Questrade Review 2024: A Top-Notch Canadian Discount Broker

Deciding on which discount broker in Canada to choose can be a challenge with all of the available choices. 

I have been using Questrade for over ten years now. I’ve also reviewed many of the top trading platforms in Canada.

I’ve written this comprehensive Questrade review that can hopefully help you decide if it’s the right discount brokerage for you. 

What is Questrade?

With over 250,000 new accounts opened annually and $30 billion in assets under management, Questrade is the leading discount brokerage in Canada. The company was founded in 1999 in Toronto. 

Questrade is known mainly for its online trading platform, where Canadians can buy and sell ETFs, stocks, and other investments to build their own portfolios.

If you’re confident in your investment skills and shopping around for the best discount brokerage in Canada, Questrade should be shortlisted as one of your options. 

How to Choose a Discount Broker

When looking at choosing a discount broker, it’s crucial to look at a few key things:

1. Fees: Since the name of the game is discount, having low fees are the most important factor in choosing a discount brokerage. 
2. Platform: No matter how cheap a discount broker is, you must make sure that the platform is easy to use, the reporting features are easy to understand, and that it doesn’t crash too much. 
3. Features: You must see if the discount brokers’ features satisfy your investment needs
4. Customer service: Try to gauge how much support you can receive if you need it. 

I give Questrade top marks in most of these categories, which is why I scored the company so high.

Questrade Fees

There are two main types of fees with any discount brokerage: account fees and trading fees. 

Account Fees

• Annual Fees: $0
• Minimum Investment: $1,000
• Transfer Fees: $0, and you will be reimbursed $150 per account
• Withdrawal Fee: $0
• Foreign Exchange Fee: 1.75%

One of the best things about Questrade is its zero account fees and small minimums.

Questrade is good for buying and selling U.S. stocks because it has U.S. dollar accounts. This will help you save on foreign transaction fees since you can hold U.S. dollars inside the account.

Be aware that there will be a foreign exchange fee for converting Canadian dollars into whatever currency is needed.

Every brokerage has its own version of this fee.

Trading Fees

Here are the costs to do trades on Questrade:

• ETFs – Free to buy ETFs ($4.95 – $9.95 to sell)
• Stocks – $0.01 per share buy or sell ($4.95 – $9.95)
• Options – $9.95 plus $1 per contract
• GICs and Bonds – Free if at least $5,000 is purchased.
• International Equities – 1% of total buy or sell value, with a minimum of $195 plus any additional stamp or exchange fees.
• Initial Public Offering (IPO) – Free if at least $5,000 is purchased.
• Precious Metals – $19.95 USD per buy/sell

Questrade Monthly Plans

If you’re a high-volume advanced trader, Questrade offers Enhanced and Advanced pricing.

1. Enhanced ($19.95/month): If you spend more than $48.95 in monthly trading, you’ll get the entire $19.95 rebated to you. Enhanced comes with additional features for traders. This is good if you aren’t a super high-volume trader but want more market data and research tools. 
2. Advanced ($89.95/month): Here’s where the fees get interesting. If you choose the Advanced option, you get discounts on your trades. You also get a rebate if you spend $48.95/month in commissions of $19.95. If you spend $399.95/month in commissions, you will get the entire $89.95 rebated.
   1. Fixed-rate (most popular): Stocks drop to $4.95 per trade. This is perfect if you are a high-volume trader.
   2. Variable rate: 1 cent/share cost, up to $6.95 per trade. Great for buying a few shares of expensive companies. 

High-volume traders should be aware of Questrade ECN fees, which can be applied when making trades. 

Fee Comparison to Competitors

Broker	Free ETF Buys	Stock Trade Fees	Annual Fees
Questrade	Yes	$4.95 – $9.95	$                             –
Wealthsimple Trade	Yes	$0	$                             –
Qtrade	Limited	$8.75	$0 – $100
BMO InvestorLine	No	$9.95	$0 – $100
Scotia iTrade	Limited	$4.95 – $9.99	$0 – $100
TD Direct Investing	No	$9.99	$0 – $100
Virtual Brokers	Yes	$9.99	$0 – $100

Since ETFs are all the rage these days, I wanted to do a comparison with Questrade to its competitors in terms of fees. As you can see, Questrade is extremely competitive in fees for Its ETFs and annual fees. 

