[0:00] If you're looking to invest using Robin
[0:02] Hood or Fidelity and are wondering which
[0:04] is best, this is the video for you.
[0:07] We're going to be breaking down the key
[0:08] features as well as differences between
[0:10] the fees, asset selection, research
[0:13] tools, and more. I've been using both
[0:15] the Robin Hood and Fidelity apps for
[0:18] years now and covering them over on my
[0:20] blog investingssimple.com.
[0:23] So, I'll be sharing all of that
[0:24] experience here with you. Now guys, a
[0:26] lot of time and research went into
[0:28] making this the best comparison
[0:30] possible. So if you appreciate that,
[0:32] make sure you drop a like and subscribe.
[0:34] Real quick, I just have to mention that
[0:36] I'm not a financial adviser and this
[0:38] isn't personalized financial advice.
[0:40] Let's start out by explaining what these
[0:42] two platforms are and then we'll dive
[0:44] into a sidebyside comparison here of
[0:47] their offerings and you can skip ahead
[0:49] at any point in time using the table of
[0:51] contents down below. Robin Hood is a
[0:53] brokerage platform that arguably changed
[0:56] investing forever by popularizing
[0:58] commissionfree stock trading. Since
[1:00] then, they've continued to innovate with
[1:02] new product offerings like Robin Hood
[1:04] Legend, their advanced trading platform,
[1:07] and most recently prediction markets
[1:10] where users can bet on realworld
[1:12] outcomes. The Robin Hood app is
[1:14] primarily designed for beginners who are
[1:16] looking for an easy and modern way to
[1:18] invest without dealing with complex
[1:21] interfaces or tools. With Robin Hood,
[1:23] you can invest in stocks and ETFs,
[1:26] options, futures, and crypto all from
[1:29] one single app. If you want a full
[1:31] comprehensive walkthrough, I have a full
[1:33] Robin Hood tutorial that I'll link down
[1:35] in the description below, and I'll also
[1:36] put a card in the corner. Fidelity is a
[1:39] full-ervice brokerage platform that has
[1:41] been around for decades and they manage
[1:43] trillions of dollars of assets. They
[1:46] serve everyone from casual investors to
[1:49] institutions, retirement investors, and
[1:51] more. Fidelity offers stocks and ETFs,
[1:54] mutual funds, options, bonds, CDs, and
[1:58] more. But truth be told, most would say
[2:00] that their app and desktop interface
[2:02] aren't as modern and easy to use
[2:05] compared to Robin Hood. And if you're
[2:07] looking for a beginner's guide to
[2:08] Fidelity, I will leave my full tutorial
[2:11] link down in the description below, as
[2:13] well as a card in the corner. Now, let's
[2:15] talk about the best part for most
[2:16] people, and that's any free signup
[2:18] bonuses that you might be able to jump
[2:20] on. Robin Hood has a generous incentive
[2:22] where you can get a free fractional
[2:24] share worth up to $200 when you open up
[2:27] a new account and fund it with any
[2:30] amount of money. The cool thing is you
[2:32] actually get to choose your free
[2:33] fractional share from a list of 20
[2:36] leading American companies. So, it's
[2:38] kind of like a gift card to go out and
[2:40] buy the stock that you actually want.
[2:42] So, be sure to visit
[2:42] ryanoscriber.com/roinhood
[2:46] or use the affiliate link in the
[2:47] description below to grab that free
[2:50] stock bonus. And unfortunately, Fidelity
[2:52] doesn't offer any kind of signup bonus
[2:54] or promotion. But that's because they've
[2:57] already become a household name and they
[2:59] don't need to incentivize people to get
[3:01] them to sign up. And keep in mind, you
[3:03] could always sign up for both if you
[3:04] wanted to to make the best of both
[3:06] worlds. Moving on now, let's talk about
[3:08] the difference in the asset selection
[3:10] between Robin Hood and Fidelity.
[3:13] Starting with stocks and ETFs, Robin
[3:15] Hood supports the trading of over 11,000
[3:18] different securities listed on the major
[3:20] exchanges like the New York Stock
[3:22] Exchange and the NASDAQ. In addition,
[3:24] they recently started rolling out stock
[3:26] tokens for about 2,000 different
[3:29] securities, allowing for 247 trading in
[3:32] the EU. Fidelity, on the other hand,
[3:34] supports all of the same stocks and ETFs
[3:37] as Robin Hood for the most part. But in
[3:39] addition, they also support OTC or
[3:42] over-the-counter markets. These penny
[3:44] stocks carry significant risk and
[3:47] require additional agreements within
[3:49] your Fidelity account, but nonetheless,
[3:51] they are still available for trading.
[3:53] But what about crypto investing? Both
[3:55] Robin Hood and Fidelity support cryptos,
[3:57] but the asset selection varies a lot.
