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Vanguard vs Webull vs Citi (2024)
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Citibank vs. Webull and Vanguard
Although Citi is a large global company, smaller American firms might offer better brokerage services. Let’s compare them:
Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Vanguard
|
$0
|
$20
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$1.00 per contract
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$20*
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varies
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Citibank
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$0
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$0
|
na
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$0
|
$0
|
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WeBull
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$0
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na
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$0
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$0
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$0
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Services
| Broker Review |
Cost |
Investment Products |
Trading Tools |
Customer Service |
Research |
Overall Rating |
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Vanguard
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Citibank
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WeBull
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Promotions
Webull:
Get up to 40 free stocks when you deposit money at Webull!
Vanguard: no promotion right now.
Citi: no promotion right now.
Tradable Assets
Webull offers these products:
- Cryptocurrencies
- ETFs
- Closed-end funds
- Equities
- Options
Vanguard and Citi don’t offer cryptos but include mutual funds and bonds. Citi does not offer trading in cannabis stocks, but the other two firms do.
Winner: Vanguard
Margin Resources
With a margin account at any of these brokers, you can trade using borrowed money. Here’s what it will cost:
Citi: 12.475%
Vanguard: 13%
Webull: 9.24%
Webull’s platforms provide detailed margin information for every stock and ETF, including overnight leverage and borrowing costs. These details are not available on Vanguard’s and Citi’s platforms.
Winner: Webull
Trading Software
Vanguard and Citi have basic websites that can handle trades, though simply. Citi’s site offers multiple charting tools, including around 15 technical indicators, comparisons, and four graph styles. However, it lacks a full-screen mode, which is disappointing. Citi’s order ticket includes limit and stop orders but lacks advanced types.
Vanguard offers the same order types, although there are no fill-or-kill or all-or-none options, which Citi does include. Vanguard’s charting is similar to Citi’s with similar outcomes.
Webull stands out as the only broker in this comparison with a desktop program. Its desktop and browser platforms offer many more technical studies than Citi or Vanguard, and Webull’s charts can be displayed full-screen. Plus, Webull offers eight display options, including baseline and hollow candle.
For order entry, Webull provides multiple trade tickets. One is a rapid-entry widget with pre-populated trade buttons, while the regular order form includes bracket and trailing orders, a significant advantage over its competitors.
Winner: Webull
Option Tools
All three brokers offer options trading, but none stand out for their tools.
Webull’s browser platform provides chains for calls and puts. Clicking on a bid or ask price will populate an order ticket with a single contract. Maximum profit and loss figures are shown, but Webull doesn’t support trading in option spreads, limiting you to single orders.
Vanguard’s software only displays one option type (call or put) at a time. Like Webull, Citi doesn’t offer multi-leg strategies, but its software does display a pop-up graph of a contract’s price history when you hover over a bid or ask price.
Winner: Tie between Citi and Webull
Other Services
IPO availability: Webull is the only broker to offer direct participation in IPOs before they start trading. The others only allow trading in IPOs on the secondary market.
IRAs: All three brokers offer Individual Retirement Accounts. Webull has the fewest types, and Citi has the highest fees.
Fractional-share trading: None of the brokers in this comparison offer whole-dollar investing in stocks or ETFs. However, Webull does offer whole-dollar investing in cryptocurrencies.
Dividend Reinvestment Program: DRIP service is available at Vanguard and Citi but not at Webull.
Automatic mutual fund investing: Citi offers periodic investments for mutual funds, while Vanguard offers this service only for its own funds.
Extended hours: Webull offers pre-market and after-hours trading. Vanguard only offers late-night trading, and Citi doesn’t offer extended hours at all.
Winner: Webull
Our Recommendations
Small accounts: Webull.
Stock/ETF trading: Webull.
Beginners: Vanguard or Webull.
Long-term investors and retirement savers: Vanguard.
Promotions
Webull:
Get up to 40 free stocks when you deposit money at Webull!
Vanguard: no promotion right now.
Citi: no promotion right now.
Results
The largest financial company in this survey, Citi, is the weakest performer. Webull, the newest broker, is the standout.
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Updated on 8/23/2024.
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