Webull
Monthly Fee
Minimum Deposit
Our Rating
Savings Rate APY
Webull is a modern online brokerage platform designed for both novice and experienced investors. Established in 2017, it quickly gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface, comprehensive trading tools, and commission-free trading model.
Webull offers various financial instruments, including stocks, options, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies, making it a versatile platform for various trading strategies.
One of Webull's standout features is its advanced charting tools, which provide in-depth technical analysis capabilities. Users can customize charts with multiple indicators, timeframes, and drawing tools, helping traders make informed decisions.
Additionally, Webull provides real-time market data, news feeds, and financial calendars, ensuring users stay updated with market trends and events.
Is Webull safe?
Yes, Webull Securities (US) LLC is a FINRA-member firm and SIPC-protected, meaning your securities are insured up to $500.
What account types does Webull offer?
Webull offers individual cash and margin accounts, as well as IRAs.
How do I open a Webull account?
You can open an account directly through the Webull app or website.
Is Webull suitable for beginners?
Yes, Webull’s user-friendly interface and educational resources make it suitable for beginners.
What types of orders can I place on Webull?
Webull supports various order types including market, limit, stop, and stop-limit orders.
Does Webull offer fractional shares?
Yes, Webull allows you to invest in fractional shares of US stocks.
Does Webull offer margin trading?
Yes, Webull provides margin accounts allowing users to borrow funds to trade.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Fractional Shares With No Trading Fee | No Advanced Automated Investing |
Automated Investing With Webull Smart Advisor | No Mutual Funds |
Margin Trading, Futures And Options | No Live Chat |
Great Research And Charting Tools | |
Paper Trading |
In this Webull review, I will describe my user experience of the platform, highlighting the features I liked most and some areas where there is still room for improvement to help you decide if Webull is the right choice for you.
Webull Investing Features I Mostly Liked
Here are the key features that I found most appealing in Webull:
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Fractional Shares
This is not a unique feature to Webull, but it is a helpful feature, particularly for users like me, who want to make every dollar work.
I find it frustrating when I want to access higher value stocks, but don’t want to tie up all of my investment fund.
What makes Webull’s fractional shares a little different is that you can simply pick any eligible US ETF or stock and select how much to invest.
The only limitations are that there is a minimum $5 investment and 0.00001 shares per order.Â
As with other share buying and selling, I don’t incur any commission fees or account management fees for fractional shares.
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Variety of IRAs
Webull also has a number of retirement investing accounts with traditional, rollover and Roth IRA options. While I don't manage my IRA on the platform, users who do it can easily track your account progress:
Customers not only see current account value, but also the asset allocation, filtering by year to date or a variety of time increments.
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Comprehensive Charting
Whether I’m using the desktop version or Webull app, I found the charting to be great.
The charting feature is well implemented and there is a standard variety of features including multiple chart types, drawing tools, grid layouts for chart comparison, the ability to include hotkeys and approximately 60 technical studies.
Here's an example of volume analysis:
The charting options include full order book depth, track order flows, Level 2 quotes with NBBO detailed insights and buyers vs sellers.
This is a great aid to research, so I didn’t feel the need to use a third party platform when I was planning out my latest investing strategy.
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Trading on Margin
While trading on margin is for more experienced traders, it is a feature I found helpful. Webull’s margin trading is straightforward with the interest rate based on the amount you borrow rather than a flat rate across the board.
You do need to have a minimum of $2,000 of equity to qualify for a margin account, you also need to keep at least 25% of your total account value to use as equity at all times.
But Webull allows up to 4 x your leverage for day trades and 2 x for overnight buys.
There are other fees that apply to margin accounts, but this can be a helpful feature if you want to increase buying power without needing to liquidate current holdings.
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Create And Track Savings Goal
Webull’s savings goal feature is designed to help users plan and achieve specific financial objectives by setting aside funds systematically.
I set my own goal:
One of the key benefits of this feature is its ability to provide clear visibility and tracking of your progress.
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Webull Smart Advisor
The Webull Smart Advisor is a relatively new feature, but I immediately liked it. It is designed to provide automatic invested services that are customized to specific risk tolerance levels, with an annual advisory fee of 0.20%.
I needed to answer a few questions to get started using this feature. This allowed Webull to calculate my willingness to accept risk.
Once I answered the questions, it offered six different portfolios that are primarily made up of ETFs.
However, at any point I can revisit my portfolio and switch to adjust my risk tolerance.
I can switch to a new portfolio that is either one level lower or one level higher compared to my current risk tolerance. I can make these changes once every three months.Â
Additional Features That Helped Me
There were also some additional Webull features that I found helpful:
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Cash Management
Webull High-Yield Cash Management offers an impressive 5.00% APY on uninvested cash within your Webull account, with no need for a new account, no fees, and no minimum balance.Â
Your cash is swept into FDIC-insured partner bank accounts that accrue daily interest and are paid out monthly. The service can be conveniently managed through the Webull mobile app.
However, it's not a checking accounts and lacks important aspects of money management.
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Futures Trading
Futures trading was added to Webull in early 2024, offering competitive pricing. There are E-Mini contracts and Micros with low trading fees, but it is also possible to trade in cryptocurrency futures.
