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Broker review
Wealthsimple Review
1% Match on Assets You Transfer In, up to $20,000
- Transfer at least $25,000 and register before you start
- Paid monthly over 24 months into a Wealthsimple chequing account; 730-day hold
The 3% Active Trader version closed on 31 August 2026. A bonus is paid once; fees are paid every year, so treat it as a tie-breaker.
Full offer detail
Wealthsimple advertises a 1% match on assets transferred in, up to a maximum of $20,000. You must transfer at least $25,000 in total, you have to register for the offer before starting the transfer, and the match is paid into a Wealthsimple chequing account in 24 equal monthly instalments over a 730-day holding period. Transfer fees charged by your existing institution are reimbursed up to $150 per account on transfers of $25,000 or more. A 3% version for Active Trader clients ran from 3 June to 31 August 2026 and has closed. Check the terms on Wealthsimple’s site before registering.
Self-directed trading at Wealthsimple is offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc., a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, with client accounts protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund within specified limits.
Wealthsimple built its reputation on being simple rather than cheap, but on the numbers it is now both. What it does not carry is the analyst research and screening that the bank platforms and Qtrade include, and it is order-execution-only, which means no recommendations of any kind.
Is It Right for You?
Good Fit
- You want the simplest account to open and the cheapest to leave: $0 to transfer out
- You trade US options; US$0 per contract on every tier
- You want a wide account range, FHSA and RESP included
- You will hold $100,000 or more, where the US-dollar account is included and conversion drops to 0%
Look Elsewhere If
- You want US dollars in a small TFSA or RRSP; it costs $10 a month on Core
- You want research from a named provider; Wealthsimple does not license one
What It Costs
| What you are doing | What Wealthsimple charges |
|---|---|
| Buying or selling a stock | $0 |
| Buying or selling an ETF | $0 |
| Equity and ETF options | US$0 per contract, on every tier |
| Index options | US$1 a contract on SPX, SPXW, VIX and NDX; US$0.50 on RUT; US$0.25 on XSP and DJX |
| Keeping the account open | No monthly or annual account fee |
| Leaving the account idle | $0 |
| A US-dollar account | $10 a month plus tax, included on Premium and Generation |
| Converting currency from a Canadian-dollar account | 1.5% |
| Moving your account to another firm | $0 |
| Paper statements | $20 |
| Wire transfers, in or out | $30 |
The $0 transfer-out fee is more significant than it looks. Qtrade, Questrade, RBC, Scotia, TD and Webull all charge $150 to let you leave. Wealthsimple charges nothing, and it also does not charge deferred sales charges on the way out. If you are unsure whether a broker will suit you, the cost of being wrong is lower here than anywhere else in this comparison.
What a Year Might Cost You
Worked from Wealthsimple’s own fee schedule for four common patterns: 12 ETF purchases a year, 60 stock trades, 100 options contracts across 10 trades, and converting $10,000 to US dollars once. Where pricing is per share we assume 100 shares an ETF purchase and 200 a stock trade. Illustrations, not quotes.
Buying US Stocks at Wealthsimple
A US stock settles in US dollars. If your account holds only Canadian dollars, the broker converts on every purchase and again on every sale, taking a markup each time. Holding US dollars means you convert once. Two things matter: whether you can hold US dollars, and what the conversion costs.
US-Dollar Side
Yes, on TFSA, RRSP, spousal RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, LIF, RRIF and spousal RRIF, non-registered, margin, corporate and crypto accounts. Not on chequing or managed accounts.
What It Costs
$10 a month plus tax on the Core tier, after a 30-day free trial. Included at no charge on Premium and Generation.
One caveat Wealthsimple does state but does not size: the rate it converts at is its own corporate exchange rate, described as a live rate that already includes a spread which varies with market conditions. So the published 1.5% sits on top of an undisclosed spread, and the tiering is by transaction size rather than by plan — a Core client converting $150,000 pays 0%, while a Generation client converting $5,000 pays 1.5%.
Accounts You Can Open
Non-Registered
Personal, joint, margin and corporate accounts, plus crypto.
Registered
TFSA, RRSP, spousal RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, LIF and RRIF.
Wealthsimple does not publish a minimum deposit for a self-directed account. The “starting at $1 in assets” figure on its pricing page is the threshold for the Core tier, not a minimum to open.
The Platform and Research
Platform
You can trade stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, equity and index options, futures, crypto and gold, with access to IPOs. Order types are market, limit, stop-market, stop-limit and fractional. Extended-hours trading runs Sunday 8pm to Friday 8pm Eastern on a subset of US-listed stocks and ETFs; crypto and gold trade around the clock.
Research and Data
Real-time streaming quotes and price alerts are included on every tier, which is rare in Canada — most brokers charge for them or gate them behind trading volume. Charting includes sub-day intervals, candlesticks and indicators such as moving averages, RSI and VWAP, with trading directly from the chart. Recurring investments, dividend reinvestment and stock lending are included. Third-party analyst research is not advertised.
We have not traded on this platform ourselves, so we make no claims about how it feels to use. Everything above is drawn from what Wealthsimple publishes.
Core, Premium and Generation
Wealthsimple has three tiers: Core with no minimum, Premium at $100,000 in net deposits or total assets, and Generation at $500,000. They are measured across every Wealthsimple account you hold, including chequing and crypto.
For self-directed trading the tiers change almost nothing. Commissions are identical on all three. The only differences that matter are the US-dollar account fee, which Premium and Generation waive, margin rates of 4.95%, 4.45% and 3.95% in Canadian dollars, and instant deposit limits of $50,000 on Core against $250,000 above it. Do not treat the tiers as unlocking better trading pricing, because they do not.
Before You Open an Account
Where It Falls Short
Currency Is the Real Cost
1.5% from a Canadian-dollar account, on a corporate exchange rate that already contains an undisclosed spread. For a US-focused portfolio this outweighs every commission saving.
The US-Dollar Account Is a Subscription
$120 a year on Core. Questrade, Webull, Interactive Brokers, BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotia and TD all provide a US-dollar side with no published charge.
No Research
No third-party analyst research or screeners are advertised, and the service is order-execution-only.
Crypto Sits Outside CIPF
Wealthsimple states plainly that crypto assets are not protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
Common Questions
Is my money safe at Wealthsimple?
Self-directed trading is offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc., a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, and accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund within specified limits if the firm becomes insolvent. Crypto assets are explicitly not covered by CIPF.
Is it really free to transfer my account away?
Yes. Wealthsimple states it charges no fees, including deferred sales charges, to transfer an account to another institution. The receiving institution may charge its own fees, which Wealthsimple does not cover.
Do the plan tiers make trading cheaper?
No. Stock, ETF and equity options pricing is identical on Core, Premium and Generation. The tiers change the US-dollar account fee, margin interest rates and instant deposit limits, nothing else on the trading side.
Should I pay $10 a month for a US-dollar account?
It depends on how much you convert. The fee is $120 a year, and converting from a Canadian-dollar account costs 1.5% each way. On that arithmetic the account starts paying for itself somewhere around $4,000 of round-trip conversion a year, though your own numbers will differ. Work it out on your own expected buying before subscribing.
Brokerage terms change without notice. Verify current fees and offer terms with the broker before opening an account. This review is general information about a product. It is not investment advice and does not take your personal circumstances into account. MoneyMint is not a registered dealer or adviser. Consider speaking with a qualified professional about decisions that depend on your own situation.
Disclosure. MoneyMint has no paid relationship with Wealthsimple. The links on this page earn us nothing.