Webull Review

Webull offers $0 trades for stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. But it's not perfect. Find out if Webull fits your investing needs.

	Get up to 12 free fractional shares Get Free Fractional Shares
	Overall Score	4.2
	Stock Trading	4.0
	Options Trading	4.5
	Mobile App	4.5
	Commissions and Fees	5.0
	Ease of Use	3.0
	Research	4.0

5-point scale (the higher, the better)

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Pros and Cons

• No trade fees
• Advanced research tools
• Extended trading hours
• Offers fractional shares

• Not beginner friendly

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Bottom Line

Good free trading app for more experienced investors

Webull is Robinhood's biggest competitor.

It offers the same commission-free trading, and more advanced tools and analytics.

But Webull does have some drawbacks that may not be right for some investors.

Is it the best choice for you? And how does Webull compare to other free investing apps? Read on in the full review.

What Is Webull?

Webull is a self-directed discount brokerage. Its mission is to combine finance with technology to provide a better investing experience.

Webull is a subsidiary of the Chinese fintech company Fumi Technology, which provides real-time market data and analysis tools. This gives Webull a strong emphasis on providing data and analytics to help you make smart investing decisions.

You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies on Webull for no trade fees.

Get up to 12 free fractional shares

Click Here to Get Free Fractional Shares

Expires 2/28/2023

Get up to 12 free fractional shares (at least 6 shares) by opening and funding ANY AMOUNT for a new account.

• Open a brokerage account to get 2 free stocks each valued at $3 - $300
• Deposit any amount to get up to 10 free stocks each valued at $7 - $3000

Who is Webull Good For?

Webull is designed for more experienced stock traders because the analytics may be overwhelming for beginners.

Webull is ideal for:

• Active traders: The zero trade commissions mean you won't be losing any profits to trading fees.
  
• Swing traders: Webull offers enough research to help you make decisions.
  
• Short sellers and margin traders.

PROS & CONS

© CreditDonkey

PROS:

• Completely commission-free trades
  
• No account minimums
  
• Fractional shares from $5
  
• Free extended trading accounts
  
• Free margin account with $2,000 minimum
  
• Free paper trading account (trading simulator)
  
• Advanced research tools and charting

CONS:

• No dividend reinvestment
  
• No mutual funds

Account Minimums & Fees

Webull has no minimum investment to start and no balance requirement for their regular trading account.

Webull has many other free features, but you also may encounter some fees:^[1]

All users can also open a free margin trading account ($2,000 minimum), although you will be charged interest if you hold the leveraged positions overnight.

How Webull Makes Money

More and more brokerage platforms offer trading without commissions, but they still need to make money. Some platforms are less-than-transparent about how they make money (cough, Robinhood), but Webull is open about how they monetize their platform.^[2]

• Payment From Order Flow: Webull earns money for the trades they send to market makers. This is how most brokerages keep their business afloat.

• Interest on Free Credit Balances: Webull earns interest on the uninvested cash in your account.

• Stock and Margin Loans: Webull makes money through their margin trading loan service, which charges interest up to
  9.49%.

Investments & Account Options

Webull lets you trade the following with no trading fees:

• Stocks
  
• ETFs
  
• Options
  
• Cryptocurrencies (new as of November 2020)

However, it does not offer mutual funds, bonds, futures, or forex.

Webull also offers these account types:^[3]

• Individual taxable
  
• Traditional IRA
  
• Roth IRA
  
• Rollover IRA

Webull does not offer joint, custodial, trust, or 529 college savings accounts.^[4]

Is Webull Safe?

Webull is safe. Your investments are covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The SIPC insures the stocks and options investments in your account for up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash) if Webull fails.

In addition, its clearing firm Apex Clearing has additional insurance protection, up to $37.5 million for securities and $900,000 for cash for each customer.^[5]

Note that the SIPC does not protect against investment losses due to market conditions.

Even though Webull is a subsidiary of a Chinese company, it is headquartered in New York City. Webull is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Webull Account Features

Extended Trading Hours
Webull offers free extended trading hours from 4:00 am to 8:00 pm.

Paper Trading
You get a virtual trading account with $1,000,000 in fake money. You get access to all the full features of the platform, so you can practice trading strategies before committing real money.

Margin Trading
Margin trading is when you borrow funds from the broker to purchase stocks. Webull offers up to 4x buying power.

Webull offers everyone access to a margin account at no extra cost. You need a $2,000 minimum to qualify. Webull's margin rates start at 9.49% for up to a $25,000 loan, and decrease with higher margin loans.^[6]

Day Trading
Webull allows you to perform up to 3 day trades in a five-trading day period. For investors with a $25,000 account balance or more, you can make unlimited day trades.

Fractional Shares
In July 2021, Webull started letting you buy stock for as little as $5. This is especially useful for new investors without a lot of cash lying around. Instead of having to save up to buy $50 or $100 shares, you can start buying asap with most stocks.

