How to Buy Fractional Shares in Canada (2026)
Most Canadian brokerages still don't let you buy a fraction of a share. If you want to invest $100 in a stock trading at $250, you're out of luck at six of the ten major platforms. Only Wealthsimple offers full fractional share support for both Canadian and US stocks. Interactive Brokers and Questrade offer partial support — US-listed securities only.
What Are Fractional Shares?
A fractional share is exactly what it sounds like: a slice of a single share. Instead of needing $3,500+ to buy one share of Shopify or US$500+ for one share of Nvidia, you pick a dollar amount — say $50 — and the broker fills a proportional fraction.
This matters most for two groups: beginners investing small amounts regularly, and anyone running a dollar-cost averaging strategy where you want every dollar deployed, not sitting as idle cash waiting for a round lot.
Which Canadian Brokers Offer Fractional Shares?
Here's the current landscape. It's thinner than you'd expect.
The gap between Wealthsimple and everyone else is significant. Most "partial" support means US-listed stocks only, and in CIBC's case it's limited to Canadian Depositary Receipts — a narrow workaround, not true fractional investing.
Wealthsimple: The Clear Leader for Fractional Shares
Wealthsimple is the only Canadian broker that lets you buy fractional shares of both Canadian and US stocks with no commissions and a $1 minimum. You pick a dollar amount, place the order, done. This makes Wealthsimple the default choice for anyone whose primary goal is regular, small-dollar investing — TFSA contributions of $100/week into individual stocks, for example, or building a position in high-priced names without needing thousands upfront.
The trade-off: Wealthsimple's research tools are minimal. There's no advanced charting, no screeners worth mentioning, and the currency conversion spread is 1.5% unless you're on the Premium tier ($100K+), where it drops to 0.05%. If you're buying US fractional shares regularly at the Core tier, that FX spread eats into your returns. Read our full Wealthsimple review for the complete picture.
Interactive Brokers: Fractional Shares for US Securities
Interactive Brokers supports fractional shares on US-listed stocks and ETFs. No Canadian-listed fractional support. Orders use IBKR's standard per-share commission (CAD fixed: $0.01/share, min $1; USD fixed: $0.005/share, min $1), so there's a cost floor that makes very small orders less efficient.
IBKR's fractional shares make the most sense for active or intermediate investors who want to round out US positions precisely — deploying leftover cash after a rebalance, for instance — rather than as a primary small-dollar investing tool. The platform's learning curve is steep, which disqualifies it for most beginners.
Where IBKR wins over Wealthsimple is everywhere else: industry-best FX rates (~0.002%), institutional-grade research, the lowest margin rates in Canada, and near-24/6 extended-hours trading. If fractional shares are a nice-to-have rather than your core requirement, IBKR is the stronger overall platform. See our Interactive Brokers review for more.
Questrade: Commission-Free With Partial Fractional Support
Questrade added fractional share support for US stocks and ETFs. Combined with their move to commission-free trading in early 2025, this makes Questrade a reasonable middle ground: you get $0 commissions, a solid platform, and at least some fractional capability — though Canadian stocks are excluded.
Questrade is the pick for investors who want a well-rounded broker that happens to support fractional shares on the US side, rather than a platform built around fractional investing. Their research tools (TipRanks, Seeking Alpha integration) and registered account coverage (12 of 13 types) are both stronger than Wealthsimple's.
The FX spread is 1.5%, same as Wealthsimple Core, but Questrade supports Norbert's Gambit to sidestep conversion costs on larger amounts. Full details in our Questrade review.
Why Don't More Canadian Brokers Offer Fractional Shares?
The Big Banks have been slow here. BMO, RBC, Scotia, and NBDB don't offer fractional shares at all. Qtrade — despite aggressive fee cuts in late 2025 — also doesn't support them.
Part of this is infrastructure. Fractional share programs require the broker to hold full shares in an omnibus account and allocate fractions to individual clients, which adds operational complexity. Part of it is demand signaling: the banks' core client base skews older and wealthier, where buying full shares isn't a friction point.
This is changing. TD and CIBC have partial implementations, and competitive pressure from Wealthsimple and the independent brokers will likely force broader adoption. But as of mid-2026, your options are limited.
How to Buy Fractional Shares: Step by Step
Open an account with a broker that supports fractional shares — Wealthsimple for the broadest coverage, or Questrade / IBKR for US-only fractional support.
Fund your account. Wealthsimple offers instant deposits up to $50K. Questrade and IBKR typically take 1–3 days.
Search for the stock or ETF you want.
Enter a dollar amount instead of a share quantity. On Wealthsimple, this is the default order mode. On IBKR, select "fractional" as the order type.
Submit the order. Fractional orders are typically filled at market price during regular trading hours.
All three brokers support fractional shares inside registered accounts (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA), so there's no tax-sheltering limitation.
The Bottom Line
If fractional shares are central to how you invest — small regular contributions, dollar-cost averaging into expensive names, deploying every dollar — Wealthsimple is the only Canadian broker with full support across both Canadian and US stocks at zero cost. It's not close.
If you want fractional shares as a secondary feature alongside better research, lower FX costs, or more account types, Interactive Brokers and Questrade both cover US-listed securities with their own strengths.
For a side-by-side look at all ten Canadian brokerages across 20+ data points, see our full comparison table. And if you're still deciding which broker fits, start with our guide on how to choose a Canadian online broker. Current sign-up bonuses are worth checking before you open an account — Questrade and Wealthsimple both run ongoing new-client offers.
Broker Guide Canada may earn a commission through affiliate links. This does not influence our editorial rankings. See our full disclosure here.
