Webull Review

Useability

Webull is simple to use with intuitive navigation. Webull offers a website, desktop workstation and mobile app. They are all well-designed. Because they were built so recently, the platforms have a modern look.

The website and desktop workstation are almost identical. They share the same menu and window layout. This main set of buttons is located on the left side of your screen. These buttons allow you to launch customizable quote boards. A stock page that provides a wealth information about a single stock, ETF or stock, as well as a market overview page and stock screener. An account tab shows balances, positions and buying power. You can also access bank transfers to and from your account. There is also a dedicated paper trading area. The website has some differences from the workstation. It only supports single-leg options.

Although the mobile app has the same primary features as the website and workstation websites, there are design differences that allow for smaller screens. The app screen's menu buttons are updated to reflect the current content. An example of this is the options button, which appears at the bottom to show an individual stock/ETF.

You can easily create watchlists across all platforms from stock screener results. You don't have to create watchlists on different platforms. Watchlists are also consistent across all platforms, including the web, mobile, and desktop. It's easy to order and traders can customize the trading ticket information, such as share amounts and order type.

Trade Experience

Webull's workstation can be customized to suit your needs. There are templates for day trading, stock trading, ETF trading, options trading and cryptocurrency trading. Trader can toggle between the different templates pages or create their own layouts using widgets. Each widget contains different information such as news, basics, options, order entry, sales, and time. To save screen space, the widgets can be combined. The different widgets are accessible via marked tabs at top of the window. You can group widget windows together to ensure that stock entries in one widget will update in all other widgets.

Trading setups allow for highly customizable user experiences, such as hot keys, home page loaded at startup, default stock, option orders and commonly used share quantities. You can do the most customization and flexibility on your workstation. Website did not include all the templates for trading pages on the workstation. The learning center was also not accessible via the website. When necessary, the system will direct you to other pages, such as the stocks window, which allows you to view stock-specific information, news and charting. It also provides an overview of analyst ratings. The website does not support trading with single legs.

Webull makes it easy to place an order. You can add the order screen to other screens. The stock order entry screen also includes contingency orders that allow for profit taking and stop loss levels. Order tickets can be created directly from your account holdings. Simply click on the market bid or offer to automatically add that information to the trade order widget. Trading was also possible directly from the charting program. The chart shows active positions and orders.

Mobile Trade Experience

The company released Webull 8.0 on May 23, 2022. The latest mobile platform offers more customizable and educational content to traders. It also includes updated charting tools and alert settings. Options trading is now possible. Although the mobile app offers the same basic features of the website and workstations, there are some design differences that can be used to accommodate smaller screens. The menu buttons adjust to the content screen, so you can access the most important functions you need. Mobile charting allows you to trade directly from the chart and shows open positions. Webull's drawing tools are also much easier than many of the other mobile charting software. Although the Webull stock screener is not available on the mobile app, you can convert search results from the website or at work into a watchlist which will be synced to the app.

A wide range of offerings

Webull focuses exclusively on U.S. Stock, ETF and U.S.-listed options. Webull offers only personal and IRA accounts within the United States. Although Webull's product offerings are not as extensive as full-service brokers, they can meet the needs for younger customers who are less interested in fixed income. Webull allows trading in multiple cryptocurrency for as low as $1, which is a departure from many full-service brokers. The company also has a beta-testing cryptocurrency wallet. There are no traditional foreign exchange trading, fixed income, mutual funds, futures or fixed income options. Webull has also added fractional shares as well as OTC stocks to its portfolio over the past year. Webull investors can trade the following:

• US Stocks/ETFs, long and short (2,0005 stocks are currently on Webull’s easy-to-borrow list for short sales).

• Stocks and ETFs Listed in the USA

• Over-the-counter (OTC) securities (100 plus)

• Trading cryptocurrency in Bitcoin, Dodgecoin and Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum. Litecoin. ZEC, XLM. Shiba Inu. Chiliz. Synthetix. Gala.

Types of Order

Webull offers most of the most popular order types such as market, limit and stop, stop limit, stop limit, trailing stops, and stop limit. There are also specialty orders such as one-cancel-the-other (OCO), one-triggers-an-OCO (OTOCO), and one-triggers-the-other (OTO), allowing traders to setup a conditional order where a filled limit order establishes an OCO attaching both a stop loss and a profit taking level order once the initial position is established. Webull does NOT offer market-if touched, market on-close, or similar orders.

