Which broker is better for me? Tiger Brokers vs Saxo? If you found yourself wondering this, congratulations for stumbling upon this article.
Tiger Brokers is a relatively new fintech bringing convenient and low-cost stock trading as well as access to multiple markets within reach of normal retail traders and investors.
Saxo Markets, on the other hand, is an established operator since 1992 with many international offices. Many might then ask, what are the differences between the two and which one is the best broker?
I’ve done some research to find out exactly what are the differences to help you decide which broker to go for. This article highlights the advantages of Tiger Brokers over Saxo Markets.
Trading Fees
Tiger Brokers’ fees are really affordable for the major markets.
| Stock | Tiger Brokers | Saxo Markets |
| Singapore stocks | 0.08 % / trade No minimum until 31 Dec 2020 | 0.08 % / trade No minimum until 30 Apr 2021 |
| US stock & ETF | 0.01 USD / Share Min 1.99 USD / trade | 0.06 % / trade Min 4.00 USD / trade |
| Hong Kong stocks | 0.06 % / trade Min 15 HKD / trade | 0.15 % / trade Min 90 HKD / trade |
| China A-shares | 0.06 % / trade Min 15 CNH / trade | 0.15% / trade Min 40 CNH / trade |
| Australia stocks | 0.10 % / trade Min 8 AUD / trade | 0.10% / trade Min 8 AUD / trade |
Tiger Brokers’ rates are competitively placed and wins over Saxo overall.
No minimum deposit
For newbie investors or traders, accumulating a big enough capital size would be one of the obstacles before one can start jumping into the market.
Tiger Brokers does not set any minimum deposit and allows you to open an account online without depositing any amount of money. On the other hand, Saxo imposes a minimum deposit of SGD3,000 for their most basic account type.
Real-time stock prices from supported exchanges
Tiger Brokers gives you access to multiple international stock exchanges, namely SGEX, NYSE / NASDAQ, HKEX, China A-Shares and Australian stock exchange.
They offer FREE real-time stock prices and you don’t have to pay for anything to check the current market price for any stocks listed in the exchanges.
Saxo Markets doesn’t offer any real-time stock price update. You’ll need to subscribe to their data packages.
Fully online and fast application
Tiger Brokers allow a fully online application for opening new accounts. My experience for opening the account has been smooth and very quick as it was approved within 24 hours. Everything can be done online including the KYC process.
In comparison, I found that Saxo Markets’ account opening process a bit tedious and long. Even though both can be done online, Saxo Markets take anywhere from 2 – 3 business days to process new account opening.
No inactivity fee
If you are a long-term investor, typically you wouldn’t do much active trading on your overseas account. So having no inactivity fee is absolutely crucial if you want to preserve your capital gains.
Tiger Brokers does not impose any inactivity fee. Saxo Markets charges a whopping USD 100.00 (or the equivalent amount in the account currency) where the client does not execute any trades on his/her account for a period of 6 consecutive months (180 days).
No custody fee
Saxo Markets charges 0.25% custody fee on your stocks and ETFs with a monthly minimum fee of EUR 5.00.
Tiger Brokers does not charge any custody fee whatsover.
Verdict
I would say that Tiger Brokers wins hands down in a few areas, namely:
- No extra fees, keeping investing affordable to the masses
- Quick and simple fully-online account opening
- No minimum deposit
- Real-time stock prices update from supported exchanges
In my opinion, Tiger Brokers is more suited for regular retail investors and provides a hassle-free way to access the more mature markets quickly. Though Saxo Markets is quite established, their offering is more suited for sophisticated investors or professional fund managers with huge account sizes to compensate for the extra fees incurred.