Webull vs. Robinhood: Commission-Free Trading Apps (2022)

Investing in the stock market is easier than ever before. Stock trading apps like Robinhood and Webull have led the way and made it possible, removing many of the barriers that prevented people from investing in the past.

In this Webull vs. Robinhood review, we’ll look at the details of these two popular online brokerages that offer commission-free trades. While they’re similar in many ways, there are some key differences that can help you decide which one is the right choice for you.

Before we dive into the head-to-head comparison, we’d like to mention that both Webull and Robinhood currently offer signup bonuses for Vital Dollar readers.

Webull currently offers new users up to 12 free stocks for trying the platform. You’ll get two free stocks (each worth $3 – $3,000) for signing up. Deposit any amount to get up to 10 more free stocks. Sign up for Webull through this link to be eligible for the bonus.

Sign up for Robinhood through our referral link to get a free stock worth $2.50 to $225.

Related reading: How to Get Free Stocks

Webull Basics

Webull is a trading app created by Webull Financial LLC. The company was formed in 2017 and the app launched a year later. Webull offers commission-free trades of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and options. Although it wasn’t originally part of the platform, cryptocurrency trading is now also offered to Webull users.

While there are many investing and stock trading apps out there today, Webull stands out from others by providing tools for advanced research and analysis. For this reason, Webull is often preferred by experienced investors who take advantage of these tools.

For more details, read our Webull review.

Robinhood Basics

Today, many apps and online brokerages offer commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs, but it hasn’t always been that way. Robinhood was the first to do it, and they’ve had a major impact on the industry since initially launching their mobile app in 2015 (Robinhood Financial LLC was formed in 2013). In 2020, Robinhood gained mainstream attention as many new retail investors began using the platform.

The Robinhood trading platform gained popularity by making investing easy. In addition to free trades, Robinhood also offers fractional shares (so you can buy a partial share of a stock or ETF for as little as $1), and no account minimum. Robinhood is also known for its user-friendly interface that’s simple even for a beginner investor.

For more details, read our Robinhood review.

Another platform that we really like is Public.com. You can see how these two stack up to Public in these articles:

• Robinhood vs. Public
• Webull vs. Public

Webull vs. Robinhood Overview

The main difference between Webull and Robinhood is ease of use vs. data. If you prefer an app that’s easy to use, go with Robinhood. If you prefer to have access to more data and tools, go with Webull.

Here’s an overview that summarizes the key similarities and differences.

• Both Robinhood and Webull offer commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, and options.
• Both Robinhood and Webull offer crytocurrency trading, but Webull supports significantly more crypto tokens.
• Both Robinhood and Webull support fractional share investing. With Robinhood, you can buy shares for a minimum of $1. With Webull, you can buy fractional shares for as little as $5.
• Both Robinhood and Webull can be used on a mobile device or a desktop computer.
• Robinhood offers cash managment that pays a small amount of interest on your univested cash.
• Webull offers extended trading hours (4:00 am to 8:00 pm). Robinhood also offers extended trading hours, but only from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Robinhood is easier to use, especially for beginners, thanks to an excellent user interface design and simplicity.
• Webull offers advanced tools for investor research, but it’s not as simple and easy to use as Robinhood.

Pricing and Fees

Both Robinhood and Webull offer commission-free trades, and there’s no cost for a basic account. For standard trading, there’s no difference between these two.

Robinhood offers an optional upgrade, called Robinhood Gold. The cost is $5 per month and you’ll get benefits like in-depth reports from Morningstar, market data provided by Nasdaq, and up to $5,000 instant access to deposits so you can invest your money faster. Additionally, you can borrow from Robinhood for margin trading (risky investments).

The basic free Robinhood account is sufficient for most investors, and that’s what we’re focusing on in this article.

Webull currently does not offer any type of premium or pro account. All the features and functionality are available to any investor with a basic free account.

Of course, both of these brokerages do charge fees for certain services. Here’s a partial list, and you can find a full fee schedule on their websites.

Robinhood’s fees:

• Outgoing ACATS – $75
• Domestic Overnight Check Delivery – $20
• Paper Statement Delivery – $5
• Paper Confirm Delivery – $2
• Domestic Overnight Mail – $20
• International Overnight Mail – $50

Webull’s fees:

• Transfer from Webull through Apex – $75 per outgoing stock transfer
• Paper Statements – $5
• Paper Confirms – $2
• Paper Prospectus – $2.50
• Domestic Wire Transfer (deposit) – $8
• Domestic Wire Transfer (withdrawal) – $25
• International Wire Transfer (deposit) – $12.5
• International Wire Transfer (withdrawal) – $45

Winner: tie

With commission-free trades available from both Webull and Robinhood, we consider this area a tie. Webull doesn’t have anything similar to Robinhood Gold, so we’re just comparing the basic free accounts here.

