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Vanguard vs Fidelity Comparison Review

In this Vanguard vs Fidelity comparison review, we will have a look at two of the biggest online brokers on the market. Head to head comparison of stats for many different types of data.

Vanguard vs Fidelity: Popularity

QueryVanguardFidelity
Number of users (approximate)30m32m
Website traffic (estimated)23.3m85m
# results on web112m147m
Search volume Google1.22m4.2m
Twitter followers302K271K
FB followers224K263K
How popular on mainstream media?HighHigh
Negative media?LowLow
Notable awards2019 U.S. Morningstar Award, for Investing Excellence, Best New U.S. Equity ETFBest Online Broker 2020

As we can see from the table above, both companies are pretty similar in terms of customers but also social media following.

Vanguard vs Fidelity: User Rating

QueryVanguardFidelity
# users rated on user platforms45 on SiteJabber2 on TrustPilot, 17 on SiteJabber
Percentage of positive reviews out of user reviews91%26%
Common complimentsGood investment platform, low feesGreat customer support and research reports
Common complaintsSometimes poor customer serviceThe system and user interface antiquated
Positive feedback on Twitter?Great information and analysisPeople appreciate the charts, research ideas and feeds
Negative feedback on Twitter?Hard to receive help from supportLately the support seems overwhelmed and is hard to respond
App rating (summary)Almost 5K reviews with an average rating of 3.1 / 5Over 1.36m reviews with an average 4.65 / 5 rating

Big difference in the positive feedback online in favor of Vanguard, but overall, both companies have have happy customers. Fidelity could use more work on their interface design because many are complaining about their antiquated look.

Vanguard vs Fidelity: Background Information

QueryVanguardFidelity
Company public/privatePrivatePrivate
Revenue Data$48.5 billion in Q1 of 2020$20.9 billion in 2019
CEO and bioMortimer J. Buckley – earned a BA degree in economics in 1991 from Harvard College and an MBA degree in 1996 from Harvard Business SchoolAbigail Johnson – completed an MBA at Harvard Business School and since 2014, she has been the president and CEO.
Number of employees17,60050,000+
Notable investors (private companies)NoneNone

Both companies are private and are generating nice profits but, from the revenue data we could gather, Vanguard seems to be the more profitable company, despite the fact that they have 1/3 of the employees compare to Fidelity.

Vanguard vs Fidelity: Security

QueryVanguardFidelity
HTTPS CertificateYesYes
2FA ?YesYes
Device monitoring?YesYes
New device extra security?YesYes

Vanguard vs Fidelity: Fees & Offering

QueryVanguardFidelity
Account minimum$20None
Account fixed fees$20None
Fractional shares?NoYes
Margin costsVariesVaries
ETF buying feesNoneNone
Stock buying feesNoneNone
Option buying fees$0 + $1-per-contract fee$0.65 per contract with commission-free trades
Short selling feesNone6% to 10%
Futures buying feesNot availableNot available
Future options buying feesNot availableNot available
Cryptocurrency feesNot availableNot available
Fixed income feesNone$19.95 per trade
Mutual funds feesNoneNone

Vanguard has a minimum account needed and account fixed fees of $20, which is a drawback for those just starting their investing journey. Fidelity has the upper hand in this aspect and might be a better choice for people with low budgets.

Vanguard vs Fidelity: Trading App

QueryVanguardFidelity
Android app # installs1m+1m+
Android app # reviews475666K
iPhone app # reviews291.3m
Android app rating2.1 / 54.5 / 5
iPhone app rating4.1 / 54.8 / 5
Common compliments on appEasy to use and navigate once you get used to it.Easy to navigate and use. Simple and direct explanations and directions.
Common complaints on appNo fingerprint support, the app feels dated.Recently the new update is creating problems for some users trying to login and/or use it.
Weighted average app rating3.1 / 54.65 / 5

Fidelity’s app is way more used than the app from Vanguard. And the huge number of downloads, reviews, and better ratings, can only further cement that statement.

Final conclusions:

Two big player in the market with similar numbers of existing clients, but with huge difference in their attention give to the mobile app users. No one company can focus on all the aspects of the business but not having interest in keeping happy and grow your mobile app users is a big drawback in this technology driven days.

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