Investing · Comparison
Wealthsimple vs Questrade: which wins in 2026?
Canada's two favourite brokers both charge $0 on stocks and ETFs, both hold every registered account, and both rebate your transfer fees — so the old comparison is dead. The real fight: Wealthsimple's $0 options and full money ecosystem against Questrade's managed portfolios at half the fee. Every figure verified at the source.
Wealthsimple
Spend, save, trade, borrow, file taxes — one login
- $0 options — the only platform in Canada without contract fees
- Chequing at 1.25–2.25%, a 2% cash-back card, mortgages, tax filing
- Tiers reward consolidation: free USD accounts and tax-loss harvesting at $100k
- 1% transfer match on $25k+ — ends Sep 15, 2026
Questrade
The investing specialist — since 1999, bank licence approved
- Questwealth at 0.20–0.25% — managed money at half WS's fee
- Published underlying MERs (0.17–0.22%) — rare transparency
- Real-time fractional shares; clean Norbert's Gambit in registered accounts
- Up to $300 cash (GET300) — ends Jun 22, 2026
Head to head, 12 factors
| Factor | Wealthsimple | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Stock & ETF commissions | $0, Canadian and US | $0, Canadian and US |
| Options | $0 — no commission, no contract fee (alone in Canada) | $0.99/contract with volume rebates |
| Managed investing fee | 0.5% (Core), 0.4% at $100k, 0.2–0.4% at $500k+ | Questwealth: 0.25%, dropping to 0.20% at $100k — roughly half WS at every tier |
| Managed minimum & options | $0 minimum; SRI and halal portfolios | $1,000 minimum; SRI only |
| US dollars & FX | 1.5% on CAD accounts; USD accounts $10/mo (free at $100k+ tiers); conversion falls to 0% over $100k | 1.5% conversion, but USD held in registered accounts makes Norbert’s Gambit clean |
| Fractional shares & DRIP | Fractional trading and fractional DRIP, in-app | Real-time fractional trading, commission-free |
| Registered accounts | TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, LIF | TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, FHSA, RESP, LIRA — the full suite |
| Account fees | $0 — no maintenance or inactivity fees | $0 — no maintenance or inactivity fees |
| Beyond investing | Chequing (1.25–2.25%), 2%-cash-back card, mortgages, line of credit, crypto, free-to-cheap tax filing | Investing-pure today — mortgage arm paused; a Questrade bank is OSFI-approved and expected |
| Loyalty tiers | Premium ($100k) and Generation ($500k): free USD accounts, lower managed fees, tax-loss harvesting, better rates | No tier system — everyone gets the same pricing |
| Current offer | 1% transfer match on $25,000+ (paid over 24 months) — ends Sep 15, 2026 | Up to $300 cash (code GET300) — ends Jun 22, 2026 |
| Protection | CIRO dealer, CIPF member | CIRO dealer, CIPF member |
Verified at both brokers' own pricing pages on June 10, 2026. Offers and fees rotate — confirm before opening. Adding Qtrade to the mix? See the three-way · full field: all 13 brokers compared.
The managed-money gap is the real story
Self-directed pricing converged at zero, but hand your money over to be managed and the two diverge sharply. Questwealth charges 0.25%, falling to 0.20% past $100,000 — and publishes its underlying ETF costs (0.17%–0.22%). Wealthsimple charges 0.5%, 0.4% past $100,000, reaching Questwealth territory only for $500k+ Generation clients at the very top end. On a $200,000 retirement portfolio, the 0.40%-vs-0.20% management gap alone is $400 a year — and our MER calculator shows what that compounds into over twenty years. Wealthsimple's managed counterweights are real but specific: no minimum (Questwealth wants $1,000), halal portfolios Questwealth doesn't offer, and tax-loss harvesting from the Premium tier.
Self-directed: nearly twins, two clean splits
Both: $0 stocks and ETFs, fractional shares, every registered account including RRIF, no account fees, $150 transfer-fee rebates. The splits that remain: options — Wealthsimple charges literally nothing while Questrade's $0.99/contract is merely cheap; and US dollars — both start at a 1.5% conversion fee, but they escape it differently. Questrade lets you hold USD in registered accounts and run Norbert's Gambit cleanly; Wealthsimple gates free USD accounts behind its $100k Premium tier (otherwise $10/month) and discounts large conversions to 0% above $100,000. High-volume USD investors should also glance at Interactive Brokers, which makes the whole problem disappear at ~0.03%.