Wealthsimple Trade is cheaper than Questrade with $0 commission buys and sells for ETFs and stocks, but they currently only offer a TFSA, RRSP, and personal account.

If you’re ok with that, then Wealthsimple Trade is a great option for you to look at also. You can read my full Wealthsimple Trade review here.

Questrade Features and Benefits

1. Questrade Trading Platforms

Questrade offers four main trading platforms:

A) Questrade Trading

The main trading platform on Questrade.com can be accessed by your desktop computer. 

Features: Symbol lookup, news, historical info, and charting. You can set up smart alerts and charts on the platform, also. 

Who should use it: This basic platform will be enough for 90% of investors who aren’t doing in-depth research or frequently trading on the platform. If you need to trade an ETF or stock, it gets the job done, and it’s easy to use and nice to look at. 

Check out this video on how to place a trade on the platform:

B) Questrade IQ Edge

Questrade IQ Edge is a free downloadable trading desktop platform. It’s best suited for active and pro traders. 

Who should use it: If you’re a casual or passive investor, it’s probably a bit overkill to use IQ Edge, but it does have a cool interface and features. 

Features: Charting, screeners, and customizable and instant smart alerts for the stocks you are tracking.

Check out this IQ Edge walkthrough from Questrade:

C) Questrade Global

You can trade currencies and commodities with the Questrade Global Platform. The platform has access to over 15 international exchanges. 

Who should use this: The platform was designed with foreign exchange (FX) and contract for differences (CFD) traders in mind, so if you fit the bill, this can be a fantastic choice for you.

Features: Get access to live charting, global economic market research releases, and smart alerts for currency tracking.

D) Questrade Mobile App

There is a Questrade mobile app available on both iOs and Android. As more people are moving away from desktop computers, mobile apps will only increase in popularity, so it’s nice to have this option available. 

Who this is for: If you want the ability to monitor your investments and make trades on your phone, this is the right app for you. But be aware that it is rated quite low in the app stores and is prone to bugs.

Features: Ticker lookup, mobile alerts, charting

The mobile app has less than a 2-star rating on both iOS and Google Play, which is concerning and means the apps are not great. I have tried the mobile app, but I prefer to use my desktop to make trades anyways. 

2. Questrade Market Research

There are three fantastic market research tools that are available for Questrade customers. Let’s go over them:

A) Questrade Market Intelligence

Market Intelligence is Questrade’s fundamental market research tool. The tool provides detailed analysis for thousands of stocks and ETFs.

There is also access to mutual fund research. You’ll also get news alerts and reports that can be filtered by variables such as country, exchange, and volume.

If you’re looking to either get quick and accurate up-to-date stock information or in-depth market analysis, you’ll be able to find the information in Market Intelligence. 

B) Questrade Intraday Trader

This tool was built in mind for technical traders. You can use the Intraday trader to monitor the target markets that you are interested in trading in. You can also set up chart patterns to visualize the data that you are analyzing in the way that you like it. 

You can set up a target trade, and when it is triggered, you will get notifications with charts and a description of what happened. 

C) Questrade IPO Centre

If you want to tap into the exciting world of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), you’ll need to find a tool to help you analyze each new offering. This tool was designed for the sole purpose of helping you make informed IPO investment decisions.

3. Questwealth Portfolios

Questwealth Portfolios is the robo-advisor portion that Questrade offers. I won’t get into much detail here since this article focuses on the discount broker platform of Questrade. 

If you don’t want the hassle of constructing your own portfolios through Questrade’s discount brokerage platform, Questrade Portfolios has a team that will do it for you.

It is also unique because it has active managers that will manage the investments, which is rare for a robo-advisor. 

