Checked by hand in July 2026. The full detail is in the table below.
National Bank Direct Brokerage was the first major Canadian bank to go to $0 commission. Against Wealthsimple, the contest is therefore decided on something other than trade pricing.
Checked by hand in July 2026. The full detail is in the table below.
Two commission-free platforms built on very different philosophies.
| Criterion | Wealthsimple | Banque Nationale |
|---|---|---|
| Commission on stocks and ETFs | $0 | $0 |
| Stock options | Not offered | Offered |
| Margin account | Not offered | Offered |
| Automated managed account | 0.5% per year, 0.4% above $100,000 | Bank-managed solutions, fees vary by product |
| Built-in chequing account | Yes | Yes, on the banking side |
| Physical branches | None | Nationwide network |
| Mortgage and loans | No | Yes |
| Real-time market data | Depends on tier | Included |
| Crypto | Yes | No |
| Built-in tax filing | Yes, free | No |
| Account opening | Minutes, fully mobile | Longer, banking file required |
| Client contest | Monthly Millionaire, $1M per month | No equivalent |
| Sign-up bonus | $25 with LOIO3A, plus $10 by Interac from us | Occasional promotions |
Manually verified in July 2026. Confirm fee schedules with each institution before deciding.
National Bank Direct Brokerage started the shift by scrapping commissions on stock and ETF trades. The move forced the rest of the sector to follow, and it stripped Wealthsimple of its most visible selling point among Quebec investors.
Free doesn't mean identical, though. NBDB is still a brokerage built for people who know what they're doing: margin, options, real-time data, analysis tools. Wealthsimple aims at the opposite, someone who wants to buy three ETFs and stop thinking about it.
So the decision isn't about price. It's about which kind of investor you are.
Stock options and margin accounts don't exist at Wealthsimple. If you want to write covered calls against your positions or use a bit of leverage, the question is settled before you compare anything else.
Real-time market data comes included at NBDB, while Wealthsimple reserves it for higher tiers. On a long-term holding, irrelevant. On active trading, it changes things.
Then there's the rest of the bank: mortgages, loans, business accounts, branches. A client who already has their mortgage at National Bank gains something from keeping investments in the same place, if only for the single view of everything.
Opening an account takes a few minutes from a phone, with no appointment and no banking file to assemble. For someone who just wants to start investing on a Tuesday evening, that difference is real.
Wealthsimple Tax covers your return for free, crypto sits in the same account as your investments, and the Monthly Millionaire hands out $1,000,000 a month to clients. No Canadian bank matches any of those three.
There's also the automated managed account at 0.5% a year, dropping to 0.4% past $100,000. Someone who doesn't want to pick anything themselves gets a turnkey option that direct brokerage, by definition, doesn't provide.
You trade actively, you want options or margin, you follow markets live: NBDB, no hesitation. Wealthsimple doesn't play in that category.
You buy ETFs, contribute automatically each month and check your portfolio four times a year: Wealthsimple will be quicker to set up and simpler to live with.
And if you're already a National Bank client for your mortgage or chequing account, opening a Wealthsimple alongside costs nothing and pays $35. The two coexist without friction.
The two platforms complement each other well. Code LOIO3A: a $25 bonus after a $100 deposit, plus $10 by Interac e-Transfer once the claim form is filled in, for $35 total.
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