Webull vs Schwab title card reading Fees and Features Compared, options, futures, margin, cash and safety checked October 31, 2026

Webull vs Schwab 2026: Fees and Features Compared

ByStock Moe

Last updated October 31, 2026. By Stock Moe, former financial advisor, MBA and finance teacher.

Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you open an account through them, Stock Moe gets paid by Webull or Kalshi at no extra cost to you. I only link to products I use myself. This is not financial advice.

Webull vs Schwab comes down to cost versus depth. Both charge $0 commissions on U.S. stocks and ETFs. Schwab charges $0.65 per options contract and $2.25 per futures contract, while Webull charges $0 on options listed on U.S. exchanges and $0.25 to $1.25 per futures contract. Schwab margin on balances under $25,000 is 12.075%, against Webull’s posted standard rate of 8.74%, according to each broker’s own pages as of October 31, 2026.

I trade on Webull, and I am telling you that up front because it is a bias. I also know Schwab well from my years as a financial advisor, and it is one of the best run brokers in the country. So this comparison only uses numbers I confirmed on each company’s own pages, it shows where Charles Schwab wins, and it ends with who should pick which one.

Key takeaways

  • Both are FINRA and SIPC members, so securities and cash are protected up to $500,000, including $250,000 of cash, if the firm fails. Neither covers market losses.
  • Stocks and ETFs trade for $0 at both. Options cost $0.65 per contract at Schwab and $0 at Webull, except $0.50 per contract on certain index options.
  • Futures cost $2.25 per contract at Schwab for any size. Webull charges $0.25 for micros, $0.70 for minis and $1.25 for regular contracts.
  • Margin under $25,000 costs 12.075% at Schwab. Webull lists 8.74% standard and as low as 4.15% with its $40 a year Premium plan.
  • Leaving costs $50 for a full transfer at Schwab and $75 per outgoing stock transfer at Webull. Partial transfers out of Schwab are free.
  • Both offer free paper trading: thinkorswim paperMoney at Schwab and the paper trading simulator at Webull.
  • Investing can lose money. Past results do not predict future results.

Is Webull or Schwab better?

Schwab is better for investors who want a full service firm: branches, phone reps, retirement planning, thousands of mutual funds and the thinkorswim platform. Webull is better for cost conscious traders who want options without a per contract fee, cheaper futures and margin, and prediction markets in the same app as their stocks.

My one sentence version for each investor. If you want one firm for your IRA, your kids’ college money and your bank account, and you like talking to a person, pick Schwab. If you trade options or futures often and want to keep costs as low as possible, pick Webull. If you are both people, you can hold an account at each, and plenty of my students do.

The size gap is enormous. Schwab reported $13.41 trillion of client assets and 40.1 million active brokerage accounts at the end of August 2026 in its monthly activity report. Webull Corporation is a far younger company listed on the Nasdaq under BULL. Bigger is not automatically better for you, but nobody needs to worry about Schwab disappearing.

Is Webull as safe as Charles Schwab?

On the basic protection, yes. Webull Financial LLC and Charles Schwab and Co. are both members of FINRA and SIPC. SIPC protects up to $500,000 per customer, including $250,000 for cash, if a member firm fails and customer assets are missing. You can look up both on FINRA BrokerCheck.

Schwab adds a lot on top. Its account protection page says Schwab provides protection up to an aggregate of $600 million through Lloyd’s of London and other London insurers, limited to $150 million per customer, up to $1.15 million of which may be cash. Webull carries excess coverage too, which I cover in my full Webull review. All of it only applies if the firm itself fails. None of it protects you from a bad trade.

Is Schwab FDIC insured? Your stocks and funds are not. Uninvested cash in the Schwab Bank Sweep feature goes into deposit accounts at Schwab’s affiliated banks, and Schwab’s Cash Features disclosure says those deposits are eligible for FDIC coverage up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, in each insurable capacity. Webull’s offer page says its Cash Management program reaches FDIC coverage up to $5 million across member banks. Check which program your cash sits in before you count on the coverage.