Not only that, but the fees are also extremely cheap. You’re looking at a management fee of only 0.25%, plus the MER for each ETF. Most robo-advisors in Canada start at a 0.40% management fee, so Questwealth is by far the cheapest option. It’s an option well worth looking into.

Read my full review on Questwealth Portfolios here.

4. Educational Resources

Questrade’s commitment to equipping its users extends beyond merely offering trading platforms. They believe in fostering a holistic understanding of finance and trading among its users.

1. Webinars and Tutorials: These aren’t your typical, superficial overviews. Questrade’s webinars dive deep, often bringing in experts from various financial fields to share insights, dissect complex topics, and answer user queries in real time.
2. Knowledge Base: This repository is continuously updated to reflect changing market conditions, regulatory shifts, and platform updates. Whether you’re puzzled about tax implications or curious about leveraged trading, the Knowledge Base is designed as a one-stop resource.
3. Trading Academy: A standout feature, the Trading Academy mimics real-world trading conditions, offering new traders an opportunity to learn without any financial risks. The courses are modular, allowing users to progress at their own pace, and cover a gamut of topics from basic stock trading to complex derivatives trading.
4. Blogs and Market Analysis: Authored by financial analysts and experts, Questrade’s blogs provide both a macro and micro perspective on the financial landscape. These articles and analyses are invaluable for traders, helping them discern market sentiments and make informed decisions.
5. Community Forums: These forums are more than just discussion boards. They’re a collaborative space where traders, both novice and experienced, share insights, discuss strategies, and sometimes even dissect individual trades, offering a practical learning experience for all members.

Questrade Accounts

• Accounts available: TFSA, RRSP, Margin, RESP, Spousal RRSP, LIRA, Locked-In-RRSP, RIF, LIF, Family RESP, Business, Cash Account
• Automatic Deposits: Yes
• Questrade DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plan): Yes
• Portfolio Rebalancing: No

Here are the most popular accounts:

1. Questrade TFSA

Your TFSA is excellent for reaching your long or short-term investment goals. It’s my favourite investment account in Canada. 

I set up a Questrade Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) to automatically reinvest all my dividends inside my TFSA, so I don’t have to worry about it. 

2. Questrade RRSP

The RRSP is designed to save for retirement in a tax-efficient way. The account can be one of your core forms of retirement income as you grow older. 

3. Questrade Margin Account

For traders who want access to more capital, a margin account can be right for you. Be aware of the risks involved with trading on margin. It does involve risk, and you are basically investing with borrowed money. I like the versatility of Questrade; you can even purchase bonds and GICs by calling their trade desk.

Questrade Customer Service

Service is available through online chat, email, or telephone. I’ve never had a problem getting through to their staff; they’ve always been courteous and helpful. 

Questrade Platinum

If you invest more than $250,000 with Questrade, you join the Questrade Platinum group. It comes with its own dedicated phone lines and shorter email wait times also. The normal customer service is already great, so this is a nice perk for the higher net-worth individuals. 

FAQ

Is Questrade Safe and Legit?

Like every major bank in Canada, Questrade is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). CIPF can cover up to $1 million of losses if Questrade somehow becomes insolvent. 

On the tech side, Questrade uses a 256-bit SSL digital certificate, which encrypts your data to protect it from third parties. You can set up automatic alerts showing you if anyone attempts to access your account. 

Questrade comes with a guarantee that if an unauthorized transaction in your account occurs because Questrade’s systems have been breached, the company will reimburse 100% of your loss.

Is Questrade a good option for beginners?

Questrade is indeed a great choice for beginners looking to venture into the investment landscape. With its user-friendly interface, a plethora of educational resources, and a commitment to transparency, new investors can navigate the platform with relative ease.

The platform offers detailed tutorials, webinars, and a trading academy designed to help novices understand the intricacies of investing. Furthermore, its lower trading fees make it cost-effective for beginners who may be starting with smaller investment amounts.

What are the mortgage options available through Questrade?

Questrade runs QuestMortgage, a Canadian mortgage lender that offers low-interest rates, transparent and customer-focused service, and a BetterRate™ mortgage that can save borrowers thousands of dollars.

