Webull Review 2023: Advanced Investing & FREE Stocks

Webull is one the latest online brokers that offers commission-free trading. 

They’re an affordable option to make passive income and say they have great investment tools, but is it really worth your time?

In my Webull review, we are going to cover everything you need to know about getting started with Webull and how you can invest in it.

And when you open a Webull account today, you’ll get up to two free stocks!

Webull Review

Who is Webull?

Webull is a mobile trading app that offers free stock trading.

Founded in 2017, launched in 2018, and based in New York City, Webull provides stock and  ETF trading with no commisions.

Webull specifically targets more intermediate to advanced active traders, particularly technical traders, as it offers a wealth of tools for technical analysis.

The mobile app can be downloaded to Apple and Android devices. They also offer a desktop version of their platform that can be reached on any web browser.

No money is required to open an account, but there is a $2,000 minimum for margin accounts to access leverage and shorting and $25,000 for unlimited day trading.

The company is privately owned and funded by venture capital. However, it already has a massive user pool of over 10 million users.

Webull Features At A Glance

Minimum initial investment: $0 for a Cash Account; $0 to $25,000 for a Margin Account

Account types available: Individual taxable accounts and traditional, Roth, and rollover IRAs

Available investments: Stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options trades, over-the-counter securities, and cryptocurrency

Unavailable investments: It doesn’t offer mutual funds or bonds; can’t invest in the foreign exchange 

Geographic availability: United States of America

Clearing agent: Apex Clearing

Trading hours: Regular market trading hours, as well as pre-market hours (4:00 am to 9:30 am) and after-hours (4:00 pm to 8:00 pm), all times Eastern

Mobile App: Available for both IOS and Android devices; includes paper trading, price alerts, and voice commands

Trading Website: Login to the website or get the downloadable desktop trading platform

Customer service: Support can be contacted by email, live help in-app, and by phone.

Account protection: Provided by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) for up to $500,000 in securities and cash, including up to $250,000 for cash.

Webull Offerings

Webull users can invest in stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrency, over-the-counter securities, and options trades.

That includes stock from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq.

They’ve even added fractional shares so that you can buy parts of investments even if you don’t have enough for full stocks.

So instead of paying $150 for only an Apply stock, you can use that $150 to invest a little bit in multiple companies.

However, you can’t invest in common securities like mutual funds or bonds.

That’s a bit of a letdown since they’re a lower-risk investment option, but more people are interested in stocks so I get it.

Investments & Trading Tools

Features that most brokerages charge for are absolutely free with Webull.

News, real-time market data, analysis tools, and trading commissions are all free.

There are a few features that do come with a fee, which I will talk about in further detail below.

The following features are all included in the app:

Technical indicators:

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

Investment research tools:

• News
• Press releases
• Analyst recommendations
• Historical EPS
• Revenue data
• Insider holdings and transactions
• Financial calendars
• Stock screeners
• Watchlist and alerts

Misc features you won’t find on larger platforms:

• Paper Trading
• Margin trading
• Extended-hours trading
• Customer service (email, chat, phone)

From my experience, Webulls customer support is top-notch. Anytime we have reached out we have gotten prompt help and guidance right away.

Account Fees

All trading is commission-free like I mentioned above.

However, there are regulatory fees associated with them per industry standards- every reputable site includes these fees.

Most of the fees are associated with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

You can review all of those fees here, but most are less than $0.02 per trade and aren’t very expensive.

For example, if you trade stocks and ETFs, the fee is $0.000008 per trade.

Besides regulatory fees, you may be charged money for withdrawing cash to your bank account or transferring stocks to other accounts.

Lastly, if you invest in margin trading (trading with money borrowed from Webull), interest starts at 9.74% annual margin rate.

FREE Stock- Signup With Webull

Webull is currently giving new users a gift of up to two free stocks.

First, you can get one free stock valued from $2.50 to $250 if you open a Webull brokerage account.

Second, you can get another free stock valued from $12 to $1,400 if you initially deposit at least $100.

Webull Alternatives

Robinhood

Robinhood is for the total beginner, which many of my readers love.

But as you get more into trading, you’ll find that Robinhood lacks a lot of tools to make well-informed investment decisions.

Webull offers an intuitive trading simulator which is an amazing feature that Robinhood lacks.

Webull’s trading simulator is called Paper Trading in their mobile app.

With the trading simulator, you can use simulated money to play around with the trading platform, and get familiar with the design and tools of the app.

So I’ve seen readers start out with Robinhood and then move to Webull to get more advanced tools

Check out my side-by-side comparison in my Webull Vs. Robinhood Review.

Betterment 

Betterment makes investing even easier with automated investing and curated portfolios that match your investment strategy.

It’s a Robo-advisor that does the work for you- making investing hands-off for new and experienced investors.

You fill out your goals, risk tolerance, and more so the program can put your money into the right stocks and ETFs that fit your plans.

But just like Webull, you can’t invest in mutual funds or bonds- it focuses on stocks primarily, plus retirement investing.

However, Webull is considered low-cost, whereas Betterment does have some fees for their platform.

They do have a management fee of 0.25%, but that’s totally affordable, considering they do so much work.

That means for every $10,000 it invests for you, you’ll pay $25- seems pretty fair right?

But if you want low-cost trades for active traders, Webull will be your pick.

Check out more about Betterment and why it may be a better option for you in my Betterment Review.

FAQs

Is Webull safe and legitimate?

Webull is registered and regulated by the (SEC) Securities and Exchange Commission and the (FINRA) Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Webull is also a member of the SIPC, like many of the most popular investment platforms.

It protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash).

Lastly, your bank account info is safe because they use Plaid when transferring funds to and from.

Can I really make money on Webull?

Webull offers many ways for you to invest so you can make money. You can invest in stocks, ETFs, options trading, and cryptocurrency.

However, how and if you make money depends on your investment choices. Investments always carry risk, and some investments may do better than others.

You need to do your research to pick good investment options and watch them for good dividends and returns.

Is Webull a good investment platform for beginners?

While Webull is low-cost, it may not be the ideal platform for new investors.

It has more advanced tools that beginners may struggle with and can find frustrating.

Webull does have tutorials and educational material to bring you up to speed, but it isn’t as self-explanatory as Robinhood.

How does Webull make money?

Since Webull doesn’t charge commissions on trading, they make money in other ways.

They get paid from subscriptions to market data, margin trading accounts (interest fees), payment-for-order-flow (PFOF), and other account fees.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to get started trading stocks, Webull has a signup bonus with two free stocks along with unlimited commission-free trading.

They offer active trading with stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency for experienced investors.

Their mobile app is robust and packed full of features to help guide you with your investments.

However, if you’re looking for a long-term investment strategy and platform I believe Betterment is a better option.