Wealthsimple is the cleanest starting point for most Canadian passive investors — particularly those running a TFSA with CAD-listed all-in-one ETFs. The $0 options is a genuine 2026 standout. The moment you start buying US-listed securities regularly from a CAD account, the 1.5% FX fee becomes your biggest line item — and that’s when Questrade or IBKR deserve a closer look.

Max TFSA first (tax-free forever, most flexible). Then FHSA if a first home purchase is on the horizon — the deduction + tax-free withdrawal combination is hard to beat. Then RRSP for income-splitting and deferral. Non-registered once registered room is fully used. Wealthsimple supports every step of this progression in a single account.

The 1.5% fee applies each way — on the buy and on the eventual sell. On a $10,000 round-trip in a US-listed ETF, that’s $300 in FX costs before any market movement. Over 20 years, investing $12,000/year in US-listed ETFs with a 1.5% buy-side FX fee costs roughly $180/year in friction — and forgone compounding on that $180 at 7% adds up to approximately $7,000 over the full period. That’s real money.

The counter-case: if you stick entirely to CAD-listed all-in-one ETFs (XEQT, VEQT, XGRO, VGRO), the FX fee never applies. For the majority of Canadian passive investors, this is the right approach — and Wealthsimple is a fine platform for it. See the next section.

The USD Account eliminates the per-trade FX fee on US securities — you convert cash in larger tranches at the tiered rate, then trade in USD with no additional FX charge. At 1.5% buy-side FX on a CAD account, the $10/month pays for itself once you’re converting roughly $1,300 CAD to USD per month into US-listed holdings.

If you convert $25,000+ in a single transaction, the tiered rate drops to 0.5% — meaningfully cheaper than the flat 1.5% on a CAD account. For larger lump-sum investors, this structure can be worthwhile. For monthly small contributions, the math often still favours CAD-listed ETFs with no conversion at all.

Wealthsimple now charges $0 per options contract across all client tiers. This is the cheapest options pricing available from any major Canadian broker — Questrade charges $9.95/trade + $1.00/contract, and most bank brokerages charge $6.95–$9.95/trade plus per-contract fees on top. For covered call writers, cash-secured put sellers, or investors using options for portfolio protection, this is a meaningful structural advantage.

Note the edge-case fees: early exercise and do-not-exercise instructions carry a US$45 fee each. Auto-exercise at expiry is $0. In practice, for standard long-hold options strategies, these fees rarely apply.

Wealthsimple offers extended trading hours on eligible US-listed stocks and ETFs — available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. This is currently the longest trading window offered by any Canadian broker. Useful for investors who want to react to after-hours earnings or news without waiting for the regular session. Note that liquidity and spreads outside core hours are typically wider.

IBKR Canada is the institutional-grade option for Canadians who outgrow simpler platforms. FX rates are dramatically better — fractions of a percent versus Wealthsimple’s 1.5% — and the asset universe covers global markets. For a $200k+ portfolio or anyone running US-heavy or multi-currency positions, the savings on FX alone justify the more complex onboarding.

The trade-off is real: the interface is significantly more complex, setup takes longer, and IBKR doesn’t have the ecosystem integration Wealthsimple offers. For a first account or a simple TFSA, it’s overkill. For larger, more active portfolios — it’s often the cheaper platform over a 10-year horizon.