Wealthsimple vs Interactive Brokers for XEQT: Which Platform Wins?

When I first started investing in XEQT back in 2022, I didn’t think twice about which broker to use. A friend had mentioned Wealthsimple, I downloaded the app, opened a TFSA in about ten minutes, and started buying XEQT that same afternoon. Simple. Done. No drama. For a solid year, it never even crossed my mind that there might be another option worth considering.

Then a coworker – the kind of guy who has three monitors at his desk and reads financial white papers for fun – told me about Interactive Brokers. “The fees are insanely low,” he said. “You can trade on like 150 markets. Norbert’s Gambit is a breeze.” I was intrigued. So I opened an IBKR account, logged in, and was immediately greeted by one of the most intimidating trading interfaces I had ever seen. It felt like being handed the controls of a Boeing 747 when all I wanted was to ride a bicycle. I stuck with it for a few months, learned my way around, and now I have a pretty clear sense of where each platform shines – and where it doesn’t.

If you’re a Canadian investor trying to figure out which platform is better for buying XEQT, this guide is for you. I’ll walk through every meaningful difference so you can make the right call.

1. Quick Overview: What Each Platform Offers

Wealthsimple is Canada’s largest online-only brokerage and has become the go-to platform for a whole generation of Canadian investors. It’s mobile-first, commission-free for Canadian stocks and ETFs, and it’s designed to make investing feel effortless. If you’ve ever wished investing was as easy as ordering food from an app, Wealthsimple is the answer.

Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a global powerhouse. Founded in 1978, it serves professional traders, institutions, and sophisticated retail investors in over 150 markets worldwide. It arrived in Canada years ago and has steadily gained a following among cost-conscious investors who want access to everything – US stocks, options, futures, bonds, forex, and yes, Canadian ETFs like XEQT.

Both are CIPF-protected, both offer registered accounts, and both let you buy XEQT. But the experience of using them could not be more different.

Quick Verdict: Wealthsimple Wins for XEQT Investors. If your goal is to buy and hold XEQT in a TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA with minimal fuss, Wealthsimple is the better choice for most Canadians. Zero commissions, fractional shares, auto-invest, and a beautiful app. IBKR is the better pick for power users who need USD trading, margin, options, or access to global markets.

Disclosure: This page contains a Wealthsimple referral link. I have accounts at both Wealthsimple and Interactive Brokers and share my honest experience with both. I don’t have a referral arrangement with IBKR.

2. The Big Comparison Table

Here’s everything side by side. Take a minute to scan through – it’ll frame the rest of this guide.

Score at a glance: Wealthsimple wins on simplicity, commissions for Canadian ETFs, fractional shares, auto-invest, and mobile experience. IBKR wins on advanced features, currency exchange, margin, options, and global market access.

3. Commission Structure: Free vs. Almost Free

This is the first thing most people compare, and it’s where Wealthsimple has a clear edge for XEQT buyers.

Wealthsimple Commissions

• $0 commission on all Canadian stock and ETF trades (buy AND sell)
• $0 commission on US stocks too (but you pay a 1.5% currency conversion spread)
• No ECN fees, no hidden charges for CAD trades
• No inactivity fees, no account maintenance fees

For XEQT specifically, this means every dollar you put in goes directly into your investment. If you’re investing $200 per week, you pay $0 per trade. After a full year of weekly purchases, you’ve still paid $0 in commissions. That’s 52 free trades.

Interactive Brokers Commissions

• Tiered pricing: $0.008/share for Canadian stocks, minimum $1.00 per order
• Fixed pricing: $0.01/share, minimum $1.00 per order
• Additional exchange and regulatory fees may apply (small, but they exist)
• No inactivity fees (removed in 2021)

For XEQT, which trades around $27-$30 per share, a typical buy of $500 worth (about 17-18 shares) would cost you roughly $1.00. That’s not a lot, but it adds up. Over 52 weekly purchases, that’s about $52/year vs. $0 on Wealthsimple.

The bottom line: If you’re buying a Canadian-listed ETF like XEQT, Wealthsimple’s zero-commission model saves you money on every single trade. IBKR’s commissions are low by historical standards, but “low” can’t beat “free.”

4. Currency Exchange: Where IBKR Crushes It

Okay, so Wealthsimple wins on commissions. But currency exchange is a different story – and this is where IBKR really flexes.

Wealthsimple Currency Exchange

• Default: 1.5% spread on every CAD-to-USD (or USD-to-CAD) conversion
• With Plus ($10/month): The FX spread drops to essentially 0%
• No native USD account – every US stock trade triggers a conversion
• No Norbert’s Gambit option

On a $10,000 US stock purchase without Plus, you’d pay about $150 in hidden currency costs. That stings.

