Once you’ve decided to contribute to a Roth rather than a traditional IRA, you’ll need to select the best account provider for your needs. When researching your options, consider things like investment choice — you’ll want a large selection of no-transaction-fee mutual funds and commission-free ETFs — account minimum, account fees and customer service. If you plan to trade stocks in your IRA, you should also consider the online broker’s stock commissions. Here are NerdWallet’s picks for the best Roth IRA account providers by category:
Best Roth IRA providers overall
These providers offer a large fund selection, high-quality customer service, and reasonable account minimums and fees.
- Offers more than 200 commission-free ETFs and over 3,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds. See our Charles Schwab review.
- Commission: $8.95 per trade
- Account minimum: $1,000; waived with auto-deposits of $100 or more
- Promotion: 500 commission-free trades
- Offers more than 100 commission-free ETFs and over 2,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds with no account minimum. See our TD Ameritrade review.
- Commission: $9.99 per trade
- Account minimum: $0
- Promotion: Up to $600 cash bonus
Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade are ideal for retirement investors because of their large selection of funds that can be traded with no fees or commissions. Both brokers have 24/7 customer service, as well as local branches and a wealth of online educational resources for new investors. TD Ameritrade has no account minimum, while Schwab requires a $1,000 initial deposit. However, that minimum is waived with auto-deposits of at least $100 a month. Schwab also offers a large selection of index funds with investment minimums of just $100.
Best Roth IRA providers with no account minimum
These providers have $0 minimum investment requirements for IRAs.
- Provides first-rate customer service. See our Merrill Edge review.
- Commission: $6.95 per trade
- Account minimum: $0
- Promotion: Up to $600 cash bonus
- Waives its $500 brokerage account minimum for IRA customers. See our E-Trade review.
- Commission: $9.99 per trade; volume discounts available
- Account minimum: $0 for IRAs
- Promotion: 60 days of commission-free trades
In addition to our top-choice TD Ameritrade — which also has no account minimum — investors starting small should consider E-Trade and Merrill Edge, which are ideal for those who don’t have a large amount of money available to fund a new account. They both provide 24/7 customer service, including physical branches. (Merrill Edge advisors are available in many Bank of America locations.) E-Trade will appeal to ETF investors with more than 100 commission-free options; Merrill Edge doesn’t offer any, but brings more than 5,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds to the table.
Best Roth IRA providers for hands-off investors
Robo-advisors Betterment and Wealthfront manage your portfolio for you.
- Ideal for clients with account balances of $100,000 or more because of its low fees. See our Betterment review.
- Management fee: 0.15% to 0.35% depending on account balance
- Account minimum: $0
- Promotion: Up to six months of free management
- Manages the first $10,000 invested completely free. See our Wealthfront review.
- Management fee: 0.25%
- Account minimum: $500
- Promotion: NerdWallet readers get $15,000 managed for free
Betterment and Wealthfront are robo-advisors that manage your IRA account for you, taking on the brunt of the work by building a portfolio out of low-cost ETFs and automatically searching for rebalancing opportunities. You’ll pay an annual management fee at both advisors, but it’s substantially lower than what a financial advisor would charge. With a tiered fee structure that lowers costs on higher account balances, Betterment is less expensive on balances of $100,000 or more. Wealthfront is the lowest-cost choice for balances under $100,000, as the service manages the first $10,000 deposited completely free. Here is NerdWallet’s direct comparison of Wealthfront and Betterment.
Best Roth IRA providers for active traders
These brokers offer low commissions, plus extensive research and strong trading platforms.
- Competitive commissions on stock trades with no account minimum or inactivity fees. See our OptionsHouse review.
- Commission: $4.95 per trade
- Account minimum: $0
- Promotion: Trade commission-free for 60 days
- Competitive commissions on stock trades and no account minimum. See our TradeKing review.
- Commission: $4.95 per trade
- Account minimum: $0
- Promotion: NerdWallet exclusive offer: New accounts earn a $200 cash bonus
Playing the market with your entire portfolio goes against common advice for the average investor. But if you want to dedicate a portion of your IRA to stock trading, look at commissions, research and tools when comparing providers. OptionsHouse and TradeKing both offer $4.95 stock and ETF trades, alongside advanced tools and trading platforms to help you craft your strategy. OptionsHouse edges out TradeKing by charging no inactivity fees; at TradeKing, you’ll pay a $50 annual fee if you don’t execute at least one trade per year or maintain an account balance of $2,500. Investors should be aware that neither broker offers commission-free ETFs or no-transaction-fee mutual funds.
Best Roth IRA providers for low costs
These providers offer a large selection of mutual funds and ETFs with low expense ratios.
- Offers more than 3,400 no-transaction-fee mutual funds and 85 commission-free ETFs. See our Fidelity review.
- Commission: $7.95 per trade
- Account minimum: $0 for IRAs
- Promotion: 300 commission-free trades
- Known for its low-cost index funds. See our Vanguard review.
- Commission: $7 for first 25 online trades per year; $20 for subsequent trades
- Account minimum: $0
If costs — both transaction fees and investment expenses — are your No. 1 concern, you should look to Fidelity and Vanguard. (Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade, our top picks, are also standouts here.) Fidelity clients have access to more than 3,400 no-transaction-fee mutual funds and 85 commission-free ETFs, including a large selection of highly rated options with expense ratios under 0.50%. The majority of the company’s mutual funds have a $2,500 investment minimum, but Fidelity waives that on many with auto deposits of at least $200 a month. Vanguard has a smaller selection of funds that can be purchased without transaction fees or commissions (120 no-transaction-fee mutual funds and 60 commission-free ETFs) but is the leader in low-cost funds — the company boasts an average fund expense ratio of just 0.18%. For comparison, the typical equity mutual fund expense ratio is 0.70%. That said, Vanguard’s retirement funds have a $1,000 investment minimum, and many of its other funds carry a $3,000 minimum.
Arielle O’Shea is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: aoshea@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @arioshea.
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