SG trading is straightforward once you separate the three costs that never change from the one you control. Buy or sell any Singapore-listed share and you pay an SGX clearing fee of 0.0325%, an SGX trading fee of 0.0075%, a S$0.35 settlement fee, and 9% GST on top. Those are fixed for everyone. The variable is broker commission, which ranges from under S$1 a trade on a digital app to S$25 at a traditional bank desk. Pick the wrong broker and a S$1,000 trade can cost you 5% of your money before the price even moves. This guide breaks down every fee, compares CDP and custodian accounts, names the cheapest brokers as of October 2026, and walks you through your first order.
Update, 14 October 2026: SGX's own fee table shows no S$600 cap on the clearing fee, so we have taken the cap out of this guide. Every SG trading order on the Singapore Exchange carries the same exchange-level charges, regardless of which broker you use. These are set by SGX and the Central Depository, not by your platform, so shopping around will not lower them.
On a single trade you pay a clearing fee of 0.0325% of contract value plus a trading fee of 0.0075%, a settlement fee of S$0.35 per contract, and 9% GST applied on the chargeable fees. On a S$5,000 buy order the clearing and trading fees come to S$2.00, or about S$2.56 with the settlement fee and GST, before commission. Neither fee is capped, so both grow in step with the size of the trade.
| Fee | Rate | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Clearing fee | 0.0325% of contract value | CDP / SGX |
| Trading fee | 0.0075% of contract value | SGX |
| Settlement fee | S$0.35 per contract | CDP |
| GST | 9% on chargeable fees | IRAS |
Update, 14 October 2026: since 5 October 2026 OCBC Securities charges no minimum commission on online SGX trades, and POEMS charges S$10 flat on CDP-account trades up to S$3,500, so the S$25 minimum no longer applies at either for small online orders. Commission is where SG trading gets cheap or expensive. Traditional bank-backed brokers such as DBS Vickers, OCBC Securities and Phillip Securities (POEMS) charge roughly 0.18% to 0.28% of your trade, and DBS Vickers still has a S$25 minimum before GST on cash trades. Digital brokers like Moomoo, Tiger, Webull and Interactive Brokers charge a fraction of that, under S$3 a trade even after their platform fees, because they hold your shares under a custodian model rather than crediting them to your personal CDP account.
The minimum fee is what hurts small traders. A S$25 minimum on a S$500 trade is a 5% drag you pay twice, once to buy and once to sell. The same trade through a digital broker costs about S$2 all in. If you are putting in small, regular amounts, the minimum fee matters more than the headline percentage. Before you commit, run the numbers through our compound interest calculator to see how a 5% upfront drag compounds away over a decade.
Figures below are starting rates from each broker's own pricing page as of October 2026, with any separate platform fee added in. Commission tiers, promotions and minimums change often, so confirm the current rate on the broker's own pricing page before you open an account.
| Broker | From (per trade) | Commission rate | Account model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webull | S$1.60 (S$0.80 + S$0.80 platform fee) | 0.025% + 0.025% platform fee | Custodian / pre-funded |
| Moomoo SG | S$1.98 (S$0.99 + S$0.99 platform fee) | 0.03% + 0.03% platform fee | Custodian / pre-funded |
| Tiger Brokers | S$1.99 (S$0.99 + S$1 platform fee) | 0.03% + 0.03% platform fee | Custodian / pre-funded |
| Interactive Brokers | S$2.50 | 0.08%, fixed or tiered | Custodian |
| Saxo Markets | S$3 | 0.03% (Classic tier) | Custodian |
| FSM (formerly FSMOne) | S$8.80 flat | flat fee, no platform fee | Custodian |
| DBS Vickers | S$25 cash / S$10 cash upfront, before GST | 0.18% cash / 0.12% cash upfront | CDP-linked |
| OCBC Securities | No online minimum since 5 Oct 2026 | up to 0.275% online | CDP-linked |
| Phillip Securities (POEMS) | S$10 flat up to S$3,500 (CDP account); no minimum on Cash Plus | 0.18%-0.28% CDP account / 0.08% Cash Plus | CDP-linked / custodian |
This is the decision that trips up most new SG trading accounts. With a CDP-linked broker, your Singapore shares sit in a Central Depository account registered in your own name. You are on the share register, you receive annual reports and dividends directly, and you can switch brokers without moving the shares. The trade-off is higher commission, often with a minimum of S$10 to S$25 a trade.
