Picking an online brokerage Singapore investors can stick with comes down to four numbers, not the welcome gift: per-trade cost on the markets you actually buy, the foreign exchange spread when you convert SGD to USD, the interest paid on cash you have not invested yet, and whether you can hold Singapore shares in your own CDP name. moomoo and Tiger Brokers dominate the beginner search because both advertise from US$0.99 a trade, but on a year of real buying they diverge, and for some people Interactive Brokers, Webull or Syfe quietly wins. This guide prices the main contenders on those four numbers as of June 2026, all figures taken from each broker's own fee schedule.
Headline commission is the figure every broker shouts and the one that matters least once you trade beyond a handful of times a year. The cost that quietly compounds is the foreign exchange spread. Most Singapore brokers buy US dollars at the interbank rate and sell them to you a little higher, and that gap repeats on every funding top-up and every dividend you convert back. A 0.5% spread on a S$10,000 conversion is S$50, which dwarfs a US$0.99 commission.
The second hidden lever is interest on uninvested cash. If you keep a buffer between trades, a broker paying 3% to 4% on idle balances hands you real money for doing nothing, while one paying zero quietly costs you. The third is account structure: a custodian broker holds your Singapore shares in its own nominee name, which is fine until the broker has trouble, whereas a CDP-linked account registers SGX shares under your own name at The Central Depository. If that distinction is new to you, read what a CDP account is before you choose.
Both are MAS-licensed, both built mobile-first apps, and both run aggressive sign-up promotions, so beginners treat them as interchangeable. On the fee schedules they are not. For US stocks, moomoo charges zero commission for eligible clients and a platform fee of US$0.99 per order (plus 9% GST on the fee), with no commission minimum. Tiger charges US$0.005 per share commission with a US$0.99 minimum, plus a US$0.005 per share platform fee with a US$1 minimum, so a typical US trade costs about US$1.99 in total at Tiger versus roughly US$0.99 at moomoo. Both figures are per each broker's June 2026 fee pages.
For Singapore stocks the gap narrows. moomoo charges 0.03% commission (minimum S$0.99) plus a 0.03% platform fee (minimum S$0.99), and Tiger charges 0.03% (minimum S$0.99) plus a 0.03% platform fee (minimum S$1), so most SGX trades land near S$1.98 to S$1.99 at either. moomoo supports direct CDP account linkage for SGX trades, which Tiger does not, so if holding Singapore shares in your own name matters, that tilts toward moomoo. Tiger keeps a research edge on China A-shares. For a deeper single-broker breakdown, see our moomoo Singapore review.
The table below prices the main contenders on the four numbers that decide your annual cost. All figures are as of June 2026 from each broker's own fee schedule and exclude the 9% GST levied on platform fees since 1 January 2024. Promotions change monthly, so treat sign-up gifts as a tiebreaker, not a reason to choose.
| Broker | US stocks (per trade) | SG stocks (per trade) | CDP-linked? | Idle cash interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| moomoo | US$0 commission + US$0.99 platform fee | ~S$1.98 (0.03% + 0.03% platform, min S$0.99 each) | Yes | Via Cash Plus money-market funds |
| Tiger Brokers | ~US$1.99 (US$0.005/share commission + platform, min US$1.99) | ~S$1.99 (0.03% + 0.03% platform) | No (custodian) | Via Cash Boost account |
| Interactive Brokers | IBKR Lite US$0; IBKR Pro from US$0.0035/share | From 0.08%, min S$2.50 | No (custodian) | Tiered interest on USD balances above a threshold |
| Webull | US$0 commission (promo), no platform fee | From ~0.025%, min S$0 | No (custodian) | USD money-market yield via cash sweep |
| Syfe Trade | 2 free trades/month, then ~US$0.99 | ~S$1.98 | No (custodian) | Cash+ via money-market funds |
Because most US trades now cost about a dollar, the foreign exchange spread is usually the largest line on a Singapore investor's bill. moomoo, Tiger and Webull each apply their own spread above the interbank rate when you convert SGD to USD, and that spread also applies in reverse when US dividends are converted back to SGD. Interactive Brokers is the standout here: it converts currency near the interbank rate with a small fixed fee per conversion, which is why frequent or large converters often save the most with IBKR despite a less polished app. Check each broker's live FX rate against an interbank reference before you fund.
Idle cash is the other quiet number. Interactive Brokers pays tiered interest on uninvested USD above a balance threshold, Webull and Syfe sweep idle cash into money-market funds, and moomoo and Tiger offer their own cash-management products (Cash Plus and Cash Boost) rather than direct interest on the trading balance. If you hold a meaningful buffer between trades, that yield can outweigh any commission difference. To see how a few percentage points compound over years, run the numbers in our compound interest calculator.
A custodian broker (Tiger, IBKR, Webull, Syfe, and moomoo's non-CDP mode) holds your SGX shares in its own nominee account. You still own them, but they are pooled under the broker's name, which keeps fees low and transfers fast. A CDP-linked account, by contrast, registers each SGX share directly under your name at The Central Depository, so dividends and rights issues come straight to you and the holding survives the broker independently. moomoo is the main mobile broker offering direct CDP linkage; most other app brokers are custodian-only.
For US stocks the CDP question does not arise, because there is no local depository for foreign shares, so everything overseas is held in custody regardless of broker. If you only buy US ETFs and the occasional US stock, custodian-only is fine and the cheaper option. If you build a long-term portfolio of Singapore blue chips and REITs you intend to hold for decades, the CDP route is worth the slightly higher cost. Our active versus passive comparison helps you decide how much SGX stock-picking you will actually do.
There is no single best online brokerage Singapore can crown, only a best fit for how you trade. The shortlist below maps the common profiles to the broker that prices out cheapest for that behaviour as of June 2026.
moomoo is usually cheaper for US stocks at around US$0.99 per order in platform fee with zero commission, while Tiger typically totals about US$1.99 per trade once its per-share commission and platform fee minimums apply, both as of June 2026.
Interactive Brokers generally has the lowest foreign exchange cost because it converts SGD to USD near the interbank rate for a small fixed fee, where most mobile brokers add a percentage spread that repeats on every funding top-up and dividend conversion.
Most app-based brokers are custodian-only, meaning your SGX shares sit in the broker's nominee account. moomoo is the main mobile broker offering direct CDP linkage, which registers your Singapore shares under your own name at The Central Depository.
Yes. Both moomoo Financial Singapore and Tiger Brokers Singapore hold a Capital Markets Services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and client assets are held under the applicable custody and safeguarding rules. Always verify the licence on the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.
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.