Comparison of Foreign Stock Trading Fees by Securities Firms: 2025 Trading Fee Guide and Cost Reduction Strategies

In stock investing, transaction fees are just as important as the return rate. Even if you achieve the same profit, differences in fees can significantly impact your final yield. This is especially true when trading domestic and US stocks, as different fee structures apply, making it crucial to choose a securities firm that matches your trading style. In this article, we will compare the overseas stock trading fees of major securities firms in detail and present practical strategies to reduce these costs.

Overview of Overseas Stock Trading Fees by Major Securities Firms

As of 2025, the trading fees for US stocks among the top 5 securities firms generally converge around 0.25%. However, domestic stock trading fees vary by firm and can differ greatly depending on the trading platform and transaction amount.

Mirae Asset Securities charges 0.136% for domestic stock trades and 0.25% for US stocks, and is currently offering a promotion that waives online trading fees for domestic and US stocks for 90 days for new customers.

Korea Investment & Securities sets domestic stock trading fees at 0.147% and US stock fees at 0.25%, with a 3-month fee waiver for US stock trading available to new clients.

Samsung Securities applies a fee of 0.147216% plus 1,500 KRW for trades under 10 million KRW, and 0.25% for US stocks. New and dormant customers can enjoy a 3-month US stock trading fee waiver.

Kiwoom Securities offers the lowest domestic stock trading fee of 0.015% on the HeroMUN4 platform, with US stock trading fees at 0.25%. New customers are also eligible for a 3-month US stock trading fee waiver.

Shinhan Investment Corp. charges 0.1391639% plus 2,000 KRW for trades under 30 million KRW, and 0.25% for US stocks. It provides the longest benefit, a 1-year US stock trading fee waiver, to new clients.

Understanding Overseas Stock Trading Fee Structures

When trading overseas stocks, you pay not only brokerage commissions but also additional costs such as currency exchange fees, SEC fees, and FINRA fees. This is the biggest difference compared to domestic stock trading.

In particular, currency exchange fees are often overlooked. When converting currency through securities firms, unfavorable exchange rates may be applied compared to banks or specialized currency platforms, and repeated losses from these rates can significantly affect your actual returns. Therefore, when considering foreign currency investments, it’s essential to exchange money when rates are favorable or to check for preferential exchange rates offered by your securities firm.

How Fees Impact Long-term Returns

The importance of fees is amplified by compound effects over time. Suppose you make 10 transactions with 10% profit each on 1 million KRW; with a 0.1% fee, your final amount would be about 2.57 million KRW, whereas with a 0.2% fee, it would be around 2.54 million KRW, a difference of about 30,000 KRW.

This gap widens as transaction amounts and frequency increase. For investors who frequently engage in small, short-term trades, fixed fees can have a substantial impact. For example, paying a fixed fee of 1,500 KRW per trade at Samsung Securities, over 100 trades, accumulates to 150,000 KRW, which can significantly erode profits.

Practical Strategies to Reduce Fees

Accurately understand each securities firm’s fee structure

Don’t just look at the percentage rate. For example, Shinhan Investment charges a fee of 0.1391639% plus a fixed fee, so you need to calculate based on your typical transaction amount and frequency to understand the actual cost.

Strategically utilize fee waiver events

Most securities firms offer fee waivers for new or dormant clients. Some promotions allow clients to choose when to start benefits, so planning your trading schedule to begin just before you start active trading can maximize benefits.

Optimize transaction size and frequency

Frequent small trades can make fixed fees more impactful. If you don’t have a specific plan for split buying/selling, it’s generally more cost-effective to execute larger trades at once rather than multiple smaller ones.

Choose the right trading platform

Fees can vary significantly depending on the platform, such as Kiwoom’s HeroMUN4. Selecting the platform that offers the lowest fees for your trading volume is crucial.

Leverage favorable exchange rate timing

To reduce currency exchange costs, consider converting foreign currency when rates are advantageous or take advantage of securities firms’ exchange rate promotions.

Conclusion

Stock investment returns are not only about timing the market but also about managing fees effectively. Choosing a securities firm that matches your trading volume and frequency, utilizing promotional benefits, and minimizing unnecessary trades can greatly improve your long-term yield. When trading overseas stocks, it’s essential to consider exchange fees as part of your overall cost analysis to achieve optimal investment performance.