Head to head
Fidelity vs Vanguard
- Written by
- Juan Manuel Gonzalez
- Published
- Data verified
Verdict
Both are long-established: Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC has been a FINRA member since January 1979 (CRD 7784) and Vanguard Marketing Corporation holds CRD 7452. Both scored 9 on safety. On cost they are not close. Fidelity publishes $0.65 per options contract, no account service fee and $0 to transfer assets. Vanguard publishes $1.00 per contract, a $25 annual account service fee unless waived, and $100 to close an account and transfer out. Vanguard’s answer is its fund range — which matters enormously if that is what you are buying, and not at all if it is not.
A full-service US brokerage with a zero-commission equity schedule and no account minimum.
- Safety and regulation
- 9/10
- Fees and total cost
- 9/10
- Investment selection
- 8/10
- Account types and features
- 10/10
Built around long-term fund investing, with the most expensive options schedule in our set.
- Safety and regulation
- 9/10
- Fees and total cost
- 6/10
- Investment selection
- 6/10
- Account types and features
- 8/10
What actually separates them
The exit charge is the starkest single number
Fidelity publishes $0 for asset transfers. Vanguard publishes a $100 processing fee per account closure and full transfer out, waived at $5m in qualifying assets or with advisory enrolment. That is the largest exit charge among the firms we publish, tied with Robinhood. It costs nothing to anyone who stays, and it is the first thing anyone who leaves will meet.
Account wrappers favour Fidelity, with one exception
Fidelity publishes the widest lineup we recorded: taxable, joint, every IRA variant, custodial, trust, solo 401(k) and HSA — the only HSA in our set. Vanguard publishes all IRA variants, custodial, trust and a solo 401(k), but no HSA. If you are on a high-deductible health plan, Fidelity is the only firm here that covers you.
Fund costs depend entirely on whose funds you buy
Vanguard charges $0 on its own funds and on no-transaction-fee funds, and $20 per trade on non-Vanguard transaction-fee funds. Fidelity charges $0 on Fidelity funds. Neither schedule makes the other cheap for the other’s range. The honest reading is that fund cost here is a function of what you already hold, not of which firm is cheaper in the abstract.
Neither is a trading platform
Vanguard publishes no futures and no crypto. Fidelity publishes no futures either, though it does offer international equities and fractional shares. Both sit below Interactive Brokers on selection for the same reason, and that gap should not decide anything for a buy-and-hold reader.
Consider Fidelity if
You want the widest account-type coverage, you need an HSA, you trade options at all, or you want a schedule with no annual fee and nothing charged to move your money out.
Consider Vanguard if
You are building on Vanguard’s own funds, you need a solo 401(k), and you are confident you will not be transferring the account elsewhere.
These are conditionals describing which published facts favour which firm, not recommendations. Neither is a statement about what is suitable for you.
Full side-by-side
Both firms across every field we track, verified on August 28, 2026. You can add up to two more brokers to the comparison.
Sources
- [1]Fidelity — Commissions and margin ratesRead August 28, 2026
- [2]FINRA BrokerCheck — Fidelity Brokerage Services LLCRead August 28, 2026
- [3]Vanguard — Investment fees and commissionsRead August 28, 2026
- [4]FINRA BrokerCheck — Vanguard Marketing CorporationRead August 28, 2026
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