Brokerage Fee Calculator Singapore 2026

Compare SGX and US stock trading costs across 6 major Singapore brokers — free calculator with instant results in SGD.

Understanding Brokerage Fees for Singapore Investors

Brokerage fees are one of the most overlooked costs in investing — yet over a lifetime of trading, they can erode tens of thousands of dollars in returns. For Singapore retail investors trading on the SGX or US markets, choosing the right broker and understanding the fee structure is essential to maximising net returns. As at Q1 2026, the Singapore brokerage landscape has evolved significantly, with a new generation of digital custodian brokers offering dramatically lower commissions compared to traditional CDP-linked players.

This calculator lets you enter your typical trade size and annual frequency to see exactly how much each major Singapore broker would cost you per year — making the decision concrete and data-driven rather than abstract. Not financial advice. All figures are estimates based on published Q1 2026 rates and are for educational purposes only.

CDP vs Custodian Brokers: The Key Distinction

Singapore brokers fall into two camps. CDP-linked brokers — such as DBS Vickers, POEMS, OCBC Securities, and UOB Kay Hian — hold your SGX shares under your Central Depository (CDP) account, giving you direct legal ownership and the ability to attend AGMs and receive paper dividends. Traditional CDP brokers typically charge higher commissions (0.25%–0.30%, minimum S$25 per trade) to cover the overhead of CDP settlement. The trade-off: your shares are fully portable and protected even if the broker fails. Custodian brokers — Moomoo, Tiger Brokers, IBKR — hold shares in an omnibus account on your behalf. Fees are dramatically lower (as low as S$0), but your shares sit under the broker’s custody, not directly in your CDP account.

How Brokerage Fees Are Structured

Most Singapore brokers charge a percentage commission on the gross trade value, subject to a minimum fee per transaction. For example, a broker charging 0.28% with a S$25 minimum means that for any trade below S$8,929, you pay the flat minimum regardless of size. This has a major implication: small, frequent trades are disproportionately expensive with traditional brokers. A S$500 trade costing S$25 in commission represents a 5% drag — compared to less than 0.1% with a modern custodian broker.

How to Use This Brokerage Fee Calculator

1. Enter your trade value: Input the typical SGD amount per trade. Use your average — if you invest S$1,000 sometimes and S$5,000 other times, enter S$3,000 as a midpoint.
2. Set number of trades per year: Count each buy and sell separately. A typical Singapore investor making monthly investments and occasional rebalancing might trade 20–30 times a year.
3. Select your market: Choose “Singapore Stocks (SGX)” for local shares and REITs, or “US Stocks” to see costs for New York-listed ETFs and equities.
4. Read the results: The calculator instantly ranks all brokers from cheapest to most expensive, showing annual cost, per-trade cost, and how much extra each broker costs versus the cheapest option.

The calculator updates in real time as you type. The “(Cheapest)” label marks the lowest-cost broker for your specific scenario — note that the cheapest broker for large trades may differ from the cheapest for small, frequent trades.

Pro tip: Combine this with our Compound Interest Calculator to see how fee savings compound into significant wealth over 10–20 years of investing.

What Are Brokerage Fees in Singapore?

Brokerage fees are the commissions charged by a stockbroker each time you buy or sell a financial instrument — shares, ETFs, REITs, or bonds — on an exchange. In Singapore, the SGX (Singapore Exchange) is the primary local exchange, while many Singapore investors also trade on US exchanges (NYSE, NASDAQ) for access to global ETFs like Vanguard’s VOO or iShares CSPX.

For SGX trades, the standard fee components are: (1) the broker’s commission — typically 0.06%–0.28% of trade value; (2) the SGX clearing fee of 0.0325%; and (3) the SGX access fee of 0.0075% (both capped at S$600 each). Traditional brokers often bundle these into an all-in commission. Custodian brokers typically charge the commission separately from the exchange fees.

Understanding these fees matters enormously for long-term investors. The Compound Interest Calculator illustrates how even a 0.2% annual fee difference compounds over decades — for a S$200,000 portfolio growing at 7% annually, a 0.2% fee difference translates to approximately S$40,000 in additional wealth after 20 years.

How Brokerage Fee Structures Work: The Maths

Most Singapore broker fees follow this formula: Fee = MAX(minimum fee, trade value x commission rate). The minimum fee is the floor — you pay this even on tiny trades. For traditional brokers with S$25 minimums, this makes small trades very expensive on a percentage basis.

Consider a S$1,000 trade: at POEMS (0.28%, min S$25), you pay S$25 — that is a 2.5% cost. At Tiger Brokers (0.06%, min S$0.99), you pay S$0.99 — that is 0.099%. The difference is 25x. Now multiply by 12 trades per year: S$300 vs S$11.88 annually. Over 10 years invested at 7% growth, the S$288.12 in annual savings becomes approximately S$3,969 in additional wealth through the power of compounding — as you can model with our DCA Investment Calculator.

