Qtrade Review

Good for: All-around great platform and features for beginners and experts alike

Qtrade

Trading Commission	$0
Account Maintenance Fee	None

• Pros & Cons
• Fees & Charges
• Sign-up Offer

Pros

• User-friendly platform
• Commission-free trading
• Strong suite of research and tools

Cons

• Charting tools are not as robust as those on some competing platforms

• Trading Commission: $0
• Account Maintenance Fee: None

• Get up to 5% cashback when you open and fund a new account. Use promo code QTRADE2025. Offer expires January 5, 2026.
• Receive up to $150 + tax when you transfer in $15,000 or more (can be combined with cashback offer).

Our Bottom Line

Qtrade is a great all-around option for Canadian investors — beginners and experts alike. With an easy-to-use interface and advanced research features, it has something for everyone. Qtrade’s web and mobile versions are both easy to use and navigate, so you can trade easily from anywhere. And, thanks to Qtrade’s low fees, it’s easy to get started even if you don’t have a tonne of money to invest.

Qtrade’s Top Features

Qtrade’s top feature is its transparent commission-free trading. It’s also notable that Qtrade does not typically pass on electronic communication network (ECN) fees to its clients. This is a break from other competitors, many of whom do add these fees to their stated trading commissions.

What’s more, Qtrade has no quarterly account maintenance fee.

Qtrade User Interface

Qtrade has a simple yet sophisticated user interface. The web version features a dashboard that provides a consolidated view of your portfolio(s) including asset allocation and top equity movers. The dashboard allows quick navigation to popular tools like portfolio analytics and news. All other account features can be accessed from a simple navigation bar at the top of the page. The navigation bar is easy to see and use, featuring bold lettering and a large font size. The design is clean, minimalist and intuitive, making it perfect for beginners and experts alike.

The mobile app is very similar. It features the same basic aesthetic as the web version, but in a mobile friendly form. Extremely easy to use and navigate, it will never leave you confused as to what to do.

Qtrade’s Research Tools

Qtrade offers a wide variety of research tools to help inform your investing decisions. These include ratings, research reports, news articles, and charts.

For ETFs and Mutual Funds, you’ll find a wide variety of Morningstar research notes sorted by date. You get not only the rating but also the complete report as written by the Morningstar analyst assigned to the fund.

For stocks, there is a “stock screener” feature that lets you input various criteria and get a list of stocks that match what you specified. For example, if you choose the “undervalued stocks” screen, you can choose a range of prices, P/E ratios, debt to equity ratios and earnings per share, and only see stocks within your range of desired values.

For entire portfolios, there are a few slick features that can help you assess and improve your current portfolio or create a portfolio tailored to your preferences.

• Portfolio Score – This tool takes stock (no pun intended) of your current portfolio and provides you with an overall “score” as well as feedback across a variety of measures, including “downside protection”, performance, diversification, income, and fees.
• Portfolio Simulator – This is your next step along the path. Feel like you’re back in school with a portfolio grade that you don’t want to show your parents? The Portfolio Simulator allows you to test adding or removing securities from your portfolio to see how those moves will impact your score.
• Portfolio Creator – Finally, Portfolio Creator guides you through a series of questions about your investing preferences (stocks vs. bonds, risk appetite, etc.) and generates an ETF portfolio that will ideally meet your needs and maximize your returns within those risk bounds.

These can be particularly great tools if you’re just starting out and need a check on whether the portfolio you’re building is getting inadvertently (and dangerously) skewed or would like to start fresh with a solid, diversified group of ETFs. Though even for experienced investors, these tools can provide an extra gut check on your portfolio construction.

Finally, for technical analysis, there’s an interactive charting tool that allows you to conduct your own technical analysis, as well as a feature called Technical Insight that includes patterns, volume, support and resistance levels. You also get a sidebar with up-to-date signals, including the pattern observed, whether it’s bullish or bearish, and a brief explanation.

Overall, Qtrade features a good suite of research services that investors can use to inform their trades. Many of the features included in the account — such as full Morningstar reports — are normally paid services, so Qtrade saves its investors some money on research. Finally, Qtrade’s account area has regular news and market commentary, so you can always keep on top of the stocks you’re following.

What to Watch Out For

In our testing, we found Qtrade to be a solid, reliable, easy-to-use brokerage. With its minimalist interface and wide array of research tools, it gets the job done and then some. Still, there are some possible concerns to keep an eye on before you choose Qtrade as your broker.

For one, Qtrade’s data and analytics are not quite as robust as some competing platforms. Qtrade offers all the basic data features you’d want, including price, fundamentals, and technicals, but the charting is not as robust as you’d get on, say, TD Direct Investing.

And there is a switching fee for selling a mutual fund in less than 90 days from the purchase.

Service and Support

Qtrade offers a number of support options, including phone, e-mail, live chat, fax and direct mail. The phone line is available Monday to Friday, 5:30AM to 5PM. So, you can get support even before the markets open. Additionally, there is a separate trading support line that allows you to place trades by phone.

Is Qtrade a Good Choice for You?

When considering which brokerage to use, there are three main factors you want to keep in mind:

• Fees.
• Research.
• Ease of use.

Qtrade scores well on all three of these factors.

In terms of fees, it’s one of the cheapest options in Canada.

In terms of research, it offers enough reports, ratings and charts to help you make informed trading decisions.

Finally, it is second-to-none in terms of ease-of-use, with a minimalist, intuitive interface that will never confuse you.

Overall, Qtrade offers a great mix of features that can benefit beginner and advanced investors alike.

Qtrade’s online brokerage services are offered through Qtrade Direct Investing, a division of Aviso Financial Inc. Qtrade, Qtrade Direct Investing, and Write your own future are trade names and/or trademarks of Aviso Wealth.

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