Best Share Trading Platforms in Australia: Fees and Limitations
| Platform | Relevant use case | ASX access | Australian shareholding structure | Indicative trading fee | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMC Invest | Sub-A$1,000 ASX purchases | Yes | Individual CHESS HIN | A$0 on qualifying first buys below A$1,000; otherwise A$11 or 0.10% | Free-buy rule has a strict threshold; sell orders are charged. |
| moomoo | ASX investing at varied order sizes | Yes | Individual CHESS HIN | A$3 or 0.03% per ASX order | ASX rate does not describe the cost of overseas investing. |
| IG Share Trading | Online ASX transactions | Yes | Custodial | A$0 online share commission | Custodial holdings, not an individual CHESS HIN; FX charges overseas. |
| Interactive Brokers | Multiple international markets | Yes | Nominee/sub-custody | ASX fixed: 0.08%, A$6 minimum before GST | More complex fees and settings; no personal ASX HIN. |
| Totality (formerly Saxo Australia) | Choice of holding arrangements | Yes | Custody or eligible individual HIN | Classic ASX from A$3 custodial; from A$14.90 personal HIN | Individual-HIN option costs more; other custody and transfer fees may apply. |
| Trading 212 | Automated overseas investing | Not established as a core ASX route | Custodial | A$0 Invest commission; 0.15% FX when applicable | Not established as a broad ASX brokerage option; FX costs can recur. |
| eToro | Social and copy-investing functions | Selected securities | Managed investment scheme for eligible underlying positions | A$0 ETF commission; variable stock and FX costs | Product structure can vary between underlying interests and CFDs. |
| Charles Schwab International | US-listed securities | Not a conventional ASX service | US brokerage custody | US$0 online commission on eligible US-listed shares and ETFs | US-focused; Australian eligibility and funding conditions apply. |
Fees are illustrative standard online charges, not estimates of total cost. Market charges, spreads, FX conversion, taxes, custody charges and account conditions can change the result. The foreign-market services are not interchangeable with a domestic ASX broker. Refer to the linked account documents before relying on a rate.
How This Comparison Was Put Together
The comparison is confined to accounts that provide exposure to genuine shares or ETFs for Australian residents. CFD trading under the same brand is not counted as share ownership. Brokers are examined on eligible markets, account structure, brokerage, currency costs and the practicalities of transferring holdings. A feature is treated as useful only where it changes those outcomes.
Risk Warning: Investing in shares and ETFs involves risk, including the potential loss of your invested capital. Investment values can rise or fall, and past performance does not guarantee future returns. International investments carry additional currency and market risks, while brokerage fees and other charges can affect overall returns. Some platforms also offer CFDs, which are leveraged products and do not provide ownership of the underlying assets. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute personal financial advice. Investors should consider their financial circumstances, investment objectives, and risk tolerance before making any investment decisions.
Broker Reviews: Strengths, Costs and Limitations
CMC Invest: the free-buy threshold changes the calculation
CMC Invest offers A$0 online brokerage on the first purchase of less than A$1,000 in each ASX security on a given day. That is a narrow pricing condition, not a general zero-commission account. Once an order falls outside it, including a sell order, brokerage is A$11 or 0.10% of the trade value, whichever is higher.
The threshold creates an awkward step in the cost of investing. Regular A$900 contributions may attract no buy-side brokerage; increasing the order to A$1,000 or more removes that benefit. Individual CHESS sponsorship is a meaningful structural difference from custodial services, but does not erase market risk or guarantee smoother transfers in every situation.
CMC Invest is competitive when order sizes consistently meet the free-buy rule and holdings are retained. The case deteriorates for larger or frequent sales. International investing also introduces a 0.60% FX spread and potential order minimums. Treating this as a cheap all-market broker would be misleading.
moomoo: low ASX brokerage is not the full account cost
moomoo charges A$3 or 0.03% per ASX order, whichever is higher, including GST. That makes the buy-side price easier to anticipate across moderate order sizes than a tariff with a free-trade threshold. A$5,000 costs A$3; A$20,000 costs A$6.
