Mutual funds remain at T. Rowe Price's core while Fidelity continues to evolve
By
Andrew Grossman
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Full Bio
Andrew’s work experience in finance includes experience as an institutional broker, a derivatives pricing system designer, an international banker and trader, and a program manager for managed account offerings. He has studied price dynamics and financial market pricing in multiple markets for more than thirty years.Andrew has also worked as a fundraiser for various non-profits. His consulting work includes advising investors on financial market trading strategies, and assisting non-profit and for-profit companies/organizations with their strategic planning and business operations.Andrew obtained his BA at Washington University in St. Louis, and a MBA with honors at Fordham University in New York City.He holds a FINRA series 65 license, and a NY state property and casualty insurance license.
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Updated July 15, 2024
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Fidelity and T. Rowe Price are two of the largest investment houses in the United States, with histories that span more than 80 years. Fidelity offers a wide range of brokerage product offerings, including equities, fixed income, and mutual funds, to satisfy its 50 million direct and indirect individual investors. Although T. Rowe Price offers many of the same products, its primary focus is proprietary mutual fund products.
Although their offerings are comparable, there are some key differences between the brokers. We’ll look at these differences to help you determine which broker is best for your investing and trading needs.
Open an Account
- Account Minimum: $0
- Fees: $0 for stock/ETF trades, $0 plus $0.65/contract for options trades
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Open an Account
- Account Minimum: $2,500 ($1,000 for IRAs)
- Fees: No commissions online or by mobile app for stock and ETF trades; $0 or $35 for mutual fund trades; further fees apply for options and broker-assisted trading
- Best For: Those looking for full-service wealth management
Read full review
Usability
We found the Fidelity platform more intuitive than T. Rowe Price’s. T. Rowe Price’s more cumbersome online platform comprises two separate systems: one for mutual funds and one for traditional brokerage accounts. Fidelity’s menus and overall navigation are simpler and easier to use, while T. Rowe Price’s menus nest certain tools that are easier to find on the Fidelity platform. Fidelity also has a robust search function that provides an alternative to working through sub-menus.
Fidelity provides many advanced features and functions in its Active Trader Pro downloadable trading platform. This segmentation of platforms works much better than T. Rowe Price’s split functions, as it allows Fidelity to optimize the web platform for basic users and a streaming platform for advanced investors and traders, leaving the investor to decide which is the better fit. Most investors will find Fidelity easier to use than T. Rowe Price, regardless of which of Fidelity’s platforms they choose.
Usability Verdict: Fidelity
Fidelity’s integrated online platform allows for a seamless user experience for trading stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and more. T. Rowe Price bifurcates its platform into separate mutual-fund and non-mutual-fund investing systems, creating a less integrated experience.
Trade Experience
Desktop Trade Experience
Traders who prefer a desktop application will feel more at home with Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro app, which provides streaming quotes and offers the ability to enter conditional orders and multi-leg options strategies. T. Rowe Price doesn’t have a desktop workstation application, leaving traders to contend with its cumbersome web and mobile platforms. Another demerit, T. Rowe Price’s web-based platform only allows for two-leg options and basic orders, such as limit and stop orders.
Fidelity’s desktop workstation, unlike the T. Rowe Price website, also supports setting up trade defaults for order entry and the ability to stage orders for later and place basket trades.
Fidelity and T. Rowe Price’s web-based platforms both provide real-time, streaming stock quotes, allowing users to see near-instantaneous price changes as they’re trading. Fidelity users are shown delayed quotes until they sign a real-time quotes subscriber agreement.
Desktop Trade Experience Verdict: Fidelity
Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro desktop workstation, and even its web-based Trading Dashboard, provide a more sleek experience compared to T. Rowe Price’s web-based platform. Although T. Rowe Price offers all the strictly necessary functionalities, it’s missing the smooth design that Fidelity offers.
Mobile Trade Experience
Fidelity’s mobile platform is comprehensive, offering similar functionality to its desktop application. Notably, T. Rowe Price’s mobile platform shows similar limitations to its website, including an inability to enter orders more complex than limit orders. The T. Rowe Price mobile app’s navigation can be confusing because it comprises separate systems for mutual fund accounts and non-mutual-fund brokerage accounts. The result of T. Rowe Price’s two-pronged mobile app is inconsistent menus, making navigation more challenging than it should be.