[4:00] Robin Hood supports the trading of over
[4:02] 20 different popular cryptocurrencies,
[4:04] and you can even send and receive them,
[4:07] giving you full custody of your digital
[4:09] assets. Fidelity also supports crypto
[4:12] trading and the ability to send and
[4:14] receive them, but as of scripting this
[4:17] video, they only support four
[4:18] cryptocurrencies. This list includes
[4:21] Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Solana.
[4:24] So, yes, they've got the majors covered,
[4:26] but to be honest, the selection is a
[4:29] little underwhelming. Now, Fidelity does
[4:31] also offer crypto ETFs. Three different
[4:34] funds offering exposure to Bitcoin,
[4:36] Ethereum, and Solana, but you can invest
[4:39] in these crypto ETFs through any
[4:41] brokerage platform. So, they're not
[4:43] exclusive to Fidelity. One category that
[4:45] is exclusive to Fidelity, though, is
[4:48] their mutual fund investments. Fidelity
[4:50] offers over 10,000 different mutual
[4:53] funds, including 450 that you will only
[4:56] find on Fidelity. This includes their
[4:58] popular zero funds, which come with an
[5:01] unheard of zero expense ratio. Robin
[5:03] Hood, on the other hand, doesn't offer
[5:05] mutual funds at all. For investors who
[5:08] prefer professionally managed funds,
[5:10] this can matter a lot. But if you're
[5:12] just looking to own individual stocks or
[5:14] ETFs, this might not move the needle for
[5:16] you. Now, both platforms also support
[5:19] options trading, but they're designed
[5:21] for different types of users. Robin Hood
[5:23] focuses on simplicity and ease of use.
[5:26] Meanwhile, Fidelity offers more advanced
[5:28] tools, analytics, and strategy
[5:30] flexibility for traders who want deeper
[5:33] control. But Robin Hood does offer
[5:35] futures trading, which is not something
[5:37] that you will currently find through
[5:38] Fidelity. When it comes to bonds and
[5:41] fixed income investments, Fidelity
[5:43] offers direct investments into
[5:45] treasuries, corporate bonds, municipal
[5:47] bonds, and CDs. On Robin Hood, exposure
[5:51] mainly comes through bond ETFs rather
[5:53] than buying bonds directly or other
[5:55] fixed income investments. Overall,
[5:58] you'll find a broader range of
[5:59] traditional investments through
[6:01] Fidelity. Meanwhile, Robin Hood offers
[6:03] more new age investments in terms of
[6:06] things like cryptocurrency and
[6:08] prediction markets. To quickly touch on
[6:10] that, Robin Hood allows users to bet on
[6:12] realworld outcomes through this new
[6:14] feature. Although some critics have
[6:16] labeled this as speculation, not
[6:19] investing. Moving on now, let's quickly
[6:21] touch on the fees and pricing for both
[6:23] platforms. And if you've made it this
[6:25] far in the video, make sure you hit that
[6:27] subscribe button for me. Both Robin Hood
[6:29] and Fidelity offer commission-free
[6:31] trading for stocks and ETFs, but there
[6:34] is a difference between the business
[6:37] models here. Robin Hood engages in a
[6:39] practice called payment for order flow
[6:41] or PFO. Meanwhile, Fidelity does not,
[6:45] and this is when a broker gets paid for
[6:47] routing a trade through a specific
[6:49] trading firm rather than directly to the
[6:51] stock exchange. Moving on now, let's
[6:54] talk about options fees. Robin Hood
[6:56] offers options trading with no base
[6:59] exercise or assignment fees in addition
[7:01] to no per contract fees on stock and ETF
[7:05] options. Fidelity on the other hand
[7:08] charges a 65cent fee per options
[7:11] contract which isn't much but it does
[7:13] give Robin Hood a lead here from a cost
[7:16] perspective. Lastly, looking at crypto
[7:18] fees, Fidelity charges a 1% fee on buy
[7:21] and sell transactions. Robin Hood has a
[7:24] more complex fee structure which is
[7:26] based on your previous 30-day trading
[7:29] volume. I'll put the fee schedule on
[7:31] screen now, but basically the greater
[7:33] volume that you trade, the lower your
[7:35] overall fees are. So, Robin Hood does
[7:37] have a slight lead here when it comes to
[7:39] crypto fees, and they have a strong lead
[7:42] when you're looking at crypto selection.
[7:44] Moving on now, let's talk about the
[7:45] different account types offered by both
[7:48] Robin Hood and Fidelity. Starting off
[7:50] with Robin Hood, you can open up a
[7:52] traditional taxable brokerage account as
[7:54] well as both Roth and traditional IAS.
