There is no single best Singapore broker, only the best one for what you actually trade. If you buy SGX blue chips and want the shares in your own name, a CDP-linked account wins. If you trade US stocks or want the lowest fee floor, a custodian-model app like moomoo, Webull, Tiger or Interactive Brokers wins. The headline 'zero commission' you see everywhere is real but partial: most brokers still charge a platform fee, a minimum per trade, and SGX's own clearing and trading fees that no broker can waive. This guide compares the fees you will pay in 2026 across the online brokers and the bank-linked houses, explains the CDP-versus-custodian trade-off that decides ownership, lists minimum deposits and current promos, and tells you which broker fits which kind of investor so you open one account and stop overthinking it.
Before fees, settle ownership. A CDP-linked account holds your SGX shares directly in your own Central Depository sub-account, registered in your name. You receive dividends and annual report mailings straight from the company, you vote at AGMs, and if you ever leave the broker the shares stay put because they were never held under the broker's name. The catch is cost: CDP-linked trades run roughly 0.18% to 0.28% commission with minimums of S$10 to S$25 per order at the bank houses (as of June 2026).
A custodian account is the model nearly every low-cost app uses. The broker holds your shares in its own nominee account at CDP and you are the beneficial owner, not the registered one. Fees are far lower, often under 0.10% with a minimum near S$1 to S$2, but you depend on the broker to pass through dividends and corporate actions, and moving your shares out later usually costs a transfer fee. For most beginners buying modest amounts, custodian is the cheaper, sensible default; for long-term SGX holders who want shares in their own name, CDP earns its higher fee. Our CDP glossary entry explains the depository in plain terms.
If you have not decided whether to buy individual stocks at all, read our guide to starting investing in Singapore first, because a robo-advisor or one ETF may suit you better than any brokerage.
| Feature | CDP-linked account | Custodian account |
|---|---|---|
| Whose name holds the shares | Yours, in your CDP sub-account | Broker's nominee, you are beneficial owner |
| Typical SGX cost | ~0.18% to 0.28%, min S$10 to S$25 | Often under 0.10%, min ~S$1 to S$2 |
| Dividends and AGM rights | Direct from the company | Passed through by the broker |
| Leaving the broker | Shares stay in CDP, nothing to move | Transfer fee usually applies |
| Best for | Long-term SGX holders wanting direct title | Cost-conscious and US-focused investors |
When a broker advertises 'zero commission' on SGX stocks, it is waiving its own commission, not the exchange's charges. Every SGX trade carries SGX's clearing fee of 0.0325% of contract value and a trading fee of 0.0075%, plus 9% GST on fees, and CDP-linked settlement adds a Settlement Instruction fee of S$0.35 (rates per the SGX rulebook, June 2026). These are small on a typical trade but they are floor costs that sit underneath any promo.
What this means in practice: a genuinely 'free' SGX trade still costs you roughly 0.04% in unavoidable exchange and clearing charges plus GST. So when you compare brokers, compare the all-in number, not the marketing line. The same logic applies to US stocks, where SEC and FINRA pass-through fees apply on sells regardless of which broker you use.
For Singapore-listed stocks and ETFs held under custody, the cheapest brokers in June 2026 cluster among the newer apps. Longbridge advertises lifetime 0% commission with a 0.03% platform fee (minimum S$0.99) and waives that platform fee for the first 90 days. Webull, moomoo and Tiger run promotional zero-commission windows for new clients, after which they settle into roughly a 0.05% to 0.06% all-in rate with a minimum near S$1 to S$2. CMC Invest charges 0.04% with a S$2 minimum and bundles a handful of free trades a month.
The figures below are custodian-account, pre-funded rates verified against each broker's pricing pages in June 2026. Promotional commission waivers expire, so the steady-state rate is what matters once you are past your first year. Read the deal, then read what you pay in month thirteen.
| Broker | Commission | Platform fee | Minimum per trade | New-user promo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longbridge | 0% (lifetime) | 0.03% | S$0.99 | Platform fee waived 90 days |
| Webull | 0.025% | 0.025% | ~S$1.60 | 1 year SGX commission-free |
| moomoo | 0.03% | 0.03% | ~S$1.98 | 1 year SGX commission-free |
| CMC Invest | 0.04% | Included | S$2.00 | Free trades each month |
| Tiger Brokers | 0.03% | 0.03% | ~S$1.99 | Time-limited commission waiver |
| Syfe Trade | 0.06% | Included | ~S$1.98 | Free trades on base tier |
| Interactive Brokers | 0.08% | Included | S$2.50 | None |
If you want shares in your own name, your choices narrow to the bank-linked and traditional houses plus a few apps that support CDP linkage. The bank brokers price SGX cash trades on a tiered scale, typically 0.275% below S$50,000, 0.22% from S$50,000 to S$100,000, and 0.18% above S$100,000, with a S$25 minimum (as of June 2026). DBS Vickers, UOB Kay Hian, Maybank Securities and POEMS offer a cheaper pre-funded or cash-upfront tier around 0.12% with a S$10 to S$10.90 minimum, though pre-funded trades may settle into custody rather than CDP, so confirm before you assume direct title.
moomoo and Tiger now also support CDP-linked SGX trades, but at a higher rate than their custodian model, around 0.22% with a minimum near S$9.98 to S$10 plus the S$0.35 SI fee. The practical rule: for small CDP trades the apps can undercut the banks; for larger trades the difference narrows. If you are opening your first CDP and brokerage account, our step-by-step CDP account guide walks through the application.