Webull vs Schwab fees: every fee I could confirm

For a buy and hold investor, both cost close to nothing. The differences show up when you trade options or futures, borrow, buy outside mutual funds or leave. Here is the side by side from Schwab’s pricing page, the Schwab pricing guide dated April 2026 and Webull’s fee schedule, all checked October 31, 2026.

  • Stocks and ETFs: $0 online commission at both. Sells carry small regulatory fees at both.
  • Options: Schwab charges $0 base commission plus $0.65 per contract. Webull charges nothing per contract on options listed on U.S. exchanges, except $0.50 per contract on certain index options.
  • Futures: $2.25 per contract at Schwab. $0.25 to $1.25 at Webull depending on size.
  • Mutual funds: Schwab OneSource funds are $0 online, other funds cost up to $74.95 per purchase, and OneSource funds held 90 days or less can carry a $49.95 short term redemption fee.
  • Bonds: Schwab charges $0 for Treasuries online and $1 per bond on other secondary trades, with a $10 minimum and $250 maximum.
  • Broker assisted trades: Schwab adds a $25 service charge.
  • Transfer out: $50 for a full account transfer at Schwab and $0 for a partial one. $75 per outgoing stock transfer at Webull.
  • Wires out: Schwab charges $15 online or $25 with a rep.
  • Market data: Webull charges $2.99 a month each for Level 2 and OPRA options data on a standard account, and $0 with Premium.
  • Minimums: $0 to open a brokerage account at both.

Run the options math, because it is the everyday difference. Ten contracts in and ten out is 20 contracts. At Schwab that is $13 in contract fees. At Webull it is $0 on regular equity options. Trade that size every week and the gap is about $676 a year. If you never trade options, it costs you nothing either way.

Webull vs Schwab for futures: the biggest gap

If you trade futures, this section decides it. Schwab charges a flat $2.25 per contract on futures, online or with a broker, before exchange and NFA fees. Webull lists $0.25 per contract for micros, $0.70 for minis and $1.25 for regular contracts on its futures page.

Webull vs Schwab futures commission chart: Schwab charges $2.25 per contract for any size, Webull charges $1.25 for regular, $0.70 for mini and $0.25 for micro contracts
Commission per futures contract before exchange and NFA fees.

Micro contracts show the gap best. A trader who buys and sells 10 micro E mini contracts a day pays about $45 a day in commission at Schwab and about $5 at Webull, before exchange fees. Over a year of trading days that is thousands of dollars. Schwab does give you thinkorswim, which many futures traders love, so some people decide the platform is worth the price. Either way, futures are leveraged and can lose more than you put in. Start with micros and size small.

Webull vs Schwab margin rates: which is cheaper?

Webull is cheaper on margin. Schwab’s margin rates page lists a base rate of 10.25%, last changed September 18, 2026. Balances from $100 to $24,999.99 pay 12.075%, $25,000 to $49,999.99 pay 11.575%, and the rate falls to 10.325% from $250,000 to $499,999.99. You need at least $2,000 to open a margin account there.

Webull’s offer page listed margin as low as 8.74% on a standard account and as low as 4.15% with Premium. The phrase “as low as” matters, because those are the best tiers. Check the rate your balance gets in the app before you borrow. On a $10,000 loan held for a year, that is about $1,208 at Schwab, about $874 at Webull’s standard rate and about $415 at Webull’s best Premium rate before the $40 plan.

My advice as a former advisor is the same at both. If margin interest is a big line in your budget, the broker is not the problem. Margin can lose more than you put in.

Webull vs Schwab: which pays more on cash?

Webull pays more on cash if you have Premium, and you should look closely at Schwab’s sweep before you leave cash sitting there. Webull’s offer page (affiliate link) listed 3.6% APY in Cash Management with Premium and 0.5% APY on a standard account on October 31, 2026, plus a promotional 1.4% APY Booster for 30 days on up to $10,000, subject to Webull’s terms. Premium costs $3.99 a month or $40 a year, per Webull’s help center.