[7:57] For many, that's more than enough to get
[7:59] started with investing for the long
[8:01] term. And speaking of retirement
[8:03] accounts, Robin Hood offers a 1 to 3%
[8:06] match on contributions, which is a key
[8:09] differentiator. Fidelity also offers a
[8:11] taxable brokerage account in addition to
[8:13] both traditional and Roth IAS, but
[8:16] you'll also find 529 plans, HSAs, and
[8:20] even cash management accounts available,
[8:22] too. They don't offer an IRA match, but
[8:25] one thing you might be interested in is
[8:27] the Fidelity Go Robo Advisor. This is a
[8:30] digital financial service that offers
[8:32] professional management of your money,
[8:34] and it comes with no advisory fees for
[8:36] balances under 25,000. For balances over
[8:40] 25K, the advisory fee is 0.35% of assets
[8:44] under management. Robin Hood offers
[8:46] something similar called Robin Hood
[8:48] Strategies, and this also gets you a
[8:51] customized and fully managed portfolio.
[8:53] Robin Hood Strategies has a low 0.25%
[8:56] 25% asset management fee. So, it's
[8:58] slightly lower than Fidelity Go for
[9:01] accounts over 25,000. But overall,
[9:04] Fidelity really stands out for their
[9:05] robust retirement planning tools and
[9:08] features. You get access to detailed
[9:10] calculators, goal tracking, and
[9:12] portfolio analysis that can help you
[9:14] think through long-term decisions in a
[9:17] more structured way. But what about the
[9:19] overall user experience or user
[9:21] interface with both of these platforms?
[9:23] Both Robin Hood and Fidelity have an
[9:26] appbased version as well as a desktop
[9:28] trading platform, but Robin Hood is
[9:30] really built as a mobile first platform,
[9:32] and you can really tell that as soon as
[9:34] you open up the app, the interface is
[9:36] extremely intuitive, clean, and easy to
[9:39] navigate, even if you have never
[9:41] invested before. Onboarding is fast,
[9:43] funding an account is simple and instant
[9:46] in many cases, and placing a trade only
[9:48] takes a few taps. For more active stock
[9:51] traders, Robin Hood Legend adds more
[9:54] advanced charting and trading tools
[9:56] while still keeping everything
[9:57] relatively streamlined. You can check
[10:00] out my full tutorial for Robin Hood
[10:02] Legend in the description below, and
[10:03] I'll also put a card in the corner. Now,
[10:05] Fidelity, on the other hand, is more of
[10:07] a desktop first experience. While it
[10:10] does have a mobile app, the platform
[10:12] really shines on a computer. You can get
[10:15] access to powerful research tools,
[10:17] advanced screeners, in-depth analytics,
[10:20] detailed account insights, and more. The
[10:22] Fidelity app itself is still pretty good
[10:25] and easy to navigate, but it's just not
[10:27] as simple and sleek as Robin Hood. So,
[10:30] with all of that said, let's talk about
[10:31] which platform is best. And as I'm sure
[10:34] you've guessed, there is no
[10:36] oneizefits-all answer here. If you're a
[10:38] complete beginner looking for the
[10:40] easiest to use platform, Robin Hood is
[10:42] likely going to be a good option because
[10:45] that's basically how they got started,
[10:47] offering commissionfree trading on a
[10:49] very beginnerfriendly app. In addition,
[10:52] if your priority is having access to new
[10:54] age assets like a wide variety of
[10:57] cryptos and prediction markets, for
[10:59] example, Robin Hood is in the lead. But
[11:02] if you are instead looking for more old
[11:04] school traditional assets like direct
[11:06] bond investments, CDs, and mutual funds,
[11:09] Fidelity is likely best for that. Now,
[11:12] if you're looking to invest for
[11:13] retirement, Robin Hood does offer that
[11:15] contribution match, which is a
[11:17] compelling offer. But overall, Fidelity
[11:20] has a much greater selection of
[11:21] retirement planning tools and features.
[11:24] Now, options traders will likely favor
[11:26] Robin Hood from a cost perspective, but
[11:28] Fidelity offers a more robust set of
[11:31] tools and features for advanced traders.
[11:34] And lastly, for those looking to score a
[11:36] free bonus, Robin Hood is in the lead.
[11:39] You can get a free stock worth up to
[11:41] $200 when you open a new account and
[11:43] fund it with any amount of money. So, be
[11:46] sure to visit ryanoscribner.com/roinhood
[11:50] to get started. Fidelity might not have
[11:52] any freebies, but they have built a
[11:54] strong reputation over multiple decades,
[11:57] and it's hard to compete with that.
[11:59] That's going to wrap things up for me,
[12:00] guys. Thank you so much for tuning in.
[12:02] Be sure to check out my full Robin Hood
[12:04] and Fidelity tutorials linked in the
[12:06] description below to learn the ins and
[12:08] outs of both of these platforms. If you
[12:11] made it to the end of the video, guys,
[12:12] make sure you subscribe and hit that
[12:14] like button for me. You can click below
[12:17] to watch this next video that you might
[12:19] enjoy. And I will see you next time.