What is the minimum to open a brokerage account?

Most major brokerages (Fidelity, Schwab, E*Trade, Robinhood) require $0 to open an account. You can fund it with any amount and start buying stocks, ETFs, or fractional shares. Robo-advisors typically require $0-$500, and managed accounts require $25,000+.

Can I start investing with $100?

Yes. With $0-minimum brokerages and fractional share investing, you can buy portions of stocks and ETFs for as little as $1. A $100 investment can be diversified across multiple stocks or ETFs.

Do I need $1,000 to start investing?

Not anymore. While some mutual funds require $1,000-$3,000 minimums, you can invest in ETFs (no minimum beyond share price) or fractional shares ($1-$5 minimum) at most brokerages. The barrier to entry has effectively been eliminated.

What broker has the lowest minimum?

Fidelity, Charles Schwab, E*Trade, Robinhood, Webull, and SoFi all require $0 to open an account. Fidelity allows fractional shares starting at $1 with no account minimum for any account type.

Brokerage Account Minimums: What Every Broker Requires to Start Investing (2026)

The minimum to start investing has dropped dramatically. A decade ago, you needed $1,000-$3,000 to open a brokerage account. Today, most brokers require $0 — though mutual funds, managed accounts, and some specialty services still have minimums. Here’s the complete picture.

Brokerage Account Minimums: Every Major Broker

Self-Directed Brokerages

Broker	Account Minimum	Min. to Trade Stocks/ETFs	Fractional Shares	Commission
Fidelity	$0	$1 (fractional)	Yes ($1 minimum)	$0
Charles Schwab	$0	$5 (Schwab Stock Slices)	Yes ($5 minimum)	$0
E*Trade (Morgan Stanley)	$0	Share price (or $1 fractional)	Yes	$0
TD Ameritrade (now Schwab)	$0	$5 (fractional)	Yes ($5 minimum)	$0
Merrill Edge	$0	Share price	No fractional shares	$0
Robinhood	$0	$1 (fractional)	Yes ($1 minimum)	$0
Webull	$0	$5 (fractional)	Yes ($5 minimum)	$0
Interactive Brokers	$0	$1 (fractional)	Yes ($1 minimum)	$0 (IBKR Lite)
SoFi Invest	$0	$1 (fractional)	Yes ($1 minimum)	$0
Public	$0	$1 (fractional)	Yes ($1 minimum)	$0
Tastytrade	$0	Share price	No	$0 (stocks/ETFs)
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed	$0	Share price	No	$0
Vanguard	$0	Share price (or ETF share price)	No	$0

Robo-Advisors

Service	Account Minimum	Annual Fee	Investment Approach
Betterment (Digital)	$0	0.25%	ETF portfolios
Wealthfront	$500	0.25%	ETF portfolios + tax-loss harvesting
SoFi Automated Investing	$1	0%	ETF portfolios
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios	$5,000	0%	ETF portfolios (higher cash allocation)
Vanguard Digital Advisor	$3,000	0.20%	Vanguard fund portfolios
Fidelity Go	$10	0% (under $25K), 0.35% (over $25K)	Fidelity fund portfolios
E*Trade Core Portfolios	$500	0.30%	ETF portfolios
Merrill Guided Investing	$1,000	0.45%	ETF portfolios
J.P. Morgan Automated Investing	$500	0.35%	ETF portfolios
Ellevest	$0	$12/month (membership)	ETF portfolios

Managed/Advisory Accounts

Service	Account Minimum	Annual Fee	What You Get
Fidelity Wealth Management	$250,000	0.50-1.50%	Dedicated advisor
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium	$25,000	$30/month + 0%	Robo + CFP access
Vanguard Personal Advisor	$50,000	0.30%	Advisor + robo hybrid
Merrill Guided Investing with Advisor	$20,000	0.85%	Merrill advisor access
Personal Capital (Empower)	$100,000	0.49-0.89%	Dedicated advisor team
Fisher Investments	$500,000	~1.25%	Full portfolio management

Mutual Fund Minimums

Even at $0-minimum brokerages, mutual funds often have their own minimums:

Index Fund Minimums by Provider

Fund Family	Regular Account Min.	IRA Minimum	Example Fund
Fidelity ZERO funds	$0	$0	FZROX (Total Market)
Fidelity index funds	$0	$0	FXAIX (S&P 500)
Schwab index funds	$0	$0	SWTSX (Total Market)
Vanguard Admiral Shares	$3,000	$3,000	VFIAX (S&P 500)
Vanguard Investor Shares	$1,000	$1,000	VFINX (S&P 500)
American Funds	$250-$1,000	$250	Various
T. Rowe Price	$2,500	$1,000	Various
DFA (Dimensional)	Advisor-only	Advisor-only	Various

Target-Date Fund Minimums

Provider	Minimum	IRA Minimum	Example
Fidelity Freedom funds	$0	$0	Fidelity Freedom 2055
Schwab Target funds	$0	$0	Schwab Target 2055
Vanguard Target Retirement	$1,000	$1,000	Vanguard Target Retirement 2055
T. Rowe Price Retirement	$2,500	$1,000	T. Rowe Price Retirement 2055

ETF alternative: If a mutual fund has a minimum that’s too high, the ETF version of the same index usually has no minimum (just the share price, or $1+ with fractional shares). Example: Vanguard VFIAX ($3,000 minimum) vs. VOO ETF (~$500 share price, or $1 fractional at Fidelity).

