How do we rank share trading platforms?

To find you the best online brokers, we rely on our proprietary algorithm which calculates the rankings of our share trading platforms.

We give share trading platforms a score so that we may give them a ranking in our Finder Awards, 'Best online broker' page, top broker picks displayed at the top of selected pages and for star ratings on review pages.

Set up by Finder's data scientists and investment experts, our algorithm takes into account broker fees, trading tools, educational resources and the list of available stock markets on each platform.

Quick stats

• Trading platforms compared: 27
• Trading features compared: 39

How do we choose our "Top Picks"?

Our top picks are displayed at the top of many of our share trading guides and feature 3-5 'Best for X' categories.

The brokers are awarded titles using the methodology below and Finder's editorial team decides which top picks to display based on research around user demand.

How do we rank brokerage fees?

There's no getting around the fact that a lot of share trading platforms have complicated fee structures. The brokerage fee (sometimes called the commission) can depend on how often you trade per month, how much you spend per trade and which country the stocks you're buying are from.

Broker fee structures are also completely different across the board. While some brokers offers flat fees, others are "tiered", meaning the more frequently you trade the lower your fee, or percentage-based, where the more you trade the more you pay. Others are a combination of tiered, percentage-based and flat.

To narrow this down, we compare the total broker fees a person would need to pay if they made 1 to 30 trades per month at trade values of between $100 and $10,000. We also compared fees for stocks listed in Australia, the US and the UK, which are the three most popular share trading markets in Australia.

By doing this, we can evaluate which online brokers are better suited to various trading styles such as active traders, long-term investors, ASX investors and global share trading investors.

Which features do we compare?

Along with broker fees, we looked at whether share trading platforms had the following features:

• Inactivity fees
• Currency conversion/foreign exchange fees
• The number of stock markets available
• Margin trading
• Managed funds
• Fractional investing
• Educational/training options
• Conditional order types
• Broker fees for options trades
• News and research tools
• Charting tools
• Support options
• Mobile accessible
• Appropriateness for beginners
• The ability to trade Forex/CFDs

How do we decide which features are more important?

Our selected brokerage fee categories and trading features are weighed based on the expertise of Finder's banking and investments team as well as user research to show which features are the most important to different investor types. The ratios may change as we update the formula to provide a better comparison experience for our users.

• Best for beginners

  To find the best online broker for beginners, we rely on our proprietary algorithm and prioritise how easy the platform is to use for new investors and whether it has training and educational resources. We also look at the brokerage fees for smaller and less frequent trades and whether there is an inactivity fee.

  We place less importance on advanced features such as the ability to trade options or forex.

  Depending on user demand, we may split this award into two categories – 'Best for US shares' and 'Best for Australian shares'. This uses the same methodology as above but filters out brokers that don't offer either US or ASX shares.

• Best for Australian shares

  For some investors, Australian shares will always be the priority. Using our share trading algorithm, we prioritise the features that are key to specifically trading ASX-listed shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs). This includes brokerage and inactivity fees for Australian shares and the ability to access the ASX. We put less importance on international share trading features or products such as forex or CFDs.

• Best for international shares

  International brokers give access to some of the biggest companies in the world such a Google (Alphabet), Facebook and Apple. And some share traders will prefer to prioritise platforms that work best for buying global stocks. Our share trading algorithm prioritises global brokerage and foreign exchange fees as well as the number of global markets available on the app. We also remove any brokers that do not offer direct global share trading.

• Best for active traders

  We consider active traders to be "advanced traders" and assume they would want trading features to suit. Our share trading algorithm weighs whether each platform has advanced charting tools, access to both Australian and global shares, a high list of order types, broker analysis and the ability to trade options, forex, CFDs and margin trading. Brokerage fees also prioritise a high level trading activity of more than 10 trades per month.

• Best for long-term investments

  Many investors aren't interested in trading frequently and prefer to invest a couple of times a year in order to achieve long-term profits. Our algorithm prioritises fees charged for a few trades per month of more than $1,000 as well as platforms that do not have additional charges if an investor chooses to make no trades at any given time (AKA the inactivity fee). We also look at whether the platforms offer managed funds and put less importance on whether the platform features fractional investing, options trading and forex and CFDs.

