Webull and Robinhood offer commission-free trades on stocks, ETFs and options. They also provide free stocks for new applicants. But in terms of features and tools, Webull emerges the winner. Still, new investors will find Robinhood’s simplicity and educational content to be very beneficial. You can also move uninvested cash into an interest-bearing checking account with a linked Robinhood debit card.
Which one is better?
Choose Webull if you’d like to perform your own research.
Choose Robinhood if you’re brand new to trading or you want to buy IPO stocks at IPO prices.
Based on the five-star schema system we use to rate trading platforms, Webull edges out its competitor with a composite rating of 4.4 to Robinhood’s 3.5. Robinhood has plenty to offer — including a chance to buy IPO stocks at IPO prices. What’s more, Robinhood is reserving 20% to 35% of its own IPO shares to offer exclusively to its customers when the company goes public. Despite this cool perk, Robinhood misses the mark in three important categories: reliability, customer support and research. Robinhood can’t compete with Webull’s extensive research and analytics tools. And unlike Webull’s in-app, email and phone support, Robinhood’s customer service is limited to email inquiries. Robinhood also suffered several major service outages triggered by the market volatility in early 2020 — but no such outages were reported by Webull investors. However, both Robinhood and Webull halted meme stock buying in January 2021, which caused many investors and traders to lose money.
Overview
Webull
Robinhood
Fees
★★★★★4.25/5
★★★★★4/5
Available securities
★★★★★4.5/5
★★★★★4.5/5
Customer support
★★★★★4/5
★★★★★3/5
Mobile app
★★★★★4.4/5
★★★★★4.8/5
Research and tools
★★★★★5/5
★★★★★3/5
Reliability
★★★★★5/5
★★★★★2/5
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read the methodology at the bottom of the page.
Webull is a trading platform that offers real-time market data. There are no initial deposit requirements or commissions. It is especially convenient for active traders who want research and analytics tools.
★★★★★3.5/5
Robinhood’s stock and options trading platform is beginner-friendly and commission-free. It is best suited to first-time, small-quantity and cryptocurrency investors.
Stock trade fee
$0
$0
Option trade fee
$0
$0
Annual fee
0%
0%
Minimum deposit to open
$0
$0
Benefits
Get a retirement account. Webull lets you open a traditional, Roth or rollover IRA. Some trading platforms don’t offer access to retirement accounts.
Reliable. No major service outages have been reported for this platform.
Options trading. Webull’s lineup of tradable securities is limited, but it recently added options trading to the roster — an attractive perk for advanced traders.
Cash Management. Sweep uninvested cash into a checking account that pays interest.
Fast approval. Deposits of up to $1,000 are approved in seconds.
Beginner-friendly platform. Much of Robinhood’s praise stems from its intuitive platform for first-time traders.
IPO stocks at IPO prices. Robinhood gives its customers a chance to buy IPO stocks at IPO prices. But since getting these stocks at IPO prices is hard, not every Robinhood customer is guaranteed to get their order filled.
Drawbacks
No 529 plans. If you want to open a 529 college savings plan, you must look elsewhere.
Limited account options. Investors seeking a joint account need to look elsewhere.
Margin requirements. Webull margin accounts are only available to those with at least $2,000 on hand, and rates range as high as 6.99%.
Service outages. Robinhood appeared in the headlines several times in early 2020 for reported service outages.
Limited support. Customer support is only available by email.
No IRAs. Robinhood doesn’t offer retirement accounts.
Tools and research
Watchlists. Assemble watchlists that monitor stock price, volume, market movement and more.
Charts. Wield advanced charting tools equipped with numerous indicators, chart types, time intervals and drawing tools. Covered stats include highs, lows, dividend yields, financial forecasts and press releases.
Markets. Track data across the global, US, Hong Kong and crypto markets, with net inflow, rankings, trends and market news.
Screeners. Create customizable screeners to monitor stocks by market caps, prices, percent changes, volume, turnover rates and listing dates.
Newsfeed. Access news articles from the Financial Post, MarketWatch, Reuters and the New York Times on its website.
Daily stock information. Review Robinhood’s daily rundown of significant movers within the market.
Robinhood Gold. Pay an added $5 monthly to access Robinhood Gold: equipped with Morningstar and NASDAQ Level II Market Datastock research reports.
Reputation and customer reviews
Reviews are: Mixed.
Customers praise: Low fees and robust research tools.
Customers complain about: Account verification delays and mobile app functionality.
Reviews are: Mostly negative.
Customers praise: Commission-free trades and an easy-to-navigate platform.
Customers complain about: Limited customer support and delays in the cash withdrawal process.
Apple App Store reviews
★★★★★4.7/5
★★★★★4.2/5
Google Play Store reviews
★★★★★4.4/5
★★★★★3.8/5
Support
Phone. Call 1-888-828-0618
Secure message. Message via the app
Email. customerservice@webull-us.com
Email. Fill out an online support ticket request on Robinhood’s website for an email response from the customer service team.
Webull and Robinhood share some common ground: They both offer commission-free trades and have no minimum deposit requirements. But in the end, Webull charges through its competitor with robust research tools, a reliable platform and more comprehensive customer support. If you’re ready to sign up, use the buttons below to head to the Webull or Robinhood site. If neither one of these platforms seem like the right fit, compare other options.
We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability. For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate trading platforms.
Paid non-client promotion. Finder does not invest money with providers on this page. If a brand is a referral partner, we're paid when you click or tap through to, open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider. Partnerships are not a recommendation for you to invest with any one company. Learn more about how we make money.
Finder is not an adviser or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.
Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance. Her writing and analysis on investing and banking has been featured in Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga.
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