Wealthsimple at a Glance
Wealthsimple is Canada's largest independent online brokerage, founded in Toronto in 2014. With over 4 million clients and more than $50 billion in assets under administration, it's become the default choice for a generation of Canadian investors who opened their first TFSA or RRSP through their phone.
What made Wealthsimple different from day one is that it's built as a consumer app first — clean design, plain language, and zero commissions on everything. No hidden fees. No intimidating interfaces. No $10,000 account minimums.
Wealthsimple is the best brokerage for most Canadians — especially anyone opening their first investment account. The $0 commissions, exceptional app, and ease of use are unmatched. Experienced traders wanting advanced charting or lower FX costs should also consider Questrade.
What Wealthsimple Offers
Self-Directed Investing
Buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto with zero commissions. The platform supports fractional shares from $1, which means you can invest in expensive stocks like Amazon or Shopify without needing hundreds of dollars per share. Real-time quotes, basic charting, and a clean holdings view make it easy to track your portfolio.
Managed Portfolios (Robo-Advisor)
Answer a short questionnaire about your goals and risk tolerance. Wealthsimple builds and manages a diversified ETF portfolio for you — automatically rebalancing and reinvesting dividends. Management fee is 0.40–0.50% per year (plus the underlying ETF fees of ~0.20%). Much cheaper than a mutual fund; slightly more expensive than doing it yourself. See our robo-advisor guide for full details.
Registered Accounts
Wealthsimple supports every major registered account type a Canadian needs: TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, LIRA, RRIF, and non-registered accounts. Opening any of these takes under 5 minutes and there's no minimum deposit for most account types.
Wealthsimple Cash
A hybrid chequing/savings account that pays a competitive interest rate — typically much higher than the big banks. Comes with a Visa debit card, free Interac e-Transfers, and CDIC deposit insurance. See our cash account guide.
Wealthsimple Tax
Free tax filing software built into the Wealthsimple ecosystem. One of the best free tax products in Canada — imports your slips automatically, handles most tax situations, and files in under 20 minutes. Completely free, even for complex returns.
Wealthsimple Fees
- Stock and ETF trades: $0 commissions — no asterisk
- Crypto trades: 1.5% spread (for standard accounts)
- USD/CAD conversion: 1.5% spread on standard; 0% on Wealthsimple Premium ($10/month or $100K+ portfolio)
- Managed portfolio fee: 0.40% under $100K, 0.25% over $100K
- Account fees: None
- Inactivity fees: None
- Transfer out fee: $150 per account (RRSP/TFSA transfers to another institution)
The 1.5% USD/CAD conversion fee is Wealthsimple's main cost for investors who buy US-listed stocks or ETFs. On a $10,000 US stock purchase, that's $150 in conversion costs. If you frequently buy US equities, Questrade's Norbert's Gambit approach (effectively ~0.1%) saves significant money at scale. The 1.5% is still often worth it for simplicity.
Wealthsimple Signup Bonus
New Wealthsimple clients get a $25 cash bonus by signing up with a referral code and depositing at least $100. Use code NLX83A (or click our link below) to claim it.
The $25 bonus is subject to a 180-day hold before you can withdraw it — it'll sit in your Wealthsimple Cash account and you can see it immediately, but can't withdraw for 6 months. Your original deposit is fully liquid.
Who Should Use Wealthsimple?
✅ Great for
- First-time investors
- TFSA and RRSP investors
- Buy-and-hold ETF portfolios
- People who want one app for everything
- Anyone who values design and simplicity
- Tax filers who want free software
❌ Less ideal for
- Frequent US stock traders (FX costs)
- Advanced chartists and technical traders
- Corporate account holders
- Options power users