At Schwab, uninvested cash in most brokerage accounts sweeps to Schwab’s affiliated banks, where the banks set a tiered Bank Sweep rate. Schwab’s rate page sits behind its client login, so I could not confirm the current number from a public page. If you hold real cash at Schwab, log in, look at the sweep rate, and compare it with buying a money market fund inside the account. That one check can be worth hundreds of dollars a year.

Want to see the Webull app for yourself? Open a Webull account through my link (affiliate link, I get paid if you sign up). Any new account offer is subject to Webull’s current terms and eligibility, so check the offer page for the current terms before you deposit. Investing involves risk, including the loss of money you put in, and past results do not predict future results.

thinkorswim vs Webull: which platform is better?

This is where Schwab earns its fees. thinkorswim is one of the most powerful trading platforms a retail trader can use, with deep options analytics, scanners, custom studies and futures tools. Schwab’s paperMoney page says the practice mode gives you $100,000 of virtual buying power with real time data, free for Schwab clients. You need a Schwab account to log in, and non clients can try it with a Guest Pass.

Webull is simpler and faster to learn. You get real time charts with dozens of indicators, Level 2 data, a desktop app, a browser version and a paper trading simulator built into the same app. When I draw my 5, 13 and 50 EMAs and my panic lines on stream, I do it on Webull because my audience can follow along on the same screen.

Here is my honest call. If you want the most powerful tools and do not mind a learning curve, thinkorswim wins. If you want to get good fast without paying per contract, Webull wins. On day trading rules, the SEC approved FINRA’s plan to end the $25,000 pattern day trader minimum on April 14, 2026, according to Schwab’s own summary. The new rules took effect June 4, 2026, and brokers have until October 20, 2027 to put them in place, so check the rules shown in your own account.

What can you trade on Webull vs Schwab?

  • Mutual funds: Schwab has a huge OneSource lineup at $0 online. Webull’s Form CRS lists mutual funds too, but Schwab’s menu is far deeper.
  • Bonds and CDs: Schwab has a full bond desk with $0 online Treasuries. Webull’s Form CRS lists bonds as well.
  • Fractional shares: Webull starts at $1. Fidelity’s comparison page, with data as of September 18, 2026, says Schwab fractional shares cover S&P 500 stocks only, with a $5 minimum. My guide on how to buy fractional shares walks through it.
  • Futures: both, with the price gap shown above.
  • Prediction markets: Webull offers event contracts from Kalshi for $0.01 commission plus a $0.01 exchange fee per contract, per its event contract fees page. I did not find event contracts on Schwab’s pricing page. My Webull prediction markets guide shows how they work. They can lose money, so trade only money you can afford to lose.
  • Crypto: Webull offers crypto through a separate crypto company. Schwab announced spot bitcoin and ether trading with a phased rollout, InvestmentNews reported on April 17, 2026. Check availability in your own account and state.
  • Banking: Schwab owns Charles Schwab Bank, SSB, a member FDIC bank, so you can keep banking and investing at one company. Webull is focused on investing.

Is Webull or Schwab better for beginners?

It depends on what kind of beginner you are. If you want to set up automatic investing into a broad index fund, open an IRA and call someone when you have a question, Schwab is the calmer home. If you want to learn how the market actually moves, Webull is the better classroom, and it is cheaper while you learn.

Both now let you practice for free, which is the best thing a beginner can do. When I taught finance in the classroom, the students who practiced first did better than the ones who jumped in. Start small, buy broad funds before single stocks, and do not touch options, futures or margin until you can explain how you could lose money on them. If you want a weekly plan in plain English, my free Sunday Letter is built for that.

How to transfer stocks between Schwab and Webull

You do not have to sell to switch. Brokers move stocks through the ACATS system, and your shares and cost basis go with them. Going from Schwab to Webull, Schwab charges $50 for a full transfer and $0 for a partial one. Going from Webull to Schwab, Webull charges $75 per outgoing stock transfer, and you start the request at Schwab. Here is the Schwab to Webull direction.

How to transfer stocks from Charles Schwab to Webull without selling.

  1. Open and verify your Webull account

    Sign up, verify your identity and wait for approval. Match the account type, so an individual account goes to an individual account and an IRA goes to an IRA.

