Webull vs M1 Finance

2023: M1 Finance versus Webull for online investing. Compare cost, brokerage fees, IRA accounts, and differences. Which firm is better?

Webull vs. M1 Finance Introduction

Before opening any brokerage account, you first need to understand the investment methods that are available. Webull and M1 Finance have some very different philosophies on this subject.

Pricing

Broker Fees	Stock/ETF Commission	Mutual Fund Commission	Options Commission	Maintenance Fee	Annual IRA Fee
M1 Finance	$0	na	na	$0	$0
WeBull	$0	na	$0 per contract	$0	$0

Promotions

M1 Finance: Get $10 cash bonus for $100 deposit at M1 Finance.

Webull: 12 FREE stocks valued $34-$30,600 give-away at Webull.

Services

Broker Review	Cost	Investment Products	Trading Tools	Customer Service	Research	Overall Rating
M1 Finance
WeBull

Investment Offerings

M1 Finance customers invest in Pies. These are collections of stocks, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds that have been created by M1. Pies have various themes, like responsible investing, retirement, or global growth. It’s easy to browse through Pies and make an investment.

M1 vs Webull

M1 Finance clients who feel up to the challenge can create their own Pies, too. It’s easy to add stocks and funds and adjust their target allocations. It is now possible to add cryptocurrencies to a self-built Pie. There is a maximum of five Pies per account and 100 positions per Pie. Obviously, this translates into a maximum of 500 positions per account.

Whether an account is invested in custom-built or broker-constructed Pies, it will be entirely self-directed because it is up to the account owner to decide what to trade. There are no managed accounts at M1 Finance.

Webull also provides self-directed trading only. Inside of these accounts, customers can trade the four asset classes available at M1 Finance (stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and closed-end funds) plus option contracts. Also available is a much larger selection of OTC stocks. M1 Finance does provide trading in a handful of over-the-counter securities.

Webull or M1

The great advantage of Webull is full trading sessions. The securities market runs from 9:30 am, EST, until 4:00 pm, while the crypto market is nearly 24/7.

M1 Finance clients can only submit orders to the securities exchanges during certain trading windows. For regular members, this is the morning open. Plus members get a second window during the afternoon. A Plus membership costs $125 per year.

M1 Finance Plus members get 10 on-demand crypto trades per month. Regular members only get the morning trade window for cryptocurrencies.

Investing at either brokerage firm can be done in a taxable or tax-deferred manner. M1 Finance has custodial accounts, joint accounts, and trusts, all of which are missing at Webull.

Winner: Debatable

Margin Accounts

Webull has a traditional sliding scale for margin loans. It ranges from 9.49% for a balance under $25k to 5.49% for a debit over $3m. The broker’s software displays several important margin trading values, such as overnight leverage.

M1 Finance has a different type of margin system. Called M1 Borrow, every eligible account is automatically signed up. Up to 40% of an account’s value can be withdrawn as cash or used to buy more securities. The cost to borrow is currently a flat 6.25% for Plus members and 7.75% for regular members. M1’s software only shows the maintenance requirement of a security.

Winner: Again, it seems debatable

Webull versus M1 Finance

Websites

Although we have seen a lot of differences so far, when we get to software, these two investment firms become even more different. M1 Finance has a basic website that can be used for account management and trading. Because M1 uses trading windows, clients don’t actually submit orders to the exchanges. Instead, they add assets to their Pies, and M1 sends orders to the exchanges at the appropriate times. Due to this system, the order ticket on the M1 website is very simple with no advanced trade types.

M1 or Webull

Charting on the M1 Finance site is likewise very simple. There are no tools of any kind (other than volume), and line format is the only display style.

Webull has very advanced charting on its website. Unlike the M1 site, it’s possible to display a graph the entire width of the computer screen. And there are several display styles and lots of technical indicators.

Webull vs M1

The Webull site has an actual order ticket, and in fact, it has several varieties of them. Combined, there are advanced order types like OCO, a discrete sell short button, and multi-leg trading.

Winner: Webull

Mobile Apps

Moving on to mobile trading, we see much the same story. The M1 app is fairly simple but user-friendly. Tabs at the bottom are organized by tasks within the brokerage firm (investing, borrowing, spending, or researching). The Invest tab is where Pies are managed, and the Research tab is where security profiles can be found.

M1 versus WeBull

Webull’s app has two advanced trade tickets (they are the same ones from the website). One of them is called “Big Button.” As the name suggests, there are big trading buttons on the ticket that help send crypto or securities orders rapidly to the exchanges.

WeBull vs. M1

The Webull app has another feature that won’t be found on the M1 app: social networking.

Winner: Webull

Extra Services

IPO Access: Webull has it. M1 Finance does not.

Fractional-share Trading: Available at both broker-dealers.

IRAs: An Individual Retirement Account can be opened at either brokerage house in Roth or Traditional format. M1 Finance also has the SEP account. Webull only permits one IRA type per customer. Only M1 Finance charges a fee to close an IRA (currently, that’s $100).

Banking Tools: M1 Finance has something called Spend. It comes with a checking account and a debit card. A savings account is in the works.

Dividend Reinvesting: Only available inside an M1 Finance account.

Winner: M1 Finance

Promotions

M1 Finance: Get $10 cash bonus for $100 deposit at M1 Finance.

Webull: 12 FREE stocks valued $34-$30,600 give-away at Webull.

Recommendations

Active Stock Trading: No doubt about it, it is Webull. Paper trading is also available.

Small Accounts: M1 Finance requires $500 in an IRA to start investing (or $100 in a taxable account). Webull has no minimum.

Beginners: One might think that a broker-constructed Pie would be a good bet for new investors. But from our experience, we have found the Pie method of investing to be confusing on the M1 site. We endorse Webull with small amounts in fractional-share trades and plenty of simulated trading.

Mutual Fund Trading: Neither brokerage firm here has it, but E*Trade has thousands of funds. Not a single one of them has a transaction fee.

Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: M1 Finance has a collection of retirement Pies that might be of assistance to investors trying to build a nest egg.