Questrade Intro – 🇨🇦 Canada's Mainstream Brokerage [Some Option Fees Dropped]

【August 14, 2026 update】 Questrade has opened Pre-IPO (private-market equity) investing. We wrote a dedicated article that walks through it:

【July 20, 2026 update】 Starting today, US equity options commissions are waived.

US index options and Canadian options are priced as listed below.

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Questrade is one of the self-directed brokerages I use regularly. It was founded in 1999, is a Canadian firm, and is headquartered in Toronto. As a brokerage, Questrade is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Those two organizations supervise how brokerages operate and protect investors. In the extreme case of a brokerage failure, CIPF can cover up to $1 million per account (counted by account category, so Margin, TFSA, RRSP, and RESP each have their own coverage).

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Questrade has grown quickly in Canada over the years, and it keeps adding products and trading types. Compared with other brokerages, especially the Big Five banks’ self-directed platforms, it has several real advantages.

【June 8, 2025 update】 Starting June 9, pre-market trading moves up to 4:00 a.m. Overnight trading is also coming later this year.

【March 11, 2025 update】 Fractional-share trading has been added.

Account fees

Questrade aims to be an affordable brokerage, and fees are one of its strengths. It is currently one of Canada’s lowest-commission securities brokerages:

• Stock trades at $0.01 per share (minimum $4.95, capped at $9.95)
• Options: $9.95+, plus $1 per contract
• ETF trades: commission-free to buy; $0.01 per share to sell (minimum $4.95, capped at $9.95)
• Mutual funds: $9.95 per buy or sell
• IPO purchases are commission-free ($5,000 minimum)

Those are the fees I see most often for Canada–US market trading. For the full schedule, see the official site.

Note ⚠️: even though ETF trades are commission-free, some low-liquidity orders can pick up an ECN (Electronic Communication Networks) fee. That is a fee between the brokerage and market intermediaries. It does not apply to every trade; it depends on liquidity, so Questrade bills it separately. The amount is usually small enough to ignore.

【February 9, 2025 update】 Great news, a change in the right direction: stock and ETF trading fees are gone!

you can now trade stocks and ETFs commission-free in Questrade self-directed accounts. AND you can trade options with no ticket charge and just 99¢/contract.

Account administration fees are also relatively reasonable:

• No annual fee on registered accounts (including TFSA, RRSP, RESP, and the newer FHSA, which followed the policy quickly)
• No inactivity fee (fund $1,000 or more and you clear the bar)
• You can deposit USD or CAD directly, so you are not forced through an FX conversion
• Registered retirement accounts such as an RRSP: $50 per withdrawal, or $100 if you withdraw the full balance
• Partial or full transfers out to another institution: a $150 transfer-out fee either way (this has already lined up with most other firms)

For more, treat the official administrative-fee page as the source of truth.

Questrade Plus membership

Questrade Plus is a monthly paid membership from the Canadian discount brokerage Questrade (think of it as a premium add-on). It costs $19.99 CAD/month (plus tax). The idea is to give active traders and long-term savers extra value through trade cashback, a deposit match, waived service fees, and a bundle of third-party perks.

Core benefits and highlights

1. Trading and account perks

• 1% RRSP deposit match. When a member makes a net new deposit into a Questrade RRSP, Questrade matches 1% (up to that year’s CRA RRSP contribution limit; for 2026 the maximum is $33,810).
• US options cashback. On top of Questrade’s $0 commission on US equity options, Plus members also get $0.05 CAD cashback per US equity options contract, with no cashback cap.
• Unlimited free journaling (Norbert’s Gambit FX with no fee). Unlimited free online journaling, which is usually used to swap CAD and USD by buying and selling DLR / DLR.U and avoiding a wide FX spread. Regular Questrade clients pay $9.95 each time they submit a journaling request; Plus members pay nothing.
• Advanced real-time data included. The real-time streaming package that normally costs $9.95/month (including live options quotes) is included.
• Priority Pre-IPO access. Members who qualify as accredited investors get first access to Pre-IPO allocations in private companies.

2. Partner perks

Beyond the brokerage account itself, Questrade Plus also includes a set of third-party subscriptions covering learning, news, wellness, and travel:

• The Wall Street Journal: full digital access plus exclusive market analysis.
• MasterClass: a complimentary MasterClass subscription covering its 45 most popular master courses.
• Headway: a complimentary speed-reading / micro-learning app for book summaries.
• Gigs eSIM: 10GB of global eSIM data usable in 160+ countries and regions.
• Othership: complimentary access to the Othership breathing app, one in-person sauna session, and an 11% subscription discount.

Questrade Plus vs. a regular account

Who is it for?

1. Investors who put a lot into an RRSP each year: a $2,000 CAD annual contribution already produces a $20 match, which covers one month of membership; if you fill the room, the match easily exceeds a full year of fees.
2. Anyone who regularly converts between CAD and USD: three or more stock/cash journaling conversions in a year is enough for the fee savings to cover the membership.
3. Active US options traders: the extra $0.05 per contract cashback trims trading costs a bit more.
4. People who already use, or actually need, WSJ, MasterClass, or a travel eSIM: those bundled subscriptions alone can be worth more than $19.99 a month.