Mobile Trade Experience Verdict: Fidelity
Fidelity is the clear winner when it comes to both the desktop and the mobile trade experience. Fidelity and T. Rowe Price’s mobile apps reflect the bestand the worst of their web-based platforms. The Fidelity app’s navigable user interface makes trading on the go doable. T. Rowe Price’s app experience reminds users of the same hard-to-use platform they use on their computers, which we noted is basic at best and frustrating at worst.
Range of Offerings
Many of the product offerings at Fidelity and T. Rowe Price are similar—you can trade stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and options on both platforms—but Fidelity has a slight edge on a few fronts. First, Fidelity lets users trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, while T. Rowe Price does not. Also, Fidelity offers trading in complex options strategies up to four legs, and you can only trade two-leg options strategies at T. Rowe Price.
Range of Offerings Verdict: Fidelity
For users who aren’t interested in options or cryptocurrency, Fidelity’s and T. Rowe Price’s product offerings are about the same. Fidelity wins this round for offering just a few more asset options and features relative to T. Rowe Price. Neither platform allows users to trade futures or commodities.
Compare Range of Offerings
| Criteria | Fidelity | T. Rowe Price |
|---|---|---|
| Short Sales | Yes | Yes |
| Number of No-Load Mutual Funds | 3,348 (as of July 9, 2024) | 153 (as of July 9, 2024) |
| Assets Available to Trade on Website | Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Bonds, CDs, Options, Currencies, OTC, Crypto, Precious Metals | Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Bonds, CDs, Options |
| Max Number of Options Legs | 4 | 2 |
| Robo Advisory | Yes | Yes |
| Number of International Exchanges | 75 | None |
| Fractional Share Trading | Yes | No |
| Fractional Dividend Reinvestments | Yes | Yes |
Order Types
Fidelity and T. Rowe Price both support basic order entry, limit, and stop orders. However, Fidelity offers five types of conditional orders on its web platform, and T. Rowe Price does not offer any conditional orders. In addition, Fidelity supports trading in butterfly and condor options strategies, neither of which is available on T Rowe Price platforms.
Order Types Verdict: Fidelity
Fidelity has a significant edge over T. Rowe Price, making it the clear choice if you are trading using orders beyond basic limit and stop orders.
Trading Technology
Fidelity forgoes any payment for order flow (PFOF) on stock and ETF trades in favor of price improvement. Fidelity reports price improvement on 95.21% of shares and says that 98.87% of trades fall within the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) as of Q1 2024. Fidelity reports an average savings of $15.41 per 1,000-share order. Fidelity does take PFOF for options, however.
Fidelity Active Trader Pro users can direct trades using one of three order routers: volume weighted average price (VWAP), target volume (TVOL), or Fidelity dynamic liquidity management (FDLM).
T. Rowe Price, in contrast, clears orders through Pershing, whose website only speaks about its obligation to provide the most favorable terms for its clients, without specific information on order improvement and execution. Digging further, we found that T. Rowe Price did not accept any PFOF in the period we analyzed, but Pershing did.
Trading Technology Verdict: Fidelity
Overall, however, Fidelity has been more transparent about its trading technology and the price improvement, so we are giving it the edge here as well.
Costs
There is a substantial difference in costs between Fidelity and T. Rowe Price, even though both offer commission-free online trading of equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In general, Fidelity charges significantly less for options trades than T. Rowe Price. Online options trades are $0.65 per contract at Fidelity. At T. Rowe Price, online options trades are $9.95 + $1 per contract for customers who qualify for the Summit Program and $19.95 + $1 per contract for other accounts.
Put another way, a trade involving 50 options contracts would cost $32.50 at Fidelity and $59.95 or $69.95 at T. Rowe Price, depending on your account size at T. Rowe Price. When it comes to fixed income, Fidelity charges $0 for new issues and $1 per bond for secondary issues. T. Rowe Price charges either $1 per $1,000 bond or $5 per $1,000 bond, except for U.S. Treasury Auctions and Bills, which cost $50.