Webull does take a fairly conservative approach to futures trading, so there is a $1,000 initial minimum deposit required for this feature.
The platform layout for futures trading is intuitive and it can be customized easily.
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The IPO Center
When companies go public, there is an Initial Public Offering or IPO, which means that the company is selling shares for the first time.
This can be a fantastic opportunity to get in on the ground floor when a company is just starting out as publicly traded.
Webull has been providing IPO access since 2019 and as you can see in the screenshot above, you can check what is currently available.Â
To buy an IPO stock, there is a $100 minimum purchase order, but when you place an order, it is only an indication of interest. You can then follow the order progress through the IPO center.
Also, I found it helpful to browse the IPO news through the IPO Center. Even if I wasn’t currently interested in IPOs, it provided a unique perspective of what was happening in the market.
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Paper Trading
While paper trading is not unique to Webull, I found this feature impressive and helpful. Essentially, with this feature, I can try out new strategies without risking any of my investment fund.
What’s great about Webull’s paper trading is that I can access the complete selection of Webill investing products including ETFs, stocks, options and futures.
I can also access real time data including the integrated charts and even set up price alerts.
There are over 60 technical indicators and approximately 17 charting tools that I can use to fully explore any strategies before risking any of my actual cash.
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Options Trader
Webull has recently rolled out its Options Trader page and I found this particularly helpful.
The default is to display the underlying asset and selected option on the chart, but I found it easy to click and drag to modify orders on both the ladder and chart.
There is a scrollable chain conveniently displaying expirations and there are customizable columns. The expirations are on a drop down, favoring the nearest option and the option chain does ask before the bid.
The workflow and layout of this page is excellent, making it simple for even newbies to start delving into options trading.
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Research Tools
While Webull does lack the educational resources offered by some platforms, I found the research tools helpful.
I found the screener easy to use, so I could quickly look for stocks that may be interesting to me. Each stock has an analyst rating as you can see in this screenshot.
This not only provides the basic stock information including company news and price targets, but there is a graphic representation of the financial data. This makes it easier to spot profitability trends.
The research tools also include the ability to see short stock selling positions and browse stock option statistics
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The Webull Community
I find that trading can feel a little lonely. While I may be focused on trying out new strategies or researching investment opportunities, I am essentially going it alone. This is where I found the Webull community helpful.
The community allows you to check news feeds, events and market trends, but it is also a good place to make connections with other platform users. You can chat to other users and exchange ideas.
There are plenty of people within the community with different experience levels, so I can share what I have learned and also learn from other people.
The community feature allows you to ask questions, post ideas or even create a poll.
You can filter the content with customizable options, so you don’t get distracted in categories that are not applicable.
Is Webull Safe?
Webull is generally considered safe for investors. It is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which provides insurance protection for up to $500,000 in securities and $250,000 in cash against broker-dealer insolvency.
Additionally, Webull utilizes advanced encryption technology to safeguard user data and transactions. The platform also offers two-factor authentication (2FA), enhancing account security.
Webull Customer Service
Webull's customer service operates primarily through digital channels, including email and an extensive help center on their website.
Users can access the help center to find answers to common questions, covering topics such as account setup, trading, and technical issues.
The help page is divided into categories, but there is also a “hot topics” section. This is helpful if a trend is emerging and you need some help to leverage it. There is a dedicated section for account queries, which is beneficial if you need a quick answer.
For more personalized assistance, Webull also has a client helpline, but you can avoid excessive delays on the phone line as there are different extensions for different topics.
What Can Be Improved
Although Webull is a solid platform for traders, there are still a few areas where some improvements could be made.
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No Advanced Automated Investing
Unlike many other investing apps and brokers, Webull doesn't offer advanced automated investing options.Â
While it gives you the option to invest in the automated portfolio based on risk level, it's less pealing compared to the diverse options you can find with other investing apps.
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No Mutual Funds
Although Webull has expanded its asset line up in recent years, it is still lacking mutual funds, which are a simple solution to create a diverse portfolio.
Since futures and the Options Trader feature have only recently been added to the platform, hopefully, it is a sign that Webull will continue to expand its offerings.
So, with any luck we would see mutual funds becoming available at some point in the future.
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No Live Chat
There is a helpline if you need to speak to someone about a specific issue, but this line is only open during standard business hours.
It would be nice if the platform had a live chat feature for immediate help if you run into an issue.
What Type of Customer is Best Suited to Webull?
Webull is a fairly flexible investing platform, but there are several types of customers who are likely to find it most appealing.
- The Intermediate Investor: Since Webull’s educational resources are a little lacking, it may not be that well suited to complete newbies. However, if you already know the basics of investing, you should find the platform very attractive. The paper trading function allows you to test out new strategies, and you can access some more advanced features including futures trading and trading on margin.
- Options Traders: The Options Trader feature is very intuitive and makes the platform an ideal choice for those who are interested in this asset class. You can customize the view and there is a drop down for expirations, so you can quickly and easily find the nearest options.
- Active Traders: With low fees across the board including lower than average margin rates, Webull is a solid option for the active trader. You won’t need to worry about excessive fees eating into your investment fund with every transaction.
