NBDB vs Questrade (2026): Which Canadian Broker Actually Costs Less?
Updated September 2026 · 14 min read
Fees verified September 2026 against official pricing pages — see our methodology
Both brokers charge $0 on online stock and ETF trades, so the cost difference lives elsewhere: in how each one prices currency conversion, in a $100 annual fee that four different rules can erase, and in one structural gap almost nobody writes about — NBDB cannot hold US dollars in an FHSA or an RESP, and Questrade can. This is the comparison with the arithmetic shown.
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NBDB vs Questrade at a glance
Online stock and ETF commissions are $0 at both. What separates them is currency handling, one annual fee, and options pricing.
- You buy Canadian-listed all-in-one ETFs and never convert currency
- You hold eligible assets of $20,000 or more as of 31 May — the $100 annual fee disappears
- You are aged 30 or younger on 31 May, or hold only an InvestCube account — the fee is waived either way
- You convert more than $25,000 USD in a single transaction — NBDB’s spread steps down, Questrade’s does not
- You want free National Bank Financial research, which covers over 300 Canadian stocks, alongside Morningstar
- You want French-language service from a CIRO-regulated division of a Big Six bank subsidiary
- You want to hold US dollars in an FHSA or RESP — NBDB does not offer that in either account
- You convert at retail size: 1.5% flat against NBDB’s 230 basis points
- You trade US equity options — $0 commission and $0 per contract, against $1.25 per contract with a $6.25 minimum
- You want fractional shares, which Questrade offers on US and select Canadian listings and NBDB does not offer at all
- Your portfolio is under $20,000, you are over 30, and no NBDB waiver applies
- You want Questrade Pro, free to all customers, or the MCP connector that links the account to an AI client
Trading and conversion costs compared
Every figure below is read from each broker’s own pricing schedule. NBDB figures from nbc.ca/en/direct-brokerage/pricing.html, Questrade figures from its transaction and pricing schedules, all read 6 September 2026.
| Cost | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Online stock trades | $0 | $0 |
| Online ETF trades | $0 | $0 |
| Mutual funds / investment funds | $0 ($1,000 minimum initial purchase) | $9.95 each side |
| US equity options | $1.25/contract, $6.25 minimum | $0 commission, $0 per contract |
| Canadian equity options | $1.25/contract, $6.25 minimum (max $19.95 under $2,000) | $0 base + CA$0.99/contract |
| Options assignment / exercise | $28.95 assignment or automatic exercise | $0 assignment on US equity options; $24.95 to exercise |
| Agent-assisted trade | $60 | Normal commission plus $45 |
| FX spread, under $25,000 USD | 230 basis points (illustrated as 1.70%) | 1.50% flat |
| FX spread, $25,000–$249,999 USD | 160 bps (illustrated as 1.20%) | 1.50% flat |
| FX spread, $250,000–$499,999 USD | 125 bps (illustrated as 0.90%) | 1.50% flat |
| FX spread, $500,000–$999,999 USD | 100 bps (illustrated as 0.70%) | 1.50% flat |
| FX spread, $1,000,000 USD or more | 75 bps (illustrated as 0.60%) | 1.50% flat |
| CAD/USD journalling (Norbert’s Gambit) | $9.95 per security, plus sales tax | $9.95 per online request; free and unlimited with Questrade Plus |
| Fractional shares | Not offered | US and select Canadian listings |
| Minimum deposit | None required | $0 |
| Platform fee | $0 | $0 |
How each broker actually charges for converting currency
This is where the two brokers differ most, and where almost every comparison gets the mechanics wrong.
The figure you will see quoted everywhere as “NBDB charges 1.70%” is not what NBDB charges. NBDB’s pricing page sets its spread in basis points — 230 at amounts under $25,000 USD — and its own footnote states that the percentage column beside it is calculated for demonstration purposes only, rounded to the nearest tenth, and derived from the trailing twelve-month USD/CAD Bank of Canada daily rate as of 21 July 2026.
The consequence is that NBDB’s percentage cost is not fixed. The spread stays at 230 basis points while the exchange rate moves underneath it, so the same conversion costs a different percentage at a different USD/CAD rate. Questrade’s 1.5% is a straight percentage of the amount converted. Setting “1.70% versus 1.50%” side by side treats two different pricing structures as though they were the same one.
NBDB also notes that the spread is subject to change without notice, and that when it converts currency it acts as principal and is paid on the difference between the price you get and the price it gets. Questrade discloses the same arrangement, listing foreign exchange spreads among the ways it is compensated by client activity.
