Fidelity charges $0 commissions on online U.S. stock and ETF trades, and $0 plus $0.65 per contract on options. Beyond trading, though, there are other fees worth knowing about, from mutual fund transaction charges to advisory fees on managed accounts. Here’s a full breakdown of what Fidelity costs across its most popular services.
Stock, ETF, and Options Trading
Online trades of U.S. stocks and ETFs are completely free at Fidelity, regardless of how many shares you buy or sell. There’s no per-trade cap or monthly limit.
Options trades are also commission-free, but you’ll pay $0.65 per contract. So if you buy 10 call contracts, the trade itself costs $0 but you’d owe $6.50 in contract fees. One helpful detail: if you place a “buy to close” order for $0.65 or less per contract, that fee is waived entirely. This saves money when you’re closing out a cheap options position near expiration.
Mutual Fund Fees
Mutual fund costs at Fidelity depend on which fund you’re buying. The platform breaks funds into three categories.
Fidelity’s own funds carry no transaction fees when purchased online. This includes hundreds of actively managed Fidelity funds as well as the Fidelity ZERO index fund lineup, which charges a 0% expense ratio with no investment minimum. The ZERO family covers four broad market segments: large-cap U.S. stocks (FNILX), total U.S. market (FZROX), extended market (FZIPX), and international stocks (FZILX). These are genuinely free to own.
No Transaction Fee (NTF) funds from outside companies are also available without a purchase fee. Fidelity offers a large selection of these through its FundsNetwork program. The catch: if you sell or exchange shares of an NTF fund within 60 days of buying, Fidelity charges a short-term trading fee. The fund’s own expense ratio still applies regardless.
Transaction Fee (TF) funds cost $49.95 per purchase when you buy online. Some funds carry a higher transaction fee of up to $100, which you can check on the individual fund’s page before placing a trade. If you place the order through a Fidelity representative instead of online, the fee jumps to 0.75% of the amount you’re investing, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $250. Phone orders through Fidelity’s automated system fall in between, at 25% off the representative-assisted rate.
Fidelity Go Advisory Fees
Fidelity Go is Fidelity’s robo-advisor service, and its pricing is tiered by account balance. If your balance is under $25,000, you pay no advisory fee at all. Once your balance reaches $25,000, Fidelity charges 0.35% per year. On a $50,000 account, that works out to about $175 annually. The underlying funds in your Fidelity Go portfolio have their own expense ratios, but if the account holds Fidelity ZERO funds, those costs are $0.
Account and Administrative Fees
Fidelity doesn’t charge fees to open or maintain a standard brokerage account, IRA, or cash management account. There are no annual account fees and no inactivity fees. A few administrative actions do carry charges, though.
- Account transfer out (ACAT): If you move your account to another brokerage, Fidelity charges a transfer fee. This is standard across most brokerages.
- Wire transfers: Outgoing domestic and international wires carry fees, while electronic funds transfers (EFTs) between your bank and Fidelity are free.
- Paper statements and check requests: Fidelity may charge for services that require paper processing, though most account management is free when handled online.
What You Won’t Pay
Fidelity has eliminated several fees that other brokerages still charge. There’s no account minimum for standard brokerage and IRA accounts. Fractional share trading is free. There are no fees for dividend reinvestment, and Fidelity doesn’t charge for real-time quotes or basic research tools. Unlike some competitors, Fidelity also doesn’t charge for broker-assisted stock or ETF trades, though mutual fund orders placed through a representative do cost more as noted above.
For most investors using Fidelity for stock, ETF, and index fund investing, the total fee experience is effectively $0. Costs start appearing when you trade options frequently, buy non-Fidelity mutual funds outside the NTF program, or use the managed account service with a balance above $25,000.