Questrade review

Our rating

Questrade scores 7.4 out of 10 on our table. That figure is an average of six things we assess, and it hides the shape of the broker: its strongest area is regulation at 9.7, its weakest is support at 5.2. Whether that gap matters depends entirely on which of the six you were going to use.

Regulation and safety9.7/10

Questrade lists its authorisations as Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Those are tier-one authorisations, which is the strongest position a retail broker can be in - they carry leverage caps, client-money rules and, in several cases, a compensation scheme.

The licence that matters to you is the one held by the entity that opens your account, and at a multi-entity broker that is decided by your country of residence. Its registration can be checked directly on the CIRO Dealer Member Register, Questrade, Inc.. It is a two-minute check and it is the only way to confirm that the firm taking your deposit is the firm named on the website.

Client money is held separately from the firm's own funds, with canadian regulated financial institutions/custodial arrangements - so that if the business fails, client balances are not part of what its creditors can reach. There is no negative balance protection on our record. On a leveraged product that is the most consequential line on this page: a fast gap can take the account below zero and leave you owing the difference.

On compensation: Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), generally up to CAD $1 million per eligible account category. That covers the broker failing, not your trades losing money - the two are frequently confused and only one of them is insured.

Questrade does not accept clients from primarily available to Canadian residents; FX & CFD accounts subject to Canadian eligibility requirements. Restriction lists move, so confirm your own country before you spend time on an application.

What it costs to trade6.7/10

Questrade advertises spreads from 0.8 pips. There is no separate commission on its standard pricing, so the whole of the broker's charge sits inside that spread - one number to think about, and no arithmetic at the end of the month. Put the two together and a EUR/USD round turn works out at 1.9 pips target, which is the figure worth comparing against other brokers.

An advertised minimum is the best price a broker has ever quoted, not the price you will get. On our record its measured average on EUR/USD is 1.9 pips target, and approx. 2.0 pips target on GBP/USD. Spreads are variable, so they move with liquidity and widen around releases and the daily rollover.

Positions held overnight accrue a financing charge, which is irrelevant to a day trader and compounds for anyone holding for weeks. Currency conversion costs 1.5% on standard CAD/USD securities-account conversions where your account and the instrument use different currencies - worth avoiding by funding in the currency you intend to trade.

Platforms and tools8.4/10

Questrade runs Questrade Global. Everything happens inside the broker's own software. That is simpler to start on - there is one interface and it was designed for this broker's products - and it is a dead end if you later want expert advisors, because none of the third-party ecosystem is available here.

Automated strategies are not supported, which rules the broker out for anyone running a system rather than trading by hand. There is API access (Yes, Questrade API for supported investment functionality) for anyone connecting their own software. Copy trading is not offered.

Charting runs to advanced built-in technical indicators and drawing/annotation tools. Additional tools include Saxo Bank trading/liquidity infrastructure. On mobile: proprietary.

Markets, leverage and execution9.0/10

Questrade covers Forex, Stock CFDs, Index CFDs, Commodity CFDs, Precious Metals, Stocks, ETFs, Options, Bonds, GICs, Mutual Funds. That comes to 1,000+ across FX/CFDs and substantially more including exchange-traded securities instruments in total. On the currency side specifically it lists 110+ pairs. Breadth is worth less than depth in the markets you actually trade - a hundred instruments priced well beats a thousand you will never open.

Leverage is capped at 1:50, which is the retail limit under tier-one regulation - a protection rather than a restriction. Whatever the headline, the number that governs your position is the margin requirement on the specific instrument - it is always lower on shares and crypto than on major currency pairs.

Execution is non-market maker / agency-style execution, meaning the broker is the counterparty to your trade rather than routing it to an external venue. It is a legitimate and very common model, and it is worth knowing which one you are dealing with. Measured speed is under 100ms. Its servers sit in North American/global institutional infrastructure, which is what determines latency more than any software choice.

Order types available: market, limit, stop, stop-loss, take-profit and platform-specific conditional orders. Stops and limits are table stakes; what separates platforms is whether the ones you rely on are there and how quickly they can be modified once a position is open.

Accounts

Account types run to Individual Forex & CFDs, Cash, Margin, TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP, RRIF, Corporate, Partnership, Trust, Managed. There is no minimum deposit, so the account can be opened and tested with whatever you are comfortable risking. The smallest position it will take is 1,000 currency units / 0.01 standard lot, which is what actually governs how precisely you can size risk on a small account.

A demo account is available - note that 30-day FX & CFD practice account, which is the cheapest way to find out whether the platform suits you. Professional classification is available for clients who qualify, which lifts leverage caps and lowers the protections that come with retail status - a trade rather than an upgrade. Opening takes typically completed online within minutes.

Accounts can be denominated in CAD, USD. Funding in the currency you trade removes a conversion charge from every position, which is a small saving repeated indefinitely.

Deposits and withdrawals

Deposits can be made by Interac, Visa Debit, online banking bill payment, pre-authorized deposit, bank transfer/wire and account transfer. They clear in instant for eligible Visa Debit.

Withdrawals go out by electronic funds transfer, wire transfer and account transfer. Expect typically 1-5 business days depending on method. The minimum withdrawal is $1. Check the withdrawal routes rather than the deposit ones. They are frequently not the same list, anti-money-laundering rules usually require funds to return the way they came, and the difference only becomes apparent at the point you want your money back.

Local payment methods include Interac; Canadian online bill payment and Canadian EFT - which matters more than it looks if you are outside the broker's home market, since an international wire is slow and expensive compared with a domestic transfer.

Support and education5.2/10

Support runs 24/7. That is worth more than it sounds on a leveraged account: markets gap at inconvenient hours, and a position you cannot get help with is a position you carry until somebody answers. You can reach them by live chat, phone, email/contact form, in-person support. Live chat typically answers in within a few minutes. Support is offered in English, French.

Its education is substantial - Questrade Learning, investing courses, FX/CFD guides, platform tutorials, options education and educational articles - which is the difference between a broker that will teach you and one that will simply take the deposit. Research output covers market research, news, technical charting, economic releases, alerts and investment research tools.

The company behind the brand

The company behind the brand is Questrade, Inc., registered as Canadian corporation. It operates from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has been trading since 1999, which puts roughly 27 years and several market cycles behind it - including conditions that removed a good number of its contemporaries.

It sits within Questrade Financial Group Inc.. It is privately held, so its finances are not published the way a listed group's are. Headcount is in the 2,000+ group-wide range.

You may also see it under Questrade. Brands and legal entities rarely map one to one in this industry, and the name on the website is not always the name on the client agreement.