At retail size, which covers most investors, Questrade is cheaper. On a $10,000 conversion, Questrade’s flat 1.5% costs $150, and NBDB’s 230 basis points cost approximately $170 at the exchange rate NBDB used for its own illustration — a gap of about $20 per conversion.
Above $25,000 USD in a single transaction the result flips, and it keeps flipping further NBDB’s way as the amount rises. NBDB steps down to 160 basis points, then 125, then 100, then 75 at $1,000,000 or more. Questrade does not tier its spread at all. If you are making infrequent lump-sum conversions in the tens or hundreds of thousands, NBDB’s schedule is worth calculating rather than assuming.
Norbert’s Gambit uses a dual-listed ETF such as DLR and DLR.U to convert at close to the interbank rate. Buy the Canadian-dollar listing, ask the broker to journal the position to the US-dollar side, sell the US-dollar listing. That sequence is one conversion and one journal. Converting back to Canadian dollars later is a second conversion and a second journal.
NBDB: $9.95 per security to move a holding between the Canadian and US dollar accounts, plus sales tax. So a one-way conversion costs $9.95 before tax, and a full there-and-back round trip costs $19.90 before tax.
Questrade: $9.95 per online journalling request, self-serve online since 31 January 2025, and free and unlimited for Questrade Plus subscribers. One constraint that belongs here and rarely appears anywhere: fractional shares cannot be journalled at Questrade at all, so a position built through fractional buying is not available for the gambit.
| One-way conversion (modelled) | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Journal cost, before sales tax | $9.95 | $9.95, or $0 with Plus |
| Spread avoided | 230 bps (~1.70%) | 1.50% |
| Break-even conversion size, before tax | ~$585 CAD | ~$663 CAD |
| Break-even at 13% HST | ~$661 CAD | ~$749 CAD |
| Cost saved on a $5,000 conversion, before tax | ~$75.05 | ~$65.05 |
These five rows are modelled, not read off a fee schedule. They divide each broker’s stated journalling fee by its stated spread, assume one journal per conversion, and assume 13% HST where tax is shown. They exclude the bid-ask spread on DLR and DLR.U and any price movement between the buy and the sell, both of which are real costs the gambit does not remove. Under a neutral assumption — that you would pay tax on the journal fee and that the ETF spread costs a further few basis points — both break-evens rise, and the ranking between the two brokers does not change: NBDB’s gambit pays back at a smaller conversion size than Questrade’s, because NBDB’s spread is the more expensive one to avoid.
The difference that outlasts the spread: which accounts hold US dollars
A spread is paid once per conversion. An account that cannot hold US dollars makes you convert on every trade, in both directions, forever.
| Can the account hold USD? | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| TFSA | Yes | Yes |
| RRSP / RRIF | Yes | Yes |
| Spousal RRSP | Yes (RRSP only) | Yes |
| FHSA | No | Yes |
| RESP | No | Yes |
| LIRA / LRSP | Yes | Yes |
| LIF | Canadian dollars only | Yes |
| Cash / margin | Yes | Yes |
NBDB’s own account comparison marks US dollar availability account by account, and the FHSA and RESP columns are blank. Questrade states that all of its accounts support both currencies, and its FHSA documentation confirms that a contribution can be made in either currency, with the US-dollar amount reported to the CRA at its Canadian-dollar equivalent at the time of deposit.
The fees that arrive without a trade
Commission-free brokers still bill. These are the charges that appear on a statement regardless of whether you traded.
| Fee | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Annual administration fee | $100, with four waiver routes | $0 |
| Inactivity fee | None | None |
| Non-resident fee | $100 per account, per year | No equivalent fee published |
| Transfer out to another institution | $150 per account | $150, full or partial |
| Transfer in | Free; outgoing fees reimbursed depending on amount invested | Free; losing institution’s fee rebated up to $150 |
| Electronic funds transfer out | Free | Free to CAD $50,000 / USD $25,000 |
| Wire transfer | $50 (non-National Bank account) | CAD $20 / USD $30 / international $40 |
| Paper trade confirmations | $2.50 per trade, billed monthly | Not published in the schedule read |
| Paper portfolio statements | $7.50 per quarter, per account root | Not published in the schedule read |
| RRSP / RRIF / LIF lump-sum withdrawal | $50 | Deregistration $100 full, $50 partial |
| TFSA / FHSA / RESP withdrawal | Free | RESP deregistration free |
| Estate settlement | $200 | $200 per account |
| Certificate deposit or DRS | $150 | Not compared here |
| Unclaimed account | $100 per account, per year | $29.95 per quarter |
What you earn on cash, and what you pay to borrow
Neither broker pays anything on idle cash. One of them charges 21% on a debit balance in a cash account.