Getting Started

It’s easy to start investing with Webull and Robinhood. Both offer a simple signup process. Since you’re creating a financial account, you’ll need to enter some personal details. Both brokerages offer bank-level security.

You also won’t need a lot of money to get started. Even if you have only a few dollars to invest, you can create an account with Robinhood or Webull. Both companies aim to make investing accessible to the average person, so there are very few barriers for a new investor.

Winner: Tie

Getting started is equally easy with Webull and Robinhood.

Investment Options

Webull users can trade stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency. Crypto trading on Webull is made possible by Apex Crypto, a leader in the industry. Cryptocurrency was not originally offered by Webull when the app launched, so this is a significant improvement. Currently, you can buy and sell about 25 different crypto tokens through Webull.

The cryptocurrencies currently offered through Webull are:

Bitcoin (BTCUSD), Bitcoin Cash (BCHUSD), Ethereum (ETHUSD), Litecoin (LTCUSD), Dogecoin (DOGEUSD), Zcash (ZECUSD), Stella Lumens (XLMUSD), Ethereum Classic (ETCUSD), Cardano (ADAUSD), Dash (DASHUSD), Shiba Inu (SHIBUSD), Basic Attention Token (BATUSD), Chainlink (LINKUSD), Uniswap Protocol Token (UNIUSD), Algorand (ALGOUSD), Polygon (MATICUSD), Sushi (SUSHIUSD), Avalanche (AVAXUSD), Terra (LUNAUSD), REN (RENUSD), Cosmos (ATOMUSD), Decentraland (MANAUSD), Fantom (FTMUSD), The Graph (GRTUSD) and Solana (SOLUSD).

Another major improvement for Webull is the addition of fractional shares. Early Webull users could only buy full shares of individual stocks and EFTs. If you didn’t have enough money to buy a full share of Amazon or Apple, you’d have to choose something else. Now, Webull users can buy fractional shares for as little as $5.

Robinhood also offers stocks, ETFs, options trading, and crypto. However, Robinhood doesn’t support as many different crypto tokens as Webull.

The cryptocurrencies currently offered by Robinhood are:

Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC).

Like Webull, Robinhood also allows traders to buy fractional shares. With Robinhood, you can buy fractional shares for as little as just $1.

One area where Robinhood has an advantage is automatic dividend reinvestment (DRIP). You can adjust your settings so dividends will be automatically reinvested. DRIP is currently not offered by Webull.

Winner: Webull

Although the available securities are very similar with both Webull and Robinhood, Webull has a slight advantage by supporting many more cryptocurrencies. Neither platform offers mutual funds.

Account Types

The account types offered by Webull are individual brokerage (taxable) accounts, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, Rollover IRAs. Whether you’re investing through a taxable account or a retirement account, the available securities are the same. You’ll also get commission-free trades and no fees for any type of account.

The only type of account currently offered by Robinhood is an individual brokerage (taxable) account. Robinhood does not currently offer IRAs, although CEO Vlad Tenev has said Robinhood may offer IRAs in the future.

Currently, neither Robinhood nor Webull offers joint accounts or custodial accounts (M1 Finance offers both).

Winner: Webull

By offering IRAs, Webull has a clear advantage in the area of account types. If you want to open an IRA or Roth IRA, choose Webull over Robinhood.

Access

Both Webull and Robinhood can be used on a mobile device or desktop computer.

Webull offers a mobile app for iPhone and Android users. There’s a desktop app that can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. You can also log in to the Webull websites and manage your account directly from an internet browser.

The Robinhood app is available for iPhone and Android users. You can also manage your account and your investments from a desktop (or any other device) by logging in to the Robinhood website.

Winner: Tie

Both Webull and Robinhood can be used on a mobile device or a computer.

Ease of Use

One of the major areas of difference between Robinhood and Webull is related to usability and ease of use. Robinhood was designed with new investors in mind. Whether you’re using the mobile app or working in a desktop browser, the Robinhood interface is clean and clutter-free. It’s very well designed and easy to use.

Robinhood has made a conscious choice to favor usability and ease of use over data and tools. The result is a sleek interface that’s easy to use, even if you’re a beginner.

While Webull is also an appropriate option for new investors, they’ve taken a different approach than Robinhood. Webull’s user interface is not as simple and clutter-free as Robinhood’s. It’s not quite as intuitive or easy to use. Since Webull has more to offer in the way of data and tools (more on that below), there’s more that has to be included. As a result, Webull just isn’t as easy to use as Robinhood.