But there are some limitations. First, only certain stocks and ETFs will qualify, and you can only use market orders. You also can't buy outside of normal trading hours or short sell fractional shares. ^[7]

Instant Funding
You can buy a stock right after making a deposit to Webull. ACH transfers usually take 4 days to hit your account, which means you might miss out on a great stock price.

But Webull will give you instant buying power by letting you trade with some of your deposited money.^[8] If your deposit starts before 4 pm EST, then you could get access to part of your funds that same day. If your deposit starts after 4 pm EST, it would be the next day at 7 am EST.

Webull is essentially offering you provisional credit. How much you get depends on factors such as:

• Deposit amount
  
• Account type
  
• Cash balance
  
• Market value of your positions
  
• Total deposit amount
  
• Your credit scores

Options Strategies
Webull supports Level 1 and Level 2 options trading. Level 1 supports covered calls and cash-secured puts. You must have a margin account. Level 2 supports long calls and long puts in all accounts.^[9]

Webull Crypto (new)
All users can also open a crypto portfolio and trade Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. You can buy and sell fractions of cryptos starting from $1. Crypto trading has instant settlement, so you get your funds back right away.

Short Selling
Webull supports short selling in its margin accounts.^[10] This is a trading strategy where an investor borrows shares and sells it to the market, with the bet that the stock price will drop. Then they buy it back at the lower price and return it to the lender, thus making a profit.

Research and Tools

Despite being a discount brokerage, Webull has a strong trading platform with advanced research offerings and technical analysis that experienced users will appreciate.

Keep in mind, there may be a learning curve for new investors.

Tools include:

• Real-time market quotes (Nasdaq Last Sale): An in-depth data feed giving you real-time last sale data and more.

• Price alerts for stocks in your watchlist: You can get notified of your target prices of your favorite stocks.

• Stock screeners: You can input filters that fit your preferences to help you find your next investment.

• Market data from 5 categories and 100+ exchanges^[11]: You can get plenty of data from your favorite sources.

• 50 technical indicators and 12 charting tools: Webull has some of the most advanced tools out of the fee-free apps.

• Analyst ratings for buying or selling an asset: You can see what the pros are saying about each stock.

• Video replay for historical stock price action: You can watch how your stock has performed over time.

Advanced Quotes Paid Subscriptions

Webull also offers a paid subscription service for users who want to access more advanced real-time market data. Users can subscribe to the advanced quote they want.

Subscription options include:

• Nasdaq Basic Level 1
  
• National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO)
  
• Nasdaq TotalView Level 2
  
• OPRA Real-Time Data
  
• Toronto Stock Exchange Last Sale
  
• Hong Kong Stock Exchange Level 2
  
• London Stock Exchange Level 1

Quote subscriptions start from $1.99 per month. But some markets could be quite pricey. You have a 3-month free trial after subscribing.^[12]

Market Orders

A market order is an order to buy or sell a stock at the best available price.^[13]

It's filled at the current market price, not the last sale price. The fill price may be different from the market price you saw when placing the order due to low liquidity and/or bid/ask spreads of certain stocks.^[14]

Webull allow you to execute the following orders:

• Market orders
  
• Limit orders
  
• Stop orders (stop loss order)
  
• Stop limit orders
  
• Stop-loss/take-profit orders (bracket orders)
  
• OCO (one cancels the other)
  
• OTO (one triggers the other)
  
• OTOCO (one triggers one cancels the other)

Webull allows you to execute more advanced orders, so it's better for the more experienced trader looking to limit their losses when trading stocks.

Customer Support

Webull's customer support team is available 24/7 via email, phone, and its in-app message center. However, some users report slow response times and have had difficulties reaching someone on the phone.

For DIY assistance, Webull does offer a large help center on the website, so you may be able to find the answer to your questions on your own.

How It Compares

Webull vs Robinhood
Webull and Robinhood both offer free investing with zero commissions. Both offer stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptos. However, Robinhood's trading platform is very barebones. More advanced investors will need to get their research elsewhere.

Robinhood also supports fractional shares (starting at just $1). The user-friendly platform may be easier for beginners. On the other hand, Webull has a paper account for beginners to practice.

For more advanced traders, Webull offers more options. It has a free margin account and supports short selling and more advanced market orders.