A comparison of margin rates yielded mixed results. Fidelity’s rates depend on the customer’s debit balance, with several breakpoints between $0 and $1 million. For example, the rate is 13.575% for debit balances up to$24,999 and 12.125% for debit balancesbetween $50,000 and $99,999.
T. Rowe Price’s margin rates pricing structure is similar but with fewer breakpoints. It charges 1.75% for debit balances up to$9,999 and 0.25% for debit balances above $50,000. All percentage rates listed are above Pershing's lending rates.
T. Rowe Price charges $35 for mutual funds outside of its no-transaction mutual fund program, while Fidelity charges $49.95 and a minimum of $75 for some mutual fund families.
Finally, T. Rowe Price charges a $30 account maintenance fee that is waived for accounts that have at least $50,000 in T. Rowe Price mutual funds or qualify for the Summit Program. Fidelity does not charge account maintenance fees.
Costs Verdict: Fidelity
While margin rates are currently preferential at T. Rowe Price, Fidelity’s fee schedule is generally more favorable. With low or no fees on bond issues and cheaper options trades, Fidelity stands out as a lower-fee brokerage firm.
Compare Costs
| Fidelity | T. Rowe Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Option for No Base Commission for Trading Penny Stocks | Yes - there is no commission to trade penny stocks | Yes - there is no commission to trade penny stocks |
| Option for No Base Commission for Stocks and ETFs | Yes - there is no commission to trade stocks and ETFs | Yes - there is no commission to trade stocks and ETFs |
| Number of No-Load Mutual Funds Without Transaction Fees | 3,348 (as of July 9, 2024) | 153 (as of July 9, 2024) |
| Transaction Fee on No-Load Mutual Funds With Transaction Fees | NA | $19.95 |
| Recurring Investment Fees | No | No |
| Base Commission for Options | No | No |
| Cost Per Stock Trade | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Cost Per Options Contract | $0.65 | $9.95 plus $1 per contract for T. Rowe Price Summit Program, otherwise $19.95 plus $1 per contract |
| Cost Per Futures Contract | NA | N/A |
| Broker-Assisted Trade Fee | $32.95 (for stocks and options) | $9.95 to $25 for (stocks and ETFs) $34.95 plus $1 per contract (for options). |
| Volume-Based Options Discounts (Upon Meeting a Threshold) | Varies | No |
| Options Price Cap (Upon Meeting a Threshold) | Yes | No |
| Inactivity Fees | No | No |
| Account Closure Fees | No | Yes |
Account and Research Amenities
Both T. Rowe Price and Fidelity have screening tools for stocks, ETFs, and fixed income that work well, but Fidelity’s are better. Fidelity’s screeners allow users to choose different themes, such as market cap, fixed income, and socially responsible investing. T. Rowe Price brokerage screeners do not include socially responsible investing, which has gained in popularity. When searching ETFs at Fidelity, you can type a symbol to find ETFs that contain that stock. Fidelity also has over 140 individual search criteria.
While Fidelity offers third-party research at no additional cost, T. Rowe Price only offers third-party research to high-balance customers. However, its own proprietary research is available to all customers. Fidelity also has trade idea generators, while T. Rowe Price does not.
Fidelity has above-average charting available on its website and desktop platform, although the mobile app charting is limited. Overall, T. Rowe Price's charting tools are weaker, with useful—but more basic—studies and no drawing tools.
Account and Research Amenities Verdict: Fidelity
Once again, Fidelity’s offering beats T. Rowe Price’s. With no additional cost access to third-party research, Fidelity provides customers with the insight they need to make informed investing decisions.