With a custodian broker, the platform holds your shares under its nominee. You are still the beneficial owner, but your name is not on the SGX register and the shares only show inside that one app. Commission is far cheaper, but moving your holdings out can mean a transfer fee or selling and re-buying. You can hold only one CDP account, but as many custodian accounts as you like.
There is also a CPF and SRS angle. Only CDP-linked brokers let you invest CPF Ordinary Account or Supplementary Retirement Scheme money into SGX shares. If you plan to invest through your CDP account using CPF, a custodian-only app will not work. For a side-by-side on whether to pick stocks yourself or hand it to a platform, see our robo-advisor vs DIY ETF comparison.
Update, 14 October 2026: SGX started cutting board lots for higher-priced stocks on 5 October 2026, when the first 11 counters moved from 100-share to 10-share lots. SGX runs Monday to Friday. Continuous trading is 9:00am to 5:00pm Singapore time with a lunch break from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. Before the open there is a pre-open routine from 8:30am, when orders are collected and matched at the opening price; cancellations are blocked in the final minute before 9:00am. A closing routine after 5:00pm sets the closing price the same way.
The standard board lot is 100 shares for most counters, so a stock priced at S$3.50 needs S$350 plus fees for one lot. SGX's new standard sets 10 shares for counters priced above S$10 and a single share above S$100, applied in batches: the first 11, including DBS, OCBC, UOB, Keppel and SGX itself, moved to 10-share lots on 5 October 2026, and SGX reviews the rest every quarter. SGX also runs a unit share market that lets you buy odd lots from a single share upward, and several digital brokers offer fractional shares, which is handy if a single board lot of a pricey counter is more than you want to commit. New to placing orders? Our step-by-step account opening guide covers the setup before your first trade.
A market order fills immediately at the best available price, which is fine for liquid blue chips but risky for thinly traded counters where the spread is wide. A limit order only fills at your stated price or better, so you control what you pay even if it means the order sits unfilled.
Commission is the obvious number, but a few quieter charges decide whether a broker is genuinely cheap. Custody fees are the most common: DBS Vickers, for example, charges a custodian fee on shares held in its nominee account, typically waived if you trade often enough in a quarter. Check the small print, because a dormant holding can rack up monthly charges.
Foreign-exchange spreads matter the moment you buy anything priced outside SGD, and dividend handling fees can apply when a custodian collects payouts on your behalf. Inactivity fees still exist at a few platforms. For dividend-focused investors, our guide to Singapore stocks that pay quarterly dividends pairs well with a low-cost broker that does not skim each payout.
Once your account is funded, SG trading itself takes under a minute. The friction is all in the setup and the decision about which account model fits you. If you are weighing a single stock against a broad fund, our ETF explainer is worth a read before you concentrate into one counter.
There is no single cheapest broker for SG trading, only the cheapest for your pattern. If you trade small amounts frequently, a digital custodian app with an all-in minimum under S$2 wins easily. If you buy large blue-chip positions to hold for years and want them in your own name, a CDP-linked broker is worth the higher commission for the ownership and CPF/SRS access.
A useful rule: estimate your typical trade size, multiply the broker's percentage rate, and compare it against the minimum fee. Whichever is higher is what you pay. Then add the fixed SGX fees and GST. Doing that one calculation across two or three brokers will tell you more than any best-of list. To stress-test whether picking stocks beats a simple fund, compare the long-run math in active vs passive investing.
There is no fixed minimum to open most accounts. In practice you need enough to make a board lot worthwhile after fees (100 shares for most counters, 10 for the higher-priced stocks SGX has moved since 5 October 2026), or you can use the unit share market and fractional shares at digital brokers to start with under S$100. Keep small trades on a low-minimum broker so the S$10 to S$25 minimum commission at some traditional brokers does not eat your capital.
Yes. The clearing fee of 0.0325%, the 0.0075% trading fee, the S$0.35 settlement fee and 9% GST are set by SGX, the Central Depository and IRAS, so they are identical no matter which broker you use. Only the broker commission differs, which is why comparing commissions and minimum fees is the only choice that affects your total cost.
You can, but only through a CDP-linked broker that supports the CPF Investment Scheme or your SRS account. Custodian-only digital apps generally do not accept CPF or SRS funds for SGX shares. If investing retirement money into Singapore stocks is your goal, open a CDP-linked account and confirm CPFIS or SRS support before funding it.
SGX trades Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm Singapore time, with a lunch break from 12:00pm to 1:00pm. A pre-open routine runs from 8:30am to set the opening price, and a closing routine sets the closing price after the 5:00pm close. The exchange is shut on Singapore public holidays.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).