Plum vs Qtrade Direct Investing - BrokerCue
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Broker Comparison

Plum vs Qtrade Direct Investing

Compare Plum and Qtrade Direct Investing side by side: fees, regulation, platforms.

Plum

Plum

Automated savings and beginner investors

Plum is a UK savings and investment app that automates saving, offers ISA, SIPP, mutual funds, and 3,000+ ind…

VS
Qtrade Direct Investing

Qtrade Direct Investing

Canadian self-directed investors seeking research tools

Qtrade Direct Investing is a Canadian online brokerage offering zero-commission trading on stocks, ETFs and m…

Head-to-head comparison

Plum vs Qtrade Direct Investing
Feature Plum Qtrade Direct Investing
Minimum deposit - -
Stock trading fee 2 free lifetime trades then: £0.50/trade (Basic), £0.15/trade (Plus), £0.05/trade (Boost), £0.00/trade (Max); FX fee 0.60% (Basic), 0.45% (Plus), 0.30% (Boost), 0.15% (Max) per trade $0 per trade (Canadian and U.S. exchanges)
Regulators FCA CIRO, CIPF
Best for Automated savings and beginner investors Canadian self-directed investors seeking research tools
Markets & account
Stocks
ETFs
-
Bonds
-
Options
-
Funds
Fractional Shares
-
Investment Plans
-
Ready Made Portfolios
Money Market Funds
-
Isa
-
Sipp
-
Savings Vaults
-
Margin
-
Demo Account
-
Business Account
-

Pros & cons

Plum

Plum

Pros

  • Free Basic plan with automated savings and stock access
  • Stocks and Shares ISA and SIPP available on paid tiers
  • Fractional stock investing from £1
  • 3,000+ individual US company stocks available
  • 26 curated mutual funds from Vanguard and BlackRock
  • FCA-regulated with FSCS protection up to £85,000 on investments
  • Automated savings powered by spending analysis
  • Multiple savings account types including Cash ISA and Lifetime ISA

Cons

  • Individual stocks cannot be held inside the Stocks and Shares ISA - only mutual funds are ISA-eligible, leaving stock gains potentially subject to capital gains tax
  • Only 26 mutual funds available, a narrower range than dedicated investment platforms
  • Stacked fees on paid tiers: subscription fee plus platform fee plus fund manager fee
  • Two free lifetime trades then a per-trade charge on Basic and Plus plans
  • Crypto available only for EU/Cyprus users via Bitpanda; not available to UK customers
  • No demo or practice account
  • Fund access requires a paid subscription; Basic plan is limited
Qtrade Direct Investing

Qtrade Direct Investing

Pros

  • Zero-commission trading on stocks, ETFs and mutual funds since October 2025
  • No quarterly account or inactivity fees
  • Strong research tools including Morningstar analyst reports and screeners
  • Portfolio analytics with risk exposure and ESG scoring
  • Qtrade Guided Portfolios robo-advisor available for hands-off investors
  • Wide range of registered account types (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, RRIF, LIRA, LIF)
  • Pre-market and after-hours trading available for U.S. markets
  • 30-day free trial account for platform exploration

Cons

  • No support for forex, CFDs, crypto, futures or precious metals
  • No fractional share trading
  • Currency conversion markup of approximately 0.9% applies to U.S. trades
  • Stock alerts not available on the mobile app
  • Options fee of $0.75 per contract is not the cheapest in Canada
  • Transfer-out fee of $150 per account
  • Limited to Canadian and U.S. exchanges only
  • 30-day trial account is view-only and does not support simulated trading
Plum

Plum

Plum is a UK savings and investment app that automates saving, offers ISA, SIPP, mutual funds, and 3,000+ individual stocks via a tiered subscription model.

Visit Plum Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

Qtrade Direct Investing

Qtrade Direct Investing

Qtrade Direct Investing is a Canadian online brokerage offering zero-commission trading on stocks, ETFs and mutual funds, with strong research tools and a robo-advisor option.

Visit Qtrade Direct Investing Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

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