Compare Account and Research Amenities
| Fidelity | T. Rowe Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Uninvested Cash Automatically Swept Into a Money Market Fund | Yes | Yes |
| Types of Charts Offered (ex: Line | Candle, Bar, Line, Vertex Line, Step, Mountain, Baseline, Hollow Candle, Volume Candle, Colored High/Low/Close bar, Scatterplot, Histogram | Line, Bar, Candle, Mountain, Others |
| Trading Idea Generator Offered | Yes | N/A |
| Screeners Offered | Stocks, ETF's, Mutual Funds, Fixed Income, ESG/SRI | Stock, ETF, Mutual Fund, Fixed Income |
| Requirement For Opening an IRA | $0.00 | $1000 |
| Requirement For Opening a Roth IRA | $0.00 | $1000 |
| Portfolio Margin Available | Yes | Yes |
| Earn Interest on Cash | Varies | 1.31% or 1.34% |
| Daily Market Research Reports Offered | Yes | Yes |
| Access to Third Party Research | Yes - with no additional cost | Yes - with additional cost |
| Access to Proprietary Research | Yes - with no additional cost | Yes - with no additional cost |
| Ability to Turn Screen Results Into a Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
| Ability to Screen Based on Technical Indicators | Yes | Yes |
| Ability to Save Custom Screens | Yes | Yes |
| Ability to Choose and Offer Shares Held Long to a Loan Program | Yes | No |
| Ability to Build Custom Screen | Yes | No |
Portfolio Analysis
T. Rowe Price offers a number of helpful tools on its mutual fund platform, but its brokerage platform is sparse with few tools and calculators. However, the company may be turning this around, with the recent addition of a Social Security optimization tool.
T. Rowe Price’s limitations are particularly noticeable compared to Fidelity’s robust set of calculators and tools that help you with just about any financial reporting need you can imagine. For example, you can get a high-level review of your investment strategy with Fidelity’s Portfolio Quick Check.
Fidelity provides you with more nuanced views of your portfolio performance and also is able to consolidate all your outside accounts to help track the major indicators, such as net worth, over time.
Portfolio Analysis Verdict: Fidelity
Fidelity has a comprehensive library of portfolio analysis tools. We’re seeing indications that T. Rowe Price is building a toolkit outside mutual funds, but it has a ways to go before it can compete with Fidelity’s offering.
Education
The T. Rowe Price brokerage platform provides information on the brokerage platform, investing and asset allocation basics, and a helpful glossary of investment terms, but it does not provide in-depth educational tools.
On the other hand, Fidelity has built a strong educational offering that includes helpful resources for beginners and advanced investors and traders alike. Fidelity’s learning center includes articles, videos, webinars, infographics, and even interactive sessions with atrading strategy desk to ask professionals trading-related questions.
Education Verdict: Fidelity
T. Rowe Price's library of resources pales in comparison to Fidelity’s. With content appealing to investors across experience levels, Fidelity is a go-to for investing education.
Customer Service
Customer support by phone is available at Fidelity 24/7, while T. Rowe Price’s phone hours are weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Both companies extend access to live brokers.
Of the two companies, only Fidelity offers live chat with a customer support representative, which is available on all of its platforms. If customer service is an important criterion for you, Fidelity is the better choice.
Customer Service Verdict: Fidelity
Those who spend time analyzing their investments after typical business hours might prefer working with Fidelity, which offers 24/7 phone support. Those who prefer text communication will also feel at home with Fidelity.
Security
Both T. Rowe Price and Fidelity have dual-factor authentication on their brokerage platforms and biometric or fingerprint logon for their apps. T. Rowe Price provides excess Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insurance through policies purchased through Lloyds of London with a per-client limit of $1.9 million on uninvested cash. Fidelity also carries excess SIPC insurance with a $1.9 million limit on uninvested cash.
Security Verdict: Tie
Neither of the brokers has suffered substantial outages or data breaches in recent years. When it comes to security, both brokers score well.
Available Account Types
Fidelity and T. Rowe Price both offer the full range of commonly used account types, including:
- Individual and joint taxable
- Trust
- Estate
- Custodial
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- Simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA
- SIMPLE IRA
- Individual and small business 401(k) plan
- 403(b) plan
- 529 college savings plan
Fidelity has more account types overall, including more niche accounts. For example, Fidelity offers health savings accounts (HSAs) as well as a youth account where the young investor makes the decisions rather than it being a custodial account.
Available Account Types Verdict: Tie
Fidelity has a few more account types than T. Rowe Price, but their offerings are more or less the same. As such, you should be able to find all the account types you need at either company.
The Bottom Line
For all but long-term mutual fund traders, Fidelity is more suitable than T. Rowe Price on nearly every level. Fidelity has more robust platforms with more competitive commissions, especially for options trading. Moreover, Fidelity offers better stock/ETF screeners, better analytics, better reporting, and better investing tools than T. Rowe Price.
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