Robinhood vs Chase Investing [2024] (2024)

Compare JP Morgan Chase Investing vs Robinhood: IRA, commissions, fees, trading tools, account differences, pros and cons. Which online broker is better in 2024?

Robinhood vs Chase Investing Overview

Are you looking for a brokerage firm to open your next securities account? If so, Robinhood and J.P. Morgan Investing are worth considering. Here’s the rundown on these two:

Rating
Stocks, ETFs	$0	$0
Options (per contract)	$0.65	$0.00
Mutual Funds	$0.00	n/a
Initial Funding Requirement	$0	$0
Inactivity Fee	$0	$0
IRA Annual Fee	$0	$0
IRA Termination Fee	$75	$0
Outgoing Wire Fees (Domestic)	$25	$25
Full Account Transfer Out	$75	$100
Partial Account Transfer Out	$75	$0

Incentives

Robinhood: Up to $200 free stock + 1% IRA match + transfer fee refund at Robinhood.

J.P. Morgan Chase:

Investment Lineups

Robinhood offers self-managed accounts without any annual fees. These accounts have access to a small list of tradable products. They are:

- Stocks
- Option contracts
- Exchange-traded funds
- American Depository Receipts (ADRs)
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
- Cryptocurrencies

J.P. Morgan Investing has only self-directed accounts. Tradable instruments include everything on Robinhood’s list minus the cryptocurrencies. In their place, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing adds mutual funds, bonds and other fixed-income assets, and closed-end funds. In the stock category, J.P. Morgan adds over-the-counter securities that trade above $5. At Robinhood, most OTC stocks are unavailable.

Winner: J.P. Morgan Investing

Margin Services

Robinhood likes to be the avant-garde broker, which means it has an unusual margin system. It is included with a service called Gold. It costs $5 per month and includes margin trading plus some other perks like Level II quotes. The first $1,000 a Gold account borrows has a 0% interest charge, which is pretty much unbeatable. After that, Robinhood charges a flat 8% for borrowed money. Traders who don’t want to pay $5 per month can instead borrow funds at a flat 12% across all debit levels.

J.P. Morgan Investing also provides margin accounts. Margin rates range from 11% to 13.25%.

Winner: Robinhood

Websites

J.P. Morgan Investing clients get a basic website with an order ticket that has 4 order types. They are:

- Market
- Limit
- Stop
- Stop limit

Unfortunately, there aren’t many other trading tools. There are several duration choices an order can pick. These include on-the-close and on-the-open orders, which are pretty unusual.

Graphs on the broker’s site have some useful tools. During our probing, we found lots of technical studies, drawing tools, and 7 plot styles. A graph can’t be blown up full-screen, which is one weakness.

On the Robinhood site, it is possible to expand a graph the full width of the computer monitor. However, there are fewer graphing tools on Robinhood’s software. In fact, there are no drawing tools at all. There are only 2 graph styles.

But options trading is on a much higher level. For example, it’s possible to build custom orders with up to 4 legs, and profit-loss diagrams are displayed on every options order ticket. Because J.P. Morgan Investing doesn’t offer any type of margin service, only calls and puts can be traded.

Although Robinhood does offer margin trading, it doesn’t permit short positions, which is one notable weakness here. The broker’s trade ticket does offer some good trade types:

- Trailing stop
- Recurring investment
- Stop loss

Winner: Pretty close

Mobile Apps

Trading and account management continue on both brokerage firms’ mobile apps. Both platforms are largely modeled after their website cousins with similar layouts. The J.P. Morgan Investing app has the same trade ticket and charting tools we saw on the website. The most notable difference is that a graph on the mobile app can’t be displayed horizontally, a slight inconvenience. Without margin trading, most customers won’t be engaging in a lot of advanced trading anyway.

As with the J.P. Morgan Investing website, there are a lot of personal finance tools on the app, thanks to the partnership with Chase Bank. Resources we found include mobile check deposit and a free credit score.

Robinhood’s app unfortunately has neither. It does have multiple watchlists; separate ones can be created for securities and cryptocurrencies. And we really like the new option strategy builder on the app that includes profit-loss diagrams and step-by-step instructions to create specific spreads like straddles and strangles (the same tool exists on the website).

For stocks and cryptos, the trade ticket is the same one that appears on the website. Charts have the same tools from the website, too, although like the J.P. Morgan Investing app, there is no horizontal mode.

Winner: Pretty even overall

Additional Service

IRAs: Both investment firms in this comparison offer Individual Retirement Accounts. Only Robinhood customers get a free 1% match.

Cash Management Features: J.P. Morgan Investing clients can link savings and checking accounts from Chase Bank. These accounts have debit cards, check writing, and fees (sometimes). Robinhood has a fee-free debit card called the Cash Card. It comes with some perks that won’t be found at Chase Bank (stock and crypto bonuses, for example). The broker also pays a very high 5% APY on cash balances.

Extended Hours: Only available at Robinhood.

Automatic Mutual Fund Investing: Self-directed customers at J.P. Morgan Investing can sign up for systemic purchases of mutual funds.

Dividend Reinvestment Plan: DRIP service is on tap at both firms free of charge.

Fractional-share Trading: Securities and digital currencies can be purchased inside a Robinhood account with whole dollars. J.P. Morgan Investing still has whole-share trading only.

IPO Service: Robinhood has a service that allows its customers to get in on Initial Public Offerings before they hit the secondary market. J.P. Morgan Investing does not.

Winner: Robinhood

Promotions

Robinhood: Up to $200 free stock + 1% IRA match + transfer fee refund at Robinhood.

J.P. Morgan Chase:

Recommendations

Equity Trading: Only J.P. Morgan Investing has stock and ETF screeners. It also has better charting tools. For security analysis, the two firms are pretty close. Robinhood has a slightly better order ticket. We lean towards Robinhood.

Small Accounts: Either broker will do.

Mutual Funds: Only available with a J.P. Morgan.

Retirement Savers and Long-Term Investors: Robinhood has a free 1% IRA contribution match.

Beginners: Both brokers are easy for beginners.

Robinhood vs Chase Brokerage Summary

These two firms are pretty even overall. Robinhood is obviously the go-to broker for margin and cryptocurrency trading, while J.P. Morgan is the winner for mutual funds investing.

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