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There's no single share trading platform that's best for everyone as all our needs are different - and what's best for you might not be best for someone else. Keep in mind that we don't compare every product in the market, but we hope that our tools and information will allow you to compare your options and find the best share trading platform for you.
Are you looking for the best online brokers in Australia? With activity in the stock market surging last year, there are now dozens of share trading apps to choose from in Australia in 2021 offering record low prices.
But picking a share trading platform is about more than just the fees. The best platform for you will depend on how often you trade, which markets you're investing in and how experienced you are.
To make it easier on you, we've compared some of Australia's top share trading platforms by looking at fees, features and available products. To get the best results, we compared 39 different features, including fees structures, support options, trading tools and range of markets.
These are the 10 best trading platforms of 2021 according to the latest information (last updated March 2021).
How did we pick this list?
We use a proprietary algorithm that calculates the ranking of our share trading platforms based on fees, features, available markets and user experience. Bear in mind that the brokers displayed on this page may not always be the best for you and you're encouraged to compare for yourself. For more information about how we calculated our categories, head to our share trading ranking page.
IG set a new standard for low fees in 2020 when it released $0 commission trading on global stocks and $5 brokerage on Australian shares. This update means IG now offers the lowest commission fees among brokers offering ASX and global stocks, but this is especially the case for high-frequency trading. For 30 trades of ASX shares a year, you pay just $150 in broker fees – most brokers we reviewed charge double this amount or more.
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CMC Markets offers an extensive range of features and options to suit all traders, including CHESS-sponsored Australian shares, global shares and currencies. You also get a range of trading tools including advanced charts, stock watchlists and conditional orders.
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eToro is well known for its social features that allow users to learn from each other and to imitate the trades made by successful traders. The platform launched US share trading in Australia in June 2020. It's a top choice for US stocks thanks to having zero brokerage fees, a low currency conversion rate and a range of trading features such as news updates and charting tools.
Disclaimer: eToro offers both stock and CFD trading. CFDs are considered high-risk products where you could lose more than your initial capital.
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With no monthly subscription or inactivity fees for the standard account, SelfWealth customers can buy and sell Australian (CHESS sponsored) and US shares for a flat $9.50 fee without worrying about ongoing costs. SelfWealth also offers excellent research features, such as a portfolio tracking tools, stock recommendations and company analysis.
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Superhero made waves when it launched onto the Australian scene last year thanks to its super low brokerage fees and easy to use design. The platform charges no brokerage fees when you invest in Australian-listed ETFs and a flat $5 brokerage fee for Australian stocks. Because it also has no ongoing fees, this makes it a top pick for long-term and ETF investing.
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ThinkMarkets' ASX mobile trading app is simple enough for beginners to get started, while also offering a range of useful features, such as company announcements, watchlists, alerts, portfolio tracking and limit orders. And if you're looking to get trained up, ThinkMarkets offers online classes and 'how-to' guides on stocks, currencies and commodities trading.
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Stake is a great choice for total beginners thanks to its easy-to-use platform, low fees and low minimal investing. With Stake, you can only trade US stocks, but it's a nice starter for new traders because you pay $0 commissions on trades and you can invest as little as $10 at a time through fractional investing. The platform has a minimal, stylish design that will appeal to new and old traders.
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Interactive Brokers has an extensive range of trading tools for active traders, such as advanced charting, fractional shares and a long list of conditional order options. Its brokerage fees are among the lowest on the market for Australian and global share trading, especially for high-frequency traders, and users can also trade OTC stocks.
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Commbank's share trading app is Australia's most popular platform for a few good reasons. CommSec offers Australian CHESS-sponsored shares and ETFs starting at $10 a trade and it has no ongoing subscription or inactivity fees. It's not the cheapest broker on the market but it is feature rich when it comes to Australian stocks. Tools include broker analysis, watchlists, IPOs, stock filters and a long list of conditional (limit) orders.
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CMC Markets is ranked number 1 for international share trading thanks to its $0 brokerage global stock offering and feature rich platform. You can access up to 15 global markets, including the US, UK, Canada and Japan as well as Australia's ASX and Chi-X.
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Interactive Brokers is one of the few online brokers to offer over the counter (OTC) stock trading here in Australia. IB also features advanced trading tools, global share trading and an extensive list of conditional order types.
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Important: Share trading can be financially risky and the value of your investment can go down as well as up. “Standard brokerage” fee is the cost to trade $1,000 or less of ASX-listed shares and ETFs without any qualifications or special eligibility. If ASX shares aren’t available, the fee shown is for US shares. Where both CHESS sponsored and custodian shares are offered, we display the cheapest option.
With dozens of share trading platforms in Australia, it's not easy to work out which one is best suited to you.
The best app for beginners is going to be very different to a platform that suits active or professional traders. Meanwhile, somebody that wants to invest in Australian shares and ETFs may have no interest in currencies trading or international markets.
The fees can also change depending on how often you trade in a month, a quarter or a year. In fact, recent Finder research found that the average share trader could save approximately $1,048 in brokerage fees a year by switching to a more suitable broker (calculated on 7 trades per month of $1,000).
It may even save money to have more than one platform. For example, you could have one app to trade US stocks, one for ASX shares and another for currency markets.
