Webull Review – A Commission-Free Online Broker

Webull is an award-winning, commission-free online stock trading platform covering full extended hours trading, and real-time market quotes. They offer an investing app with something for everyone.   

Pros & Cons

If you are a fan of CNBC’s show Mad Money with Jim Cramer, you may have noticed a commercial for Webull.  Not an upgrade to the infamous energy drink, Webull is a popular and growing commission-free broker-dealer.

That’s right, the days of paying $6.95 per trade are coming to an end.  What caught everyone’s attention with Robinhood has quickly spread.

There is a growing market trend towards zero-commission trading, and big names like Fidelity and E-Trade have jumped onto the commission-less bandwagon.

Broker-dealers have recognized the demand for stock trading without fees. Fully digital discount broker-dealers are attracting active traders who want to boost their profits by cutting out the middlemen fees. 

The retail brokerage industry is changing and changing for the better as consumers are less satisfied with per-trade fees.

Webull offers commission-free trading on its stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) while cutting out subscription fees and account maintenance fees.

This makes them a true discount broker. While you won’t get access to the depth of information available from full-service online brokers like TD Ameritrade, you’ll be saving on costs that, over time, eat into your profitability.

The company has positioned itself for those active traders who want a good service with no commissions and are willing to go without some of the extras.

But don’t let that fool you: they offer a ton of extra services for nothing, including analytical tools and market reports.  Read on for our full review.

About Webull

Webull is a popular discount broker-dealer offering commission-free stock and ETF trades. Since it's founding in 2018, the company has racked up over 10+ million users worldwide. 

Webull is licensed by the SEC, and both a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) member.

This NYC-based company prides itself on up-ending the traditional subscription and fee structures of many of the top broker-dealers.  Traders pay zero subscription fees and most trades are 100% free.

USD is the main currency of the platform.  Webull is fully digital, so you won’t be visiting a brick-and-mortar store for investment advice.

Trades take place on the Webull trading platform, available on most operating systems: iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and on browsers such as Google Chrome.

Traders also get access to many great services at no extra cost, including technical stock information, news, market reports, and a host of analytical tools.   

2019 has been a breakout year for this young discount broker-dealer. The company landed in the top 10 Benzinga’s 2019 Global Fintech Awards.

Webull was recognized for its overall success and its efforts to give back to traders and the community.

Part of Webull’s success came in the form of its 1^st 2019 Annual WeTrader Competition, where community traders paper-traded in a tournament that offered prizes to winners and donations to select charities.

Company Background

Webull, or Webull Financial LLC, is the broker-dealer arm of Chinese fintech company Fumi Technology, which provides real-time market data and analytics tools to traders. 

Webull was founded in 2017 but officially launched to the market in May 2018.  Fumi Technology created Webull as a mobile app that allowed users to consolidate brokerage accounts into one portfolio.

This idea proved to be hugely successful and soon morphed into a full-fledged discount broker.  Webull quickly grew beyond just iOS and Android, as customers demanded desktop and browser-based trading.

“It’s very difficult to be an active trader on just a phone”, said CEO Anthony Denier on the company’s expansion into other digital trading platforms. 

Webull is on a mission to give premium trading features and services to the everyday investor. The company’s bread-and-butter are those traders with account balances around $1,000,  

At the moment, the company only offers trading services to U.S and Chinese residents.  However, the company has its sights set on the Canadian market and is in the process of obtaining the appropriate licenses.

The firm uses Dallas-based Apex Clearing Corporation as its clearinghouse.

Features

• Zero-fee Trades. Trade stocks and ETFs commission-free.
• Good For Technical Traders. 20+ Technical indicators including MACD, RSI, and Bollinger Bands, among others.
• Low Deposit. Open an account with $20 – and don’t worry, Webull doesn’t charge any account maintenance fees.
• Fully Licensed Discount Broker. U.S. registered broker-dealer licensed by FINRA and the SEC.
• Free Real-time Market Data. Access market data from all over the globe at no extra cost.
• Unlimited free trades. Trade as much or as little, as often or as rarely as you want at no cost.
• Open Two Different Account Types. Trade in either a cash or margin account.
• Free Education and Research. Access market analytics, news, market research, and other goodies all without any costs or subscription fees.
• Protection For Your Money. Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protected and further insured against theft through an additional insurance policy.
• Multi-platform Accessibility. Access Webull on iOS, Android, Mac, PC, or web browsers.
• Access to Extended Hours Trading. Trade both pre-market and after hours.
• 24/7 Online Help. Get your questions answered any time, day or night.