Webull does not offer traders the ability to control tax lots for sales to close long stock positions. Instead, they use the first in and first out (FIFO), methodology. Webull does not offer automated trading, backtesting strategies or the ability to place orders.

Trade Technology

Although Webull's trading technology may be basic, it can get the job done. Webull reports a net price increase of 0.0083 per share for orders between 100-499. No smart order routing, trading automation, backtesting, or route control are available. This is in line with the broker's basic approach to keeping costs low.

Prices

Webull is not a low-cost broker but a free broker. They offer commission-free trading in stocks, ETFs and listed options. There is no fee for minimum account requirements or access to their powerful platforms and tools. Webull's margin rates also are competitive. Webull's commission-free trading means that we don't charge for trades. However, they must pay Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), transaction fees and other regulatory fees. These fees are usually pennies to fractional pennies per contract. These are Webull's costs:

• Online trades in equities or ETFs are free of commissions

• Exchange traded options are free of commissions

• There is no commission for cryptocurrency trading

• Margin rates vary depending on account size. Margin can be used for leverage or short sales. Breakpoint: 6.99% below $25,000; 5.99% upto $250K; 5.49% to $500K, 5.49% to $500K; 4.99% to $1 Million; 4.49% to $3 Million; 3.99% thereafter.

• Money transfers: There is no charge for ACH deposits and withdrawals. Wire Transfers cost $8 for US deposits and $12.5 if you are international. $25 for withdrawals within the US, and $25 for international withdrawals.

• Paper statements charges: Confirmations are $2 per confirm, account statements $5 per statement, and prospectus fees $2.5 per mailing

How this broker makes money for you and from you

It has become harder to understand how brokerage firms generate revenue in the age of no commission trading. Webull is not afraid to tell investors how they make their money, which allows them provide sophisticated trading platforms and zero-fee trading.

• Payment from Order Flow:Webull clearly believes in the race to no commission trading. Options are now free to trade on Webull. Webull is very open about stating at the top its pricing page that PFOF, which is the main reason they are able to offer no commission trading or charge fees for accessing their platforms, is why they cannot offer any commission trading. Webull gets an average $0.01088 per share from its order flow and $0.55 per option contract. While the options figure is average for Webull, the stock figure is the best among all brokers.

• Interest on CashWebull's ability to generate income from the cash it holds in its traders' accounts is another important revenue stream. The company doesn't pay interest on cash balances. Webull keeps the interest earned by Webull if you have cash in your bank account.

• Stock Loan Program:Webull offers a stock lending program. The investor who lends the securities shares the revenue. The market demand for your securities determines the interest rate.

Account and Research Amenities

Webull provides a wide range of account information and research facilities, including news and fundamental data. This helps traders make informed investment decisions as well as identify stocks to trade. Webull doesn't offer the same tools and information as full-service brokers such as individual analyst reports, daily market reports, or portfolio analysis tools.

Stock Screener

Webull offers a stock screener. It is available on the website and at the workstation, but not in the mobile app. Although the screener can only be used for stocks, it is simple enough and offers some functionality not offered by other broker screeners. Only the United States, China and Canada can be selected; Webull offers data and charts for US, Honk Kong and Canada markets. However, U.S. account holders have limited access to trading in U.S. market markets. You can choose to filter the U.S. exchanges (NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ) and you can filter by more that 25 industry sectors, financial data such as EPS and P/E, Dividends and nine pre-set technical indicators, including overbought/oversold, moving average crosses, and overbought/oversold.

Although the technical indicators are simple to use, they can be a bit limited. We could not screen for stocks that were above their 200-period moving mean. Additional filters include a consensus analyst rating of five grades (strong buy or buy, hold, underperform, and sell) as well as if the stock is able to be traded on margin. Stocks cannot be screened for SRI (socially responsible investing). A customized search can be saved and converted to a watchlist. You can choose any stock from the search results to view key financial and technical information, as well as an order window.

ETF and Mutual Fund Screener

Webull doesn't offer ETF screens and does not offer mutual funds.