They offer mortgages with low rates and a pre-approval process that lets borrowers lock in a low rate for up to 120 days with no obligation. Additionally, QuestMortgage offers cashback incentives of up to $5,000 for eligible mortgages. See here for more details.

Google Reviews of Questrade

If you google Questrade Toronto, some interesting reviews pop up. It only gets 2.7 stars out of 5, and there are over 800 reviews. A lot of the issues revolve around account setup or customer service. 

I haven’t personally experienced these issues, but I thought it’d be best to show them here to provide an unbiased look at Questrade. There are many 5-star reviews also, and I have never had any problem with the customer service or the platform itself. 

Questrade Alternatives

Questrade vs Wealthsimple

Comparing these two is kind of comparing apples to oranges. Questrade is known mostly as a discount brokerage and Wealthsimple as a robo-advisor. However, they both allow you now to trade stocks and ETFs. 

Although Wealthsimple Trade can provide cheaper trades for most stocks and ETFs than Questrade, it is still missing a desktop application, and there are many accounts you can’t trade either. If you’re looking for a full-service broker, Questrade is my pick for trading stocks and ETFs still.

Read my full Questrade vs Wealthsimple article here.

Questrade vs Qtrade

Both of these are solid choices. You will likely pay less in fees with Questrade, but Qtrade is known for having exceptional customer service. 

Questrade is great for ETF investors who want to construct a low-cost portfolio, and Qtrade wins out with its mutual fund research and trading. I don’t recommend investing in mutual funds due to its high fees, which is why I chose Questrade. 

Questrade vs TD Direct Investing

Questrade wins out in fees, live chat support, having a mobile app, and free ETF purchases. TD Direct Investing has free e-series funds and the comfort of being backed by a large bank. 

If you do your banking at TD, it could be more convenient to have everything in one place, but I choose Questrade over TD Direct investing because that didn’t apply to me.

How to Sign Up For Questrade

The easiest way to sign up for Questrade is through its website. You can also give them a call at 1-888-783-7866 or contact them through live chat if you have any issues. 

How to Fund a Questrade Account

There are a few different options. The instant deposit is a nice feature for those that don’t want to wait. After signing up for Questrade, you can choose one of the following common options here:

Funding method	Time to Fund
Instant deposit	Instant funding up to $3,500 with a Visa Debit card
Online banking bill payment	1-2 business days
Pre-authorized deposit (PAD)	– 3-4 business days if under $10,000. – Up to 7 business days if over $10,000 or when using a void cheque.
Interac Online	– Instant for deposits made before 5:45pm ET -1-2 business days for new accounts and deposits made after 5:45pm ET
Transfer from another bank or broker	-It can take 20 business days or more

There are a few other less common ways that you can fund the account, such as wire transfers, cheques, and stock certificates. For more info on how to fund a Questrade account, check out the video below:

Things to consider before choosing a discount broker

Discount brokers solve the problem of overpaying for investing and are ideal for do-it-yourself (DIY) investors.

Use a Discount Broker If:

• You want to pay the lowest amount of fees for investing your money.
• You know a bit about investing 
• You can perform research on your investments and construct your own portfolio. 
• You understand the risks involved with investing and what your personal risk tolerance and investment goals are.

Don’t Use a Discount Broker if:

I don’t recommend using a discount brokerage if you don’t know anything about investing and don’t want to learn. You might end up making poor investment decisions. Instead, you could possibly look into robo-advisors or get a financial advisor (I recommend a fee-based one if you decide on that).  

Questrade Referral Program

If you refer your friends or family to Questrade, you get $25 for every person. You also get $50 for every third referral. It’s a great incentive for you to recommend Questrade.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a versatile and cheap discount brokerage in Canada, hopefully, this Questrade review has helped you decide what to do. 

It’s a great product for trading stocks, ETFs, and options for cheap, with pretty much any account a Canadian could ask for and solid market research tools. 

Questrade gets two thumbs way up from Wealth Awesome. I’ve been using it for years now and couldn’t be happier with it, and to me, it’s one of the best trading platforms in Canada.