Quick Answer
- A fractional ETF share lets you invest a dollar amount rather than buy a whole share, so the entire deposit goes to work even on a $300 or $500 fund.
- Fidelity and Robinhood offer fractional ETF shares from $1. SoFi and Webull offer them from about $5.
- M1 Finance invests in fractional amounts through its portfolio pies, with a $100 balance to start.
- The holdouts: Schwab's fractional program (Stock Slices) covers S&P 500 stocks, not ETFs, and Vanguard limits fractional buying to its own ETFs.
- Fractional shares earn dividends in proportion to the slice you own, and most brokers reinvest them automatically.
What Fractional ETF Shares Are, and Why They Matter
Normally you buy an ETF one whole share at a time. If a fund trades at $540 and you have $200 to invest, you cannot buy any of it this month. A fractional share removes that limit: you enter a dollar amount, and the broker gives you the matching slice of a share. Put in $200 and you own roughly 0.37 of a share.
That matters in three common situations:
- Small amounts. It lets a beginner start with $20 or $50 instead of waiting to afford a full share of a pricey fund.
- Recurring investing. On an automatic plan, fractional shares put the whole deposit to work every time rather than leaving leftover cash until it adds up to a full share. This is why it pairs so closely with automatic ETF investing.
- Exact allocations. It lets you hit a target dollar split across several funds precisely, instead of rounding to whole shares.
Plenty of brokers advertise "fractional shares" but only offer them on a list of large individual stocks, not on ETFs. Before opening an account specifically to buy ETFs by the dollar, confirm the fractional feature covers the ETFs you want, not just stocks.
The Brokers, Compared for Fractional ETFs
All of these charge $0 commission on ETF trades, so the real question is whether fractional buying covers ETFs broadly, and what it takes to start. Details are current as of 2026 and change over time; verify on each broker's own site before opening an account.
| Broker | Fractional ETF shares | Minimum | Best fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | Yes, thousands of stocks and ETFs | $1 per trade | Widest coverage inside a full brokerage |
| Robinhood | Yes, stocks and ETFs | $1 per trade | Simplest setup for beginners |
| SoFi Active Invest | Yes, stocks and ETFs | About $5 per trade | Investing alongside SoFi banking |
| Webull | Yes, stocks and ETFs | About $5 per trade | Active traders who also want fractional |
| M1 Finance | Yes, through portfolio pies | $100 to start investing | Automated, rules-based portfolios |
| Charles Schwab | No for ETFs (Stock Slices is S&P 500 stocks) | $0 account | Whole-share ETF buying; full-service broker |
| Vanguard | Limited to Vanguard's own ETFs | $0 account | Buying Vanguard-brand ETFs by the dollar |
Minimums and fractional-share coverage change over time. Confirm current terms on each broker's site. This is educational information, not a recommendation.
Broker by Broker
Fidelity: the widest fractional coverage
Fidelity offers fractional shares across thousands of US stocks and ETFs from as little as $1, inside a complete, full-service brokerage with no account minimum. For most people who want to buy ETFs by the dollar and also keep retirement accounts, research, and cash management in one place, it is the pragmatic default.
Open an account at Fidelity →Robinhood: the simplest fractional setup
Robinhood offers fractional shares of stocks and ETFs from $1 in an interface built to remove friction. For a beginner who just wants to put a small, fixed amount into an ETF without learning a full platform, it is the fastest to set up. It is lighter than Fidelity on research and account types.
Open an account at Robinhood →SoFi and Webull: fractional from about $5
SoFi Active Invest and Webull both offer fractional ETF shares with a minimum around $5. SoFi fits people who already bank with SoFi and want investing in the same app. Webull leans toward more active traders who also want the option to buy fractionally. Both are reasonable homes for small, regular ETF buys.