| Rate | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Interest paid on uninvested cash | 0% | 0% at current prime rates |
| CAD margin borrowing | 6.25% | Prime + 4.25% (Prime + 3.25% above $100,000) |
| USD margin borrowing | 8.50% | Tiered; the headline rate requires very high monthly options volume |
| Registered or cash-account debit balance | 21.00% | Prime + 8.10% (registered) |
NBDB states a flat 0% on credit balances. Questrade reaches the same place by a different route: its credit interest is expressed as a formula against its own prime rate — prime minus 8.50% on most Canadian-dollar balances, prime minus 10.00% on US-dollar non-registered — and at the prime rates Questrade publishes, every one of those formulas resolves to a negative number, in which case the client receives 0%. Questrade also applies minimum accrual thresholds of $10 a month on cash and margin accounts and one cent a month on registered accounts, below which nothing is paid at all.
Account types and investment products
The registered account coverage most investors need is identical. The differences sit at the edges.
| Account or product | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| TFSA · RRSP · FHSA · RESP | Yes | Yes |
| RRIF · LIRA · LRSP · LIF | Yes | Yes |
| Cash · margin · short selling | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate and sole proprietorship | Yes, opened by phone | Yes |
| In-trust account for a minor | Yes, but not for Quebec residents | Informal and formal trust accounts |
| Estate account | Opened at a National Bank branch | Yes |
| Managed / robo-advisory | InvestCube | Questwealth Portfolios |
| Managed all-in cost | Fees apply; not published on the pricing page | 0.34%–0.37% standard portfolios (0.25% fee plus 0.09%–0.12% MERs) |
| Options | Yes, with OptionsPlay integrated | Yes, including cash-secured puts in eligible registered accounts |
| Fixed income and GICs | Commission included in the price | No explicit commission; $5,000 minimum, compensation in the price |
| Fractional shares | Not offered | S&P 500, NASDAQ 100, top ETFs and ADRs, plus select Canadian listings |
| Fully-paid securities lending | Yes | Yes, US securities only |
Questrade’s fractional shares come with constraints worth knowing before relying on them: market orders only, day duration, no limit orders; holdings to four decimal places with a $1 minimum buy; no voting rights; and the position cannot be transferred in kind to another broker or journalled between currencies — it must be liquidated first. Questrade publishes no count of eligible securities, so any “500+ US stocks” figure you see elsewhere is not from Questrade.
Platforms, apps and research tools
Questrade runs more platforms. NBDB gives away more research.
A single web trading platform plus the NBC Wealth app, which handles orders, transfers and currency conversion. There is no separate advanced desktop terminal and no tiered platform lineup — what you get on day one is what there is.
The research is the genuine differentiator, and it is free. NBDB gives clients National Bank Financial’s own research — fundamental and technical analysis on over 300 Canadian stocks, weekly select lists, model portfolios, the Vision monthly economic publication, ETF research and a daily bulletin. Alongside it sits independent Morningstar research on Canadian, US and global equities with stock and ETF select lists, plus the Trading Central Morning Briefing.
Also included at no charge: Wealthscope for portfolio analysis, OptionsPlay for options strategy, and the My Investment Dashboard. This is bank-desk research made available to a self-directed client who pays nothing for it.
Six platforms: Questrade Trading on the web, QuestMobile, Questrade Pro, Questrade Edge on desktop, Edge Mobile, and Questrade Global for FX and CFDs. Questrade Pro is live and free to every customer — not a paid tier and no longer a beta — with depth-of-book, one-second candles, pattern detection, an options radar and a strategy builder. Edge remains available, though Questrade’s current marketing leads with Pro.
Market data is where the money is: the free tier covers real-time bid, ask and last on stocks and ETFs plus Level 1 streaming; Expanded adds direct US exchange streaming and live options data at CAD $9.95 a month, included with Plus; Advanced adds Level 2 depth on US and Canadian markets at USD $44.95 a month. The currency on that last tier is easy to miss.
Research: TipRanks, Seeking Alpha, OptionsPlay, the Morning Brief, screeners and smart alerts, all free. Questrade also publishes an MCP server that connects the account to AI clients including Claude and ChatGPT, with a push notification required to confirm any trade. No Canadian bank brokerage offers an equivalent.