Australian holdings can be recorded under an individual CHESS HIN, making the ownership arrangement relatively clear. The platform also puts extensive market data and trading features front and centre. The extensive trading tools may appeal to active investors, but they add limited practical value for someone who simply wants to buy and hold ETFs.
The domestic brokerage figure should not be extended to overseas orders. US trading carries a US$0.99 platform fee before other applicable costs, including currency conversion. moomoo merits comparison for ASX pricing, but the claim that it is the lowest-cost broker overall is not supported.
IG Share Trading: zero commission, different ownership rights
IG charges A$0 online commission for eligible ASX shares and ETFs. At face value that undercuts brokers that impose a minimum fee on larger domestic orders. It does not make every aspect of investing with IG free.
The principal qualification is the holding structure. IG uses a custodial arrangement involving Citi rather than registering each eligible ASX holding under the investor’s personal CHESS HIN. Custody can represent genuine share ownership through a beneficial interest, but it changes the administration of corporate actions and the route for transferring securities. Investors who want direct CHESS registration should not treat this as an equivalent product.
For overseas investments, IG’s 0.7% currency conversion charge can become more consequential than the trading commission. Its domestic fee is competitive, but a fair judgment depends on the investor being comfortable with custody and avoiding an assumption that A$0 commission means zero total costs.
Interactive Brokers: international breadth with avoidable complexity for simple portfolios
Interactive Brokers offers access to numerous securities markets and currencies. That matters only if the investor intends to use them. The platform is harder to justify for a portfolio consisting of one or two ASX-listed ETFs.
ASX fixed pricing is 0.08%, subject to a A$6 minimum before GST; its tiered tariff starts at 0.08%, with a A$5 minimum plus market charges. US tiered share commissions start at US$0.0035 per share, subject to a US$0.35 minimum. Spot FX has a quoted starting percentage rate but also a US$2 minimum before GST. For small transfers, the minimum—not the eye-catching percentage—can determine the real charge.
Australian shares are held through nominee/sub-custody rather than the investor’s personal HIN, even where CHESS infrastructure is used. Currency balances, order settings and tariff tiers add decisions that an occasional investor may not need. Interactive Brokers has a credible role in complex international portfolios; it should not be presented as an uncomplicated default.
Totality (formerly Saxo Australia): custody choice has a material price
Saxo Australia was rebranded as Totality in August 2025, and Totality-branded apps replaced the former Saxo apps for Australian clients in April 2026. The change of name is less important to this comparison than the distinction between its custody and personal-HIN account arrangements.
Classic ASX brokerage starts at 0.08% with a A$3 minimum under custody. Eligible personal-HIN trading starts at 0.10% with a A$14.90 minimum. Comparing only the smaller figure with CHESS-sponsored competitors conceals the difference in what the account provides.
The ancillary fees make the comparison more demanding. Classic-tier custody on eligible overseas holdings may run to 0.12% annually; on A$50,000, that is about A$60 a year before other charges. FX conversion may reach 0.45%, and outgoing transfers can incur A$50 per identifier, capped at A$200 per request. For straightforward ASX investing, these are significant obstacles to a low-cost claim. The wider market offering needs to deliver a specific benefit to justify them.
Trading 212: automation does not solve the Australian-market gap
Trading 212’s Invest account has A$0 dealing commission and no standard custody fee, with a 0.15% FX charge when a conversion applies. These terms are relevant to overseas-listed securities, but they are not enough to establish the platform as an ASX broker for typical Australian portfolios.
Pies and AutoInvest can automate contributions and target allocations. That may reduce administration, but automated orders can also produce repeated FX charges when purchased assets are denominated in a different currency. Automation changes the workflow, not the economics or suitability of the investments.
