Overview of WeBull and TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade offers a lot of great services, but the broker charges a little more than rival firms do. One ultra-lost-cost firm that would love
to steal a lot of customers away from TD Ameritrade is Webull. Let’s see how the two companies compare to each other in essential categories.
Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
WeBull
|
$0
|
na
|
$0 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
TD Ameritrade
|
$0
|
$49.99
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
When it comes to commissions, Webull is much better priced than TD Ameritrade. The firm also
offers much lower margin rates, which is important if you'll be borrowing money from your broker.
WeBull and TD Ameritrade Services
| Broker Review |
Cost |
Investment Products |
Trading Tools |
Customer Service |
Research |
Overall Rating |
|
WeBull
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TD Ameritrade
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Range of Offerings
Like other zero-commission brokers, Webull doesn’t provide a lot of asset classes. Traders at
the brokerage firm can buy and sell equities, options, crypto-currencies, and exchange-traded
funds.
TD Ameritrade customers get a lot more. The brokerage house offers forex, futures, fixed-income
securities, and mutual funds. These are on top of stocks and ETF’s. Penny stocks and
over-the-counter securities are available without any surcharges or restrictions.
In addition to a robo advisor and traditional portfolio management, TD Ameritrade offers
individual 401(k) plans.
Both brokers offer IRA accounts.
TD Ameritrade is obviously the better choice in this category.
Promotions
WeBull:
Get 2 FREE stocks valued up to $1,850.
TD Ameritrade: $0 commissions + transfer fee reimbursement.
Website Trading
Investors at TD Ameritrade have a lot of robust trading tools that can be used on either a desktop or laptop. First and foremost is the broker’s website. It offers a convenient trade bar called SnapTicket. It sits at the bottom of the screen and offers real-time trade data. A small chart can be displayed, and there are advanced order types, like trailing and conditionals.
The website itself offers alerts and a watchlist. Triggers can be set to buy or sell a security once a condition is met. Charting on the site offers several tools.
Although TD Ameritrade’s website will meet many trading demands, the broker also has a professional-level desktop program. Called thinkorswim, this software can trade forex and futures, but not mutual funds. Options are on tap as well with pre-programmed multi-leg strategies.
The program’s order ticket offers direct-access routing plus many advanced order types. Charting is the best we have seen with hundreds of technical studies.
WeBull desktop platform has real-time quotes, in-depth charts, analyst rating and the full financial calendar.
Full extended hours trading is provided for free from 4:00 AM to 8:00 PM EST — three hours longer than at competitor. WeBull also has
a paper trading service that allows investors to practice trading without risking real money.
TD Ameritrade wins here.
Mobile Apps
Webull offers an excellent mobile app. It provides data on global indexes and securities, although the investments themselves cannot be traded.
Charts on the Webull app provide a lot of handy features. These include technical indicators like exponential moving average and Bollinger Bands. We counted no less than 8 graph styles, and the maximum time frame is 50 years. Horizontal viewing is also possible. The app’s trade ticket is less sophisticated, providing just market and limit orders.
TD Ameritrade has three apps, each with its own unique strengths. For example, a thinkorswim platform is ideal for charting and trading futures and forex. Another app has the ability to trade mutual funds, deposit a check, analyze option chains, and access Level II quotes.
One really nice feature on two of TD Ameritrade’s apps is live streaming of CNBC, something Webull doesn’t offer. Both brokers do provide simulated trading on their apps, which is sure to help beginners.
This category is a tie.
Other Tools
Besides its computer and mobile platforms, TD Ameritrade also provides an app for Apple Watch. It is able to display a watchlist, market indexes, and bid and ask data on a ticker symbol. It’s also possible to chat with a TD Ameritrade rep using iMessage. A third feature that TD Ameritrade customers can use is an Amazon skill through Echo and Echo Show. It is the only brokerage skill we know of that can place trades by voice command.
Webull has none of these tools and so loses the category.
Other Services
TD Ameritrade offers a free DRIP service that takes cash dividends and turns them into
fractional shares. Signing up is easy with the broker’s online enrollment form.
Webull has longer after hours trading. It also offers paper trading on both desktop platform
and mobile app, while TD Ameritrade has paper trading only on thinkorswim which is difficult to
use for a majority of investors.
We'll call this one a tie.
Investment Education and Research
Although Webull has just scant resources on its website, the broker’s mobile platform does provide a lot of learning materials. An equity’s profile page, for example, provides news articles from a variety of sources, order flow, press releases, dividend information, short interest, estimates of future performance, institutional holdings, and more.
Beyond the stock pages, there is an economic calendar, an equity screener, and information on active sectors and stocks.
TD Ameritrade also has a lot of materials. We found excellent resources on its website, mobile platforms, and desktop software. A feature it has on its website that Webull offers nowhere is free stock reports in pdf format. Furthermore, the broker’s website stock screener is more advanced than Webull’s mobile screener, offering more search variables.
TD Ameritrade also has a general investment learning center on its site, something Webull customers don’t get.
Webull loses.
Recommendation
For mutual fund, bond, futures, and forex trading, we of course suggest TD Ameritrade over its
rival. Traders who need the best in customer support should go with TDA, too.
Because of $0-commissions, options and crypto-currency traders are better off with Webull.
For stock and ETF trading, we also propose Webull since their margin rates are much lower, and
they offer the longest extended hours trading in the industry.
Promotions
WeBull:
Get 2 FREE stocks valued up to $1,850.
TD Ameritrade: $0 commissions + transfer fee reimbursement.
WeBull vs TD Ameritrade Summary
TD Ameritrade won more categories than the rival. Webull took the crucial Cost category. The
firm also offers an excellent mobile app and trading platform. The budget broker is attracting
many new customers with its $0 commissions.
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