Webull Review 2021

Webull offers commission-free trading for US-listed stocks, ETFs and options, overall one of the lowest fees among brokerages. There is no withdrawal fee for ACH transfers and no inactivity fee. However, wire transfer fees are quite high.

How we ranked fees

We ranked Webull's fee levels as low, average or high based on how they compare to those of all reviewed brokers.

First, let's go over some basic terms related to broker fees. What you need to keep an eye on are trading fees and non-trading fees.

• Trading fees occur when you trade. These can be commissions, spreads, financing rates and conversion fees.
• Non-trading fees include charges not directly related to trading, like withdrawal fees or inactivity fees.

In the sections below, you will find the most relevant fees of Webull for each asset class. For example, in the case of stock investing the most important fees are commissions.

We also compared Webull's fees with those of two similar brokers we selected, moomoo and Robinhood. This selection is based on objective factors such as products offered, client profile, fee structure, etc. See a more detailed rundown of Webull alternatives.

To have a clear overview of Webull, let's start with its trading fees.

Webull trading fees

Webull trading fees are low. The fee structure is transparent and easy to understand. 

Stock fees and ETF fees

Webull offers free stock and ETF trading. It has the same no-commission structure as moomoo and Robinhood.

If you prefer stock trading on margin, you should check Webull's margin rates.

Trading on margin basically means that you borrow money from your broker and can purchase more shares than you could with just the available cash in your account. You have to pay interest on this borrowed money – the interest rate is called the margin rate. It can account for a significant portion of your trading costs.

Webull margin rates are in line with those of most other US brokers but are markedly higher than the margin rates at Robinhood.

The margin rate is variable and is determined by the size of the margin loan.

Options fees

Webull doesn't charge any commission for trading options.

Non-trading fees

Webull has low non-trading fees. It charges no account fee or inactivity fee.

There is no deposit or withdrawal fee if you use ACH (electronic) transfer. However, wire transfers have a quite high fee. We tested ACH, so we had no withdrawal fee.

The fees for wire transfers are as follows:

For transferring out securities from your account, Webull charges a $75 fee.

Webull's account opening process is seamless and fully digital, and verification takes less than a day. However, Webull is available only for clients from limited countries, such as the US.

Can you open an account?

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Webull accepts clients only from a few countries, first and foremost the US. In our experience, the range of countries available can change from time to time; as of writing, Webull accepts clients from the US and China.

What is the minimum deposit at Webull?

There is no minimum deposit required at Webull for a cash account, but is more if you want to trade on margin, prefer short positions or unlimited day trading. See details below.

Account types

Webull offers only individual cash and margin accounts. 

IRA is supported:

• Traditional
• Roth
• Rollover IRAs.

Each customer can open one IRA. You must have an individual account before creating an IRA. 

Joint accounts and custodian and corporate accounts are not available.

The account types differ in terms of the minimum deposit required and the availability of leverage, day trading and short selling. 

*You trade with money borrowed from the broker, also called trading on leverage. You can also take short positions, i.e. when you sell a stock you don't own.

**You can buy and sell assets the same day as many times as you want. You can also take short positions, i.e. when you sell a stock you don't own.

How to open your account

Webull account opening is fully digital, easy and fast. Our account was verified within 1 business day.

You can open your Webull account on the web, desktop or mobile platform. We tested the account opening on the desktop platform:

1. After installing the platform, you can start the registration under the 'Account' menu. On the 'Login' screen you will find the option to sign up.
2. During the application, provide your personal information, like name, date of birth, social security number, address, etc.
3. Provide your employment information, financial experience, and situation.
4. Verify your identity by providing a photo of your ID/passport.
5. Choose the account type (cash or margin).
6. Review your information.
7. Submit your application.

At Webull, you can use only bank transfer to add or withdraw funds, and wire transfer fees are high. As a plus, transferring money is easy and user-friendly and ACH transfers are free.

Account base currencies

Webull offers only USD as a base currency.

Why does this matter? For two reasons. If you fund your account in the same currency as your bank account or you trade assets in the same currency as your account base currency, you don't have to pay a conversion fee.

A convenient way to save on currency conversion fees is by opening a multi-currency bank account at a digital bank. These offer bank accounts in several currencies with great currency exchange rates as well as free or cheap international bank transfers. Opening an account only takes a few minutes on your phone.

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Deposit fees and options

Webull does not charge deposit fees for ACH (electronic) transfers.

An $8 fee is charged for domestic wire transfers, while international wire deposits cost $12.5. Clients outside the US can use only wire transfer.

