• ETF-level costs (MER, tracking difference)
• Canadian capital gains, dividend, or registered account tax treatment
• US withholding tax on dividends (15% in RRSP via treaty; 15% unrecoverable in TFSA)
• Norbert’s Gambit FX optimization
• Transfer reimbursement or account-switching offers
• Rebates, cashback, or promotional rates

Enter your contribution amount in CAD, how often you invest, and your horizon. These determine how many times you pay each repeatable fee.

Buying CAD ETFs on TSX? Leave FX off. Buying USD-denominated ETFs or converting CAD to USD? Toggle FX on — this is where the biggest cost differences appear across all six brokers.

All 6 brokers rank automatically by total fees. Highlight your current broker to see the cost gap. Fix the biggest leak first — usually FX, not commissions.

For Canadian investors buying USD-denominated ETFs, FX is where most of the money disappears. NBDB charges the most at 1.70% for retail-sized conversions under CAD 25,000. Wealthsimple Core and Questrade both charge approximately 1.5%. Interactive Brokers charges 0.002% — roughly 750x cheaper. Wealthsimple Premium eliminates FX entirely via USD accounts, but requires CAD 100,000 in assets to unlock. Questrade and NBDB both support Norbert's Gambit to convert at near mid-market rates (NBDB charges CAD 9.95 per journalling transfer).

Use limit orders and avoid trading in the first and last 15 minutes of the TSX session. Major Canadian ETFs like XEQT, VEQT, and XGRO typically trade with spreads under 0.03% during liquid mid-session hours. Niche or low-AUM ETFs in the same index family can trade 3–10 times wider. Stick to high-AUM products and use limit orders to cap your spread cost at the displayed offer.

Wealthsimple Premium unlocks 0% FX at no extra cost once your assets hit CAD 100,000 — below that threshold you remain on Core. Qtrade adds CAD 60 per year for USD registered accounts (RRSP, TFSA), which only applies if you need USD in a registered account. NBDB's CAD 100 admin fee is waived once eligible assets cross CAD 20,000. If you invest in CAD-denominated ETFs only, no broker in this comparison charges a meaningful platform fee at the retail level.

This is rare in Canada. Questrade, Wealthsimple Core, Wealthsimple Premium, NBDB, and Qtrade are all commission-free as of 2026. Interactive Brokers charges approximately CAD 1 minimum per trade — for a monthly investor buying CAD 500 worth of ETFs, that is CAD 12 per year in commissions. Trivial compared to IBKR's FX advantage for USD investors, and worth accepting for the near-zero currency conversion cost.

The most cost-relevant account distinction. Questrade allows USD in RRSP and TFSA at no extra cost, enabling Norbert's Gambit and avoiding repeated FX on each contribution. IBKR supports USD in registered accounts natively. NBDB supports USD registered accounts (Gambit available at CAD 9.95 per journalling step). Qtrade supports USD in registered accounts at CAD 15/quarter. Wealthsimple does not support USD in registered accounts on Core — Premium unlocks this at the CAD 100,000 threshold.

Under the Canada–US tax treaty, US-listed ETFs held inside an RRSP are exempt from the 15% withholding tax on US dividends. This benefit does not apply to TFSAs or FHSAs — US dividends paid into a TFSA are subject to the 15% withholding tax with no recovery mechanism. For large RRSP investors holding US equity ETFs, this treaty advantage can dwarf any broker commission or FX difference. To access it, your broker must support USD in RRSP accounts — which eliminates Wealthsimple Core as an option for this specific goal.

The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is supported by Questrade, Wealthsimple, NBDB, and Qtrade. IBKR Canada does not currently offer FHSA accounts — confirm directly with IBKR if this matters for your situation. Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP) and Locked-In Retirement Accounts (LIRA) are supported by Questrade, NBDB, and Qtrade, but not by Wealthsimple, which focuses on TFSA, RRSP, and FHSA for its standard retail platform. IBKR supports LIRA but not RESP.

Investors who need a corporate investing account — for a holding company or incorporated professional — are limited to Questrade, NBDB, or Qtrade among the six brokers in this comparison. Wealthsimple does not support corporate accounts through its standard retail platform. IBKR supports corporate accounts but the account structure is more complex to set up than at a Canadian retail broker and requires IIROC approval. Confirm corporate account availability and eligibility directly with any broker before opening.

If you buy XEQT, VEQT, or XGRO in CAD on the TSX and never need USD, all five commission-free brokers are essentially tied on fees. Choose based on platform preference: Wealthsimple for a simpler mobile-first experience, Questrade for more control and account type flexibility, Qtrade if customer service responsiveness is a priority.

If you regularly convert CAD to USD — buying US-listed ETFs like VOO or VTI directly — IBKR's 0.002% FX rate is the clear winner. On CAD 12,000 converted per year, IBKR costs about CAD 2.40 in FX; Wealthsimple Core costs CAD 180. The CAD 12/year in commissions is easily offset by the FX savings from the first conversion alone.

If you want USD in an RRSP for the dividend withholding tax exemption and are comfortable doing a Gambit conversion once or twice a year, Questrade gives you free journalling and free commissions. Each Gambit conversion costs only the bid-ask spread on the dual-listed security used — typically well under 0.1% total. IBKR is simpler for frequent USD needs; Questrade Gambit suits periodic large-lump conversions.

If you already have or will reach CAD 100,000 in Wealthsimple net deposits or assets, Premium unlocks automatically at no extra charge. It gives you a USD account with 0% FX on USD-denominated trades. If you are close to this threshold and value Wealthsimple's interface, it may be worth consolidating assets to unlock Premium rather than switching brokers.

If you prefer investing through a major Canadian bank subsidiary and want $0 commissions, NBDB is the strongest option in that category. Its FX rate is the highest in this comparison (1.70% under CAD 25,000), so it is not optimal for frequent USD investors. The CAD 100 admin fee waiver at CAD 20,000 means most investors pay nothing annually within a few years of regular contributions.

If responsiveness and platform stability matter as much as cost, Qtrade has consistently ranked among the top Canadian brokers for customer service and usability. It is commission-free since October 2025 and supports the full range of registered accounts. The CAD 60/year for USD registered accounts is a real cost for USD investors, but manageable if the platform experience justifies it.