What is a stock trading platform? How do I buy shares in Australia? Which stock trading platforms offer the best brokers and banking options for beginner investors who want to trade stocks online? These questions and many more will be answered in this detailed article on Australian Stock Trading Platforms.
Learning how to use stock trading platforms is not easy. Like most Australians, you may think it is better to leave the hard work of analysing company accounts and keeping up with share prices to others. And why shouldn’t you? The financial institutions that provide stock trading platforms are highly trained in what they do. However, this does not mean that you should not try out the features of these platforms for yourself on an introductory level at least.
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, 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 a range of markets.
Australian citizens looking to trade shares in the stock market have a variety of options. Online brokers come with a diverse range of offerings, from discount to full service, while others are known for their trading tools or research.
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is the 16th largest in the world, with $1.44 trillion in total market cap, according to Wikipedia. Depending on the broker, Australians also have access to some of the largest exchanges in the world, such as the NASDAQ in the United States. Australian brokerages are regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).
In this guide, we will break down the best online brokers for Australians.
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. Although we work hard to track and compare each and every broker in Australia, this may not always be the case.
For more information about how we calculated our categories, head to our share trading ranking page.
1. CMC Markets Invest
Best overall broker
- Zero brokerage global share trading
- Low brokerage fees for ASX CHESS-sponsored share trading
- No inactivity fee or account fees for basic account
- Suitable for new investors and advanced traders
CMC Markets offers extensive features and options to suit all traders, including CHESS-sponsored Australian shares, global shares and currencies. You also get extensive trading tools including advanced technical charts, stock watchlists and conditional orders.
Compare popular share trading platforms
2. Superhero share trading
Best low-cost broker
- Lowest brokerage fees for active or inactive traders
- Zero brokerage ETF investing
- No inactivity fee
- No account or subscription fees
Superhero’s share trading platform offers both US and Australian stocks for the lowest brokerage fees in Australia. Australian shares are $5 per trade order, US stocks are $0 per trade and ETFs cost $0 for purchase orders. The platform is available on both mobile and desktop and is user-friendly enough for beginners to get started.
Compare popular share trading platforms
3. eToro (global stocks)
Best for US stocks
- Zero brokerage US stock trading
- Low currency conversion fee
- Fractional share trading available
- Conditional orders available
eToro is well known for its social features that allow users to imitate the trades made by other popular traders. The platform launched US share trading in Australia in 2020 and more recently European and Hong Kong stocks. It’s a top choice for US stocks thanks to its $0 brokerage fees, low currency conversion rate and trading features.
Disclaimer: eToro offers both stock and CFD trading. CFDs are considered high-risk products where you could lose more than your initial capital.
Compare popular share trading platforms
4. Capital.com – Best Trading Platform Australia for Beginners ($20 Minimum Deposit)
Some of you reading this guide will be looking to trade for the very first time. If this is the case, you’re best advised to stick with a top-rated Australia trading platform that is suited for beginners. In this respect, we really like Capital.com.
Firstly, the platform comes jam-packed with newbie-friendly trading guides and educational resources. This even includes a mobile education app that comes with several mini-courses. The Capital.com trading platform – which is native to the provider, is also very user-friendly.
You simply need to search for the market you are interested in and place your required buy or sell order. There is no complex jargon when filling out an order form, making it perfect for beginners. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, Capital.com requires a minimum deposit of just $20 to get started.
That amounts to just AUD $26-ish. As such, you can start trading with real money but at the same time – risk a very small amount of capital. Capital.com also offers a top-rated demo account facility that mirrors live market conditions. In terms of what financial instruments the trading platform supports, Capital.com specializes in CFDs.
This covers everything from stocks and indices to forex and commodities. It’s a great bitcoin trading platform as you can also trade cryptocurrency CFDs, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tron. In a similar nature to eToro, Capital.com is a 100% commission-free trading platform. We checked an abundance of live markets on the platform and found spreads to be very competitive, too.
For example, the spread on EUR/USD and GBP/USD is currently being quoted at just 0.8 pips and 0.6 pips, respectively. You can also deposit and withdraw funds fee-free on Capital.com and there is no ongoing platform charge. When it comes to regulation, Capital.com is licensed by two reputable financial bodies – the FCA and CySEC.
Pros:
- Trade stocks, commodities, forex, crypto, and more
- Perfect for first-time traders
- Educational app for new traders
- AI assistant identifies your weak points
- Trade ideas generated daily
- Excellent charting and analysis interface
- $20 minimum deposit
Cons:
- Cannot build custom trading strategies
72.6% of retail investors lose money trading CFDs at this site.
5. Interactive Brokers – Best Trading Platform Australia for Stocks
If you’re looking for a top-rated online stock trading platform in Australia, you might want to consider Interactive Brokers. This hugely popular online broker gives you access to more than 135 global markets across 33 nations.
This includes everything from the US, UK, Europe, Asia, and of course – Australia. This gives you ample opportunity to build a diverse portfolio of international shares from several stock markets. Interactive Brokers allows you to invest in stocks in the traditional sense or trade them via CFDs.
As such, this top-rated Australian online brokerge platform is suitable for both long-term and short-term strategies. If you are more inclined to the former, Interactive Broker also offers thousands of ETFs and investment funds. There are also pre-selected portfolios that cover a variety of risk levels and financial goals.
In terms of fees, the pricing structure at Interactive Brokers can be a bit confusing at first glance. Not only will your commission depend on the asset you wish to trade, but also the account type you are on. With that said, Interactive Brokers does allow you to buy US-listed stocks and ETFs on a commission-free basis.
This means that you can buy shares in Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, IBM, et all – without getting hammered with fees. In terms of safety, Interactive Brokers has been offering financial trading services for more than four decades. As a US-based brokerage firm, it is heavily regulated.
Pros:
- Huge library of traditional stocks
- Dozens of exchanges and markets covered
- CFD instruments also supported
- No minimum deposit
- Low fees starting from $0.005 per share
Cons:
- More suitable for experienced investors and traders
- No debit/credit cards – bank transfers only
There is no guarantee you will make money with this provider.
6. Commsec – Largest Australian Online Trading Platform
Commsec is the largest and most famous online trading platform founded in Australia. This platform has been about since 1995 and mainly offers shares although it also offers ETFs and options. You can invest in all the best Australian stocks, as well as thousands of international companies from 25 international exchanges.
Unlike trading platforms like eToro, Commsec doesn’t operate on a commission-free model. Online share trading commissions range from $10 to $29.95, and you also need to pay commissions to trade ETFs and options.
However, while Commsec isn’t the cheapest trading platform in Australia, it does have some great benefits. For example, Commsec is a beginner-friendly platform that has lots of really useful educational resources, including webinars, but it’s also perfect for experienced traders and is packed with advanced analysis materials and tools.
Commsec also has some interesting services, such as its Self Managed Super Fund Solutions, where you can get support from a specialized team to help you diversify your portfolio.There’s also Commsec One, which gives personalised support, excluse access and special offers.
Commsec is also an extremely secure and trustworthy platform that’s licensed by ASIC. While it’s not quite as modern as some new online trading platforms, it’s a solid choice that’s certain worth checking out if you want to trade stocks and options.
Conclusion
Stock trading platforms can be an excellent way to get an idea of whether or not the market is trending in a certain direction, or if it’s time to go shopping. For investors this is incredibly important so they know when to sell, when to hold on, and what time of day their buying power is most powerful.