Both brokers will lend your shares and split the income
Same 50/50 headline, different collateral, different scope, and one important protection difference.
| Term | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue split | 50% to the client | 50% to the client |
| Eligible securities | Fully-paid stocks and ETFs | US securities only; Canadian not yet eligible |
| Collateral | 105%, held by Natcan Trust Company | 100% cash, held by Questrade |
| Minimum | None | None; one full share is enough |
| Programme fees | No monthly or annual fee | None stated |
| Payment | Around the 4th business day of the month | Monthly |
| CIPF on loaned shares | No statement published | Loaned shares are outside CIPF coverage |
| Exit | Sell, exclude or leave at any time | Opt out at any time, no restrictions |
Who can actually open one of these accounts
If you are reading this from outside Canada, this section decides the question before any fee does.
Registered accounts — the TFSA, RRSP, FHSA and RESP — require Canadian residency at both brokers. That is a tax rule, not a broker policy, and no comparison changes it. The non-registered picture is more open than most write-ups suggest.
Questrade states in its account-opening documentation that US residents in most cases cannot open accounts, with possible exemptions for Canadian expats holding an active RRSP, and that international residents in most cases can open a margin account only, with exemptions possible for Canadian expats and active military personnel. A non-resident with a foreign permanent address must supply valid identification plus a document from a Canadian financial institution — a chequing, savings, credit card or loan statement, dated within three months, matching the account name exactly, with a visible account number and recent activity. Where no such document exists, the passport must be attested by one of Questrade’s agency lawyers, and that agent may charge a fee that Questrade neither sets nor refunds. Foreign driving licences are not accepted; foreign passports carrying a bearer signature are.
NBDB does not publish an equivalent eligibility page, but it does publish a price for the answer: a non-resident fee of $100 per account, per year, listed alongside its annual administration fee. That fee sits on top of the $100 administration fee where the latter is not waived.
Are NBDB and Questrade safe, and how well do they serve clients?
Both sit inside the same regulatory framework. The service picture is harder to read than the star ratings suggest.
- A division of National Bank Financial Inc., itself a subsidiary of National Bank of Canada (TSX: NA)
- CIRO membership and CIPF membership sit with National Bank Financial Inc., the legal entity, rather than with NBDB as such
- CIPF coverage applies per account category, up to $1 million per category
- Operating since 1987; first Canadian bank broker to offer $0 commission on online stock and ETF trades, in 2021
- Order-execution-only: NBDB makes no investment recommendations
- Full French-language platform and service
- Questrade, Inc. — a registered investment dealer, CIRO member, CIPF member, self-clearing since 2013
- Founded 1999; approximately $80 billion in assets under administration as of Questrade’s own figure read in September 2026
- CIPF coverage applies per category: $1 million for general accounts combined, plus $1 million for registered retirement accounts, plus $1 million for RESPs
- Questwealth’s manager, Questrade Wealth Management Inc., is not a CIRO or CIPF member — CIPF attaches to Questrade, Inc. as custodian
- International orders are routed through QuestGlobal Inc., a Barbados-registered affiliate that pays Questrade rebates — a conflict Questrade discloses and says best-execution duties still cover
- MoneySense Best Online Broker in Canada, 2023, 2024 and 2025
| Public ratings, read 6 September 2026 | NBDB | Questrade |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 2.3 from 6 reviews | 1.3 from 422 reviews |
| Apple App Store | 4.7 from 2,300 ratings | 4.7 from 19,000 ratings |
| Google Play | No score displayed; 10,000+ downloads | 4.5, from 168 written reviews |
Who should choose NBDB — and who should choose Questrade?
Less about which broker is better, more about which one your actual behaviour is cheaper at.
- You buy Canadian-listed all-in-one ETFs and never touch US dollars — the FX comparison is then irrelevant
- You hold $20,000 or more in eligible assets as of 31 May, so the $100 fee never appears
- You are aged 30 or younger on 31 May, or hold only InvestCube — the fee is waived without you doing anything
- You already bank with National Bank under a professional, student or newcomer offer
- You make occasional large conversions above $25,000 USD, where NBDB’s tiers beat a flat 1.5%
- You want free National Bank Financial and Morningstar research rather than paying for a terminal
- You want French-language service, or a bank-subsidiary counterparty for its own sake
- Your US exposure lives in an FHSA or RESP — NBDB cannot hold US dollars in either
- You convert at retail size regularly: 1.5% flat against 230 basis points
- You trade US equity options, where Questrade charges nothing per contract and nothing on assignment
- You want fractional shares, on US or select Canadian listings
- Your portfolio is under $20,000, you are over 30, and no NBDB waiver reaches you — that $100 is a 1% drag on $10,000
- You want depth-of-book, an options workflow, or programmatic access through the MCP connector
- You will convert currency often enough that Questrade Plus at $19.99 a month pays for itself, which takes roughly 25 journals a year on journalling alone
Run the numbers on your own portfolio
Both brokers charge $0 on online stock and ETF trades and neither requires a minimum deposit. Before you choose, model the annual fee, the conversion cost and your trading pattern against each other.
