$10,000 US purchase: $150-200 automatic vs ~$15 Norbert’s
Account Types
Account
Available
Notes
TFSA
✅
Most popular
RRSP
✅
Full features
FHSA
✅
First home savings
RESP
✅
Government grants
RRIF
✅
Retirement income
LIRA
✅
Locked-in retirement
LIF
✅
Life income fund
Margin
✅
Leverage trading
Corporate
✅
Business accounts
Joint
✅
Shared accounts
Note: Questrade offers more account types than almost any other discount broker in Canada, including LIRA, LIF, and corporate accounts. That broader account menu matters most once you know best account type for US stocks and ETFs in Canada and your overall ETF plan.
Trading Platforms
Questrade Trading (Web)
Feature
Details
Access
Browser-based
Real-time quotes
✅
Charting
Basic
Order types
Market, limit, stop, stop-limit
Watchlists
✅
Best for
Casual investors
IQ Edge (Desktop)
Feature
Details
Access
Downloadable application
Real-time quotes
✅ Level 1 + Level 2 (paid)
Charting
Advanced (indicators, drawing tools)
Order types
All types including bracket orders
Screeners
Stock and options screeners
Best for
Active traders
Mobile App
Feature
Details
Trading
✅ Full trading
Charting
Basic
Alerts
✅ Price alerts
Touch ID/Face ID
✅
Rating
4+ stars on both stores
What You Can Trade
Asset
Available
Notes
Canadian stocks
✅
TSX, TSX-V, CSE
US stocks
✅
NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX
Canadian ETFs
✅
Free purchases
US ETFs
✅
Free purchases
Options
✅
Canadian and US
Bonds
✅
Government and corporate
GICs
✅
Various terms
Mutual funds
✅
Limited selection
Crypto
❌
Not available
Fractional shares
❌
Not available
IPOs
❌
Not available
Pros & Cons
Pros ✅
Free ETF purchases — best for passive investing with XEQT, VGRO, etc.
Options trading — one of few Canadian brokers with options
Norbert’s Gambit — convert currency cheaply for US stocks
Full account range — LIRA, LIF, corporate, and all registered accounts
IQ Edge — solid desktop platform for active traders
Margin accounts — leverage available
No account fees — on $1,000+ balances
Cons ❌
$1,000 minimum deposit — barrier for new investors
ECN fees add to trade costs (~$1-3 extra per trade)
Selling ETFs costs money — $4.95+ to sell
No fractional shares — must buy whole shares
Currency conversion — 2% unless you do Norbert’s Gambit
App less polished than Wealthsimple
Customer support — wait times can be long
Who Should Use Questrade
Great Fit ✅
Investor Type
Why
ETF investors
Free purchases (XEQT, VGRO, etc.)
Options traders
One of few Canadian options brokers
US stock buyers
Norbert’s Gambit saves hundreds
RESP investors
Grant-eligible, free ETF buys
Corporate accounts
Available (rare in Canada)
Intermediate investors
More features than Wealthsimple
Not the Best Fit ❌
Investor Type
Better Alternative
Complete beginners
Wealthsimple (simpler interface)
Very small accounts
Wealthsimple ($0 minimum)
Day traders
Interactive Brokers (lower per-share)
Crypto traders
Wealthsimple (has crypto)
Questrade vs Competitors
Feature
Questrade
Wealthsimple
Interactive Brokers
TD Direct
ETF purchases
$0
$0
$0 (select)
$9.99
Stock trades
$4.95-$9.95
$0
$1 min
$9.99
Options
✅
❌
✅
✅
Minimum
$1,000
$0
$0
$0
Fractional shares
❌
✅
✅
❌
FX cost
2% / NG
1.5% / Premium
0.002%
1.5%
Best for
ETFs, options
Beginners
Active traders
TD bank clients
Norbert’s Gambit on Questrade
A key advantage — converts CAD to USD (or vice versa) for ~$10-20 instead of 1.5-2%:
Step
Action
1
Buy DLR.TO (CAD side) in your account
2
Call Questrade to journal to DLR.U.TO (USD side)
3
Sell DLR.U.TO for USD
4
Use USD to buy US stocks
Savings
~$10-20 total vs $150-200 on $10,000 automatic conversion