We tested ACH transfer for depositing and it took 5 business days. According to Webull's website, wire transfers usually complete within 1 business day. ACH transfer has a $50,000 per transaction limit, while wire transfers do not have such a limit.

Adding funds to your account is easy, but is only possible through the mobile application. Webull says it is working on including the adding/withdrawal of funds into the desktop and web platforms as well.

You can only deposit money from accounts that have been linked to your brokerage account.

Withdrawal fees and options

Webull charges no withdrawal fees for ACH transfers. 

Similarly to deposits, wire transfers carry a charge: $25 for domestic and $45 for international wire withdrawals. Clients outside the US can use only wire transfer.

How long does it take to withdraw money from Webull? We tested ACH withdrawal and it took 2 business days. Before you can withdraw your funds, there is a 7-day ACH and a 1-day wire transfer holding period when you cannot access your money.

You can only withdraw money to accounts in your name. If the depository and the withdrawal account is different, there is a 60-day holding period due to regulatory compliance.

How do you withdraw money from Webull? Follow these steps:

• Open the mobile trading platform.
• Go to the 'Home' menu and select 'Withdrawal'.
• Enter an amount then select 'Transfer to my bank'.
• Initiate the withdrawal.

Compare to other brokers

Webull offers an easy-to-use web trading platform suitable for both beginners and experts, with many advanced features. On the negative side, there is no two-step, safer login.

Webull launched its mobile platform first, adding the web and desktop versions later.

The platforms are available in two languages, English and Chinese.

Look and feel

The Webull web trading platform is user-friendly, well-designed and has a clear structure. It is easy to navigate with the tools on the edges of the screen, while the middle of the screen works like a traditional desktop platform.

The workspace is highly customizable.

Login and security

Webull's web platform offers only a one-step login. A two-step login would be more secure.

Search functions

The search functions are good, you can search by typing a company name or an asset's ticker.

There is also an auto-suggestion feature that shows relevant results.

Placing orders

Webull offers a wide variety of order types:

• Market
• Limit
• Stop
• Stop limit
• Bracket orders (take profit, stop-loss)

If you are not familiar with the basic order types, read this overview.

There are also two order time limits you can use:

• Good 'til canceled (GTC) 
• Day

Alerts and notifications

It is easy to set alerts and notifications. To do this, simply select a stock, then go to the bell icon in the top right corner and customize your alerts by setting a price or other financial indicator. 

Portfolio and fee reports

Webull has clear portfolio and fee reports, which are available from the left sidebar's 'Account' menu.

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Webull's mobile app is one of the best on the market. It's user-friendly, well-designed and has every feature you need, like an advanced order panel, price alerts and a two-step login.

Webull's mobile trading platform is available both for iOS and Android. We tested it on iOS.

You can choose between English or Chinese language for the app.

Look and feel

The Webull mobile trading platform is user-friendly, has a clear structure and well-designed.

Login and security

In addition to a one-step login, Webull also provides a more secure, two-step login. You can activate this feature by going to Menu/Settings/Account&Security. After activation, you will receive security codes via text message for each login.

Search functions

The search functions are great. You can search by either ticker or the name of the asset.

Placing orders

Webull offers the same order types as the ones available on the web trading platform.

Alerts and notifications

You can set price and news alerts. Similarly to the web trading platform, it's very easy to set an alert.

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Webull also offers a desktop trading platform, which has the exact same functionality and design as the web trading platform.

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Webull has a limited product portfolio that includes only US-based stocks, ETFs and options. Popular asset types such as funds, bonds or forex are not available.

Webull's offering of stocks and ETFs is not a surprise as most US brokers focus mainly or exclusively on the US market. However, there some exceptions, like Fidelity and Interactive Brokers, which also cover international stock exchanges.

Stocks and ETFs

Webull provides access only to the US market.

You can trade stocks on the following stock exchanges: NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX. 

You cannot trade with penny stocks, and OTC products.

Does Webull give free stocks?

You get 2 free stocks when you sign up and use a referral link and then another 2 free stocks when you deposit at least $100. The total value can be as much as $3,700.

Options

Webull provides access to some US options markets, although it's not clear which options exchanges specifically.

Webull offers easy-to-use research tools, including great recommendations and fundamental data. The charting tools are not the most advanced and the news flow could also be better.

Webull offers research tools on all of its platforms. We tested the tools on the web trading platform.

On first use of the trading platform, it's not too easy to find where the research tools are. They are located on the far right-hand side after clicking on an asset.