Super-app vs specialist
Wealthsimple stopped being a brokerage years ago — it's now a full money platform: chequing paying 1.25–2.25%, a 2% cash-back credit card, mortgages with tier-based cashback, a portfolio line of credit, crypto, private markets, and tax filing that's free-to-cheap. Its tier system (Core / Premium at $100k / Generation at $500k) is built to reward moving your whole life over. Questrade is the opposite bet: investing-pure — its mortgage arm is currently paused to new applications — but it holds OSFI approval to launch a bank, with products reportedly expected in 2026. If that lands, the ecosystem gap narrows; today, it's Wealthsimple's biggest win.
So which should you pick?
- Managed portfolio, lowest fee? Questwealth — half the management fee at every tier that matters, with published MERs.
- Trade options at all? Wealthsimple — $0 beats $0.99/contract on every trade you'll ever make.
- Consolidating banking + investing + taxes? Wealthsimple — and crossing $100k there unlocks the tier perks that compound the case.
- US-dividend retiree running registered accounts? Either works — Questrade's USD handling is simpler below $100k; Wealthsimple's is free above it.
- Chasing the bonus? Under ~$30k, Questrade's $300 (by Jun 22); above it, Wealthsimple's 1% match (by Sep 15) — if you'll stay the 24 months it takes to collect.
See the whole field
These two lead, but 11 other brokers have niches — cheapest FX, big-bank convenience, active-trader tiers.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better — Wealthsimple or Questrade?
For self-directed investing they’re nearly twins: $0 commissions, full registered lineups including RRIF, fractional shares, no account fees. The clean splits: options traders should pick Wealthsimple ($0 vs $0.99/contract), managed-money clients should pick Questwealth (0.20–0.25% vs 0.4–0.5% — half the fee), and anyone consolidating their whole financial life picks Wealthsimple for the ecosystem. On our 12-factor scorecard Wealthsimple takes it 4–1, but the single biggest dollar difference on the page favours Questrade.
Questwealth vs Wealthsimple Managed — how big is the fee gap really?
At $100,000+, Questwealth charges 0.20% against Wealthsimple’s 0.40% — on a $200,000 portfolio that’s $400 every year, before compounding does its quiet damage over a retirement. Questwealth also publishes its underlying ETF costs (0.17%–0.22%). Wealthsimple’s counterpunches: no minimum (Questwealth needs $1,000), halal portfolios (Questwealth has none), and tax-loss harvesting at the $100k tier. Run the long-term drag through our MER calculator — fee differences this size decide retirements.
Is Wealthsimple as safe as Questrade?
Equivalently protected. Both are CIRO-regulated investment dealers and CIPF members — up to $1M for general accounts, plus $1M for registered retirement accounts combined, plus $1M for RESPs, if the firm itself fails (never against market losses). Wealthsimple’s cash products are additionally held in trust at CDIC member banks. Neither is a fly-by-night: Wealthsimple manages tens of billions; Questrade has operated since 1999 and now holds OSFI approval to launch its own bank. See our CDIC planner for the deposit side.
Which should a retiree pick?
Both hold RRIFs, LIRAs and LIFs, so either works structurally. The tiebreakers: a retiree with $100k+ consolidated at Wealthsimple unlocks free USD accounts, 1.75–2.25% on chequing cash, tax-loss harvesting and cheaper managed fees — the tier system genuinely rewards consolidation. A retiree who wants managed money at the lowest fee takes Questwealth and keeps roughly 0.2% a year. And if you hold US dividend payers, both let you keep USD in registered accounts. Pair either with the drawdown plan in our withdrawal-order guide.
What does switching cost — and which transfer bonus is better?
Your old broker will charge a transfer-out fee (typically $150); both sides reimburse it — Questrade up to $150 per account at any balance, Wealthsimple one fee per $25,000 moved. On bonuses, the math has a crossover: Questrade pays up to $300 cash (ends June 22, 2026); Wealthsimple matches 1% of transfers over $25,000 (ends September 15, 2026) — paid over 24 months, and reduced if you withdraw beyond a buffer. Moving more than ~$30,000? The 1% match pays more, if you’ll stay two years. Our offer tracker watches both.
How current is this comparison?
Self-directed pricing, managed fees, minimums, tier thresholds and offers were verified at both companies’ own pricing pages on June 10, 2026. Two notes from that pass: QuestMortgage is paused to new applications, and Questrade’s banking launch is OSFI-approved but not yet live (timing per MoneySense). Pricing and offers change without notice — confirm on the broker’s page before opening. See our methodology and the full 13-broker comparison.
This page is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Commissions, managed-fee tiers, account minimums and offers change without notice; everything here was verified at both companies' own pricing pages on June 10, 2026 (Questrade's banking timeline per MoneySense). CIPF protects against member-firm insolvency, never market losses. Confirm current terms before opening or transferring an account. See our methodology.