Best Investing Apps in Canada 2026: Brokerages + Robos Ranked for Beginners

Quick Answer

For most Canadian investors in 2026, the best investing app is Wealthsimple (best for beginners — $0 stock and ETF commissions, the cleanest app, fractional shares, and a managed option at 0.5%, dropping to 0.4% above $100,000) or Questrade (best for larger or more active investors — $0 stock and ETF commissions plus USD accounts that cut FX costs on US-listed ETFs). Qtrade announced zero-commission trading in October 2025, and RBC Direct Investing remains the strongest pick if you want everything under one Big Six roof despite its $9.95 standard trade commission. All of these apps let you hold an RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA under one login — for 2026 you can contribute up to $33,810 to an RRSP, $7,000 to a TFSA, and $8,000 to an FHSA (up to a $40,000 lifetime maximum). The decision that saves you the most money is not which app you pick but which account you fill first and what you actually buy inside it. (Brokerage fee figures verified May 2026 from each platform's published pricing.)

Talk to a CFP — free 15-minute call

Picking the app is the easy part. The harder question is which account to fund first and what to hold inside it for your tax bracket. Book a free 15-minute call and we will map your RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA contribution order to your actual income. No sales pitch — just the math on your numbers.

How We Ranked: Commission + Management Fee + Account Fit

Choosing a Canadian investing app is no longer mostly about commissions, because two of the biggest players charge nothing to trade stocks and ETFs. The real differences are in management fee (if you want a portfolio built for you), foreign-exchange cost (if you hold US-listed funds), and how well the app fits the way you actually invest. We ranked on three criteria, weighted equally:

Commission and fees: the per-trade cost to buy and sell stocks and ETFs, plus any account, inactivity, or FX-conversion costs. Lower is better, and on a small balance these are a heavier drag than they look.
Management fee (for managed/robo accounts): the annual percentage a robo-advisor charges to build and rebalance your portfolio, on top of the underlying ETF MER. Relevant only if you do not want to pick holdings yourself.
Account fit: who the platform genuinely suits — pure beginner, larger DIY investor, US-listed-ETF holder, or someone who wants everything inside one bank. The best app for a $300 first contribution is not the best app for a $250,000 RRSP.

We only included apps reasonably accessible to retail Canadians with RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA support. All brokerage fee figures below were verified in May 2026 from each platform's own published pricing — rates change, so confirm the current number on the provider's site before you open an account. If your investing goal includes Shariah compliance, the app matters less than what you hold: see our ranked guide to the best halal ETFs in Canada for 2026.

The Ranking: 5 Canadian Investing Apps Compared Head-to-Head

Rank	App	Stock/ETF commission	Managed/robo fee	Best for
1	Wealthsimple	$0	0.5% (0.4% above $100K)	Beginners; small balances; hands-off investors
2	Questrade	$0	~0.25%–0.50% (managed portfolios)	Larger DIY; US-listed ETFs (USD account)
3	Qtrade Direct Investing	$0 (announced Oct 2025)	Qtrade Guided Portfolios (managed)	Research-driven DIY investors
4	Interactive Brokers (IBKR)	Low per-share / tiered	—	Active traders; global markets; FX efficiency
5	RBC Direct Investing	$9.95/trade (select ETFs free)	RBC InvestEase (managed)	Existing RBC clients wanting one roof

The headline is that the two top picks cost the same to trade: $0. That means the choice between Wealthsimple and Questrade comes down to fit, not commission. The bigger cost differences show up only when you either want a portfolio managed for you (the robo fee) or hold US-listed ETFs and pay FX on every conversion. Get those two things right and the per-trade commission is almost a rounding error.

Pick #1: Wealthsimple — Best for Beginners and Hands-Off Investors

Wealthsimple is the default recommendation for a first-time Canadian investor, and it earns the spot. Self-directed accounts charge $0 commission on Canadian and US-listed stocks and ETFs, with no account or inactivity fee (verified May 2026). Fractional shares let you put a $50 contribution fully to work instead of leaving a remainder in cash. The app is the cleanest in the market, and you can open a TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA in minutes.

