Moomoo vs. M1 Finance (2026): Which One Should You Open?
These two do opposite jobs, so the comparison is unusually easy to settle.
Moomoo is a trading terminal with cheap options and included market depth. M1 exists to stop you trading. If you cannot say which of those you want, you want M1.
If you searched "M1 Finance vs. Moomoo"
Same comparison. The deciding question does not change with word order: do you want to trade actively, or set an allocation and leave it alone?
Two opposite jobs
Moomoo puts analyst-grade data in front of a retail account: deep charts, options analytics, Level 2 depth included. It rewards attention.
M1 removes attention from the process. You set a target allocation once and every deposit is divided to match it, in a single daily trade window. It has no options at all.
There is no middle ground here, which is why this comparison resolves faster than most.
On one screen
| MOOMOO | M1 FINANCE | |
|---|---|---|
| Stock and ETF commissions | $0 | $0 |
| Options per contract | $0.0383 to open, $0.0416 to close — pass-through only | Not offered |
| Level 2 market data | Included | Not applicable |
| When trades happen | Any time the market is open | One daily window around 9:30 am ET, with a second afternoon window near 3:00 pm ET on the paid tier |
| Portfolio automation | None | Target allocation maintained on every deposit |
| Subscription | None | $3 a month — M1 retired the $125-a-year Plus tier and replaced it with a flat platform fee, waived if your M1 balance touches $10,000 on any day in the billing cycle or you hold an active M1 Personal Loan |
| Margin | As low as 6.8% — falls on each tier above $25K | M1 Borrow — portfolio line of credit at 5.65% (as of 2 February 2026), up to 50% of portfolio value. Not available on retirement or custodial accounts |
| Transfer out (ACAT) | $75 | $100, plus $100 more to terminate an IRA |
Moomoo's figures come from our Moomoo fees breakdown.
What each one cannot do
Moomoo cannot maintain an allocation for you. Every rebalance is a decision you make and execute.
M1 cannot trade options, cannot execute when you press the button, and cannot help you react to news. Our M1 vs. Betterment comparison covers where its automation sits against a full robo-advisor.
What each one costs to own
Moomoo has no subscription and unusually low trading costs. Options pass-throughs are $0.0383 to open and $0.0416 to close with no commission on top, margin starts as low as 6.8%, and Level 2 depth is included rather than sold separately. The one number to note before funding is the $75 fee to transfer an account out.
M1 charges $3 a month below $10,000, waived if your balance touches $10,000 on any day in the billing cycle or you hold an active M1 Personal Loan. On a $2,000 balance that is 1.8% a year — worth weighing against automation you could approximate by rebalancing by hand twice a year.
Who each one is wrong for
- Moomoo is wrong for retirement money you intend to leave alone, and for anyone who checks a portfolio more often than is good for them. The data depth is an invitation to interfere.
- M1 is wrong for options, for reacting to anything intraday, and for a small balance where $36 a year is a meaningful percentage.
- Both are wrong if you need a custodial, trust or self-employed account — check each shelf before funding either.
What this means for you
- Set-and-forget money: M1.
- Active options trading: Moomoo, on per-contract cost and included data.
- Both: reasonable — M1 for the core, Moomoo for the trading account.
- Neither, if: you want a specialist retirement account. Check both shelves first.
Figures and rules in this article are checked against the official sources below. Where they disagree with us, they win.