The central limitation is market coverage and account structure. Investments are custodial, and broad ASX access or personal CHESS registration should not be assumed for an Australian account. The exact ticker and exchange need verification before this service can be meaningfully compared with locally focused brokers.
eToro: social features obscure an important product distinction
eToro’s distinctive feature is CopyTrader, which allows another investor’s positions to be mirrored. That can make activity easier to replicate without making the underlying decisions any more appropriate. Social engagement is not evidence of investment quality.
The more serious issue is understanding what is actually being bought. Some eligible non-leveraged share and ETF positions provide underlying exposure through eToro’s Australian managed investment scheme. Leveraged or short positions are CFDs, and certain other transactions can also be CFDs. A purchase cannot be classified as ownership merely because the order screen uses familiar share-trading language.
Standard ETF commission is A$0; some stock orders carry US$1 or US$2 fees, with currency costs potentially added. For investors who specifically require copy-investing, eToro may warrant investigation. As a default platform for building and holding a conventional ASX portfolio, it introduces product and account distinctions that need more scrutiny than the headline rate suggests.
Charles Schwab International: not a direct substitute for an ASX broker
Charles Schwab International offers US$0 online commission on eligible US-listed shares and ETFs. That can be relevant to an Australian resident seeking a US-focused portfolio, but it says little about its suitability as a general Australian share-trading platform.
Non-US resident eligibility, funding requirements, access to specific US-domiciled funds and relevant tax paperwork all need attention. Commission-free dealing also excludes whatever cost an investor incurs in moving Australian dollars into the currency used for trading. Those issues can dominate the decision long before transaction fees do.
Schwab therefore belongs in a separate international-investing category rather than alongside CHESS-sponsored domestic accounts as a like-for-like competitor. For someone mainly buying ASX securities, it is not the primary account to compare.
CHESS-Sponsored vs Custodial Shares in Australia
Registration affects how an investor receives issuer communications, participates in corporate actions and transfers holdings. With an individual CHESS HIN, eligible ASX securities appear against the investor on the CHESS subregister. Under custody, a nominee generally holds legal title while the investor has a beneficial interest under the account agreement. Both can represent genuine securities, but neither arrangement is risk-free.
| Consideration | Individual CHESS HIN | Custody/nominee |
|---|---|---|
| Registered holder | Investor | Custodian or nominee |
| Voting and corporate actions | Typically more direct issuer interaction | Subject to custodian's processes |
| Moving to another broker | Often possible through a sponsorship transfer | Depends on in-specie transfer facilities and fees |
| Failure of an intermediary | Registration supports identification of holdings; outcomes still depend on circumstances | Client-asset records, legal structure and insolvency procedures matter |
The existence of CHESS somewhere in a broker’s infrastructure is not proof that the customer has a personal HIN. Interactive Brokers illustrates the distinction. The important checks are the legal holding arrangement, who handles corporate actions, whether securities can be transferred in specie and what the exit fees are.
How Much Does Share Trading Cost in Australia?
Example: 12 ASX ETF purchases in a year
The following scenarios illustrate how a small change in order size can alter the brokerage comparison. Assume 12 purchases of the same ASX-listed ETF, one on a different day each month, with no sales or promotional offers. The figures measure buy-side brokerage only; they exclude the ETF’s own costs, spread, taxes, holding fees and future sale or transfer expenses.
| Broker and tariff | 12 × A$900 | 12 × A$1,500 | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMC Invest | A$0 | A$132 | First qualifying daily buy per security below A$1,000 |
| moomoo | A$36 | A$36 | A$3 minimum at these order sizes, including GST |
| IG Share Trading | A$0 | A$0 | Online ASX commission; custodial holdings |
| Interactive Brokers, fixed | A$79.20 | A$79.20 | A$6 minimum per trade plus 10% GST |
| Totality, Classic custody | From A$36 | From A$36 | A$3 minimum; confirm applicable additional costs |
| Totality, Classic personal HIN | From A$178.80 | From A$178.80 | A$14.90 minimum; confirm applicable additional costs |
In this scenario, CMC Invest charges A$0 for qualifying A$900 purchases but A$132 over the year for twelve A$1,500 purchases. moomoo remains at A$36 in both cases; IG’s quoted online commission is zero for both but uses custody rather than a personal HIN. The table is an illustration of fees under stated assumptions, not a complete ranking of account costs or investor outcomes.