How Webull Works

Webull is a fully digital program for buying, selling, and researching stocks and ETFs.  The company acts as a broker and dealer to buy, sell, and hold stocks and ETFs for you.

As an investor and trader, you can create two different account types, research and analyze the markets looking for good trading opportunities and can purchase stocks and ETFs that are held in your account.

You are the master of your own destiny, as Webull simply facilitates your trading choices, unlike traditional investment advisors or robo-advisors that will do the trading for you. 

While Webull does cater to the U.S. and Chinese markets, its base currency is USD.  This means that some trades which require other currencies to complete may incur additional fees. 

Two Account Types

Available Investments

Webull Fees

Webull Platform Overview

First and foremost, Webull is a digital platform for buying and selling stocks and ETFs.  Access to the platform is free and available on iOS and Android devices, on Mac or PCs, and by browser or Google Chrome browser plugin. 

You can jump right over to the platform and check it out online now. We recommend traders test out platforms first before depositing money.

Platform Basics:

• Investment data over 5 categories: Equities, ETFs, Indices, Forex, and Futures
• 100+ Exchanges: NASDAQ, NYSE, LSE, HKEX, SGX, NSE, BOM, etc.
• Research tools and thousands of investment subjects
• Advanced real-time quote package (Level 1 and Level 2 data)
• Paper trading to help you practice your stock picks

Webull Android App

In addition to these basics, Webull offers more analytical tools to help you find and select the best stock or ETF for your portfolio.

Research tools:

• Analyst ratings
• Stock predictions
• News
• Watchlists and alerts
• Options (calls and puts)
• Research agency ratings
• Economic calendars
• Stock screeners
• Community comments

If you are the kind of trader that uses technical analysis to choose which stocks to invest in, you’ll want to take a look at the indicators Webull offers. 

List of technical indicators (20+):

• Exponential moving averages
• Bollinger Bands
• Money Flow Index
• MACD
• RSI
• Volume analysis

Webull Alternatives

How Do I Get Started with Webull?

The signup process is fairly straightforward for a Webull account.  Remember, at the time of writing only U.S. and Chinese citizens can sign up, though Canadian citizens should get access to Webull within the coming months.

Below are the requirements to create an account.

• 18 years or older
• Valid Social Security Number (SSN)
• Legal residential address in the U.S. / U.S. territories
• U.S. citizenship, U.S. permanent residency card, or a valid U.S. visa

You’ll go through seven steps to open an account. Account registration and funding can take up to a day or more. 

After your account is verified you’ll be prompted to add or transfer funds. 

Should You Use Webull?

As a discount broker, Webull is a solid choice. The platform is accessible and you can begin trading at virtually no cost.

This is especially good for traders with account balances in the $1,000 range, who don’t want to pay a subscription fee and who suffer under commission-based trading.

If you plan on trading just stocks or ETFs then Webull may be the right place to trade. Webull is especially useful for those active traders who plan on trading more than just a few stocks a month. 

The Webull platform, though user-friendly, is probably best for intermediate traders.  More advanced traders will likely want better access to Level 2 information and additional functionality.

A key downside of the platform is that you can only engage in stock and ETF trading, making this a rather niche trading platform - there are no mutual funds or bonds.

Technical traders will find some useful trading tools here, but the more advanced technical traders will be better served elsewhere.

All in all, we think Webull is a strong platform with a good offering. It’s certainly not a Robinhood or TD Ameritrade though.  For investors looking for more established platforms or those with more research depth, Webull isn’t right for you.

But if you want to trade on the cheap with a good balance of functionality, analytics, and market research, Webull is a great place to be.