For investors who do not want to pick holdings, Wealthsimple's managed (robo) accounts charge a 0.5% management fee, dropping to 0.4% once your household assets reach $100,000, on top of the underlying ETF MER (verified May 2026). On a $25,000 managed account that is roughly $125 a year for a fully built and rebalanced portfolio — reasonable for someone who would otherwise not invest at all.

The one cost to watch: on the base tier, buying a US-listed ETF converts CAD to USD at roughly a 1.5% FX spread each time. If your RRSP will be heavy on US-listed funds and you trade often, that spread can outweigh the zero commission.

Who it suits: the beginner making their first contributions, anyone investing small or irregular amounts who needs fractional shares, and hands-off investors who want a managed portfolio without doing the rebalancing themselves.

Pick #2: Questrade — Best for Larger and US-Listed-ETF Investors

Questrade matches Wealthsimple on the headline number — $0 commission on Canadian and US-listed stock and ETF trades (verified May 2026) — and pulls ahead for two specific kinds of investor. First, it supports USD-denominated registered accounts, so you convert CAD to USD once rather than paying an FX spread on every US-listed ETF purchase. For an RRSP weighted toward US funds, that single difference can save more over time than any commission ever did. Second, its research tools, order types, and platform depth suit someone holding larger or more varied positions.

Questrade also offers managed portfolios for hands-off investors, with all-in costs that generally land in the 0.25% to 0.50% range typical of Canadian robo-advisors. For a DIY investor, though, the appeal is the self-directed side: zero commission, USD account capability, and a platform built to scale with the portfolio.

Who it suits: the investor funding a larger account, anyone holding meaningful US-listed ETF positions who wants to avoid repeated FX conversion, and DIY investors who want more platform depth than a beginner app provides.

Pick #3: Qtrade Direct Investing — Best for Research-Driven DIY

Qtrade has long been rated near the top of Canadian self-directed platforms for research quality and customer service. In October 2025 it announced it would introduce zero-commission trading on stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds (verified May 2026), erasing the per-trade cost that previously separated it from Wealthsimple and Questrade.

The reason to choose Qtrade over the top two is the depth of its research and analyst tooling for investors who want to make informed individual-security decisions rather than simply buy a broad-market ETF. It also offers Qtrade Guided Portfolios for those who prefer a managed approach. For a pure beginner the app is a touch more involved than Wealthsimple, which is why it ranks third for that audience even with matching commissions.

Who it suits: the DIY investor who values strong research tools and is choosing individual stocks or ETFs deliberately, now without paying a per-trade commission.

Pick #4: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) — Best for Active and Global Investors

Interactive Brokers is the power-user platform. Its pricing is low per-share or tiered rather than a flat $0, which can make it the cheapest option for high-volume traders and the most cost-effective route to international markets. IBKR offers genuinely competitive FX conversion, which matters if you hold US-listed or international ETFs and want to minimise currency drag inside an RRSP.

The trade-off is complexity. The interface is built for active traders, not first-timers, and the learning curve is real. For a beginner making monthly TFSA contributions, IBKR is overkill. For someone trading frequently, holding multiple currencies, or accessing markets outside North America, it is often the lowest-cost serious option available to Canadians.

Who it suits: active traders, investors holding international or multi-currency positions, and anyone prioritising the tightest FX conversion on US-listed holdings inside a registered account.

Pick #5: RBC Direct Investing — Best for Existing Big Six Clients

RBC Direct Investing charges $9.95 per online stock or ETF trade on its standard plan (verified May 2026), which is hard to justify on cost alone when two competitors charge nothing. It has narrowed the gap with commission-free trading on a list of select ETFs and by dropping some mutual-fund purchase fees, but for an investor buying an ETF with each monthly contribution, $9.95 a trade adds up to roughly $120 a year you would not pay at Wealthsimple or Questrade.

