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Qtrade Direct Investing

Choose the best online trading platform with these key factors.

If you want to manage your own investments, how do you choose the best online broker?

We recommend that you consider six factors:

Ease of use

The best online brokers put serious effort into designing intuitive, easy-to-use features for both experts and beginners. Managing your investments should be quick and straightforward on desktop and mobile devices. Qtrade offers a robust desktop experience along with mobile apps for both Apple and Android phones. 

Tools and research

The best online brokers offer sophisticated tools and research sources to help you plan and set goals, find and evaluate investing ideas, trade and review your portfolios. Qtrade offers a full range of tools, including screeners, watchlists, notifications and real-time quotes.

Account information

To manage your investments effectively, you want rich data and complete insight into your accounts and holdings. The best online brokerage firms provide detailed account summaries and performance reports. Qtrade allows you to switch easily among multiple account views, so you can see if you're on track to meet your investment goals.

Customer service

If you have a question or need to resolve an issue, you want prompt, accurate help. From the best to the worst, levels of customer service vary widely among Canadian brokers. Qtrade offers multiple service options, including phone, email, and comprehensive FAQs. For clients with complex needs, we offer support through dedicated relationship managers. 

Innovation

Online services evolve rapidly. The best online brokers are committed to continuous improvement, so you always know you're getting leading-edge features to help you achieve your investing goals. Qtrade is always adding new features and improvements to our platform to give you the best experience possible. 

Cost

Competition between brokers has driven costs steadily lower over the years, and Qtrade  responded by eliminating commissions on stocks, ETFs and mutual funds as of October 2025. Beyond commissions, you should also consider costs like margin and foreign exchange (FX) rates. 

Take control of your financial future with Qtrade

Choose Qtrade when you want a $0 commission structure combined with a premium, full-featured platform and competitive margin and FX rates, rather than sacrificing tools for price.

 

Best in class

Finding the best online brokerages based on these criteria can be a bit of a chore. Fortunately, there are good third-party evaluations to turn to, including annual rankings of online brokerages from The Globe and Mail, Surviscor and MoneySense.

On platform quality, Surviscor currently ranks Qtrade Direct Investing #1 among Canadian online brokerages for desktop experience, with a score of 86.7 out of 100, ahead of all major bank-owned and independent brokerages.

Frequently asked questions

  • Yes. As of October 2025, Qtrade Direct Investing charges $0 commission on trades of equities, ETFs and mutual funds for all new and existing clients. Quarterly administration fees have also been eliminated. This applies across all Canadian dollar account types, including TFSAs, RRSPs, FHSAs and non-registered accounts.

  • Qtrade Direct Investing has no minimum deposit requirement, so you can open an account and start investing with any amount. You simply need a government-issued ID, your Social Insurance Number (SIN) and basic financial details to complete the online application, which typically takes one to three business days to process.

  • Qtrade offers $0 commission trading on stocks, mutual funds and ETFs, alongside a robust platform so you don’t need to sacrifice performance for cost.

    • Platform depth and tools: Qtrade offers a wide range of professional-grade research tools, including portfolio analytics powered by Wealthscope, a Portfolio Creator, stock and ETF screeners, Morningstar analyst reports and real-time quotes.
    • Account types: Qtrade supports a broad range of registered and non-registered accounts, including cash, margin, TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs, LIRAs, LIFs, RESPs and FHSAs.
    • Customer service: Qtrade offers phone, email, live chat and chatbot support with a goal of answering 80% of calls within two minutes.
    • Managed investing: Qtrade also offers Qtrade Guided Portfolios for investors who prefer a hands-off, automated approach
    • Competitive rates: Qtrade margin and FX rates are some of the best in the industry, providing exceptional value for self-directed investors.

    Choose Qtrade when you want a $0 commission structure paired with a full-featured platform, strong research tools and award-winning customer service. 

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Qtrade Guided Portfolios is a division of Aviso Financial Inc.