E*TRADE vs TD Ameritrade

You can no longer choose between E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade as separate brokers. TD Ameritrade was absorbed into Charles Schwab, with the final client accounts moving to Schwab in May 2024. If you are comparing E*TRADE with the former TD Ameritrade experience today, the real comparison is E*TRADE vs Charles Schwab.

Our verdict: Charles Schwab is the better overall choice for serious active traders because it now includes TD Ameritrade's thinkorswim platform, alongside Schwab's broader brokerage ecosystem. E*TRADE is the better choice for traders who value lower futures commissions, discounted options pricing at higher trading volumes, and the Power E*TRADE interface.

For ordinary stock and ETF investors, the gap is much smaller. Both brokers offer $0 online commissions on listed U.S. stocks and ETFs, so your decision should be based primarily on trading software, products and account features rather than basic equity commissions.

What happened to TD Ameritrade?

Across five transition groups, Schwab moved approximately $1.9 trillion in client assets and more than 17 million client accounts from Ameritrade to the Schwab platform. By the end of 2024, TD Ameritrade's broker-dealer entities were no longer registered with the SEC and FINRA.

Crucially, Schwab did not simply kill TD Ameritrade's best-known trading technology. thinkorswim survived the acquisition and is now available to Schwab clients. Schwab describes its current trading proposition as "Schwab Trading Powered by Ameritrade" and offers thinkorswim across desktop, web and mobile.

So if you were searching for E*TRADE vs Ameritrade because you wanted TD Ameritrade's trading platform, the broker you should actually evaluate is Charles Schwab.

Which is better overall: E*TRADE or TD Ameritrade's successor, Schwab?

The reason Schwab gets the overall win is not basic commissions. Those are broadly similar. The difference is the trading environment.

Schwab combines its brokerage infrastructure with thinkorswim, the platform inherited from TD Ameritrade. thinkorswim supports stocks, ETFs, options, futures and forex, with advanced charting, simulated trading and specialised analysis tools.

E*TRADE is far from weak. Power E*TRADE includes paper trading, scanners, risk/reward analysis, technical pattern recognition and more than 145 chart studies and drawing tools. Power E*TRADE Pro adds tools such as futures ladders, advanced options analysis and customisable trading workspaces.

The practical split is:

• Choose Schwab if you specifically wanted TD Ameritrade because of thinkorswim.
• Choose E*TRADE if trading costs on futures matter heavily or you qualify for its active options pricing.
• Choose either for straightforward long-term stock and ETF investing. Basic online equity commissions are not a meaningful differentiator.

E*TRADE vs thinkorswim for active trading

thinkorswim is available as desktop, web and mobile software. It supports advanced charting, options, futures and forex, as well as the paperMoney simulated trading environment. Futures and forex trading at Schwab are handled through thinkorswim.

Power E*TRADE focuses heavily on options analysis and trade discovery. Its tools include:

• Snapshot Analysis for visualising an option trade's theoretical risk and reward
• TradeLab for modelling price, time, volatility and Greeks
• StrategySEEK for identifying options strategies based on a market outlook
• Live Action scanners for identifying potential trading opportunities
• Paper Trading for testing strategies without real capital
• 145+ chart studies and drawing tools

If you previously used TD Ameritrade specifically because of thinkorswim, there is little reason to move to E*TRADE simply because the TD Ameritrade brand disappeared. The core platform you cared about is now at Schwab.

If you find thinkorswim excessive for your needs, Power E*TRADE can be a more approachable alternative while still providing serious options and technical-analysis functionality.

Which broker has lower trading fees?

Stocks and ETFs

Both E*TRADE and Schwab charge $0 online commission for listed U.S. stocks and ETFs, subject to the usual exclusions, regulatory fees and specialist transaction charges.

Winner: Tie

Options

Both begin at $0.65 per options contract with no online base commission.

E*TRADE reduces its contract fee to $0.50 for customers completing at least 30 qualifying stock, ETF and options trades per quarter.

For 100 options contracts, that difference is:

• Schwab at $0.65: $65
• Qualifying E*TRADE pricing at $0.50: $50

That is a $15 difference per 100 contracts before other applicable fees.

Winner: E*TRADE for qualifying active traders

Futures

E*TRADE lists futures at $1.50 per contract, per side, plus fees, excluding certain cryptocurrency futures.

Schwab lists futures and futures options at $2.25 per contract, plus exchange and regulatory fees.

For a trader executing 500 contract sides, the headline commission difference is $375 before additional exchange and regulatory charges:

• E*TRADE: 500 × $1.50 = $750
• Schwab: 500 × $2.25 = $1,125

The more futures volume you trade, the more relevant that gap becomes.

