Directa SIM vs Webull — which broker is better?

Pros

• No custody, platform or market-access fee on the standard account, free transfers, and Directa pays the stamp duty on cash itself
• Italian shares and ETFs from EUR 5 per order (Semplice), down to EUR 1.50 per order for active traders (Dinamico), or 1.9 per mille with a EUR 1.50 minimum (Variabile)
• PAC in ETF savings plan free on every order, with more than 900 ETFs and ETCs and up to four dates a month
• Real-time quotes free for private clients on Borsa Italiana, NYSE, Nasdaq and AMEX
• Withholding agent under the regime amministrato: the 26% substitute tax is calculated and paid for you, and losses carry forward for 4 years
• Broad range: shares from Italy, the US, Germany, Switzerland and via Cboe Europe, ETFs on Euronext Milan, Paris and Amsterdam, bonds, certificates, options, futures on IDEM, Eurex and CME, and CFDs via LMAX
• Four in-house platforms (dLite, Libera, Darwin, Classic) plus an app, all free, and a free 15-day demo with EUR 100,000 of virtual money
• Listed on Euronext Growth Milan, audited by KPMG, with half-year reports that include client numbers: 166,261 active accounts at 30 June 2026

Cons

• Directa is a SIM, not a bank: cash held directly is covered by the Fondo Nazionale di Garanzia only up to EUR 20,000 (a EUR 100,000 bank deposit guarantee applies only to indirect accounts via partner banks)
• Several CONSOB and Banca d'Italia sanction procedures since 2024, and a pending criminal trial in Turin involving the company under d.lgs. 231/2001 and some of its officers
• Foreign markets at ordinary prices: USD 9 per US order, 0.025% with a EUR 9.50 minimum on Xetra, 0.03% with a CHF 20 minimum on SIX
• No interest on cash in the account
• Fractional shares not documented (we found no mention of them), and funding only by bank transfer from your own accounts in the SEPA area
• Built for residents of Italy: onboarding requires SPID, CIE or SelfID with a codice fiscale, and the website and tax service are Italian

Pros

• USD 0 commission on US-listed stocks, ETFs and equity options, with no per-contract fee — index options are the only equity-derivative exception at USD 0.50 per contract
• A real desktop terminal for Windows, macOS and Linux, with multi-monitor layouts, depth-of-market and a script editor — rare at this price point
• Publicly listed on Nasdaq as BULL since April 2025, so financials and risk disclosures are in the public record
• Free paper trading with the same charts and order tickets as the live account, which makes the options approval process much less punitive
• Futures on CME and Coinbase Derivatives at a reported USD 1.25 per side (E-mini) and USD 0.25 per side (micro), plus fixed income at a 0.1% principal mark-up
• Six top-tier licences across the group — SEC/FINRA, CFTC/NFA, FCA, ASIC, MAS and the Dutch AFM
• No account maintenance fee and no minimum deposit; ACH in and out is free

Cons

• Customer support is the standing complaint: Trustpilot sits at roughly 1.3–1.4 out of 5, with transfers and account access the most common themes
• Crypto costs a 1% spread on each side — about 2% round trip — which is expensive next to a dedicated exchange
• Margin interest is a flat 8.74% at the standard tier whatever the balance, well above brokers such as Public.com; the lower tiered rates need a Premium subscription
• USD 75 to transfer your securities out, and 1.75% to withdraw to a debit card
• A 2023 FINRA settlement over options-approval due diligence and complaint handling is on the record
• No spot forex, no CFDs, no traditional mutual fund supermarket, and non-US clients get a materially different product depending on which entity they land in