Interactive Brokers Currency Exchange

• Spot FX conversion: Razor-thin spread (about 0.002%) + $2 flat fee
• Native USD account – buy US stocks in USD, hold USD cash, no forced conversions
• Norbert’s Gambit: Fully supported. Buy a dual-listed stock/ETF in CAD, journal to USD side, sell in USD. Total cost is around $2-3 per conversion regardless of size.
• You can hold multiple currencies simultaneously

On that same $10,000 conversion, IBKR would cost you about $2.20. That’s a massive difference.

But here’s what matters for XEQT investors: XEQT trades on the TSX in Canadian dollars. You buy it in CAD, you sell it in CAD. Currency exchange is irrelevant if XEQT is your primary (or only) holding. The ETF handles all the internal currency conversion for you when it buys its underlying US and international holdings. So while IBKR wins this category on paper, it doesn’t actually matter for most XEQT buyers.

5. Account Types: Both Cover the Essentials

For registered accounts, both platforms offer everything a typical Canadian investor needs.

Where IBKR pulls ahead is margin accounts. If you’re the kind of investor who wants to borrow against your portfolio (for leverage, for a home purchase bridge loan, whatever), IBKR offers some of the lowest margin rates in the industry – often under 6%, compared to 8-10%+ at the big banks. That’s a meaningful edge for advanced investors.

Wealthsimple has an advantage with RESP accounts, which IBKR doesn’t currently offer in Canada. If you’re saving for a child’s education, that’s a point for Wealthsimple.

For the typical XEQT investor using a TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA, both platforms work just fine. No meaningful difference.

6. User Experience: Beautiful vs. Powerful

This is honestly where the two platforms diverge the most. Using Wealthsimple and IBKR back to back is like switching between an iPhone and a Linux command line.

Wealthsimple: Designed for Humans

• Mobile-first: The app is the primary experience, and it’s gorgeous. Clean layouts, smooth animations, everything feels intentional.
• Three taps to buy XEQT: Search, enter amount, confirm. Done.
• Portfolio overview: Easy-to-read graphs, clear performance tracking, simple activity feed.
• No jargon: Everything is explained in plain English.
• Web app: Mirrors the mobile experience. Not as feature-rich as a full desktop platform, but perfectly fine for ETF investing.

I genuinely enjoy opening the Wealthsimple app. It feels modern, it works fast, and it never makes me feel like I need a finance degree. For buying XEQT on a regular basis, it’s a delight.

Interactive Brokers: Built for Professionals

• Trader Workstation (TWS): IBKR’s flagship desktop platform. It’s incredibly powerful – real-time data, advanced charting, customizable layouts, algorithmic order types, risk analytics. It’s also overwhelming the first twenty times you use it.
• Client Portal: A web-based interface that’s simpler than TWS, but still clunky compared to Wealthsimple.
• IBKR Mobile: Functional, but nowhere near as polished as Wealthsimple. Navigating it feels like a treasure hunt.
• Order types: Limit, market, stop-loss, trailing stop, iceberg, VWAP, TWAP… options that 99% of XEQT investors will never need.

IBKR is the kind of platform where you might accidentally open a futures contract on Japanese government bonds while trying to find the “buy XEQT” button. I’m exaggerating – but only slightly. The learning curve is real.

Winner: Wealthsimple, by a mile. I’ve talked to several friends who signed up for IBKR, got overwhelmed by the interface, and went back to Wealthsimple within a week.

7. Auto-Invest and Recurring Buys

Automation is the secret weapon of successful long-term investing. Set it up once, forget about it, and let compounding do its thing. Here’s how the two platforms compare.

Wealthsimple Auto-Invest

• Set a recurring deposit (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly) from your bank account
• Choose which stocks/ETFs to buy automatically and in what proportions
• Fractional shares mean every dollar gets invested – no leftover cash sitting idle
• Change or pause anytime from the app
• True “set and forget” – I’ve had mine running for over a year without touching it

This is the feature that keeps me on Wealthsimple. Every Monday, $200 automatically moves from my chequing account into my TFSA and buys XEQT. I don’t log in, I don’t check prices, I don’t place orders. It just happens. It’s genuinely the closest thing to effortless wealth-building I’ve found.

If you want to learn how to set this up, check out my guide to automating XEQT purchases on Wealthsimple.