Winner: E*TRADE

Is E*TRADE or Schwab better for options trading?

thinkorswim provides sophisticated options analysis inside a platform designed for active traders across several markets. Schwab charges $0.65 per options contract.

Power E*TRADE is also unusually strong for options. It can model profit and loss, Greeks, volatility scenarios and risk/reward probabilities, while StrategySEEK and Live Action help traders move from finding an opportunity to constructing a strategy.

The decision comes down to your priority:

Choose Schwab and thinkorswim for platform depth. Choose E*TRADE when lower per-contract pricing after 30 qualifying quarterly trades materially affects your costs.

Is E*TRADE or Ameritrade better for futures?

E*TRADE charges $1.50 per futures contract, per side, plus fees. Power E*TRADE Pro includes futures ladders and supports futures and options on futures alongside equities and options.

Schwab charges $2.25 per futures contract and routes futures trading through thinkorswim, where traders have access to custom charting, ladder-based order entry, advanced order types and paperMoney simulation.

Cost winner: E*TRADE. Platform winner: Schwab/thinkorswim.

Which is better for forex trading?

Schwab provides forex trading across more than 65 currency pairs through thinkorswim, with trading costs reflected in the bid-ask spread rather than a separate commission.

E*TRADE's core investment offering instead centres on stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, bonds, futures and digital assets.

For traders who want equities, options, futures and forex inside the same advanced platform, Schwab has the stronger product mix.

Which is better for cryptocurrency?

E*TRADE completed the rollout of spot cryptocurrency trading in July 2026. Eligible customers can directly buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, with E*TRADE listing a commission of 0.50% of trade value.

Schwab began a phased rollout of Schwab Crypto in May 2026, initially providing Bitcoin and Ethereum. In August 2026, Schwab said it planned to add Solana, Avalanche and Chainlink in the coming months.

That makes this category more fluid than stocks or options.

Winner today: E*TRADE for the currently available range of direct spot assets.

Which is better for beginners and passive investors?

E*TRADE Core Portfolios requires a $500 minimum and charges a 0.30% annual advisory fee.

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios requires $5,000 and charges no advisory fee or commissions, although investors still bear ETF expenses and indirect costs associated with the programme's cash allocation.

A $10,000 Core Portfolios balance at E*TRADE would produce a headline advisory fee of approximately $30 per year, before underlying investment expenses.

The more important distinction is the minimum:

• Under $5,000 and want automated management: E*TRADE
• At least $5,000 and prioritise avoiding an explicit robo-advisory fee: Schwab

Self-directed beginners do not need to choose based on robo-advisers at all. Both brokers can handle conventional brokerage and retirement investing.

E*TRADE vs Ameritrade for long-term investors

Both E*TRADE and Schwab provide $0 online stock and ETF trading, retirement accounts and large investment selections. Schwab also has a substantial advisory and physical branch infrastructure, while E*TRADE sits inside Morgan Stanley's wider wealth management ecosystem.

Morgan Stanley completed its acquisition of E*TRADE in October 2020, but E*TRADE continues to operate as a consumer-facing brand.

Long-term investors should therefore look beyond the headline "$0 trades" and compare the actual services they will use, including:

• available mutual funds
• automated investing
• cash management
• retirement accounts
• fixed income
• advisory services
• research
• customer support
• preferred trading interface

There is little value in picking a broker because it saves pennies on features you never use.

Should former TD Ameritrade users switch to E*TRADE?

A switch becomes more compelling when E*TRADE solves a specific problem.

E*TRADE deserves serious consideration if:

• you trade enough options to qualify for its $0.50 contract pricing
• you trade significant futures volume and care about the $1.50 published futures commission
• you prefer the Power E*TRADE interface
• you want E*TRADE's Morgan Stanley-linked banking or wealth-management ecosystem
• its current direct cryptocurrency offering better fits your needs

Moving brokerage accounts creates operational friction. Do it because the economics or functionality are materially better, not because the logo on your old account changed.

E*TRADE vs TD Ameritrade: final verdict

Use this decision rule:

If you care most about...	Better choice
The old TD Ameritrade / thinkorswim experience	Charles Schwab
Advanced multi-market trading	Charles Schwab
Forex	Charles Schwab
Lower futures commissions	E*TRADE
High-volume options pricing	E*TRADE
Direct Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana access now	E*TRADE
Low-cost stock and ETF investing	Either
Automated investing below $5,000	E*TRADE
Robo-advice without an explicit advisory fee	Charles Schwab

The old E*TRADE vs Ameritrade debate has effectively become Power E*TRADE vs thinkorswim at Schwab. Once you frame the decision that way, the right broker depends far more on how you actually invest and trade than on the old brand names.