Related guides for Canadian investors
Frequently asked questions
Is NBDB or Questrade cheaper?
For a Canadian-listed ETF investor with more than $20,000 in assets, the two are functionally identical: $0 online stock and ETF commissions, no annual fee, no minimum deposit. Below $20,000, NBDB charges a $100 annual administration fee unless one of its four waiver routes applies, while Questrade charges none. For anyone converting Canadian dollars to US dollars, Questrade’s flat 1.5% spread is cheaper at retail size than NBDB’s 230 basis points, and Questrade is the only one of the two that lets an FHSA or RESP hold US dollars.
Which is cheaper for currency conversion, NBDB or Questrade?
Questrade at retail size, but the two brokers price conversion differently and the comparison is not like for like. Questrade charges a flat 1.5% embedded in the exchange rate. NBDB charges a spread measured in basis points — 230 at amounts under $25,000 USD — and its own pricing page converts that to roughly 1.70% for illustration only, based on the trailing twelve-month USD/CAD Bank of Canada rate as of 21 July 2026. Because NBDB’s charge is fixed in basis points, the percentage cost moves as the exchange rate moves. NBDB’s spread narrows in steps above $25,000 USD per transaction, reaching 75 basis points at $1,000,000 or more, so large single conversions can favour NBDB.
Does NBDB charge an annual account fee?
Yes — $100 a year, and there are four ways to avoid it. Hold eligible assets of at least $20,000 as of 31 May; hold only an InvestCube account; qualify as a Young Investor, meaning aged 30 or younger on 31 May; or be enrolled in NBDB’s offers for professionals, students or newcomers. The professional and newcomer routes require first subscribing to a matching National Bank banking offer, so they are not automatic. The fee year runs 1 June to 31 May. Where the fee is charged, it is divided across all accounts under the same client root, so a client with an RRSP and a TFSA pays $50 on each rather than $100 on each. Questrade charges no annual administration fee at any balance.
Can I use Norbert’s Gambit at NBDB and Questrade?
Yes at both. NBDB charges $9.95 per security, plus sales tax, to journal a holding between its Canadian and US dollar accounts — so a one-way conversion costs one journal, and converting back later costs a second. Questrade charges $9.95 per online journalling request and waives it entirely for Questrade Plus subscribers, with journalling self-serve online since 31 January 2025. Questrade Plus is free for all customers until 30 September 2026 and costs $19.99 a month plus tax from 1 October 2026. One constraint at Questrade that rarely gets mentioned: fractional shares cannot be journalled at all, so a position built through fractional buying is not available for the gambit.
Can I hold US dollars in an FHSA at NBDB?
No. NBDB’s own account comparison marks US dollar availability for the TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, spousal RRSP, cash and margin accounts, but not for the FHSA and not for the RESP. LIRA and LRSP accounts are available in both currencies, and the LIF is Canadian dollars only. Questrade states that all of its accounts support both currencies, including the FHSA, and its own FHSA guidance confirms contributions can be made in either currency with the US-dollar amount reported to the CRA at its Canadian-dollar equivalent. That difference matters more than the headline spread: inside an NBDB FHSA, buying a US-listed ETF converts on the way in and converts again on the way out, with no option to park the proceeds in US dollars between trades.
Can someone outside Canada open an NBDB or Questrade account?
Partly, and only for non-registered accounts. Questrade’s account-opening documentation states that US residents in most cases cannot open accounts, and that international residents in most cases can open a margin account only, with exemptions possible for Canadian expats and active military personnel holding an active RRSP. Non-residents must supply a document from a Canadian financial institution dated within three months, or have a passport attested by one of Questrade’s agency lawyers, who may charge a fee Questrade does not set. NBDB does not publish an equivalent eligibility page but does publish a non-resident fee of $100 per account per year. Registered accounts — TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP — require Canadian residency at both brokers.
QuantRoutine provides educational content only. Nothing on this page is an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to buy or sell any security or to open an account with any specific broker. Investments can lose value, and past performance does not guarantee future results. You are responsible for your own investment, tax, and legal decisions. Always review each broker’s current terms, fees, and eligibility on their official website before opening or funding an account.