The genuine reason to choose it is integration. If your chequing, savings, mortgage, and credit card are all at RBC, holding your RRSP and TFSA there too means one login, instant transfers, and a single view of your finances. For investors who value that consolidation — and many do — the modest fee premium can be worth it. RBC also offers InvestEase, its managed robo option, for hands-off clients who want to stay inside the bank.

Who it suits: existing RBC clients who want everything under one roof and are willing to pay a small commission premium for that convenience.

The Account Decision Matters More Than the App Decision

Whichever app you choose, the bigger money lever is which registered account you fund first and what you hold inside it. The 2026 contribution limits set the ceiling on each tax shelter:

Account	2026 contribution room	Tax treatment	Best held inside
FHSA	$8,000/yr ($40,000 lifetime)	Deductible going in, tax-free out for a home	First-time homebuyers, near-term
RRSP	$33,810 (or 18% of earned income)	Deductible; taxed on withdrawal	US-listed ETFs (treaty waives 15% withholding)
TFSA	$7,000 ($109,000 cumulative)	Tax-free forever	Highest-growth long-term holdings
Non-registered	No limit	50% capital gains inclusion on sale	Overflow after the registered accounts are full

The practical sequencing for most investors: fund the FHSA first if you are buying a home within a few years (the deduction plus tax-free withdrawal for a qualifying purchase is the strongest combination Canada offers a first-time buyer), then the RRSP if you are in a high tax bracket, then the TFSA for tax-free compounding, then a non-registered account for anything left over. This ordering saves more over a career than the difference between any two apps on this list.

The withholding-tax trap most app reviews skip: a US-listed ETF held in a TFSA loses 15% of its US dividends to withholding tax that you cannot recover. Held in an RRSP, the Canada-US tax treaty waives that 15% entirely. On a $50,000 US-listed ETF position yielding 1.2%, that is roughly $90 a year lost in a TFSA that an RRSP would keep. This applies on every app — the fix is account placement, not app choice.

Robo-Advisor or Self-Directed? The Fee Math

The single biggest cost decision is not which app but whether you let a robo-advisor manage the portfolio or buy ETFs yourself. A Canadian robo-advisor typically costs 0.40% to 0.50% per year in management fee, plus the underlying ETF MER. A self-directed investor who buys a single broad-market all-in-one ETF pays only that ETF's MER — often around 0.20% — and nothing in management fee.

On a $50,000 portfolio, a 0.50% robo fee is about $250 a year. The all-in-one ETF route avoids that fee entirely, leaving roughly $100 a year in MER. The $150 gap is the price of having the portfolio built, rebalanced, and left alone for you. For an investor who would otherwise panic-sell in a downturn or never get around to rebalancing, that behavioural discipline is worth paying for. For a disciplined investor comfortable buying one ETF and ignoring it, the self-directed route is the clear winner — and the gap widens as the balance grows, because the robo fee scales with assets while the work of holding one ETF does not.

Errors to Avoid When Choosing a Canadian Investing App

1. Optimising for commission when both top apps are already $0

Wealthsimple and Questrade both charge $0 to trade stocks and ETFs. Agonising over commission between them is solving a problem that no longer exists. Decide on fit — beginner simplicity versus USD-account FX efficiency — not on a per-trade fee that is identical.

2. Holding US-listed ETFs in a TFSA instead of an RRSP

The 15% US withholding tax on dividends is waived in an RRSP under the Canada-US tax treaty but not in a TFSA. Put your US-listed funds in the RRSP. This is an account-placement decision that no app makes for you.

3. Paying a robo fee on a large, simple portfolio

A 0.50% robo management fee on a $200,000 portfolio is roughly $1,000 a year. If that portfolio is just an all-in-one ETF you could hold yourself for the ETF's MER alone, you are paying four figures a year for rebalancing you could do in five minutes. Robo-advisors earn their fee on small or behaviourally fragile accounts, not on large simple ones.

