Overview
Are you looking for a brokerage firm to amp up your trading regimen? If so, Robinhood and Merrill Edge
are well worth checking out. Although they do have similarities, there are important differences
between these two.
Cost
Category 1: Available Products
Traders at Merrill Edge can buy and sell the following securities:
- Options
- Equities
- Mutual funds
- Closed-end funds
- ETFs
- Bonds and other fixed-income assets
Robinhood drops fixed income and mutual funds. In their place, it adds cryptocurrencies and futures.
Although Merrill Edge doesn’t offer self-directed trading in cryptocurrencies, it does have managed accounts. For a fee (0.45% per year), Merrill will make all
trading decisions in an account using professionally managed portfolios. Robinhood also offers managed accounts through Robinhood Strategies, but Merrill still has the broader advisory lineup.
Either account mode at Merrill Edge, brokerage or advisory, can be opened in a variety of tax
structures. These include custodial, solo 401(k), joint, individual, 529, and retirement. Robinhood
offers individual and joint taxable accounts, custodial accounts, managed accounts, and IRAs.
Winner: Tie
Category 2: Margin Trading
Self-managed accounts at both brokerage houses can use borrowed money to buy more securities (but not
cryptocurrencies). Because this is such a useful service, there is of course a cost. Robinhood
customers pay 5% for debit balances under $50K.
Merrill Edge does not publish a simple flat margin schedule, which we view as a major downside here. The cost of
borrowing money is affected by the base rate, which can change every week, the account’s debit balance,
and the household’s total assets on deposit within the Bank of America family of companies.
Winner: Robinhood
Category 3: Websites
The Robinhood site is user-friendly, although there’s not a lot on it. The digital platform has collections of watchlists in the right-hand column. An infinite number can be created and edited. Robinhood Legend, the broker’s browser-based desktop platform, also has a scanner with more than 60 filters.
Asset profiles on the site begin with simple charts. In the upper-right corner of a chart, there is an expand icon. Clicking on this generates a larger chart with technical indicators and multiple display choices. The trade ticket has several order types. Shorting is not permitted.
Alerts can be set up for stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. The alert icon is displayed on an asset’s profile and on the expanded graph. Potential triggers include price movements and other related notices.
The Merrill Edge website also has alerts. However, there are many more choices. Here are a few examples we found:
- Volume rises above
- Stock split
- Changes faster than the S&P 500 by x%
- Ratings changes from Morningstar
- Alert me when a distribution occurs
Merrill’s website also has a browser platform called MarketPro, which can be launched from the relevant link under the Trade tab. Robinhood now has a browser-based desktop platform of its own, Robinhood Legend, but MarketPro still has lots of strong trading resources. Besides robust charting, MarketPro delivers:
- Order ticket with several trade types
- Ability to short securities
- Discrete platform for options trading
Merrill’s website itself has some decent trading resources. For example, under the Research tab in the top menu, there are links to all sorts of useful gadgets, including an economic calendar and advanced option tools.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Category 4: Mobile Trading
The trading competition continues on both companies’ mobile apps. Merrill’s platform has a tool to deposit a paper check; Robinhood’s app doesn’t have this useful feature.
The Merrill Edge app can also trade mutual funds, which Robinhood’s obviously cannot. Both apps can trade option contracts. Robinhood’s can trade cryptocurrencies. In both cases, order tickets from the websites are replicated on the apps.
Charts on both apps borrow software from their website cousins. This means many of the same graphing tools are available in mobile form, although Robinhood’s app remains simpler than Merrill’s for charting.
On the Merrill app, both horizontal and vertical charting are possible. We counted roughly 50 technical studies, far more than the number on Robinhood’s standard mobile software.
The Merrill Edge app, but not the Robinhood app, has research reports on various stocks from multiple analysts, including Morningstar, CFRA, and Bank of America Securities.
Winner: Merrill Edge
Category 5: Cash Management
Neither firm in this rivalry has stopped with investing services. Both broker-dealers have banking services with a wide variety of perks. Merrill Edge offers cash-management tools through its Bank of America relationship and Merrill accounts, while Robinhood offers spending, banking, and card products through affiliated programs.
Besides card services, both companies provide ways to access cash, albeit in different ways. An actual checkbook is available at Merrill Edge, whereas Robinhood customers can use its spending and banking tools.
Although most banking functions cost nothing at either firm, there are fees for the cash services in some cases. Merrill, for example, charges an international transaction fee for using its card outside the U.S. And Robinhood charges fees for some money-movement and banking services.
The one area where Merrill Edge seems to pull ahead of its rival here is in its partnership with Bank of America. Checking and savings accounts are automatically linked to Merrill Edge accounts on the website and mobile app. Robinhood, by comparison, offers its own card and banking products, including the Robinhood Cash Card and Robinhood Gold Card.
Merrill Edge and Robinhood both offer FDIC-insured cash options through banking or sweep arrangements. Only Robinhood pays a high APY (currently
earns 3.35% APY on eligible cash through its High-Yield Cash program).
Winner: Robinhood
Category 6: Additional Services
DRIP Service: Robinhood and Merrill Edge both offer systematic dividend reinvesting.
Fractional-share Trading: Only available with a Robinhood account.
Fully-paid Securities Lending Program: Robinhood customers, but not Merrill Edge clients, can earn additional income by loaning out their shares of securities.
IRA Service: Merrill Edge has Roth, SEP, Traditional, SIMPLE, and Inherited accounts. It does charge $49.95 to close an IRA. Robinhood has fewer IRA types but doesn’t charge a fee to close one. It also offers a 3% match on eligible IRA contributions for Gold members and a 1% match without Gold, with no employer required.
IPO Access: Available at Robinhood only.
Extended Hours: Both brokerage firms offer pre-market and after-hours trading. Robinhood also offers 24 Hour Market trading from 8 PM ET Sunday until 8 PM ET Friday for eligible stocks and ETFs. And of course, cryptos trade nearly 24/7.
Winner: Robinhood
Incentives
Robinhood:
Free stock + 3% IRA match or 2% transfer match at Robinhood.
Merrill Edge: Open a Merrill Edge account and get $0 stock trades.
Recommendations
Beginners: Robinhood was built for beginners.
Mutual Funds: Merrill Edge is it. The website has a fund screener.
Small Accounts: Guided Investing, Merrill’s robo program, requires $1,000 to enroll for growth-focused strategies and $50,000 for income-focused strategies, while
Guided Investing with an Advisor requires $20,000 for growth-focused strategies and $50,000 for income-focused strategies. Robinhood does not have any
minimums or recurring fees for self-directed investing.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: We like Robinhood’s IRA match, which can be especially valuable for eligible customers.
Stock and ETF Trading: MarketPro definitely. Merrill Edge’s research tools are also much better
than Robinhood’s.
Robinhood vs Merrill Edge Summary
For cryptocurrencies, IRA-match incentives, fractional shares, and extended-hours access, Robinhood has the lead. But for mutual funds, fixed income, research, and traditional trading tools, Merrill Edge
seems to be the better pick.
Free Robinhood Account
Open Robinhood Account
Free Merrill Edge Account
Open Merrill Edge Account
Updated on 5/29/2026.
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