Winner: Robinhood

If ease of use is important to you, Robinhood is an excellent choice. It’s not so much that Webull offers a bad user experience, but Robinhood really excels in this area because ease of use is one of its priorities.

Data and Research

While Robinhood stands out through ease of use, Webull excels by offering tools for research and data analysis. Webull users get free access to a stock screener (no screener for ETFs), charting functionality, fundamental data, and news. No other commission-free stock trading platform provides access to as many research tools as Webull. Not all of these tools are available through the mobile app, as the desktop version is more robust.

Webull’s typical user is a slightly more experienced investor than the average Robinhood user. New investors can certainly use Webull, but an active trader with enough experience to make use of the tools Webull provides will be more likely to fully appreciate the platform.

Robinhood offers limited tools for research and analysis. Users get access to market news, analyst ratings, and candlestick charts. Additionally, it’s possible to create a watchlist of stocks and funds to keep an eye on. But if Robinhood users want to do more advanced analysis, they’ll need to use a separate tool.

Winner: Webull

Webull really shines when it comes to data and research. No other app in its class provides the same types of tools for free.

Day Trading

Day trading involves buying and selling a security within the same trading day. Not all investment platforms support day trading, however, it is allowed by both Webull and Robinhood.

Of course, FINRA rules and regulations related to pattern day trading apply regardless of what brokerage you’re using.

Winner: Tie

Both Robinhood and Webull are suitable for day trading. It’s important to note that day trading involves significant risk, so it’s not advised for beginners.

Customer Service

Webull offers customer support by phone (1-888-828-0618) or email, 24 hours per day. There’s also an option to send a message to their support team from within the app.

Robinhood also offers 24/7 support by email or phone (phone support was added in late 2021). To get support by phone, you’ll request a call from within the app and a customer service rep will call you.

Winner: Tie

The customer service options for Webull and Robinhood users are basically identical.

Free Stock Bonus

Both Webull and Robinhood offer a signup bonus to encourage new users to try their platforms.

Currently, Webull is offering six free stocks worth up to $12,600. You’ll get the first two stocks (each worth $3 to $300) when you sign up. You’ll get another 4-10 free stocka (worth $7 to $3,000 each) when you make a deposit of any amount of money. Sign up for Webull through this link to be eligible for the bonus.

Robinhood offers a free stock worth $2.50 – $225 when you create your account. Sign up for Robinhood through this link to be eligible for the bonus.

In both cases, you’ll get a stock at random. You can hold on to the stock or sell it once it’s settled in your account.

Webull Advantages

Now that we’ve covered all the details, let’s look at the key areas where Webull offers an advantage over Robinhood.

• Advanced research tools. By far, Webull’s biggest advantage is related to the tools that are available.
• Extended trading hours. Webull users can trade from 4:00 am to 8:00 pm, as compared to 9:00 am – 6:00 pm through Robinhood.
• More options for crypto trading. Although both apps support crypto trading, Webull offers significantly more crypto tokens than Robinhood Crypto.
• Retirement accounts. Webull offers IRAs, while Robinhood currently does not.
• Paper trading. Webull offers simulated accounts that allow you to practice without investing any real money. Robinhood currently does not offer paper trading.

Robinhood Advantages

Of course, Robinhood has some advantages as well. Here are the key ways it stands out.

• Ease of use. The clean and well-designed user interface is easy to use for beginners and experienced traders.
• Earn interest on your cash. Robinhood users can earn a small amount of interest on univested cash, which currently isn’t possible with Webull.
• Automatic dividend reinvestment (DRIP). Robinhood users can opt to have dividends from stocks and ETFs reinvested automatically. The dividends will buy fractional shares of the same stock or fund.
• Robinhood Gold. Optionally, you can pay $5 a month for some upgraded options like instant access for up to $5,000 of your deposits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts on Webull vs. Robinhood

Webull and Robinhood are both excellent trading apps. If you’re looking for a modern investing app instead of a more traditional option like TD Ameritrade or Ally Invest, Webull and Robinhood are both solid choices. While they have plenty of similarities like the securities that are available, support for fractional shares, and commission-free trades, there are also a few key differences.

The Webull vs. Robinhood comparison comes down to ease of use vs. research tools. If you prefer ease of use, go with Robinhood. If you prefer a trading platform that provides access to research tools, go with Webull.

Since both apps are free to use and both offer enticing signup bonuses, it makes sense to try them both and see which one you prefer.

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