4. Ignoring the FX spread on US-listed ETF purchases

On apps without a USD account, every CAD-to-USD conversion to buy a US-listed ETF costs an FX spread — around 1.5% on some base tiers. If your portfolio is US-heavy and you contribute monthly, that spread quietly outruns the zero commission. A USD account at Questrade or IBKR, or norbert's gambit, removes the leak.

Free 15-minute portfolio setup review

Want to know which account to fund first and which app fits your tax bracket and goals? Book a free 15-minute call with our planning team. We will walk through the FHSA-RRSP-TFSA sequencing, the US-withholding-tax placement, and the robo-versus-DIY fee math against your actual numbers.

Key Takeaways

1Wealthsimple and Questrade both charge $0 commission on Canadian and US-listed stocks and ETFs (verified May 2026) — for a beginner, Wealthsimple's app and fractional shares win; for larger or US-heavy portfolios, Questrade's USD accounts cut FX costs
2A managed robo-advisor in Canada costs roughly 0.40% to 0.50% per year plus the underlying ETF MER — on a $50,000 portfolio that is about $250 a year versus near-zero for a self-directed all-in-one ETF
3Every major app lets you open an RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA under one login — 2026 limits are $33,810 (RRSP), $7,000 (TFSA), and $8,000/year up to $40,000 lifetime (FHSA)
4Hold US-listed ETFs in your RRSP, not your TFSA — the Canada-US tax treaty waives the 15% US dividend withholding tax in an RRSP but not in a TFSA, regardless of which app you use
5RBC Direct Investing's $9.95 standard commission is roughly $120/year of avoidable cost for a monthly-contributing ETF buyer — justified mainly if you want everything inside one Big Six bank

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:What is the cheapest investing app in Canada in 2026?

A:For self-directed investors who buy stocks and ETFs themselves, Wealthsimple and Questrade are the two cheapest on commissions — both charge $0 commission on Canadian and US-listed stock and ETF trades (verified May 2026 from each platform's own pricing page). Qtrade announced in October 2025 that it would also move to zero-commission trading on stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. The 'cheapest' label depends on what else you pay: FX conversion when you buy US-listed securities with Canadian dollars (typically 1.5% on Wealthsimple's base tier, lower or avoidable on Questrade if you hold a USD account), and any platform or inactivity fees. Wealthsimple charges no account or inactivity fee on self-directed accounts; Questrade dropped its old quarterly inactivity fee. For a hands-off investor who wants a managed portfolio instead of picking holdings, the cheapest robo route runs roughly 0.40% to 0.50% per year in management fee plus the underlying ETF MER — Wealthsimple's managed accounts charge 0.5%, dropping to 0.4% once you hold $100,000 or more.

Q:Wealthsimple vs Questrade — which is better for a beginner?

A:For a true beginner who wants the simplest possible path into a TFSA or RRSP, Wealthsimple usually wins on user experience: the app is the cleanest in the Canadian market, account opening takes minutes, fractional shares let you start with small dollar amounts, and there are no commissions. Questrade is the stronger choice once you are buying larger ETF positions, want a USD account to avoid repeated FX conversion, or want more advanced order types and research tools. Both charge $0 commission on stocks and ETFs (verified May 2026). The practical rule: if your first contribution is a few hundred dollars and you want to learn by doing, start with Wealthsimple; if you are funding a $25,000-plus account and care about FX efficiency on US-listed ETFs, lean Questrade. Neither choice is reversible-proof — you can transfer your account later, and most brokerages reimburse transfer-out fees up to a cap.

Q:Can I open an RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA inside the same investing app?

A:Yes. Every major Canadian investing app — Wealthsimple, Questrade, Qtrade, RBC Direct Investing — lets you open and hold RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA accounts under one login. These are CRA-registered account types, not products tied to a single institution. For 2026 the contribution limits are: RRSP $33,810 (or 18% of prior-year earned income, whichever is lower), TFSA $7,000 (cumulative room of $109,000 if you were 18 or older in 2009 and never contributed), and FHSA $8,000 per year up to a $40,000 lifetime maximum for first-time homebuyers. The same halal, US-listed, or Canadian securities can sit in any of these accounts. The decision that matters more than which app you pick is which account you fill first — generally FHSA for a near-term home purchase, then RRSP if you are in a high tax bracket, then TFSA for long-term tax-free growth.

