How to Buy Stocks on Wealthsimple: 2026 Step-by-Step

Buying your first stock on Wealthsimple takes about five minutes once your account is funded. You open a self-directed account, link your bank, search a ticker, and place an order. The friction isn’t the app — it’s knowing whether to use a market or limit order, which account should hold the shares, and how to avoid the currency fee that quietly applies to US stocks. Here’s the full walk-through.

Step 1: Open and fund a self-directed account

In the Wealthsimple app, the product you want for picking individual stocks is the self-directed investing account (formerly Wealthsimple Trade) — not the managed robo portfolio, which picks holdings for you. Choose an account type (TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, or non-registered), then verify your identity with your SIN and a photo ID. Approval is usually minutes, occasionally a day if something needs a manual look.

Funding is the part that decides when you can actually trade. A linked-bank electronic transfer typically takes a few business days to settle before the cash is tradeable, and transfers from another brokerage take longer. We break the timing down in our guide to how long Wealthsimple takes. If you’re opening a new account, you can start through our Wealthsimple invite link.

Step 2: Find the stock you want

Tap the search icon and type a company name or ticker — “SHOP” for Shopify, “VFV” for Vanguard’s S&P 500 index ETF, “AAPL” for Apple. Canadian tickers trade in Canadian dollars; US tickers trade in US dollars (more on that fee below). The stock page shows the live price, a chart, and a Buy button.

Step 3: Market order vs. limit order

This is the one decision beginners overthink. A market order fills right away at whatever the price is. A limit order only fills at the price you set or better.

Order type	Fills when	Best for	Watch out for
Market	Immediately, at the current price	Large, heavily traded stocks and ETFs	Price can shift between tap and fill
Limit	Only at your set price or better	Thin or volatile small-caps	May never fill if the price doesn’t hit

For a big, liquid stock or ETF, a market order is fine — the spread is pennies. For a jumpy small-cap, a limit order protects you from a surprise fill.

Step 4: Buy fractional shares if the price is high

A single share of some stocks costs hundreds of dollars, which used to lock out small investors. Wealthsimple supports fractional shares, so instead of buying one whole share you can enter a dollar amount — say $50 — and own a slice. On the order screen, switch the input from “shares” to a dollar amount and it does the math. This is how you can start with roughly $1 and still hold a piece of an expensive name.

Which account should hold the shares?

Where you buy matters as much as what you buy. For most Canadians, a TFSA is the default: your gains and dividends grow tax-free, and withdrawals aren’t taxed. A non-registered account makes sense once your TFSA room is used up, but you’ll owe tax on gains and dividends there. We’re educators, not licensed advisors — check your own contribution room in CRA My Account before you fund. Our Wealthsimple account types explainer covers which wrapper fits which goal.

The 1.5% currency fee on US stocks

Here’s the cost nobody flags at signup. Commission is $0 on both Canadian and US stocks, but buying a US-dollar stock on the free tier means converting CAD to USD, and that conversion carries a fee of roughly 1.5% each way. Buy AAPL and later sell it, and you pay it twice. For a buy-and-hold investor that’s minor; for someone trading US names weekly, it adds up fast. We itemize every charge in Wealthsimple Trade fees, and you can verify the current rate on Wealthsimple’s own site, since tiers change.

Not sure what to buy? One ETF beats ten guesses

If you’re staring at the search bar unsure where to start, you don’t have to pick winners. A single broad-market ETF — a one-ticket fund holding hundreds or thousands of companies — gives you instant diversification for one commission-free trade. It’s the least glamorous and most durable first move. See our roundup of the best Canadian ETFs for the low-MER options Canadians actually use.

Read next

• Is Wealthsimple worth it in 2026?
• Wealthsimple vs. Questrade compared
• Best stock trading app in Canada
• Full Wealthsimple review