Account Types and Their Minimums

Account Type	Typical Minimum	Contribution Limits (2026)
Individual brokerage	$0	No limit
Joint brokerage	$0	No limit
Traditional IRA	$0	$7,000 ($8,000 if 50+)
Roth IRA	$0	$7,000 ($8,000 if 50+)
SEP IRA	$0	Up to $70,000
529 plan	$0-$25	Varies by state plan
Custodial (UGMA/UTMA)	$0	No limit (gift tax rules apply)
Trust account	$0	No limit
Margin account	$2,000 (regulatory minimum)	N/A
Options trading	$0 (approval required)	N/A

Margin Account Minimums

Federal regulations (Regulation T) require a $2,000 minimum equity to maintain a margin account:

Requirement	Amount
Initial margin (Reg T)	50% of purchase price
Maintenance margin	25% of total market value (higher at some brokers)
Minimum equity to open margin	$2,000
Pattern day trader minimum	$25,000

What You Can Buy at Each Investment Level

$1-$100

Investment	Where	Annual Cost
Fractional shares of S&P 500 ETF (VOO)	Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood	0.03% expense ratio
Fractional shares of Total Market (VTI)	Fidelity, Schwab, Robinhood	0.03% expense ratio
Fidelity ZERO Total Market (FZROX)	Fidelity	0.00% expense ratio
Individual stock fractional shares	Most brokers	$0 commission

$100-$1,000

Investment	Where	What You Get
Diversified ETF portfolio (3-5 ETFs)	Any $0 broker	US stocks, international, bonds
Robo-advisor portfolio	Betterment, SoFi	Automated diversification
Schwab index funds	Schwab	$0 minimum mutual funds
Target-date fund	Fidelity ($0) or Schwab ($0)	One-fund retirement solution

$1,000-$3,000

All of the above, plus:

Investment	Where	What You Get
Vanguard Target Retirement funds	Vanguard	$1,000 minimum
Vanguard Admiral Shares	Vanguard	$3,000 minimum, lowest expense ratios
Any mutual fund	Most brokers	Full range unlocked

$3,000+

Investment	Where	What You Get
Full access to all funds	All brokers	No restrictions
Diversified portfolio of individual stocks	Any broker	More positions
Options strategies	Approved accounts	Enhanced strategies

How Minimums Have Changed

Year	Typical Account Minimum	Stock Commission	Fund Minimum
2005	$1,000-$5,000	$7-$10/trade	$1,000-$3,000
2010	$500-$2,500	$5-$10/trade	$1,000-$3,000
2015	$0-$1,000	$5-$7/trade	$500-$3,000
2019	$0	$0 (most brokers)	$0-$3,000
2026	$0	$0	$0 (at Fidelity/Schwab)

The commission war of 2019 (when Schwab went to $0, followed by E*Trade, TD Ameritrade, and Fidelity) effectively eliminated both commissions and account minimums for self-directed investing. The only remaining minimums are for mutual funds, robo-advisors, and managed accounts.

Choosing a Broker Based on Your Starting Amount

Starting Amount	Best Broker	Why
$1-$100	Fidelity or Robinhood	$1 fractional shares, $0 fund minimums
$100-$500	Fidelity	$0 minimum mutual funds, fractional shares, no account fees
$500-$1,000	Fidelity or Schwab	Full fund access at both
$1,000-$5,000	Schwab or Fidelity	Full access, research tools, phone support
$5,000+	Schwab, Fidelity, or Vanguard	Complete platform access
$25,000+ (want advisor)	Vanguard PAS or Schwab IP Premium	Low-cost advice
$250,000+	Fidelity Wealth or Vanguard PAS	Dedicated advisor, financial planning

The Bottom Line

Account Type	Best $0 Minimum Option	Why
Self-directed brokerage	Fidelity	$0 everything: account, trades, mutual funds, fractional shares
Robo-advisor (free)	SoFi or Fidelity Go	$0-$1 minimum, $0 management fee
Robo-advisor (full-featured)	Betterment	$0 minimum, tax-loss harvesting, 0.25% fee
Mutual fund investing	Fidelity or Schwab	$0 minimums on all proprietary funds
IRA	Fidelity or Schwab	$0 to open, broadest fund selection

The minimum to start investing in 2026 is effectively $1. If cost was ever a barrier to building wealth, that barrier is gone. The most important step isn’t finding the right minimum — it’s starting.