Q:Are commission-free trading apps actually free in Canada?

A:No app is free on every dimension — 'commission-free' means no per-trade commission, not zero total cost. On Wealthsimple and Questrade you pay $0 commission to buy or sell Canadian and US-listed stocks and ETFs (verified May 2026). What you can still pay: a foreign-exchange spread when converting CAD to USD to buy US-listed securities (around 1.5% on Wealthsimple's base tier), the management expense ratio baked into any ETF you hold (typically 0.05% to 0.25% for broad-market funds, higher for specialty funds), and — on managed robo accounts — a management fee of 0.40% to 0.50% per year. There can also be ECN fees on certain order types and account-transfer-out fees if you leave (often reimbursed by the receiving brokerage). The free-commission era is real and genuinely lowers costs, but read the FX and MER lines, because over decades those are where the money actually leaks.

Q:Should a beginner use a robo-advisor or a self-directed app?

A:Use a robo-advisor if you do not want to choose holdings, rebalance, or think about asset allocation — you answer a risk questionnaire, deposit money, and the platform builds and maintains a diversified ETF portfolio for roughly 0.40% to 0.50% per year on top of the underlying ETF MER. Use a self-directed app if you are willing to buy one or two broad-market ETFs yourself, because doing so cuts the management fee to zero and leaves only the ETF's own MER (often around 0.20% for an all-in-one fund). On a $50,000 portfolio, the robo management fee of roughly 0.50% costs about $250 per year that a self-directed all-in-one ETF avoids. The robo premium buys automatic rebalancing and the discipline of not touching it — for many beginners that behavioural benefit is worth $250 a year. The crossover point where DIY clearly wins is usually somewhere above $100,000, where the percentage-based robo fee grows while the work of holding one ETF stays the same.

Q:Which investing app is best for holding US-listed ETFs in an RRSP?

A:For US-listed ETFs, the account matters as much as the app: inside an RRSP, the Canada-US tax treaty eliminates the 15% US withholding tax on dividends, while inside a TFSA that 15% is lost and unrecoverable. So you want a US-listed ETF in an RRSP regardless of which app you use. Among apps, Questrade and Interactive Brokers are strongest for US-listed holdings because both let you hold a USD account, so you convert CAD to USD once rather than paying an FX spread on every trade. Wealthsimple supports US-listed ETFs in an RRSP too, but on its base tier the FX conversion applies each time you buy unless you upgrade to a tier that allows USD accounts. For an investor whose RRSP is heavily weighted to US-listed funds and who trades regularly, the FX efficiency of a USD account at Questrade or IBKR can outweigh small differences in commission — which are zero on both Questrade and Wealthsimple anyway.

Q:Do I need a separate app for halal or Shariah-compliant investing?

A:No — you can hold Shariah-compliant ETFs and individually screened stocks inside any major Canadian self-directed app (Wealthsimple, Questrade, IBKR) in your RRSP, TFSA, or FHSA. Wealthsimple additionally offers a managed Halal portfolio inside its robo-advisor for investors who want the screening and rebalancing handled automatically. The screening standard most halal funds use is AAOIFI-aligned: no conventional banks or insurers, interest-bearing debt below 30% to 33% of market cap, and impermissible income under 5% of revenue. Broad-market Canadian and US ETFs generally fail that screen because they hold the Big Six banks and major insurers, whose interest income breaches the ratios. If Shariah compliance is a requirement, do not default to a generic all-in-one ETF inside any app — choose a purpose-built halal fund or screen individual holdings. We cover the fund-by-fund ranking in our guide to the best halal ETFs in Canada.

Q:Is RBC Direct Investing worth the $9.95 commission when others are free?

