Questrade Canada Review 2024: Features & Alternatives

What Is Questrade?

Questrade is a discount broker that offers Canadian investors online investing and trading services. It has a wide range of products and services and is suitable for experienced investors and those new to the world of investing. 

The trading platform maintains a good reputation and is known for its low commissions and fees. Questrade also offers a mobile app, QuestMobile, which is handy for those who want to trade on the go.

Questrade offers both a self-directed investing platform and a managed portfolio service. The former is aimed at those who want to take control of their investments, while the latter is designed for those who want someone else to manage their investments. Also, Questrade protects your investment with the Canadian Investor Protection Fund CIPF. 

You will find various investment options and asset categories with Questrade. For instance, you can trade stocks, ETFs, MFs, and options, and do forex trading. The company also provides margin accounts and registered accounts such as RRSPs and  TFSAs.

The Questrade website is easy to use and navigate, and the customer service team is helpful and responsive. Overall, Questrade is a good discount broker for those looking for versatile investment options.

Questrade Advantages

To start our Questrade review, let’s go through the top Questrade advantages that make it stand out from the crowd. 

No Fees are Charged for Tax-Free Savings Accounts

Ever worried about getting dinged with fees when you purchase your tax-free savings account (TFSA)? Questrade offers free trades placed in a TFSA. This is a big advantage, considering that many other online brokerages in Canada charge fees for TFSA trades.

User-Friendly Platform

The Questrade trading platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate. You can access all the features and tools you need without any difficulty. The platform is available in English and French, which is handy for those unfamiliar with English.

Unlimited Free ETFs Purchase

Questrade clients can purchase and sell ETFs without any commission fees. This is particularly useful for frequent traders, and you can also purchase ETFs with margin or borrowed funds. 

Dedicated Support

The Questrade support team is responsive and helpful. They are available to answer your questions and help you with any problems you may have. You can easily reach the Questrade support team via call or live chat. The platform has also compiled a detailed FAQ section with comprehensive answers.

Related Topic: Top 6 Best Stock Trading App Canada

Questrade Packages

Questrade offers a user-friendly trading experience at competitive pricing. To cater to different types of investors,  Questrade has introduced two packages – one for independent investors and one for those looking for managed portfolio services. 

Self-Directed Investing Pricing

Questrade’s SDI is suitable for occasional and active traders. The platform does not charge any account opening fees and TFSA account fees and will reimburse transfer fees when you transfer funds when switching to a Questrade account, giving you an excellent opportunity to try the platform without worrying about fees. In addition to the free ETFs, forex, and CFD trading, you can trade stocks starting from 1¢ per share. 

This investment package lets you use all four trading options – Questrade Trading, QuestMobile, Questrade Edge, and Questrade Global – for comprehensive personal investment management and trading experience. 

Questwealth Portfolios Pricing

If you are looking to avoid any burdens of doing complex market analysis and research, you can take advantage of the Questwealth Portfolio plan. Vetted investment professionals will manage your portfolio for a competitive fee starting from only 0.25% or less based on your investment amount. 

Here are some examples of the probable monthly fee that you might need to pay with the Questwealth Portfolios:

• For $1,000: $0.21/month
• For $5,000: $1/month
• For $10,000: $2/month
• For $100,000: $17/month

Active Trader Commission Plans

When you want to take advantage of the market price movements through frequent and active trading, you can make the best use of Questrade’s active trader pricing, which is significantly lower than what you would pay in the regular SDI package.

Fixed Plan

Use the fixed pricing plan when you buy stocks and options in high volume, which are traded at a low price per share. The fixed plan will help you get a substantially reduced price per share. 

Variable Plan 

The variable pricing plan works best when you buy expensive stocks in low volume. Here, you will only pay based on your quantity traded instead of the investment amount and get a lower transaction fee per share.

Other Features & Fees

Trading Fee

Questrade trading fees are very transparent. You will always know how much you are going to pay. You won’t have to pay fees when purchasing ETFs and IPOs. The trading and currency conversion fees are lower when you subscribe to an active or intraday trader account. 

Market Data

The Questrade platform provides a good range of real-time market data packages for free, which is sufficient for most traders. However, if you are an active trader and want to go through real-time analysis, you may subscribe to one of the advanced data packages that provide real-time, in-depth analytics and insights. 