Source: Published broker rate cards, Q1 2026. Moomoo rates reflect ongoing promotional period. Figures exclude SGX clearing fees (0.04% on each transaction).

CDP vs Custodian Brokers: Full Comparison

CDP-linked brokers (DBS Vickers, POEMS, OCBC Securities, UOB Kay Hian, Maybank Securities) offer: (1) direct legal ownership of shares in your personal CDP account; (2) AGM voting rights and physical access to corporate actions; (3) the ability to switch brokers without moving shares; and (4) familiarity with traditional bank-backed institutions. The trade-off is higher fees, especially for small trades, and less access to international markets.

Custodian brokers (Moomoo, Tiger Brokers, IBKR, Saxo Markets) offer: (1) significantly lower or zero commissions; (2) wider market access (US, HK, AU, EU) from a single account; (3) sophisticated tools and analytics; and (4) fast onboarding via mobile apps. The key consideration: if the broker were to fail, your assets should be protected under MAS regulations (MAS-regulated brokers must segregate client assets under the Securities and Futures Act), but the claims process would be more complex than direct CDP ownership.

Many Singapore investors maintain both: a custodian broker for regular DCA investing (for the low fees) and a CDP account for long-term core holdings. See our Lump Sum vs DCA Calculator to model the impact of fee differences on your DCA strategy.

Best Low-Cost Brokers for Singapore Investors 2026

Based on the fee structures above, here are recommendations for different investor profiles as at Q1 2026. Always conduct your own due diligence and verify current rates with each broker directly before opening an account.

For beginner investors and small trades (under S$5,000/trade): Syfe (for fractional shares and robo-advisory), Moomoo, or Tiger Brokers. The fee differential at small trade sizes is enormous — a traditional broker’s S$25 minimum on a S$500 trade is a 5% cost, which no investment return can easily overcome.

For active investors prioritising CDP ownership: DBS Vickers Cash Upfront stands out among CDP brokers with its S$10.90 minimum — significantly lower than the S$25 minimum at peers. For trades under S$10,000, this is the most cost-efficient CDP option in Singapore.

For sophisticated investors trading multiple markets: IBKR (Interactive Brokers) offers a strong combination of low fees, wide market access, and robust tools. Its S$2.50 minimum on SGX trades and US$1 minimum on US trades makes it competitive at most trade sizes. Endowus remains a top choice for CPF/SRS-eligible investing where per-trade brokerage fees do not apply directly.

SGX Clearing and Settlement Fees Explained

Beyond broker commissions, every SGX trade incurs statutory fees levied by the exchange itself. As at Q1 2026, the SGX charges: Clearing fee: 0.0325% of contract value, capped at S$600 per trade; Access fee: 0.0075% of contract value, also capped at S$600. These two together total 0.04% and are charged on every buy and sell transaction. On a S$10,000 SGX trade, this amounts to S$4.00 — a minor but non-trivial cost especially for active traders.

These fees are typically bundled into the all-in commission quoted by traditional CDP brokers. Custodian brokers like Tiger Brokers often charge them separately. When comparing brokers, check whether the quoted commission includes these exchange fees or not. For US stocks traded via Singapore brokers, SGX fees do not apply — instead US trades may be subject to SEC regulatory fees (currently a fraction of a cent on retail trade sizes) charged on sell transactions.

Understanding the full cost stack — broker commission + exchange fees + any custody or inactivity fees — gives you an accurate picture of your total investment cost ratio. Compare this against your expected returns using the Retirement Planning Calculator to gauge the long-term impact on your financial goals.

Minimising Brokerage Fees as a Passive Income Strategy

For Singapore investors building a passive income portfolio — particularly through S-REITs and dividend-paying ETFs — keeping fees low is a key lever for maximising yield. Every dollar saved in brokerage fees is a dollar that stays invested, compounding over time. If you make 24 trades per year at S$3,000 each with a traditional S$25 minimum broker, you pay S$600 annually in commissions alone. At a custodian broker with S$0.99 minimum, the same activity costs under S$24 — a saving of S$576 per year that can be reinvested.

This is especially relevant for CPF and SRS investors. The CPF Investment Strategy guide explains how to invest OA funds — note that CPFIS investments must go through appointed CPFIS agents (DBS, OCBC, POEMS, UOB Kay Hian). For SRS-eligible investing, Endowus offers SRS account management with competitive fees. For cash investing in S-REITs and ETFs outside CPF/SRS, the low-cost custodian brokers are hard to beat on total cost.

Use our Dividend Portfolio Yield Calculator to model how higher net yields (after fees) translate into passive income over time. The combination of choosing high-yielding S-REITs and minimising trading friction is a compounding advantage that grows meaningfully over a 10–20 year investment horizon.

Frequently Asked Questions

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