A:For most new investors, no — paying $9.95 per stock or ETF trade (RBC Direct Investing's standard rate, verified May 2026) is hard to justify when Wealthsimple and Questrade charge $0. On a portfolio where you contribute monthly and buy an ETF each time, $9.95 per trade is roughly $120 a year in commissions you would not pay elsewhere, and on a small balance that is a meaningful drag. RBC Direct does offer commission-free trading on a list of select ETFs and has dropped some mutual-fund purchase fees, which narrows the gap for investors who stick to those funds. The genuine reason to choose a Big Six brokerage is integration: if your chequing, savings, and mortgage are all at RBC and you value seeing everything in one place, the convenience can be worth a modest fee premium. But purely on cost for a beginner buying ETFs, the zero-commission apps win clearly.

Question: What is the cheapest investing app in Canada in 2026?

Answer: For self-directed investors who buy stocks and ETFs themselves, Wealthsimple and Questrade are the two cheapest on commissions — both charge $0 commission on Canadian and US-listed stock and ETF trades (verified May 2026 from each platform's own pricing page). Qtrade announced in October 2025 that it would also move to zero-commission trading on stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. The 'cheapest' label depends on what else you pay: FX conversion when you buy US-listed securities with Canadian dollars (typically 1.5% on Wealthsimple's base tier, lower or avoidable on Questrade if you hold a USD account), and any platform or inactivity fees. Wealthsimple charges no account or inactivity fee on self-directed accounts; Questrade dropped its old quarterly inactivity fee. For a hands-off investor who wants a managed portfolio instead of picking holdings, the cheapest robo route runs roughly 0.40% to 0.50% per year in management fee plus the underlying ETF MER — Wealthsimple's managed accounts charge 0.5%, dropping to 0.4% once you hold $100,000 or more.

Question: Wealthsimple vs Questrade — which is better for a beginner?

Answer: For a true beginner who wants the simplest possible path into a TFSA or RRSP, Wealthsimple usually wins on user experience: the app is the cleanest in the Canadian market, account opening takes minutes, fractional shares let you start with small dollar amounts, and there are no commissions. Questrade is the stronger choice once you are buying larger ETF positions, want a USD account to avoid repeated FX conversion, or want more advanced order types and research tools. Both charge $0 commission on stocks and ETFs (verified May 2026). The practical rule: if your first contribution is a few hundred dollars and you want to learn by doing, start with Wealthsimple; if you are funding a $25,000-plus account and care about FX efficiency on US-listed ETFs, lean Questrade. Neither choice is reversible-proof — you can transfer your account later, and most brokerages reimburse transfer-out fees up to a cap.

Question: Can I open an RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA inside the same investing app?

Answer: Yes. Every major Canadian investing app — Wealthsimple, Questrade, Qtrade, RBC Direct Investing — lets you open and hold RRSP, TFSA, and FHSA accounts under one login. These are CRA-registered account types, not products tied to a single institution. For 2026 the contribution limits are: RRSP $33,810 (or 18% of prior-year earned income, whichever is lower), TFSA $7,000 (cumulative room of $109,000 if you were 18 or older in 2009 and never contributed), and FHSA $8,000 per year up to a $40,000 lifetime maximum for first-time homebuyers. The same halal, US-listed, or Canadian securities can sit in any of these accounts. The decision that matters more than which app you pick is which account you fill first — generally FHSA for a near-term home purchase, then RRSP if you are in a high tax bracket, then TFSA for long-term tax-free growth.

Question: Are commission-free trading apps actually free in Canada?

Answer: No app is free on every dimension — 'commission-free' means no per-trade commission, not zero total cost. On Wealthsimple and Questrade you pay $0 commission to buy or sell Canadian and US-listed stocks and ETFs (verified May 2026). What you can still pay: a foreign-exchange spread when converting CAD to USD to buy US-listed securities (around 1.5% on Wealthsimple's base tier), the management expense ratio baked into any ETF you hold (typically 0.05% to 0.25% for broad-market funds, higher for specialty funds), and — on managed robo accounts — a management fee of 0.40% to 0.50% per year. There can also be ECN fees on certain order types and account-transfer-out fees if you leave (often reimbursed by the receiving brokerage). The free-commission era is real and genuinely lowers costs, but read the FX and MER lines, because over decades those are where the money actually leaks.