Option Screener

Webull doesn't have a screener that can identify potential option trade opportunities. However, they have tools to help you construct the most popular one, two and four leg options strategies (vertical spreads. Straddles/strangles. Butterflies/condors etc.). Select the strategy by using the drop-down menu in the option chain table. The strategy's payout graph will be displayed at maturity. You can also customize it by choosing different order types and adjusting the strike price range in multi-leg strategies.

Fixed Income Screener

Webull doesn't offer fixed income through their platform.

Charting

Webull developed its own charting functionality and it is a solid offering. The mobile app charting interface is smaller than the web and works well on any screen. Charts can be used to create alerts and order tickets. Analysis such as Bollinger Bands(r), exponential and simple moving averages (SMA/EMA), relative weakness index (RSI), range trading range (ATR), multiple stochastics variants, and other commonly used analysis, can all be added to a chart. The company has recently increased the granularity of its charting capabilities by making it possible to chart intervals of 1, 5, and 30 seconds. However, it seems strange that the default set of six defaults did not include the 50, 100, and 200-period MA.

Both platforms have a magnet feature which allows you to place trend lines at the exact high and low of a date. The charts show open orders, cost basis information, and the mobile app charting has buttons that show traders if the stock can be shorted or marginable. Webull's charting software should be able to work for most traders who use charts to help them make trade timing decisions, and also assist with investment and trading decisions.

People looking for customized program trading, pattern recognition and charting tools would probably use a different software. However, they should be aware that Webull currently does not provide an API to allow third-party charting applications access its price data.

Calculators and Tools

Webull doesn't offer financial calculators and related tools like full-service brokers. Webull does not offer comprehensive portfolio analysis or automated rebalancing. It also doesn't have the general portfolio management tools that are available at larger online brokers.

Trade Idea Generators

Webull doesn't offer an automated idea generator. However, there are stock breakdown lists that can help you see the most active, largest movers, earnings calendars, heat maps and sector/industry breakdowns.

News

All clients have access to the Benzinga Newswire free of charge. This basic scrolling window displays headline news, business stories and information about economic releases. Click on the news line to pull up stories. The news screen will only be displayed for the stock selected to be analysed within the stocks tab.

Research by a Third Party

Webull doesn't offer third-party research. However, they offer a breakdown and ratings from multiple analysts in very clear and easy-to-use graphics.

Fractional Dividend Reinvestment Plan - DRIP

Webull currently does not have a dividend-reinvestment plan. However, it has increased fractional share options. According to the company, this plan may be expanded in the future.

Cash Management

Webull does not offer cash management for trader accounts. Webull makes a concession to cash balances in order for us to offer free trading and no commissions.

SRI/ESG Research Amenities

Webull cannot screen stocks or ETFs to determine if they are socially responsible (SRI), or for environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Portfolio Analysis

Although Webull doesn't offer a wide range of portfolio analysis tools it provides what self-directed investors require. You can access account performance metrics, tax forms, statements, confirmations, and other information via the website or on the desktop. All reports and information are available in real time and include realized/unrealized losses, gains/losses net deposits and withdrawals as well as income from dividends or interest, unrealized short-term and long-term capital gains and the internal rate (IRR), as well as information about margin and purchasing power.

Education

Webull's Learning Center doesn't provide any investor education on portfolio management or trading. Webull traders must learn how to manage accounts and trades by themselves. Webull instead provides instructional material that primarily uses text and screenshots to show how to use Webull’s platforms and features. The sections introduce the workstation, highlight trading tools, and show how to customize layouts.

Webull doesn't offer a trading journal. While traders can view their order history, Webull is not able to provide a dedicated trading journal. Also, it is not surprising that a platform free at a zero-commission broker doesn't offer advanced back testing of strategies. Although Webull does offer a paper trading option to assist traders in placing orders and trading, it is very limited. You can't place a limit order, with conditional stop loss or profit taking orders, unlike trading on the actual platform. Webull's paper trading does not offer options trading. This means that you might not be able simulate what you would do in the real market. The paper trading feature serves its purpose, getting new traders comfortable with the platform as well as the basics of order entry.

