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Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade Comparison Review

In this Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade comparison, we will review the two companies head to head on multiple important factors like popularity, security, fees, and offerings.

Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade: Popularity

QueryVanguardTD Ameritrade
Number of users (approximate)30m+12m+
Website traffic (estimated)23.3m25.2m
# results on web112m7.3m
Search volume Google1.22m673K
Twitter followers302K141K
FB followers224K375K
How popular on mainstream media?HighHigh
Negative media?Very lowMedium
Notable awardsBest New International/Global Fixed Income ETF, Best New Active ETFBest Broker for Stock Trading Platform and Research

Both Vanguard and TD Ameritrade are highly recognized and recommended brokers, with a number of awards won for their platform and services. That being said, Vanguard seems to have the bigger customer base with 30+ million active accounts, versus 12+ million for TD Ameritrade.

Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade: User Rating

QueryVanguardTD Ameritrade
# users rated on user platforms45 on SiteJabber69 on TrustPilot, 17 on SiteJabber
Percentage of positive reviews out of user reviews91%20%
Common complimentsGood investment platform, low feesEasy to use platform, great interface, good tools.
Common complaintsSometimes poor customer serviceBad customer service, long wait to speak to support
Positive feedback on Twitter?Great information and analysisGreat features and powerful tools
Negative feedback on Twitter?Hard to receive help from supportComplaints about the thinkorswim platform
App rating (summary)Almost 5K reviews with an average rating of 3.1 / 5Over 45K ratings and 4.5/5 score on Apple store

TD Ameritrade has more reviews online but below-average positive feedback of 20%. Vanguard, even if it has fewer reviews and only on SiteJabber, it has a 90% positive feedback.

Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade: Background Information

QueryVanguardTD Ameritrade
Company public/privatePrivatePublic
Revenue Data$48.5 billion in Q1 of 2020$1.48 billion on Q2 of 2020
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 SchoolSteve Boyle, He is a professional member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that worked previously for Banknorth and Barnett Banks
Number of employees17,6009,183
Notable investors (private companies)NoneNone

A big difference in the revenue data for the two companies. Vanguard, which is a private entity, has gathered $48.5 billion in Q1 of 2020. TD Ameritrade (public company) has received $1.48 billion in Q2 of 2020.

We know it’s not the same quarter for a direct comparison, and the COVID pandemic has really been in effect since the second quarter of 2020, but the difference is big enough to conclude that Vanguard is the clear winner in this section.

Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade: Security

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

Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade: Fees & Offering

QueryVanguardTD Ameritrade
Account minimum$20None
Account fixed fees$20None
Fractional shares?NoNo
Margin costsVariesVaries
ETF buying feesNoneNone
Stock buying feesNoneNone
Option buying fees$0 + $1-per-contract fee$0.65 per contract
Short selling feesNoneNone
Futures buying feesNot available$2.25 fee per contract
Future options buying feesNot available$2.25 fee per contract
Cryptocurrency feesNot availableNot available
Fixed income feesNone$1 per bond or CD on secondary transactions
Mutual funds feesNone$49.99 per trade for no-load mutual funds and $0 for load mutual funds.

Vanguard is not the best option for those with limited budgets to invest because of the $20 account minimum and fixed fees. Also, the lack of futures trading options makes it a little more desirable for many. For these reasons, TD Ameritrade is the better option for many types of customers.

Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade: Trading App

QueryVanguardTD Ameritrade
Android app # installs1m+1m+
Android app # reviews47567K
iPhone app # reviews2947.6K
Android app rating2.1 / 53.4 / 5
iPhone app rating4.1 / 54.5 / 5
Common compliments on appEasy to use and navigate once you get used to it.Easy to understand and operate, lots of useful functions
Common complaints on appNo fingerprint support, the app feels dated.Laggy, buggy platform
Weighted average app rating3.1 / 54 / 5

Vanguard comes short when it comes to both the number of app reviews and the overall rating. From that alone, we can confidently say that TD Ameritrade does a better job of keeping its mobile users happier with the company.

Final conclusions:

Two big brokerage firms with impressive revenue data that, somehow, it feels that they are outdated. They don’t offer fractional stock buying or crypto, things that the new generations are highly interested in. The mobile apps seem antiquated and don’t come close to the level imposed by Robinhood, for example. But, for the majority of classic investors, both companies can be an option.

If we were to choose a winner from this Vanguard vs TD Ameritrade comparison, Vanguard will have to be the choice because of its better feedback from people that used it.

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