Question: Should a beginner use a robo-advisor or a self-directed app?

Answer: Use a robo-advisor if you do not want to choose holdings, rebalance, or think about asset allocation — you answer a risk questionnaire, deposit money, and the platform builds and maintains a diversified ETF portfolio for roughly 0.40% to 0.50% per year on top of the underlying ETF MER. Use a self-directed app if you are willing to buy one or two broad-market ETFs yourself, because doing so cuts the management fee to zero and leaves only the ETF's own MER (often around 0.20% for an all-in-one fund). On a $50,000 portfolio, the robo management fee of roughly 0.50% costs about $250 per year that a self-directed all-in-one ETF avoids. The robo premium buys automatic rebalancing and the discipline of not touching it — for many beginners that behavioural benefit is worth $250 a year. The crossover point where DIY clearly wins is usually somewhere above $100,000, where the percentage-based robo fee grows while the work of holding one ETF stays the same.

Question: Which investing app is best for holding US-listed ETFs in an RRSP?

Answer: For US-listed ETFs, the account matters as much as the app: inside an RRSP, the Canada-US tax treaty eliminates the 15% US withholding tax on dividends, while inside a TFSA that 15% is lost and unrecoverable. So you want a US-listed ETF in an RRSP regardless of which app you use. Among apps, Questrade and Interactive Brokers are strongest for US-listed holdings because both let you hold a USD account, so you convert CAD to USD once rather than paying an FX spread on every trade. Wealthsimple supports US-listed ETFs in an RRSP too, but on its base tier the FX conversion applies each time you buy unless you upgrade to a tier that allows USD accounts. For an investor whose RRSP is heavily weighted to US-listed funds and who trades regularly, the FX efficiency of a USD account at Questrade or IBKR can outweigh small differences in commission — which are zero on both Questrade and Wealthsimple anyway.

Question: Do I need a separate app for halal or Shariah-compliant investing?

Answer: No — you can hold Shariah-compliant ETFs and individually screened stocks inside any major Canadian self-directed app (Wealthsimple, Questrade, IBKR) in your RRSP, TFSA, or FHSA. Wealthsimple additionally offers a managed Halal portfolio inside its robo-advisor for investors who want the screening and rebalancing handled automatically. The screening standard most halal funds use is AAOIFI-aligned: no conventional banks or insurers, interest-bearing debt below 30% to 33% of market cap, and impermissible income under 5% of revenue. Broad-market Canadian and US ETFs generally fail that screen because they hold the Big Six banks and major insurers, whose interest income breaches the ratios. If Shariah compliance is a requirement, do not default to a generic all-in-one ETF inside any app — choose a purpose-built halal fund or screen individual holdings. We cover the fund-by-fund ranking in our guide to the best halal ETFs in Canada.

Question: Is RBC Direct Investing worth the $9.95 commission when others are free?

Answer: For most new investors, no — paying $9.95 per stock or ETF trade (RBC Direct Investing's standard rate, verified May 2026) is hard to justify when Wealthsimple and Questrade charge $0. On a portfolio where you contribute monthly and buy an ETF each time, $9.95 per trade is roughly $120 a year in commissions you would not pay elsewhere, and on a small balance that is a meaningful drag. RBC Direct does offer commission-free trading on a list of select ETFs and has dropped some mutual-fund purchase fees, which narrows the gap for investors who stick to those funds. The genuine reason to choose a Big Six brokerage is integration: if your chequing, savings, and mortgage are all at RBC and you value seeing everything in one place, the convenience can be worth a modest fee premium. But purely on cost for a beginner buying ETFs, the zero-commission apps win clearly.