How to fund the account

On convenience, I like that Questrade gives you several deposit methods, so you can pick what fits the transfer.

1. Pre-Authorized Deposit (bank debit)

Add the bank you want to debit. Each time you add a new bank account, an authorization window appears; after you agree, you sign in to that institution’s online banking to authorize it. Authorized bank accounts then show up in the drop-down menu (the red-outlined field in the screenshot below). Each transfer is at least $10 and at most $100,000. This is the method for larger moves; it usually takes about seven days to arrive.

2. Bill Payment (online banking)

Sign in to the bank you want to send from, search for Questrade as a bill-payment payee, and you should see options similar to “Questrade Inc”, “Questrade Online Brokerage”, or “Questrade”. Add the payee, enter your Questrade account number (Margin, TFSA, or whichever account you hold), and the money usually arrives in 1–2 business days.

Note ⚠️: this method does not work for USD deposits.

➡️ PAYPOWER PREPAID MASTERCARD:

One extra note: after testing, and from reader DP, you can fund Questrade by paying a bill from PPP. Search the matching payee on the PayPower bill-pay screen and you should find QUESTRADE INC; then follow the usual bill-payment steps. If your PPP username matches your Questrade username, the transfer can go through and arrive as expected.

I would not treat this as a habit of loading and cashing out. Use it as a backup funding method, and only occasionally.

3. Instant Deposit

Besides the more standard methods above, Questrade also lets you fund with a Canadian Visa Debit card, and the money can land instantly. There is a daily cap: up to $3,500 a day (and you are still limited by your own bank’s daily withdrawal maximum).

⚠️ This method is unavailable between 1:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. ET. Try not to use it in that window.

4. Transfer-in

If you already have an investment account at another institution, this means moving stocks or cash directly from that brokerage to Questrade. For registered accounts in particular, a transfer-in does not use up new contribution room and is not treated as a new contribution. Questrade also rebates transfer-out fees of up to $150. The sending institution usually charges its own transfer-out fee (Questrade’s own transfer-out fee, mentioned above, is $150). You can request the Questrade rebate within 60 days. A transfer-in often takes 20 business days or longer, so budget the time.

5. Other methods

You can also fund with a bank draft, cheque, or wire. Those can take longer to clear, and you may need to add mailing time and cost. I will not go into them here.

How to open an account

The flow is straightforward: the first screen asks for your name, email, and phone number, and you get a consent prompt right away.

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Questwealth

If you would rather not buy and sell often yourself, Questrade also has a hands-off product. Questwealth Portfolios is a lineup of actively managed ETF portfolios. You pick a risk level, and Questrade allocates the matching series of ETFs. The MER is meaningfully cheaper than the mutual funds you typically get at a bank branch.

Mobile apps

【September 20, 2024 update】 Questrade’s previous app has been taken down. There are now two new apps:

Questrade’s own explanation: QuestMobile is built for occasional traders or if your portfolio is managed for you with Questwealth Portfolios. Edge Mobile is made for the active traders: people who want more tools and powerful features on the go.

In short, QuestMobile is for lighter use: you rarely trade, or the account is managed for you. Edge Mobile is for people who trade often.

More highlights

On the watchlist screen, the web platform has a stock-trend screener that filters names and surfaces fairly direct data. There are four options, including the day’s biggest gainers and the highest turnover. Two of the data sets are provided free by a third party, TipRanks, but you have to grant authorization before you can see them.

After you authorize it, each stock page can also show TipRanks’ quantitative Smart Score. That score is data-driven and based on eight market factors, including analyst news, technicals and fundamentals, and investor and market sentiment. You also get average analyst data, including a consensus price target from 24 analysts’ buy, hold, or sell calls over the past three months. Treat it as a reference, not a decision.

Closing thoughts

This is a straightforward intro, so you should now have a basic picture of Questrade. In practice it is a platform built for investing, not much else. After years of development it has kept fees relatively low, and funding, trading, and the product lineup have all improved. I will keep sharing new features as they land. If you prefer a more self-directed investing approach, Questrade is worth putting on the shortlist.

Investing involves risk. Think through the allocation against your own and your household’s situation.

Other updates

【April 15, 2026 update】 You can now trade physical gold, with 0% trading fees for a limited time.

Update the app to the latest version and search GOLD.QM

• Start with as little as $5 (0.001 oz)
• 0% trading fees for a limited time
• Real-time pricing and instant execution
• Secure storage at the Royal Canadian Mint

【October 30, 2025 update】 Another small feature: automatic dividend reinvestment

Further reading

🇨🇦 Canada's First Home Savings Account (FHSA): tax-free, and worth knowing if you are younger

Is Questrade moving into cashback sites and a save-for-you business?

How does the new PPP digital card work? (PayPower Prepaid Digital Card)

What is PPP, and how does it work? | PayPower Prepaid