IBKR Recurring Investment

• IBKR added a recurring investment feature that lets you schedule automatic purchases
• You can set frequency (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly) and dollar amount
• Supports fractional shares for recurring investments
• Less intuitive to set up compared to Wealthsimple – buried in the menu system
• Automatic deposits from your bank require setting up a separate pre-authorized contribution

IBKR deserves credit for adding this feature. It works. But it’s not nearly as seamless as Wealthsimple’s implementation. The setup process is more involved, and you’re still paying $1+ per trade every time the recurring purchase triggers. On Wealthsimple, the entire process is free from start to finish.

Winner: Wealthsimple for automation.

8. Fractional Shares

Fractional shares let you invest exact dollar amounts instead of being forced to buy whole shares. This matters more than most people think.

Wealthsimple: Full fractional share support for all Canadian and US stocks/ETFs. Want to invest exactly $150 in XEQT? You’ll get precisely $150 worth, even if that’s 5.357 shares. Every cent gets invested.

Interactive Brokers: Supports fractional shares for select securities, including through their recurring investment feature. For manual trades, fractional share availability depends on the specific security. XEQT is generally available in fractional quantities through recurring buys.

Why this matters for XEQT: Say you’re investing $300 per month and XEQT is trading at $28.50 per share. With whole shares only, you’d buy 10 shares ($285) and have $15 sitting as uninvested cash. With fractional shares, you invest the full $300. Over 20 years of monthly investing, that uninvested cash drag adds up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in missed compounding.

Wealthsimple’s broader, more straightforward fractional share support gives it the edge here.

9. Who Should Choose Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple is the right platform if you match any of these profiles:

• You’re a beginner. You’ve never invested before, or you’re in your first few years. Wealthsimple’s simplicity means you’ll actually follow through instead of getting overwhelmed and giving up.

• You’re a set-and-forget XEQT investor. You want to automate your purchases, check in once a quarter, and let compounding work. This is Wealthsimple’s sweet spot.

• Your portfolio is under $500K. At this level, the cost savings from IBKR’s lower FX fees and margin rates are marginal. Wealthsimple’s zero commissions and free features more than compensate.

• You invest primarily in Canadian ETFs. If XEQT, VEQT, or other TSX-listed ETFs make up most of your portfolio, you don’t need IBKR’s global market access or currency conversion tools.

• You value simplicity over control. You’d rather have a clean, intuitive app than a professional trading terminal with 47 order types.

• You want a $25 sign-up bonus. It’s not life-changing money, but it’s a free share of XEQT just for opening an account.

• You’re investing in registered accounts. TFSA, RRSP, FHSA – Wealthsimple handles all of these beautifully with no fees.

This is most XEQT investors. If you’re reading a blog about XEQT, there’s a good chance you fit this profile. You want a simple, low-cost, all-in-one equity ETF and a platform that gets out of your way. That’s Wealthsimple. For more on why I recommend it, see my best broker for XEQT guide.

10. Who Should Choose Interactive Brokers

IBKR makes sense if you match these profiles:

• You’re a power user. You want advanced charting, options chains, detailed order types, and professional-grade tools. IBKR’s Trader Workstation is genuinely best-in-class.

• You trade US stocks frequently. IBKR’s rock-bottom FX fees and native USD accounts save serious money if you’re regularly buying Apple, Google, or US-listed ETFs.

• You want to do Norbert’s Gambit. This currency conversion hack can save hundreds or thousands of dollars on large USD conversions. IBKR makes it easy. Wealthsimple doesn’t support it at all.

• You have a large portfolio ($500K+). At this scale, IBKR’s lower margin rates, better FX, and tax-loss harvesting tools can add up to meaningful savings.

• You want margin access. IBKR offers some of the lowest margin rates in Canada. If leverage is part of your strategy, IBKR is the clear choice.

• You trade options. Wealthsimple doesn’t offer options trading. IBKR does, with competitive pricing.

• You want global market access. Want to buy stocks on the London Stock Exchange, Tokyo Stock Exchange, or Hong Kong? IBKR covers 150+ markets.

• You’re running a corporate investment account. IBKR supports corporate accounts; Wealthsimple doesn’t.

11. Can You Use Both?

Absolutely yes. And honestly, this is what I’d suggest for investors who’ve outgrown the beginner stage.

Here’s a setup that works well:

• Wealthsimple for registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA): Use auto-invest to buy XEQT every week. Zero commissions, fractional shares, completely hands-off. This is where most of your long-term wealth-building happens.

• IBKR for non-registered / taxable accounts: If you’re investing beyond your registered room, IBKR’s lower commissions on US stocks, better FX rates, and margin access become more valuable. You can also use it for Norbert’s Gambit when you need to convert large sums to USD.

