a registered account, or when you need an account type beyond the basics.
Two mistakes beginners make on either platform
First, buying the US-listed version of a fund when an equivalent Canadian-listed version exists, then paying 1.5% conversion for nothing. Check the listing currency before you buy.
Second, opening a fresh TFSA at a new broker and re-contributing money you withdrew from the old one in the same year. Withdrawals only restore your room the following January 1. Your room is tracked by the CRA, not the broker, so check CRA My Account before you move money. Our TFSA explained guide walks through the rules.
One more, for the incorporated owners reading this: RRSP room comes from salary, not dividends, and it is 18% of earned income up to the annual CRA maximum. Our RRSP explained guide has the current numbers.
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This article is general information for educational purposes. It is not financial advice and does not recommend any specific investment. Consider speaking with a licensed professional about your own situation.