• Best for Australian index fund investing

  Index funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs) have become popular in recent years in Australia as a less risky alternative to buying stocks. We see that most index fund investors will be looking for a platform that caters specifically to Australian ETFs as a long-term investment.

  The algorithm used is similar to 'long-term investments' however it prioritises the fees for Australian stocks and ETFs if a user makes very few trades per year. It also gives a much higher rating to platforms that do not have additional charges if an investor chooses to make no trades at any given time (AKA the inactivity fee). In addition, we look at whether the platforms offers managed funds (mFunds) and place less importance on whether it features fractional investing, options trading, forex or CFDs.

• Best for penny stocks

  Because penny stocks (often called micro caps in Australia) are so volatile, they're a favourite among traders that like to take on a little more risk for the chance at bigger profits. Our algorithm prioritises a high frequency of trades per month, advanced charting tools, access to the NSX, the ASX and US exchanges as well as conditional order types and news. As penny stocks tend to be better suited to experienced traders, we put less importance on whether the platform is good for beginners and whether it offers features suitable for long-term investors such as managed funds.

• Best for US stocks

  Wall Street stocks are a favourite among Australians, especially with the emergence of household tech giants such Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google. For this category we only include trading platforms that offer access to the US market and then prioritise lower broker fees on US-listed stocks for both active and casual investors. It also takes into account inactivity fees, currency conversion fees and the range of additional available features.

• Best overall platform

  Our best overall platform takes into account all features and fees listed above and weighs them a little more equally. This means our "best overall" platform might not come first in any one category but has a high average score for each of them. This platform might best suit someone that wants to have the option of trying out all types of trading features, such as global and Australian shares and ETFs, training tools for beginners and more advanced options such as charting tools.

• Best for cheap broker fees

  The focus here is primarily on broker fees at every level of trading – regardless of how often you trade or the trade size. Broker fees for both Australian and global share trading is also taken into account, along with applicable inactivity fees.

• Best low-cost broker

  The focus here is primarily on broker fees at every level of trading – regardless of how often you trade or the trade size. This category also takes into account inactivity fees, foreign exchange fees and ETF brokerage fees. Broker fees for both Australian and global share trading is also taken into account.

• Best for trading features

  We rate brokers primarily on the range of available features, including whether the broker offered ASX shares, global shares and other markets such as Chi-X, forex, CFDs, options and unlisted managed funds. Brokers were also ranked higher if they offered a wide range of trading tools such as conditional orders, charting tools, news and educational resources.

• Best for exchange traded funds

  The winner of this award offers the lowest brokerage fees for Australian-listed exchange traded funds and no ongoing subscription or monthly fees.

Does Finder compare all share trading platforms in the market?

No, but we're trying our best to make that happen. Because it takes a long time to find and properly analyse broker fees and features, and it's important that we don't share misinformation, we're not able to cover 100% of the market. However, we do list the majority of Australia's most popular and well-regarded online brokers.

The process of gathering this data in Australia is quite manual. Our banking and investment team hunts down online brokers that are available to most Australian users and exclude those that are limited to "wholesale" (i.e. professional).

We also exclude platforms that don't offer direct share trading via a stock exchange – this includes most robo-advisers, micro-investment platforms and CFD providers that only offer stock CFDs.

Star ratings

Star ratings are displayed on our broker review and 'broker vs broker' pages to help you identify strengths and weaknesses. To find an overall score, we take into account six key categories:

Other questions

• How often are the rankings reviewed?

  Our share trading platform algorithm runs every day but is re-calculated once a quarter and adjusted on our site.

• Something doesn't seem right: who can I contact?

  Click the blue chat bubble in the bottom right of your browser or scroll down to the bottom of the page to ask a question of one of our experts.

• What other conditions are there?

  Due to the complicated nature of broker fees, there were a few assumptions we needed to set:

  • Where fees are priced in different global currencies, the rates are based on the exchange rate set as of 28 April 2020.
  • Where fees are based on a dollar per share structure, we've used a nominal share price of $10 per share.
  • In cases where fees are charged as a percentage of total holdings, we assume the total trade value per month is 10% of total holdings. For example, if you make 1 trade of $100 per month, the assumption is your total holdings equal $1000.
  • In cases where the broker offers both CHESS and issuer sponsored shares, we have used the least expensive option in terms of broker fees.