• IBKR for US stock picks: If you want a small “play money” allocation in individual US stocks alongside your core XEQT position, do it on IBKR where you’re not paying 1.5% on every currency conversion.

There’s no rule that says you have to pick one. Many experienced Canadian investors run accounts at both platforms. The only downside is managing two logins – which is a pretty minor inconvenience.

One thing to watch: TFSA/RRSP contribution limits. If you have registered accounts at both brokers, make sure you’re tracking your total contribution room. Over-contributing to your TFSA or RRSP across multiple accounts triggers penalties from the CRA. The CRA doesn’t care that it was split across brokers – they just care about the total.

12. My Recommendation for XEQT Investors

Let me be direct: for the specific purpose of buying and holding XEQT, Wealthsimple is the better platform for the vast majority of Canadian investors.

Here’s why:

1. XEQT is a Canadian-listed ETF. You buy it in CAD on the TSX. Wealthsimple’s zero commissions mean you pay nothing on every trade. IBKR charges $1+ per trade.

2. Auto-invest is a game-changer. The ability to automatically buy $X of XEQT every week or month, without logging in, without paying fees, without any leftover cash – that’s the dream for passive investors. Wealthsimple nails this.

3. Fractional shares eliminate cash drag. Every dollar you deposit gets invested. On IBKR, you might have $10-$25 sitting as uninvested cash after each purchase.

4. The app makes it enjoyable. I know “enjoying” your brokerage app sounds silly, but it matters. You’re more likely to stick with an investing habit when the platform feels good to use.

5. IBKR’s advantages don’t apply. The things IBKR excels at – FX conversion, margin, options, global markets – simply don’t matter if your strategy is “buy XEQT regularly in a registered account.”

That said, I’m not here to trash IBKR. It’s an incredible platform. If you ever need USD trading, options, or professional-grade tools, IBKR is the best option in Canada – and possibly the best in the world. But for a focused XEQT strategy? Wealthsimple is the right tool for the job.

For a broader look at how Wealthsimple stacks up against other brokerages, see my Wealthsimple vs Questrade comparison and complete guide to Wealthsimple fees.

13. Wealthsimple Pros & Cons

Pros:

• $0 commissions on all Canadian stock/ETF trades
• Fractional shares for every security
• Best mobile app of any Canadian broker
• Polished auto-invest feature
• Clean, beginner-friendly interface
• Crypto trading available
• $25 referral bonus
• No minimum deposit, no inactivity fees
• RESP accounts available

Cons:

• 1.5% FX fee on US stocks (without Plus)
• No native USD account
• No Norbert’s Gambit
• No options or futures trading
• No margin accounts
• Limited charting and research tools
• No corporate accounts

14. Interactive Brokers Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Rock-bottom FX conversion fees
• Native USD account
• Norbert’s Gambit supported
• Options, futures, and bond trading
• 150+ global markets
• Professional-grade desktop platform
• Low margin rates
• Corporate and institutional accounts
• Recurring investment feature

Cons:

• ~$1 minimum commission per Canadian trade
• Steep learning curve
• Overwhelming interface for beginners
• Mobile app is clunky
• Auto-invest less polished than Wealthsimple
• No sign-up bonus
• No RESP in Canada
• No crypto trading in Canada

15. Who Wins for Specific Use Cases

16. Final Thoughts

Choosing between Wealthsimple and Interactive Brokers isn’t really about which one is “better” – it’s about which one is better for you.

If you’re building wealth through regular XEQT purchases in a TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA, Wealthsimple is the right tool. It’s free, it’s simple, it’s automated, and it does exactly what you need without any of the complexity you don’t. The vast majority of people reading this blog will be best served by Wealthsimple.

If you’re a more advanced investor who wants USD trading, options, margin, or access to global markets, IBKR is genuinely excellent. It’s not as pretty, but the power under the hood is unmatched by any Canadian brokerage.

And if you’re somewhere in between? Use both. Put your registered accounts on Wealthsimple with auto-invest, and keep IBKR for your non-registered trading. That’s what a lot of savvy Canadian investors do, and it’s a great setup.

The most important thing isn’t which platform you choose. It’s that you start investing. Every week you spend deliberating between brokers is a week your money isn’t compounding. Pick one, open an account, buy some XEQT, and get on with your life. You can always switch or add a second brokerage later.

Related Guides

• Wealthsimple vs Questrade: Full Comparison
• Best Broker to Buy XEQT in Canada
• Wealthsimple Fees Explained
• How to Automate XEQT on Wealthsimple
• Dollar Cost Averaging with XEQT