Webull Review 2023: Pros, Cons and How It Compares
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
Our Take
4.9
The bottom line:
on Webull's website
Pros & Cons
Pros
Low costs.
Easy-to-use platform.
Advanced tools.
Access to cryptocurrency.
Cons
No mutual funds.
Thin educational support.
Compare to Similar Brokers
Current Product
NerdWallet rating 4.9 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 | NerdWallet rating 5.0 /5 |
Fees $0 per trade | Fees $0 per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs | Fees $0.005 per share; as low as $0.0005 with volume discounts | Fees $0 per trade | Fees $0 per trade |
Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 |
Promotion Get up to 12 free fractional shares (valued up to $30,600) when you open and fund an account with Webull. Promotion ends 2/28/2023. | Promotion Get $100 when you open a new, eligible Fidelity account with $50 or more. Use code FIDELITY100. Limited time offer. Terms apply. | Promotion Exclusive! US resident opens a new IBKR Pro individual or joint account receives 0.25% rate reduction on margin loans. Tiers apply. | Promotion Get up to $600 or more when you open and fund an E*TRADE account | Promotion None no promotion available at this time |
Get more smart money moves — straight to your inbox
Become a NerdWallet member, and we’ll send you tailored articles we think you’ll love.
Full Review
Where Webull shines
Low cost: Webull ranks among the best in terms of costs, with not only free stock and options trades, but no per-contract options fee, either.
Advanced tools: Webull was built to be user-friendly for a mobile-first generation, but that doesn’t come at the expense of advanced charting and screener tools.
Access to cryptocurrency: Few brokerages offer direct access to cryptocurrencies, but Webull currently has 44 available for trading.
Appeals to a broad audience: In some ways, the company seems to have taken cues from modern forerunners like Robinhood, which appeal to new and casual investors who expect a great mobile experience and a clean, simplified desktop interface. But Webull is also a strong choice for more advanced active traders, offering in-depth charting, dozens of technical indicators, advanced orders, market data from several sources, customization and more. All of this is packaged up in an approachable, sleek platform.
Where Webull falls short
No mutual funds: If you’re looking for the easy diversification of mutual funds, you won't find them at Webull.
Thin educational support: Webull is taking steps to offer more educational content, but compared with other more established brokerages, its educational resources are still lacking.
Cash management: Webull offers no interest on uninvested cash, has no default fund for uninvested cash, nor any ancillary banking or cash management product to make up for this, as some brokers do (such as Ally Invest and Robinhood). In other words, any uninvested cash will sit idle with no chance to grow.
Webull is best for
Intermediate investors.
Active traders.
Options traders.
Cryptocurrency traders.
Webull at a glance
Account minimum | $0. |
Stock trading costs | $0. |
Options trades | $0. |
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) | No annual or inactivity fees; $75 full/partial transfer fee. |
Tradable securities |
|
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds | Not rated. |
Trading platform | Browser-based and downloadable desktop platforms available with advanced charts, indicators, screeners and customization. |
Mobile app | Mobile app offers advanced features including charts and indicators, paper trading, price alerts and voice command. |
Research and data | News, research and analysis available from several sources including Nasdaq Totalview, Morningstar and Dow Jones. |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | 24/7 phone, email and chat. |
More details about Webull's ratings
Account minimum: 5 out of 5 stars
There is no account minimum at Webull.
Stock trading costs: 5 out of 5 stars
Webull ranks high in terms of cost, with no account minimum and free trades on stocks, exchange-traded funds and American depository receipts.
Options trades: 5 out of 5 stars
Webull is among the few brokerages that offer free options trades. Customers aren’t charged a per-trade commission nor a per-contract fee.
Account fees: 2.5 out of 5 stars
One account fee you might want to watch out for is Webull’s transfer fee. Whether you’re transferring all of your assets from Webull to another brokerage or just a portion of your account, you’ll be charged a $75 transfer fee. However, you won’t pay any annual or inactivity fees at Webull.
Tradable securities: 3 out of 5 stars
Despite a robust offering for active traders, Webull lacks access to some common securities, such as mutual funds and bonds. For investors interested in saving for retirement in an IRA, this could make it harder to truly diversify across assets traditionally found in a retirement portfolio.
Crypto offering: Webull gives investors the ability to trade 44 cryptocurrencies. However, it's important to note that currently, users can't send or receive coins to or from their Webull account. The only option is to sell for USD if you want to withdraw. While this doesn't affect Webull's crypto score when compared with other stock brokerages, it's one reason Webull doesn't score as well on our roundup of the best crypto exchanges and platforms. Cryptocurrencies available on Webull include: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Zcash, Stella Lumens, Ethereum Classic, Cardano, Dash, and Shiba Inu.
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds: Not rated.
Webull does not offer any mutual funds.
Trading platform: 5 out of 5 stars
New investors might be overwhelmed by the number of charts, graphs, indicators and screens at their disposal, but thanks to the clear interface, someone with even a little bit of experience can quickly start to figure it out.
And this really is where Webull excels: marrying the minimalist look and feel the mobile-first generation is accustomed to with the capabilities of a more advanced product. This also helps Webull achieve the somewhat unique feat of creating a platform that bridges intermediate level trading and advanced trading, ushering users along their investment journey as they gain more experience.
Mobile app: 5 out of 5 stars
Webull has a highly rated mobile app, which makes sense, considering it’s targeting mobile-first customers. Within the app, users can access advanced features, like charts and indicators, a paper trading account and voice command functionality.
Research and data: 4 out of 5 stars
Webull doesn’t offer a huge selection of third-party research, but it does provide news, research and analysis from strong sources, including Nasdaq Totalview, Morningstar, CBOE, Dow Jones and NBBO.
Customer support options: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Webull offers 24/7 customer support via phone and email, and an easily-navigable website. Its educational support offerings, however, are limited.
Is Webull right for you?
If you’re a true beginner, or if you’ve yet to build a well-diversified, long-term portfolio, there may be other brokers better suited for you. However, if you’ve got an intermediate level of experience, are interested in active trading or are hoping to improve your trading skills through advanced orders and technical analysis, Webull could be a good fit — especially considering its low price point compared with brokers with similar offerings.
How do we review brokers?
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers by assets under management, along with emerging industry players. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.
on Webull's website