| Broker | Below S$50k | S$50k to S$100k | Above S$100k | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DBS Vickers (cash) | 0.18% | 0.18% | 0.18% | S$27.25 |
| OCBC Securities | 0.275% | 0.22% | 0.18% | S$25 |
| UOB Kay Hian | 0.275% | 0.22% | 0.20% | S$25 |
| Phillip Securities (POEMS) | 0.28% | 0.22% | 0.18% | S$25 |
| Maybank Securities | 0.275% | 0.22% | 0.18% | S$25 |
| moomoo (CDP-linked) | ~0.22% | ~0.22% | ~0.22% | ~S$9.98 |
US stocks are where the custodian apps shine, because there is no CDP equivalent and most beginners buy the S&P 500 or Nasdaq through a US-listed ETF. Webull and IG advertise zero commission and zero platform fee on US stocks in June 2026. moomoo offers lifetime zero US commission but charges a US$0.99 platform fee per order after your first year. Interactive Brokers and Longbridge price per share, around US$0.005 with a US$1 minimum, which is cheapest for large orders. Watch the foreign exchange spread on funding a US-dollar wallet, since a wide FX markup can quietly cost more than the commission itself.
For a buy-and-hold investor putting S$500 a month into a single US ETF, a per-order platform fee matters more than the headline commission. On a S$500 trade, a US$0.99 fee is about 0.2%; on a S$5,000 trade it rounds to nothing. Match the fee shape to your order size. If you are weighing individual US stocks against a simpler route, our active versus passive investing comparison lays out why one broad ETF often beats stock-picking on both effort and result.
| Broker | Commission | Platform fee | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webull | US$0 | US$0 | Nil |
| IG | US$0 | US$0 | Nil |
| moomoo | US$0 (lifetime) | US$0.99 per order | US$0.99 |
| Interactive Brokers | US$0.005 per share | Included | US$1 |
| Longbridge | US$0 | US$0.005 per share | US$0.99 |
| Tiger Brokers | US$0.01 per share | Included | ~US$1.99 |
| CMC Invest | 0.03% | Included | US$3 |
If you would rather drip-feed a fixed sum each month than place trades, a regular savings plan (RSP) suits you. FSMOne runs an ETF RSP with 0% processing fees across SGX, US, Hong Kong and London ETFs, while POEMS Share Builders covers selected SGX stocks, REITs and ETFs at around 0.3% a year. OCBC's Blue Chip Investment Plan charges 0.3% (or S$5, whichever is higher) on 14 SGX blue chips, with a discounted 0.88% tier for investors under 30. Recurring purchases on the apps are usually fee-light during promos, so check the steady-state cost.
For CPF Ordinary Account and SRS money, your broker must be CPF Investment Scheme approved, which rules out most app-only brokers for CPF. POEMS and the bank houses are CPFIS-approved; POEMS prices CPF stock trades around 0.08% with no minimum. Before you invest CPF, check how much of your Ordinary Account you can use and the long-term cost of forgoing the 2.5% floor rate, with our compound interest calculator and the broader CPF Investment Scheme guide.
Welcome rewards rotate constantly and exist to win your deposit, so treat any figure as a snapshot. As of June 2026 the running offers include FairPrice vouchers (often S$50 to S$160), cash or free-share rewards tied to a deposit-and-hold requirement, and short-term interest boosts on funded balances. Webull, moomoo, Longbridge and IG were all running deposit-linked rewards at the time of writing.
Three things to read before you chase a promo: the minimum deposit and how long it must stay locked, whether free shares vest immediately or only after a holding period, and the cut-off date. A 'free' S$50 voucher that requires S$3,000 held for two months is a return on your idle cash, not free money, so weigh it against what that cash earns elsewhere. Never deposit more than you planned to invest just to claim a reward, and confirm the live terms on the broker's own promo page on the day you sign up.
Every broker named here operates under a Monetary Authority of Singapore Capital Markets Services licence and is required to segregate client money and assets from its own. You can confirm any firm's status on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory before you fund an account. Segregation means that if the firm itself failed, your segregated assets are not part of the firm's pool of creditors.
What licensing does not give you is protection against losses. There is no government compensation scheme for falling stock prices, and the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation's S$100,000 cover applies to bank deposits, not to brokerage holdings or money market funds. US shares held via a broker's US affiliate may carry SIPC custody protection if that broker fails, which still does not protect you from the stock going down. Your real risk is the investments you choose, which is why diversification and position sizing matter far more than the logo on the app. Sense-check your overall picture with our net worth calculator before sizing into single stocks.
There is no universal winner, only a best fit. The honest shortcut is to match the broker to your dominant use case, open one account, and start. You can always add a second broker later if your needs change.
For most beginners, a low-cost custodian app such as moomoo, Webull or Longbridge is the easiest start: small minimum trades, a polished app, research tools and paper trading. If you specifically want SGX shares registered in your own name, choose a CDP-linked account at a bank broker like DBS Vickers or UOB Kay Hian instead, accepting the higher fee.
Custodian accounts are cheaper, often under 0.10% with a roughly S$1 to S$2 minimum, and suit cost-conscious or US-focused investors. CDP-linked accounts cost more, around 0.18% to 0.28% with a S$10 to S$25 minimum, but the shares sit in your own name with direct dividends and AGM rights, which long-term SGX holders often prefer.
As of June 2026, Webull and IG advertise zero commission and zero platform fee on US stocks, while moomoo offers lifetime zero commission but a US$0.99 platform fee per order after year one. Interactive Brokers and Longbridge price per share and are cheapest for large orders. Watch the FX spread when funding a US-dollar wallet.
No. Zero commission waives only the broker's own commission. Every SGX trade still carries the exchange's 0.0325% clearing fee, 0.0075% trading fee, 9% GST on fees, and a S$0.35 settlement instruction fee on CDP trades. US trades carry small SEC and FINRA pass-through fees on sells. Compare the all-in cost, not the headline.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.