Open an account at SoFi →M1 Finance: fractional by design
M1 invests in fractional amounts as a core part of how it works: you build a "pie" of ETFs with target percentages, and every deposit is split and invested toward those targets in fractional shares. It is the cleanest fit for a hands-off, rules-based portfolio, with a $100 balance to begin. It is less suited to one-off or active trading.
Open an account at M1 Finance →Schwab and Vanguard: the ETF holdouts
Schwab is an excellent full-service broker, but its fractional program, Stock Slices, covers S&P 500 company stocks and does not extend to ETFs. So at Schwab an ETF purchase buys whole shares, which can leave a little cash uninvested. Vanguard supports fractional buying of its own brand of ETFs, but not ETFs from other providers, so building a dollar-based plan across the whole ETF market is more limited there. Both are strong brokers; they just are not the ones for buying any ETF by the dollar.
If you are set on Schwab or Vanguard, a low-cost index mutual fund sidesteps the whole question: mutual funds have always been bought in exact dollar amounts, with no fractional-share limit. The ETF vs mutual fund guide covers when one structure beats the other.
How to Buy a Fractional ETF Share
Once you have picked a broker that supports it, the steps are simple:
- Open and fund the account, and pick the ETF you want. A quick checklist for choosing one helps if you are unsure.
- On the order screen, switch the order from "shares" to "dollars" (sometimes labeled "buy in dollars" or "amount").
- Enter the dollar amount, for example $25 or $100, and review the fractional quantity it will buy.
- Place the order. For an ongoing plan, set it as a recurring investment so it repeats on your schedule.
- Turn on dividend reinvestment if you want distributions to buy more fractional shares automatically.
For the full first-purchase walkthrough, see how to buy ETFs, and for where a small first amount can go, how to invest $500.
Common questions
Yes, at several brokers. A fractional share lets you invest a set dollar amount in an ETF rather than buying a whole share, so you can put $50 into a fund trading at $500 and own one-tenth of a share. Fidelity and Robinhood offer fractional ETF shares from $1, and SoFi and Webull from $5. It is not universal, though: Charles Schwab's fractional program covers S&P 500 stocks, not ETFs, and Vanguard's fractional buying is limited to its own ETFs. Broker features change, so verify current terms on each broker's own site.
As of 2026, Fidelity offers fractional shares on thousands of US stocks and ETFs from $1, Robinhood offers them from $1, and SoFi Active Invest and Webull offer them from about $5. M1 Finance invests in fractional amounts through its portfolio pies, with a $100 balance to start. Charles Schwab and Vanguard are the main holdouts for broad ETF fractional buying. Confirm current coverage on each broker's site before opening an account.
Not for ETFs. Schwab's fractional-share program, Stock Slices, lets you buy slices of S&P 500 company stocks, but it does not cover ETFs. So at Schwab a recurring or one-off ETF purchase generally buys whole shares, which can leave some cash uninvested. Schwab is still a strong full-service broker; it just is not the place for buying ETFs by the dollar. Verify current terms on Schwab's site, as features change.
Only for its own ETFs. Vanguard supports fractional purchases of Vanguard-brand ETFs, but not ETFs from other providers, and its fractional support for third-party funds is limited. If you want to buy fractional shares of ETFs from iShares, State Street, Invesco, or others, a broker like Fidelity or Robinhood covers a far wider range. Confirm the current list on Vanguard's site before relying on it.
The per-trade minimums are small. Fidelity and Robinhood let you buy fractional ETF shares from $1, and SoFi and Webull from about $5. M1 Finance has no meaningful per-trade minimum but asks for a $100 balance to begin investing. These minimums are what make fractional shares useful for small or recurring investments, where a whole share of a $300 or $500 ETF would otherwise be out of reach.
Yes. A fractional share earns the same distributions as a whole share, just scaled to the fraction you own. If an ETF pays a dividend and you hold one-quarter of a share, you receive one-quarter of the per-share distribution, and most brokers reinvest it automatically if you turn on dividend reinvestment. Fractional ownership does not change how the fund itself works; it only changes the size of your slice.
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