  2. Get your Schwab account details

    Log in to Schwab, write down your account number and download a recent statement. The name and address on both accounts should match.

  3. Decide full or partial

    A full transfer closes the Schwab account and costs $50. A partial transfer moves only the positions you pick and costs $0 at Schwab.

  4. Check what can move

    Schwab mutual funds and some other holdings may not be able to move to Webull, so sell those first or leave them where they are.

  5. Start the transfer from Webull

    In the Webull app, open the transfer in section, choose ACATS, pick Charles Schwab as the other broker and enter your Schwab account number.

  6. Confirm when it lands

    When the shares show up at Webull, check every position and the cost basis against your Schwab statement.

Ready to try Webull? Open your Webull account here (affiliate link, I get paid if you sign up). Any offer is subject to Webull’s current terms and eligibility, so check the offer page for the current terms before you deposit. Investing can lose money, and past results do not predict future results.

My verdict on Webull vs Schwab

Schwab is the better firm for a whole financial life. Webull is the better deal for an active trader. That is not a dodge. They were built for different jobs, and the right answer depends on how you invest.

  • Pick Schwab if you want branches and phone reps, a deep fund and bond menu, banking in the same place, thinkorswim, or free partial transfers out.
  • Pick Webull if you trade options or futures often, want cheaper margin, want prediction markets in one app, or want Premium cash yield on money waiting to be invested.
  • Use both if you have long term money and trading money. Keep them separate on purpose.

Comparing other brokers too? Read my Webull vs Fidelity comparison and my Webull vs Robinhood comparison.

Common questions about Webull vs Schwab

Is Webull better than Schwab?

For active traders, Webull is cheaper: $0 per options contract, $0.25 to $1.25 per futures contract and lower posted margin rates. Schwab is better for long term investors who want a full service firm, a deep fund menu, banking and the thinkorswim platform, as of October 31, 2026.

Is Schwab FDIC insured?

Stocks and funds at Schwab are not FDIC insured. They are covered by SIPC up to $500,000, including $250,000 of cash, plus Schwab’s excess coverage. Cash in the Schwab Bank Sweep feature is eligible for FDIC coverage up to $250,000 per depositor, per affiliated bank.

Is Charles Schwab safe?

Yes. Charles Schwab and Co. is a FINRA and SIPC member with excess coverage up to an aggregate of $600 million, limited to $150 million per customer. It reported $13.41 trillion of client assets at the end of August 2026. No broker protects you from market losses.

How much does Schwab charge for options?

Schwab charges $0 base commission plus $0.65 per options contract online. Webull charges $0 per contract on options listed on U.S. exchanges, except $0.50 on certain index options.

What are Schwab margin rates?

Schwab’s base rate is 10.25%, last changed September 18, 2026. Balances under $25,000 pay 12.075% and $25,000 to $49,999.99 pay 11.575%. You need $2,000 to open a margin account.

Does Schwab have paper trading?

Yes. thinkorswim paperMoney gives Schwab clients $100,000 of virtual buying power with real time data at no cost. Webull also has a free paper trading simulator.

How do I transfer stocks from Webull to Charles Schwab?

Open a Schwab account of the same type, start an ACATS transfer at Schwab and enter your Webull account number. Your shares move without selling. Webull charges $75 per outgoing stock transfer.

Is thinkorswim better than Webull?

thinkorswim has deeper options and futures tools. Webull is easier to learn and cheaper to trade, with $0 per contract options and lower futures commissions. Many active traders try both in paper mode first.

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Sources

I am not a financial advisor and nothing in this article is financial advice. Everything here is my own opinion, for educational and entertainment purposes only. Do your own research and talk to a licensed professional before you make any financial decision.

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Stock Moe is a former financial advisor who worked at one of the largest financial firms in the country before moving into teaching. He holds an M.B.A. and an M.Ed. in Business Education, taught college and high school finance, and has coached teams to 15 state and 2 back to back national Stock Market Game championships. He runs the Stock Moe YouTube channel with over 720,000 subscribers, where he breaks down stocks, crypto, housing and the economy in plain English.

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