	Webull	Robinhood
	SPECIAL OFFER Get up to 12 free fractional shares - Learn More	OFFER Get a Free Stock (worth between $5 and $200) - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Stock Trading	$0	$0
Options Trading	$0	$0
Annual Fee	None	None
Cryptocurrency Trading	$0
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0
Mutual Fund Trading		No
Commission Free ETFs	All U.S. listed ETFs	All U.S. listed ETFs
Phone Support	24/7	24/7
Cryptocurrencies Supported	Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Zcash, Stellar Lumens, Ethereum Classic, Cardano, Dash	ETC, ETH, BSV, BCH, BTC, DOGE, LTC, COMP, MATIC, SOL, SHIB, AVAX, ADA, LINK, XLM, UNI, USDC
Fiat Currencies Supported	EUR, USD, GBP, JPY, CHF, AUD, CAD, HKD, CNY, INR, CNH	USD
Digital Wallet	No	No
Transaction Fee	No	No
Copy Trading	No	No
Limit Orders	Yes	Yes
Crypto Loans	No	No
Good For	Experienced investors; Active traders	Beginners; Active traders
Inactivity Fee	$0	$0
Maintenance Fee	$0	$0
Bank Account Purchase Fee	No	No
Debit Card Purchase Fee	No	No
Banking	No
Mobile App	Yes	Yes
ACH Transfer Fee	No	No
Wire Transfer Fee	$8 domestic deposit, $25 domestic withdrawal, $12.50 international deposit, $45 international withdrawal	No
Crypto Conversion Fee	No	No
Anonymity	No	No
Biometric Login	Yes	TouchID or FaceID
Cold Storage	No	Yes
Maximum Trading Amount	3 Day Trades / 5 business days for accounts under $25,000. Unlimited Day Trades for accounts over $25,000	No
Two-Factor Authentication	Mobile Only	Yes
Withdrawal Limit	No	$50,000 per business day
Virtual Trading	Yes. Free paper trading account with $1,000,000 in fake money	No
Fractional Shares	Yes	Yes
Taxable Accounts	Yes	Yes
IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
	Get up to 12 free fractional shares $75 Account Transfer Bonus Get Started	Get a Free Stock (worth between $5 and $200) Commission-Free Trades Commission-Free Options Investing
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Robinhood: Pricing information from published websites as of 04/18/2020.

Webull vs E*Trade
E*Trade is one of the most popular full-service brokerages. It offers a wide variety of account types and investment products, including mutual funds, bonds, and futures.

It offers comprehensive research tools, including real-time market streaming and interactive charts. It's a great choice for investors of all experience levels who want everything in one place.

		E*TRADERobinhoodeToroStashM1 FinanceAcorns
	Webull	E*TRADE
	SPECIAL OFFER Get up to 12 free fractional shares - Learn More	SPECIAL OFFER Learn more about E*TRADE - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Stock Trading	$0	$0 per trade
Options Trading	$0	$0 per trade + $0.65 per contract $0 per trade + $0.50 per contract if you make 30+ trades a quarter
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0 for self-directed brokerage accounts; Managed portfolios start at $500 minimum
Mutual Fund Trading		$0 for no-load, no-transaction-fee funds; $19.99 for transaction-fee funds
Commission Free ETFs	All U.S. listed ETFs	250+
Customer Service	24/7 via phone and email	800-387-2331
Inactivity Fee	$0	$0
Maintenance Fee	$0	$0
Banking	No	Checking account offers no minimum balance requirements, free online bill pay, and unlimited debit card and check transactions.
Mobile App	Yes
Desktop App	Yes	E*TRADE Pro (requires you to execute at least 30 trades during a calendar quarter or maintain brokerage account balance of at least $250,000)
Futures Trading		$1.50 per contract, per side + fees (excluding bitcoin futures)
	Get up to 12 free fractional shares $75 Account Transfer Bonus Get Started	Learn more about E*TRADE E*TRADE Account - Up to $3,500 Bonus
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. E*TRADE: Pricing information from published website as of 12/05//2020.

Webull vs M1 Finance
M1 Finance is a hybrid DIY brokerage and robo-advisor. You build your own portfolio, and M1 will automatically make trades and manage it for you. It only offers stocks and ETFs. There are no trading commissions and no management fees.

Beginners may also want to consider M1 because you don't have to worry about managing it yourself. The minimum to start is just $100 and the platform supports fractional shares. And if you're not sure what to invest in, there are 80+ pre-built portfolios created by their experts.

	Webull	M1 Finance
	SPECIAL OFFER Get up to 12 free fractional shares - Learn More	SPECIAL OFFER Commission Free Stock Trading - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Stock Trading	$0	$0
Options Trading	$0	No
Annual Fee	None	None
Cryptocurrency Trading	$0	No
Minimum Deposit	$0	$100
Mutual Fund Trading		No
Commission Free ETFs	All U.S. listed ETFs	All U.S. listed ETFs
Phone Support	24/7	Monday - Friday 9:30 am to 4 pm EST
Good For	Experienced investors; Active traders	DIY investing with passive portfolio management
Inactivity Fee	$0	$20 (for accounts with less than $20 and no activity for 90+ days)
Maintenance Fee	$0	$0
Banking	No	All users can open a M1 Spend account with free debit card. No monthly service fees and no balance requirements.
Mobile App	Yes
Two-Factor Authentication	Mobile Only	Yes
Virtual Trading	Yes. Free paper trading account with $1,000,000 in fake money	No
Fractional Shares	Yes	Yes
Taxable Accounts	Yes	Yes
IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
	Get up to 12 free fractional shares $75 Account Transfer Bonus Get Started	Commission Free Stock Trading Get M1 Plus Free for First 3 Months Invest Automatically with M1 Finance
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. M1 Finance: Pricing information from published website as of 02/28/2020

Bottom Line

Webull is worth considering for experienced, active traders who are comfortable investing on their own. The robust trading platform offers enough research and tools to satisfy most serious investors. It also offers some great features for more advanced investors, such as margin trading and short selling.

References