Customer Service

Webull's focus on young, tech-savvy, self directed customers who are primarily interested only in trading, results in limited customer support. Webull does not offer financial advisors but customers can talk to a live broker if the customer is willing to wait. Webull's average hold times are more than two hours.

• Only during trading hours is phone available

• Chat online with a live agent during normal business hours

Security and reliability

• All platforms support two-factor authentication.

• Mobile phones offer biometric logon via fingerprint or facial recognition.

• A separate 6-digit numerical passcode is available for trading access. This adds an extra layer of protection.

• Webull had no serious platform outages

• Webull has never had a data breach.

• Webull has purchased an additional insurance policy that provides protection up to $150 million. This is in addition to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation's protection of $500 000 ($250 thousand cash).

Transparency

• Webull's pricing policy is straightforward and clearly disclosed. In the second paragraph of the company's pricing page, there is a link to SEC rule 606 disclosure. This discloses that the payment for order flow (PFOF), is the primary source of revenue, which allows users to trade commission-free on the platform. The website's pricing page clearly lists all fees. Webull explains how these fees pass through SEC, Exchange, and Regulation fees, which are usually fractions of a penny per volume traded.

• The pricing page clearly displays Webull's tiered margin rates as well as the associated buying power. However, it is not easy to find information about the risks involved in margin trading. However, Webull provides a useful account risk measure which visually alerts traders if they are more at risk of a margin call.

• Webull's honesty about order flow payment is key to its free business model. This is an interesting approach. Contrary to other brokers who hide it in fine print, Webull is telling clients upfront that they have two options: a free platform, or no payment for order flows.

There are many account types available

Webull offers individuals a cash or margin account, both of which are taxable. The main difference between the two accounts is that the cash account only allows cash transactions. This means you must first deposit money and then buy the assets. Margin accounts are only available if your account value exceeds $2000. They allow you to borrow against your portfolio in order to purchase more assets. Webull supports the following taxable accounts:

• Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

• Roth IRA

• Rollover IRA

Final Verdict

Webull offers a great deal for active investors and traders who don't require handholding. There is no minimum account, margin rates are competitive, stocks, ETFs and options are all available at zero commissions. Access to intuitive and well-designed trading platforms on the desktop and mobile devices, providing useful trading tools, is included at no additional cost. Charles Schwab and other full-service brokerage firms offer commission-free trading in stocks or ETFs. However, Webull's $0.65 per option contract and higher margin rates make Webull a more appealing option for active option traders and margin users who might otherwise find Webull’s options trading tools lacking.

Webull technology offers acceptable fills for limit orders, so most traders will be happy with Webull. NASDAQ Level 2 quotes won't be enough to attract serious day traders looking for the best price execution and full control over their orders. Investors who are looking for a broker that offers financial planning tools and services will need to look elsewhere. Traders with high-quality strategies will also need to consider other options. Webull is the best choice for self-directed traders who want to reduce costs.

Do I have to worry about Webull's order flow payment?

Although we don't like the practice of order flow payment, it is common in the industry. Fidelity is the largest broker to reject this easy revenue stream. However, we also examine how brokerages disclose their order flow payment practices. Webull is open about how it makes money, the role that order flow payments play in its revenue and its ability to be a zero-commission brokerage. Webull is also careful not to encourage excessive trading by gamifying its platform. This helps it avoid any controversy that may have been caused by another PFOF dependent broker. It depends on what you think about the matter and if the platform is worth the price.

Which is better: Robinhood or Webull?

Robinhood and Webull both target newer investors who are looking for low-cost mobile trading and key assets. These brokers have their own unique approaches. One, Webull offers a smaller cryptocurrency markup than Robinhood. However, it is included in the pricing for trading. Robinhood claims that trading slippage is caused by the market and there is not markup. Robinhood also plans to roll out a crypto wallet feature by the end 2022. Webull, however, has its own wallet that is currently being beta tested. Webull's trading tools and analysis tools are far more robust than those offered by Robinhood, despite the discrepancy between crypto costs and capabilities. Webull is a better platform for trading than buying and holding with any of these apps. Webull offers feature-rich charting, as well as other trading-focused enhancements. Webull's paper trading option allows you to try out new strategies without risking your money.