Trading ideas

Webull provides trading ideas for some stocks. By clicking on the 'Analysis' tab you can see analyst opinions on buying, holding or selling the asset. There is also a calculation for an average analyst price target. What we missed however is some information about the analysts.

Fundamental data

Webull offers some fundamental data for some stocks and ETFs. You can find financial statements and some basic fundamental ratios, like EPS or EBIT for the last 5 years.

Charting

Webull has OK charting tools. It is easy to edit the charts, but the 45 types of technical indicators available is too extensive compared to some competitors.

News feed

Webull's news feed is OK. There are links to articles from CNBC, Seeking Alpha and Bezinga, to name a few. However, we felt that Webull could increase the amount and prioritize the most important news stories to be more useful. When you click on an asset, you can find links to third-party websites including more prominent ones like Yahoo Finance and Reuters. 

We also liked the wide range of real-time market data. You can see trading information not just for equities and ETFs, but also indexes, forex and futures. All of the major markets are integrated, so you can easily collect data from almost all over the world (North America, Asia, Europe).

Other research tools you may enjoy

We liked Webull's stock screener. You can use filters ranging from some basic company information to financial indicators like EPS or PE ratios. It was interesting that you could use the stock screener for some non-US markets as well, such as stocks on the Indian and Chinese stock exchanges.

There are also other useful tools on Webull that we felt are worth a mention for traders. For example, the social 'Newsfeed' tool on the mobile platform allows users to post updates and share their trading tips, the 'Rewind' button plays a flashback of real-time share price movements over the past 30 days, and the contests that Webull regularly hosts offer stock prizes or other incentives.

Compare research pros and cons

Webull customer support could be much better, as phone support is hard to reach and we received no answer to our emails. However, the platform's message center works great.

You can contact Webull via:

• message center through the trading platforms
• email
• phone

We received relevant and fast answers to our messages under the 'Feedback' section on the trading platform. We liked that this customer support channel is available even on the weekends.

Email support does not seem to work at all, as our mails to the provided customer service address received no replies.

Phone support is really hard to reach, but the answers they gave were relevant. When calling Webull, you have to select a topic. It's annoying that you are only connected with a live representative after selecting option #4. We had to wait more than 5 minutes until the representative was connected, but the guidance and answers we eventually got were helpful.

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Webull offers a demo account and some quality educational content. However, there are no other educational tools.

At Webull you can learn in the following ways:

• Demo account
• Quality educational articles

The demo account is great, as you can use almost all of the live account's features.

The articles are OK, providing wide coverage but lacking frequent updates. The FAQ is a useful place to get to know some basic brokerage services.

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Webull is regulated by top-tier financial authorities that provide a high amount of investor protection. On the negative side, it is not a listed company and thus does not publish any financial information.

Is Webull regulated?

Yes, it is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Is Webull safe?

To be certain if a brokerage is safe, we highly advise that you check two facts:

• how you are protected if something goes wrong
• what the background of the broker is

How you are protected

This is important for you because the investor protection amount and the regulator differ from entity to entity. With Webull this is not an issue though, as all customers are covered by Webull Financial LLC and the US investor protection scheme, called the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).

SIPC protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. This is substantially higher than the amount most investor protection schemes provide. 

Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual fund and other investment company shares, and other registered securities. It does not cover instruments such as unregistered investment contracts, unregistered limited partnerships, fixed annuity contracts, currency, and interests in gold, silver, or other commodity futures contracts or commodity options.

On the negative side, Webull does not provide negative balance protection.

Additional protection

Webull's clearing firm, Apex Clearing, has an additional insurance policy. Clients are eligible for an aggregate of $150 million in protection for cash and securities. The maximum limit of protection per client is $37.5 million for securities and $900,000 for cash.

Background

Webull is a relatively young company, as it was established in 2017. The longer the track record of a broker, the more proof we have that it has successfully survived previous financial crises.

You may run into some difficulty finding more information about the company. The amount of financial information is quite limited compared to other brokers, as Webull is not a public company and thus does not have to publish any financial data.

Being regulated by top-tier financial authorities and offering a high amount of investor protection are all great signs for Webull's safety.

Find your safe broker

Webull's fees are great. You can get free stocks, trade with commission-free US stocks, ETFs and options. The account opening is easy, fully digital and fast. The platforms are easy to use and well-structured.

Webull has some drawbacks though. The product portfolio is quite limited, covering only US stocks, ETFs and options. You can use only bank transfer for deposit or withdrawal, and wire transfers are charged for both directions. Phone and email customer support are hard to contact.

As the account opening is seamless, and Webull offers commission-free stock and ETF trades, feel free to try it.

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