The best broker for US stocks in Singapore, judged on published fees alone, is one of four that list US$0 commission and platform fee: Webull, Syfe, POEMS Cash Plus and Interactive Brokers’ Lite plan. The others we checked charge US$0.99 to US$1.99 an order. The bigger difference is currency conversion, which ranges from about 0.03% to 0.25% where brokers publish it.
Investing can lose money. US shares can fall sharply, and the US dollar can weaken against the Singapore dollar, so you can lose on both. This comparison is about platform costs. It does not suggest any share or ETF.
How We Compared
The measure: the broker’s own commission plus platform fee, before GST, for one order of US$2,000 in a US-listed ETF priced at US$100 (20 shares), using the broker’s pricing page as at November 2026.
The list: eight brokers that are widely promoted to Singapore investors, hold a Capital Markets Services licence in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory, and publish US stock fees we could read.
What we left out: sign-up rewards, free shares and temporary waivers. They change often and say nothing about the cost in year three. We also give no ratings.
What “best” means here: lowest on the stated measure. A broker can be lowest on commission and still cost more overall, once conversion and other fees are counted.
Best Brokers for US Stocks in Singapore: Cost Table
| Broker | One US$2,000 order | 12 orders a year | Published currency conversion cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webull | US$0 | US$0 | “No conversion fee”; rate not published |
| Interactive Brokers Lite | US$0 | US$0 | About 0.03% automatic, or US$2 minimum manual |
| Syfe | US$0 | US$0 | Not published on pricing page |
| POEMS Cash Plus | US$0 | US$0 | Not published on pricing page |
| moomoo | US$0.99 | US$11.88 | Not published on pricing page |
| Longbridge | US$0.99 (commission waived, terms apply) | US$11.88 | Not published on pricing page |
| Interactive Brokers Pro Fixed | US$1 | US$12 | About 0.03% automatic, or US$2 minimum manual |
| Tiger Brokers | US$1.99 | US$23.88 | Not published on pricing page |
| Saxo | From US$1 | From US$12 | 0.25% |
Add 9% GST to broker fees. A US settlement fee of US$0.003 a share is listed separately by moomoo, Tiger Brokers and Longbridge. That is US$0.06 on 20 shares.
Notes on individual rows:
- Interactive Brokers Lite is listed for Singapore retail investors with conditions on order handling. Read the footnotes on its pricing page.
- Longbridge’s listed standard commission is US$0.003 a share with a US$0.99 minimum. If the waiver did not apply, its order would cost US$1.98.
- POEMS excludes shares priced under US$1 and Asian-hours trading from zero commission.
- Saxo lists the tier rates in a table we could not load. US$1 is its lowest stated commission.
The short version: commission is no longer what separates brokers for US stocks. Look at currency conversion, custody fees and whether the app nudges you to trade more than you meant to.
The Cost Nobody Advertises: Currency Conversion
You earn Singapore dollars and US shares are priced in US dollars. Every purchase starts with a conversion.
Take US$24,000 a year, bought in 12 monthly lots:
- At 0.03% (Interactive Brokers’ automatic conversion), the cost is about US$7.
- At 0.25% (Saxo’s published charge), it is US$60.
- At a broker that publishes no figure, you cannot know in advance. If its rate were 0.3% away from the market rate, the cost would be US$72. That is a what-if for scale, not a claim about any broker.
Compare that with commission. The dearest commission in our table is under US$24 a year. A poor exchange rate can cost three times that.
The practical check takes one minute. Before you convert, note the rate the app offers, and compare it with a live market rate. The percentage gap is your real conversion cost.
A Worked Example: The Whole Year
Illustration only. An investor buys US$2,000 of a US-listed ETF every month and holds. We count buying costs for one year, with GST where it applies.
At Interactive Brokers (Lite, automatic conversion): US$0 commission. Conversion about US$0.60 a month. Year total about US$7.
At moomoo: platform fee US$0.99, GST US$0.09, settlement US$0.06. About US$1.14 a month, or US$13.70 a year, plus an unpublished conversion cost.
At Tiger Brokers: commission US$0.99, platform fee US$1, GST US$0.18, settlement US$0.06. About US$2.23 a month, or US$26.75 a year, plus an unpublished conversion cost.
At Saxo: commission of at least US$1 and conversion of US$5 a month. At least US$72 a year. If you opt out of securities lending, custody at 0.12% a year adds roughly US$16 in the first year and US$29 a year once you hold US$24,000.
On US$24,000 invested, these range from about 0.03% to 0.3% or more. Small in one year, but they repeat every year you keep buying. Our compound interest calculator shows what a recurring cost does over 20 years.
Tax and Custody Points That Apply at Every Broker
Dividend withholding tax. Dividends from US companies are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax. It is deducted before the money reaches your account. A broker cannot remove it.
Custody. All eight brokers hold your US shares in custody. They do not sit in your CDP account, which is for Singapore-listed securities. Check how each broker describes its custody arrangement.
No deposit insurance. SDIC does not cover shares or cash held at a broker.
Currency risk. Even if the share price holds steady in US dollars, your investment is worth less in Singapore dollars if the US dollar falls.
What we did not compare
We have not compared options, margin lending, CFDs, futures or crypto, and we will not rank brokers on them. All of these are available at one or more of the brokers above. They are leveraged or highly volatile. Losses can be fast and, with margin and some derivatives, larger than your deposit.
A US$0 commission also makes it easy to trade often. Frequent trading tends to cost more than it looks, through spreads and badly timed decisions.
Who This Comparison Does Not Suit
- CPF investors. The CPF Investment Scheme does not work through these US stock accounts. See our CPF Investment Scheme explainer.
- People who want a managed portfolio. A robo-adviser charges a yearly fee and does the choosing and rebalancing.
- Anyone who needs the money soon. Shares are for money you can leave for many years.
For other needs, such as SGX shares, funds or SRS, start with our guide to the best investment platforms in Singapore.
What To Do Next
- Confirm any broker’s licence in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory.
- Cost your own order size on the broker’s pricing page. Per-share fees change the answer for low-priced shares.
- Measure the exchange rate gap before your first conversion.
- Decide in advance how often you will trade, and keep to it.
