Is BlackBull Markets free?
BlackBull Markets does charge a commission for real stock trading on US markets, so in this sense it is not a free-to-trade broker. However, it might still be a reasonable choice for some of you, as there are many other aspects other than commissions that are important when you choose a broker. If you wish to stick with BlackBull Markets though, then you will find the fees they charge below. Alternatively, you could check our article detailing the best zero commission brokers and how their apps scored in our test.
We should note that the payment-for-order-flow model, which is used by some zero-commission brokers to generate income (rather than relying on commissions), could potentially create a conflict of interest between you and your broker. This could result in trade execution (like routing your orders to specific market makers) that might be unfavorable for you under certain market conditions, especially when using market orders (as opposed to limit orders, which seem to be less affected).
Disclaimer: 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
BlackBull Markets fees
Overview of BlackBull Markets fees and charges
It's safe to say that BlackBull Markets's fees are low in general. They either don't charge a brokerage fee for things that other brokers do, or they only charge a small amount.
Here's a high-level overview of BlackBull Markets's fees
| Assets | Fee level | Fee terms |
|---|---|---|
| US stock fee | - | 0.005 USD per share, min 1 USD, max 1% of the trade value |
| EURUSD fee | Average | ECN Prime account: $6.00 commission per lot per trade plus spread cost. 0.2 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| US mutual fund fees | - | Not available |
| Inactivity fee | Low | No inactivity fee |
BlackBull Markets fees
BlackBull Markets fees explained
Online brokerages in general charge much lower brokerage fees than traditional brokerages do - this is largely because online brokerages' businesses can be much better scaled: from a purely technical standpoint, it doesn't make that much of a difference for them if they have 100 or 5,000 clients.
This is not to say, however, that they don't charge any fees at all. They make money by charging you various rates for various actions or events. Usually you need to keep an eye on the following three types of fees:
- Trading fees - these are brokerage fees that you pay when you actually carry out a trade, like buying an Apple share or an ETF. What you pay is either a commission, a spread or a financing rate. Some brokers apply all of these.
- A commission is either fixed or based on the traded volume.
- A spread is the difference between the buy price and the sell price.
- A financing rate or overnight rate is charged when you hold your leveraged positions for more than one day.
- Non-trading fees. These are usually related to some operations you carry out in your account, such as depositing money, withdrawing money, or not trading for an extended period.
We compare BlackBull Markets fees with its closest competitors, TMGM and Fusion Markets.
BlackBull Markets fees
BlackBull Markets trading fees
BlackBull Markets's trading fees are low, which makes it suitable for you even if you trade often (i.e. several times a week).
Let's break down trading fees according to the different asset classes available at BlackBull Markets.
Trading fees
BlackBull Markets's trading fees are low.
Stock fees and ETF fees
BlackBull Markets has stock trading fees.
| BlackBull Markets | TMGM | Fusion Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock | $1.0 | - | - |
| UK stock | - | - | - |
| German stock | - | - | - |
Forex fees
BlackBull Markets's forex fees are low.
| BlackBull Markets | TMGM | Fusion Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD benchmark fee | $16.4 | $14.0 | $11.8 |
| EURGBP benchmark fee | $15.0 | $11.8 | $8.5 |
CFD fees
BlackBull Markets has low CFD trading fees.
| BlackBull Markets | TMGM | Fusion Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple CFD | $3.6 | - | $0.1 |
| Vodafone CFD | - | - | - |
| Germany | - | - | - |
Currency conversion fee
BlackBull Markets will charge a Currency Conversion Fee for all trades on instruments denominated in a currency different to the currency of your account. The fee is charged as the following: Exchange rate received from liquidity providers plus a mark-up. We used the EURUSD trading fees for the calculation..
BlackBull Markets fees
BlackBull Markets non-trading fees
When it comes to non-trading fees, BlackBull Markets is a rather cheap broker.
Non-trading fees include various brokerage fees and charges at BlackBull Markets that are not related to buying or selling assets. This can be a withdrawal fee, deposit fee, inactivity fee or account fee.
| BlackBull Markets | TMGM | Fusion Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal fee | $5 | $0 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Inactivity fee | No | Yes | No |
| Account fee | No | No | No |
BlackBull Markets fees
BlackBull Markets deposit fee
Usually, brokers don't charge anything for deposits, and BlackBull Markets is no different.
| BlackBull Markets | TMGM | Fusion Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
BlackBull Markets fees
BlackBull Markets withdrawal fee
Unfortunately, BlackBull Markets does charge a withdrawal fee of $5 for bank transfers. This means that you need to pay this amount when you transfer money from your brokerage account back to your bank account. Sometimes this is a flat fee, but a percentage charge may be applied in some cases. It's up to you to decide whether you can tolerate this, keeping in mind that flat fees can hurt more if you withdraw small amounts only.
| BlackBull Markets | TMGM | Fusion Markets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit/debit card | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic wallets | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Withdrawal fee for bank transfer | $5 | $0 | $0 |
BlackBull Markets fees
BlackBull Markets inactivity fee
BlackBull Markets does not apply an inactivity fee, which is great because your account won't be charged even if you do not trade for an extended period (like several months or years).
