Back when you wanted to trade stocks, you could only go for traditional brokers which charged obscene fees for every transaction. Nowadays, one can just simply buy and sell stocks for little as a few cents.
Enter discount online brokers, these brokers carry out buy and sell order with reduced commissions which reduces the transaction cost for users. Webull and Moomoo are a few of such examples. They have been giving generous sign-up gifts such as stocks which are too hard to refuse.
Overview
Both moomoo and Webull are among the popular online discount brokerage firms in Singapore. As a discount broker, all accounts opened via these brokers are custodian accounts. Unlike a CDP account where securities are held under your name in a centralised account, a custodian account is an account where securities such as stocks are held by the brokerage on your behalf.
About moomoo
moomoo SG is a brokerage firm which was established in 2018 by Moomoo Financial Pte. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based company, Futu Holdings Ltd. It operates in Singapore, the US and China. Futu Holdings Ltd is listed on the NASDAQ (NASDAQ: FUTU).
Investors are able to trade in the Singapore market, US market and the HK market.
About Webull
Webull is a brokerage firm established in 2017. Its parent company is Fumi Technology, which is a Chinese holding company. It operates in Singapore, the US and Hong Kong.
Investors are able to trade in the US and HK market.
Fees
US Market fees
| Fees | Webull | moomoo |
| Commission | $0 | $0 |
| Platform Fee | $0 | $0.99 |
| SEC Fees (sell only) | $0.000008*Total $ Trade Amount (Min $0.01) | $0.000008*Total $ Trade Amount (Min $0.01) |
| Settlement Fees | $0.003 / Share, max 1% * Transaction amount / Order | $0.003 / Share, max 1% * Transaction amount / Order |
| Trading activity Fees | $0.000145 / Share, min $0.01 / Trade, max $7.27 / Trade | $0.000145 / Share, min $0.01 / Trade, max $7.27 / Trade |
| Option Contract Fee | $0 + other fees charged by other US agencies | $0.65/contract + other fees charged by other US agencies |
HK Market fees
| Fees | Webull | moomoo |
| Commission | HK$0 | 0.03%* of trade value (Minimum HK$3) |
| Platform Fee | HK$0 | HK$15/order |
| FRC Levy | 0.00015% | 0.00015% |
| Stamp Duty | 0.13% (Min. HKD 1; Rounded up to the nearest dollar) Exempted: ETFs | 0.13% (Min. HKD 1; Rounded up to the nearest dollar) Exempted: ETFs |
| Transaction Levy | 0.0027% (Min. HKD 0.01) | 0.0027% (Min. HKD 0.01) |
| Settlement Fee | 0.002% (Min. HKD 2, Max. HKD 100) | 0.002% (Min. HKD 2, Max. HKD 100) |
| Trading Fee | 0.00565% (Min. HKD 0.01; Rounded up to the nearest cent) | 0.00565% (Min. HKD 0.01; Rounded up to the nearest cent) |
Singapore Market fees
| Fees | Moomoo |
| Commission | 0.03% * Trade amount (min. S$0.99/order) |
| Platform Fee | 0.03% * Trade amount (min. S$0.99/order) |
| Trading Fee | 0.0075% * Trade amount |
| Clearing Fee | 0.0325%* Trade amount |
Comparisons
For the US Market, trading on Webull is cheaper than moomoo as it has lower fees. For options trading, only moomoo allows investors under the age of 21 to do so.
moomoo also offers free Level 2 NYSE ArcaBook access which allows investors to view the different bid and ask prices for stock as opposed to Webull which only offers 1-month of access for Level 2 US Market Data (Nasdaq TotalView), after which it only shows the real-time quotes.
The bid-and-ask order book might help guage the number of people buying or selling at a certain price.
If you wish to trade in the Singapore market, only moomoo offers it.
Account opening requirements
Both moomoo and Webull require new users to be at least 18 years old when opening an account. New users can simply sign up using MyInfo to do so. For online applications for the US market, you must have a W-8BEN form which is a declaration that you are not a US citizen.
To fund the account, one can do so via Bank Transfer (normally free if transferred using SGD), DDA (Free) or Wise (Wise may charge).
Sign up Bonus
Currently, both brokers are offering a sign-up bonus. As the brokers have different promotions from time to time, I have collated the referral codes of the brokers in this link where I update their promotions regularly.
Conclusion
While both platforms are good, which platform is better depends on your use case. If you trade US or HK stocks, Webull would be a better choice given the lower fees. However, if you trade Singapore stocks, moomoo would be an ideal choice for you.
Disclaimer: Any views or opinions represented in this post are personal and being solely to me and do not represent those of people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. Please exercise due diligence when signing up for any service/product as I will not be liable for any personal loss, financial or otherwise. None of the information here constitutes personal financial advice. Thank you for supporting my site!