Those are: 

• Real-time options
• Advanced U.S. Streaming
• Advanced CDN Streaming

High-volume trading can even qualify you for a full or partial rebate of the market data fees you paid to Questrade. 

Administrative Fees

Questrade administrative fees are related to accounting opening, deletion, withdrawals, and guaranteed investment certificates & documents issuance. With the exception of transfer fees and foreign exchange fees, many of the frequently-used administrative fees are free, such as: 

• Account opening
• Inactivity fees
• CDN and USD EFT (up to a specific amount)
• Electronic trade confirmation, and monthly statements.

Transaction Fees

Transaction fees will incur when you add or remove liquidity from your account. Other fees like SEC, ADR, notes & debenture, special requests, and commissions are also included in the transaction fees.

Questrade Quick Overview

4.5 stars

Best Overall Value

• Best for user-friendly trading at a low applicable exchange fee
• Versatile trading options
• Transparent fee structure
• Options for self-directed investors and managed portfolio

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Questrade Customer Reviews

Questrade reviews are generally positive. Most of the customers praised the platform’s availability of many trading options and transparent fees. Some, however, expressed concerns about the occasional technical bugs within the software and the slow response of the customer support team. Let’s take a quick look at some Questrade reviews:

My experience with Questrade has been phenomenal. I could effortlessly manage my Canadian portfolio. They charge much lower fees than many other online brokers

Riley J.

I’ve been using Questrade for a year, and I’m delighted with the platform. The fees are very reasonable, and the customer service is excellent. I would recommend Questrade to others

John S.

I found the options at Questrade a bit overwhelming when I first opened an account. They also don’t have a mock or demo account option, which is something I didn’t like

Dark8968

I started trading at Questrade in no time after opening an account. They offer some serious resources and learning videos. The fees are reasonable.

Alex Steven

Questrade Service Review

This Questrade review takes a look at the overall services and features you will find on the trading platform. 

Is This Brand Right For You?

Questrade is a good choice for those who want to handle investments and trade a wide range of assets. The company offers a self-directed investing platform and a managed portfolio service. It also has low commissions and fees.

Cost Value 

Questrade is Canada’s leading discount brokerage that offers low commissions and fees. For instance, stock commissions start at $4.95 per trade. Without any minimum investment for your account, Questrade is particularly great for beginners. 

Customer Service

The Questrade customer service team is responsive and helpful. The company also has an extensive FAQ section on its website. The friendly customer support team is one of the key reasons for good Questrade reviews from customers. 

Ease of Use

Questrade is a user-friendly platform. You can access all of the trading options and analytics right from its single-page dashboard. The basic package also comes with several good analytics and research tools. 

Included Features

In this Questrade review, we’ll take a look at the features that give the brand an edge over other trading platforms. Here are some of them:

• Low fee trading: Questrade trading and administrative fees are generally lower than the competitors.
• Easy to get started: You can start trading at Questrade within minutes. 
• Mobile app: The platform has brought plenty of features to its mobile app – QuestMobile so that you can trade on the go.  
• Transparent investment outcome: You can easily get a good idea of your investment outcome by using the interactive brokers’ investment return forecast tool. 
• Family member linking: You can enjoy even lower fees if multiple members of your family trade with Questrade. 
• Easy taxation: Questrade helps you get applicable tax breaks in compliance with the regulatory organization of Canada IIROC. 

Overall

To sum up our Questrade review, it may be an excellent option for those who are looking for a discount trading platform in Canada but want to access a full range of trading options.

2 Top Questrade Alternatives

QTrade

Similar to Questrade, Qtrade is also a Canadian investment platform where you can trade various assets at a competitive and transparent fee structure. You can trade over a hundred commission-free ETFs and MFs. They also offer a trial account to help you learn trading without actually putting in any money. 

TD Direct Investing

TD Direct Investing offers more advanced and professional trading options than Questrade. As TD Bank backs the platform, you will get peace of mind considering that it adheres to the investment industry regulatory organization. They provide a wide range of educational training programs for investors. 

Conclusion

Overall, Questrade IQ Edge has some excellent features to provide complete investment solutions for both beginner and advanced users. The fee options are highly transparent, and you can easily use the ones that suit your needs and offer the best value.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)