Wealthsimple vs Questrade: Which Is Better for Buying XEQT?

Bottom line first

For most Canadians buying XEQT and holding it for decades, Wealthsimple is the better choice. It is completely free to buy and sell, the app is excellent, account setup takes five minutes, and new accounts get $25 on signup. Questrade is worth considering once your portfolio grows and you want more advanced tools.

The fee comparison

Both platforms eliminated ETF purchase commissions years ago. The difference that matters is what happens when you sell.

Wealthsimple charges zero commission on every trade : buy or sell : for Canadian-listed ETFs like XEQT. Full stop. There are no account maintenance fees for registered accounts. No inactivity fees. No minimum balance requirements.

Questrade charges $0 to buy ETFs but applies a standard equity commission of $4.95 to $9.95 per trade when you sell. For a long-term XEQT investor who might only sell once at retirement, this difference is almost irrelevant. For someone who rebalances regularly, reinvests distributions manually, or makes frequent adjustments, those sell fees accumulate.

Full scorecard

The case for Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple was built for the exact use case this site is about: a Canadian investor who wants to buy a low-cost index ETF, hold it for decades, and not think about their brokerage platform beyond opening the app to make a monthly contribution. That simplicity is not a limitation. It is a feature.

The mobile app genuinely is the best in Canada for beginners. The account opening process takes about five minutes on your phone. Deposits clear quickly. DRIP is available. The TFSA, RRSP, and FHSA account types cover everything most XEQT investors need. The $25 referral bonus is real and delivered promptly.

Wealthsimple also offers automatic recurring investments. You can set up a bi-weekly transfer from your bank that automatically purchases XEQT without any action required. For investors who want to implement a disciplined monthly contribution strategy, this automation is genuinely valuable. For the full case for paycheque investing, see how often you should buy XEQT.

The case for Questrade

Questrade has been Canada's leading independent online brokerage for over two decades. It has more account types than Wealthsimple, including RESP for education savings and margin accounts for more advanced investing. Its web platform is significantly more capable for investors who want real-time data, advanced charting, and more granular order types.

For an investor who holds XEQT but also wants to trade options, hold individual stocks, manage an RESP alongside a TFSA, or use a margin account for other purposes, Questrade handles all of it under one roof. Wealthsimple does not currently offer those capabilities.

The sell commission issue is genuinely manageable for patient, long-term investors. If you buy XEQT in your TFSA for 25 years and sell it all in a single transaction at retirement, you pay one $9.95 fee on the entire portfolio. That is immaterial. The commission model only becomes a real cost for investors who sell frequently, which XEQT investors should not be doing anyway.

Account types: where the gap matters

Both platforms offer TFSA, RRSP, and FHSA. For the vast majority of XEQT investors, this covers everything needed. The gap opens for:

If you have children and plan to save for their education via an RESP, Questrade is currently your only option between the two. Wealthsimple has announced RESP support but had not launched it at the time of writing.

Fractional shares: does it matter for XEQT?

Wealthsimple offers fractional share investing for US-listed stocks like Apple and Amazon. It does not offer fractional shares for Canadian-listed ETFs like XEQT. This means your $500 monthly contribution buys whole units of XEQT only, leaving whatever remainder is less than one unit as uninvested cash until you accumulate enough for another unit.

At a current XEQT price of $38.96, the maximum uninvested cash at any time is approximately that same amount minus one cent. That is a small drag, not a meaningful problem. Both platforms work the same way for XEQT in practice.

CIPF protection: both are covered

Both Wealthsimple and Questrade are members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). CIPF protects client assets up to $1,000,000 per account category in the event that the brokerage itself becomes insolvent. This is not the same as protection against investment losses. XEQT can fall 30% and CIPF does nothing about that. But if the brokerage goes bankrupt, your holdings are protected up to the CIPF limit.

Both firms are also regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), the national self-regulatory body overseeing investment dealers and mutual fund dealers in Canada. From a regulatory and protection standpoint, both platforms are on identical footing. For a deeper look at what those protections actually cover, see Is Wealthsimple Safe?.

Can you hold accounts at both?

Yes, and many investors do. You can hold a TFSA at Wealthsimple for the zero-cost simplicity and a Questrade account for an RESP or margin account. Your XEQT contribution room is tracked by the CRA across all institutions, so you need to stay within your total TFSA room regardless of how many brokerages hold your accounts.

Transferring between brokerages is possible but involves a transfer fee from the sending institution. Questrade charges $150 for a full account transfer out. Wealthsimple does not charge a transfer-out fee. If you start at one platform and want to move later, factor this into your decision.