VaultRubric
Best brokerage for fractional shares
Fractional shares let you buy a slice of a high-priced stock (like TSLA) with a few dollars. Only brokers whose pages we found listing fractional-share investing are included (⚑ marks third-party sources); brokers where we couldn't verify it are left out. Fractional-share rules (which stocks, order types, transfers) vary by broker, so check the terms.
Rates change often — verify on the bank's or broker's site before opening an account. Every value shows its as-of date; ⚑ marks figures from third-party sites. Not financial advice.
Too close to call: Webull and Wealthfront (within 1.2 points).
Weights: Trading costs 24%, Account minimum 24%, IRA options 9%, Transfer-out fee 9%, Protection (SIPC) 18%, Regulatory record 18%
| # | Broker | Score | Options/contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Webull | 90.3% cov 100% | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: FINRA: $1.6M for influencer communications supervision failures |
| 2 | Wealthfront | 89.1% cov 100% | not found | |
| 3 | Fidelity | 87.7% cov 100% | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | |
| 4 | Robinhood | 86.8% cov 100% | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: SEC: $45M combined penalties (recordkeeping, reporting, cybersecurity etc.) |
| 5 | SoFi Invest | 85.6% cov 100% | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: FINRA: SoFi Securities $698,282 re fully paid securities lending (4-firm action) |
| 6 | Public | 83.8% cov 76% | $0 + $0.06–$0.18 rebate/contract ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum; Regulatory: FINRA: $528,124 (fully paid lending); Regulatory: FINRA: $350,000 influencer supervision (reported) |
| 7 | Charles Schwab | 83.3% cov 100% | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: SEC: ~$187M for misleading robo-adviser (Intelligent Portfolios) clients about hidden cash fees |
| 8 | M1 Finance | 81.5% cov 100% | Options not offered src · 2026-10-10 | Regulatory: FINRA: $850,000 for misleading influencer posts/supervision |
| 9 | Interactive Brokers | 78.2% cov 76% | Fixed $0.65; Tiered $0.15–$0.65 src · 2026-10-10 | Not eligible to be the pick: missing Account minimum; Regulatory: FINRA/Nasdaq PHLX: Reported $7.75M fine for mismarking options orders |
Top 3 compared
| Fact | Webull | Wealthfront | Fidelity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock/ETF commission | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 src · 2026-10-10 |
| Options (per contract) | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | not found | $0.65 src · 2026-10-10 |
| Account minimum | $0 src · 2026-10-10 | $1 (stock account); 0.25% advisory fee for Automated Investing src · 2026-10-10 | $0 src · 2026-10-10 |
| Fractional shares | Yes src · 2026-10-10 | Yes src · 2026-10-10 | Yes src · 2026-10-10 |
| IRA types | Traditional, Roth, Rollover src · 2026-10-10 | Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover src · 2026-10-10 | Traditional, Roth, SIMPLE (fee schedule), Rollover src · 2026-10-10 |
| IRA match | 3.5% with Webull Premium; base 1% per third party src · 2026-10-10 | none found | none found |
| Transfer-out fee | $75 src · 2026-10-10 | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-10-10 | $0 ⚑ third-party source src · 2026-08-03 |
| SIPC member | Yes src · 2026-10-10 | Yes src · 2026-10-10 | Yes src · 2026-10-10 |
| FINRA CRD | CRD 289063 src · 2026-10-10 | CRD 153407 src · 2026-10-10 | CRD 7784 src · 2026-10-10 |
| Regulatory actions (5 yrs) | 2025-05 FINRA: $1.6M for influencer communications supervision failures src | none found in last 5 yrs src · 2026-10-10 | none found in last 5 yrs src · 2026-10-10 |
Opens the tool with these platforms filled in, so you can change the weights.
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FAQ
What is the best brokerage for fractional shares?
Too close to call between Webull and Wealthfront. Your answer depends on your priorities; adjust the weights in the tool.
How does VaultRubric score these?
Only from our curated dataset (official pages, regulators, and flagged third-party sites), with fixed formulas shown in “Show math”. No AI or live scraping, so the same comparison always gives the same result. Not financial advice.