Example: converting A$2,000 to buy US shares
| Platform | Quoted rate | Approximate conversion cost |
|---|---|---|
| CMC Invest | 0.60% | A$12 |
| IG | 0.70% | A$14 |
| Trading 212 | 0.15% | A$3 |
A sale may trigger another conversion, and these simple estimates leave out market spreads and share-trading costs. Interactive Brokers prices spot FX separately with a minimum commission, so its cost needs to be calculated for the actual amount being exchanged. A free overseas stock trade is not necessarily a cheap overseas investment.
What Matters When Buying ETFs in Australia?
For an Australian investor seeking overseas share exposure, an ASX-listed ETF may remove the need to convert each individual contribution into foreign currency. It does not remove the fund’s underlying currency exposure. Over time, the fund’s management costs, tracking difference and trading spread may outweigh small differences in brokerage.
For regular contributions, check whether the account supports the intended ETF, how orders are scheduled, whether uninvested cash accumulates and what rebalancing costs.
Buying US and International Shares from Australia
International purchases require more than a commission comparison. An Australian-dollar deposit may have to be exchanged, the security bought and eventually sold, and the proceeds converted again. Separate custody or market fees may apply. The effective exchange rate and any minimum charge should be compared against the size of each transfer.
Market-access claims need to be checked at the instrument level: an Australian account may be able to buy some US shares but not every ETF or exchange-listed product. US securities may involve W-8BEN documentation, withholding and Australian tax reporting. These factors cannot be inferred from the number of markets shown in an app.
How to Choose and Start Using a Share Trading Platform
The initial test is whether the service supports the actual securities intended for purchase. After that, calculate a year of representative buys and sells, examine the ownership agreement and find the process and cost for transferring holdings away. A platform with a low opening cost may still be unattractive to leave.
- Confirm Australian-resident eligibility, the correct legal entity and availability of the desired market.
- Open the cash securities-investing account and examine its custody or HIN documentation.
- Fund the account, allowing for brokerage, currency conversion and any other charges.
- Check the ticker, exchange, product type, order size and all-in preview before placing an order; use a limit order when control over price is important.
- Keep the confirmation and verify the holdings via the share registry, CHESS records or the custodian's statement.
Conclusion: No Overall Winner on the Available Evidence
The eight services do not compete on equal terms. CMC Invest, moomoo, IG, Interactive Brokers and Totality provide meaningful ASX comparison points, but even these differ in how holdings are recorded and what becomes chargeable. Trading 212, eToro and Charles Schwab serve narrower needs and should not be treated as equivalent substitutes for a standard Australian share-broking account.
For a regular ASX investor, the decision turns on order size, holding arrangement and likely sale or transfer costs. For an international investor, market access and total FX costs take greater weight.
FAQs
Which brokers offer an individual CHESS HIN?
CMC Invest and moomoo provide individual CHESS HINs for qualifying ASX holdings. Totality offers an eligible personal-HIN option at a higher minimum fee. Check the specific account, not just the broker’s brand name.
Can Australian investors own actual shares through a custodian?
Yes. A custodial arrangement can give the investor a beneficial interest in genuine securities. The custodian handles legal registration and some administration; that is different from holding a CFD.
Can holdings be transferred without selling them?
In many cases, yes. Moving between CHESS sponsors is generally more straightforward than moving holdings out of custody, where in-specie transfer support, asset restrictions and exit fees may apply.
What happens if a share broker fails?
That depends on whose name the assets are registered under, how client holdings are segregated and the applicable insolvency process. A personal HIN can make identification and transfer easier, but neither arrangement eliminates every risk.
Amy Baily
Amy Baily is a Forex education writer with over nine years of experience in trading and market analysis. She focuses on risk management, trading psychology, and the importance of maintaining a disciplined approach to the markets.