There are many different kinds of share traders. Once you know which category you fall into, you’ll be able to more easily pick the best share trading app for you. For example, there are casual traders, active traders and long-term investors.
This will influence the features you're looking for in an online broker. From the ease of use of the system through to the market research information available, it's important that the platform complements your trading needs.
Ask yourself the following questions to determine your trading style:
How often will I trade? If you buy or sell shares once or twice a month (or even less), you’re a casual investor. You may want to avoid brokers that have an inactivity fee or charge higher broker fees for less frequent trades.
If you intend to buy and sell shares multiple times in a day, you’re an active trader. You’d want to look for platforms that offer low brokerage for high-frequency trading and an extensive range of trading features, such as charting tools and order options.
Am I a trader or an investor? Traders try to make money from share price movements by buying and selling stocks frequently – often several times in a day or week.
Investors use the "buy and hold" strategy by targeting quality companies they think will rise over a long time-frame and possibly offer dividends. They may only buy and sell a few times in a year. Investors may find the inactivity fee more important than a stock analysis feature.
For traders, a low brokerage fee and advanced features are key. They might find the stock analysis feature more important than an inactivity fee.
How will I place trades? Will you be placing all your trades online, via a mobile app or over the phone? Make sure the app offers your preferred choice and check the fees.
What will I be trading? Do you want to trade Australian shares, US shares or other international markets? Some online brokers also offer other markets such as global currencies and cryptocurrencies. Depending on what your priorities are, you may wish to get a broker that offers all of the above or several different brokers– one for each market.
How much money am I trading? Do you intend to invest one lump sum of $5,000 into the stock market or would you prefer to make several small trades of a few hundred dollars? Brokerage fees sometimes differ depending on the amount you’re buying and selling per month, per year or by trade.
There are plenty of things you'll need to consider when looking at different platforms. Of course, it all comes down to how you're intending to use it.
Here are some of the key features to look at when comparing online share trading platforms:
There are three main fees that commonly apply when you use online share trading platforms – brokerage fees, monthly fees and foreign exchange fees if you trade global shares.
Brokerage fees vary greatly between providers but typically start at around the $10 to $20 range. For large transactions, fees of around 0.1% and up usually apply. If you’re planning on making lots of trades, you’ll want to keep an eye out for a platform that offers low per-trade fees.
Some providers will not charge any monthly fees at all. However, more advanced trading platforms and those that offer premium services will often charge a monthly fee that could be as high as around $80 per month. A number of brokers will waive this fee if you perform more than a certain number of trades each month.
Finally, remember that many brokers offer different membership levels – for example gold, silver and platinum – which offer different features and therefore attract varying fees.
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Which trading platform has the best tax reporting for the ato?
Hi Jack,
Thank you for reaching out to finder.
Though we do not have information on the best tax reporting for these companies to the ATO, you may want to contact the ATO directly to check on the statistics for this. They should have available historical data on these companies available for you. Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Reggie
I’d like to buy shares online myself, I’ll be a casual investing in semi longterm shares, looking for a $20 to $50 share minimum purchase. I’m hoping that’s possible, I’m mid 50’s an hoping to add a little extra for retirement, any advice would be muchly appreciated, cheers
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your inquiry.
Going into share trading is one of the good ways to grow your money. With share trading, please note that the minimum order when buying shares on the ASX is $500 and your online trading platform may require a higher limit. We have some guides on the following pages which could help you in your journey to share trading:
1. Beginner guide to share trading
2. Opening a share trading account
3. Compare online share trading accounts
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
May
I’m looking for a discount broker for trading Australian shares that provides data reports, particularly for end of f/y
Cheers, Allan
Hi Allan,
Thanks for your question.
You may want to check our page that discusses cheap stock brokerage in Australia. By checking that comparison table on that page, you should learn which share trading platform has the lowest brokerage fee. Most of them provide daily and yearly data reports.
Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.
Cheers,
Anndy
I have shares in the UK, but with an Australian address it is hard (impossible) to find a UK agent to help with their sale. What is the best Australian option for a single trade (sell)?
My suggestion is that you do an off market transfer with a third party who is willing to buy the shares from you and arrange private cash settlement.
Hi Rich,
Thank you for your inquiry.
Unfortunately, we cannot recommend what is best for you. Our company finder.com.au is a financial comparison website and general information service designed to help consumers to make better decision. Please note we do not represent any company we feature on our pages.
Thankfully, you can always check the list of online share trading platforms on our website. This should give you a good place to start searching for the right platform.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Harold
I noticed that amscot Stockbroking is not on the comparison list.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your question.
Although we cover a wide range of products, providers and services, we don’t cover every product, provider or service available in the market so there may be other options available to you. However, you can find more information about the amscot Stockbroking through our website.
Cheers,
May
I am delighted to read this analysis. Hope to see the competition on going and interesting in future. I recently was going through some trading applications and found Forex Signals to be really successful and dependable. It helped me increase my profits in comparison to previous one.
Hi Lee,
Thanks very much for your feedback and for your suggestion. We’re always adding to our content so keep eye out for new content from us.
Cheers,
Clarizza
Hi there I think I will have to take my iPad to fountain gate plaza to have it looked at the 500pluse app is getting rejected by my I as a last resort I will get my iPad Looked at in the Apple Store at fountain gate if nothing else can be done by me!
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your question.
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