Bell Direct vs Capital.com
Bell Direct and Capital.com look like competitors on paper, but they serve completely different jobs. Bell Direct is a CHESS-sponsored broker for buying and holding real ASX and US shares. Capital.com is a CFD provider — you never own the underlying asset, you trade contracts on price movements. That single difference dictates everything else.
- ›You want to own real shares under your own HIN on the ASX — CHESS-sponsored, not custodian-held
- ›You trade ASX stocks regularly and want a low-cost brokerage model ($5 or 0.1% above $25,000)
- ›You need access to managed funds, bonds, IPOs, or dividend reinvestment plans
- ›You want a CGT report and tax breakdown at EOFY without manually calculating everything
- ›You're investing for the long term and want to hold US stocks in a real USD account, not a CFD
- ›You want to trade leveraged positions on indices, commodities, forex, or crypto — not just shares
- ›You prefer zero-commission trading with costs built into the spread, and you're comfortable with CFDs
- ›You want a low $20 minimum deposit, 24/7 support, and the ability to deposit via card, Apple Pay, or PayPal
- ›You need a demo account to practise strategies before risking real money
- ›You trade outside market hours and want access to overnight / after-hours pricing
Where they differ
| Fact | Bell Direct | Capital.com |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership structure | CHESS-sponsored — you get your own HIN | Custodian model — no HIN, you hold CFDs not shares |
| ASX brokerage | $5 minimum or 0.1% (whichever is higher) | $0 commission (cost embedded in spread) |
| Minimum deposit | $500 | $20 |
| Market data fees | $27.50/month for ASX real-time | $0 — free real-time data included |
| Product scope | Shares, ETFs, managed funds, bonds, options, IPOs | CFDs only — no direct shares, ETFs, or managed funds |
Pick Bell Direct if you want to own actual shares. Pick Capital.com if you want to trade leveraged CFDs on margin.
Common questions
How do Bell Direct and Capital.com compare on ownership structure?
Bell Direct: CHESS-sponsored — you get your own HIN. Capital.com: Custodian model — no HIN, you hold CFDs not shares.
How do Bell Direct and Capital.com compare on asx brokerage?
Bell Direct: $5 minimum or 0.1% (whichever is higher). Capital.com: $0 commission (cost embedded in spread).
How do Bell Direct and Capital.com compare on minimum deposit?
Bell Direct: $500. Capital.com: $20.
When is Bell Direct the better choice over Capital.com?
Pick Bell Direct if you want to own real shares under your own HIN on the ASX — CHESS-sponsored, not custodian-held; you trade ASX stocks regularly and want a low-cost brokerage model ($5 or 0.1% above $25,000); you need access to managed funds, bonds, IPOs, or dividend reinvestment plans; or you want a CGT report and tax breakdown at EOFY without manually calculating everything.
When is Capital.com the better choice over Bell Direct?
Pick Capital.com if you want to trade leveraged positions on indices, commodities, forex, or crypto — not just shares; you prefer zero-commission trading with costs built into the spread, and you're comfortable with CFDs; you want a low $20 minimum deposit, 24/7 support, and the ability to deposit via card, Apple Pay, or PayPal; or you need a demo account to practise strategies before risking real money.
Bell Direct or Capital.com — what's the verdict?
Pick Bell Direct if you want to own actual shares. Pick Capital.com if you want to trade leveraged CFDs on margin.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Bell Direct | Capital.com |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | chess | — |
| Individual HIN | Yes | — |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | Yes | No |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | Yes | No |
| SMSF account | Yes | No |
| Kids / minor account | Yes | No |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | Yes | No |
| ASX ETFs supported | Yes | No |
| US shares supported | Yes | No |
| US ETFs supported | Yes | No |
| Other markets supported | US, UK, EU, HK, JP, DE, FR, AU | |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | Yes | No |
| Options trading | Yes | No |
| CFDs supported | No | Yes |
| Managed funds | Yes | No |
| Bonds supported | Yes | No |
| IPO access | Yes | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 60% | 70% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | — | 70% |
| Holds USD account | Yes | No |
| FX currency switch trick | — | No |
| Market data fees | $27.5/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Phone trade surcharge | $60 | — |
| Corporate action fees | Fail fee $110 or 0.11% daily for unsettled trades; corporate action handling generally pass-through via CHESS sponsorship | Not applicable — Capital.com offers CFDs only, not real shares. There are no corporate-action fees because clients do not hold underlying securities; dividend adjustments on share CFDs are passed through automatically (credited on long positions, debited on short positions) without an explicit fee. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | $5 | — |
| ASX brokerage percentage | 10% | — |
| ASX brokerage threshold | $25,000 | — |
| US brokerage minimum | US$0 | — |
| Monthly platform fee | — | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | — | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | — | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | — | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | $55 | — |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Third Party Platform Pty Limited (trading as Bell Direct) | Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd |
| AFSL number | 314,341 | 513,393 |
| Year founded | 2,007 | 2,021 |
| Parent / ownership | Bell Financial Group Limited (ASX: BFG) | Capital.com Group (founded by Viktor Prokopenya, backed by VP Capital); ultimate AU operator is Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd, part of the Cyprus-headquartered Capital.com group with multiple regulated entities globally |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | public | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $500 | $20 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | — | $20 |
| Deposit methods | BPAY, Bank transfer (EFT), Direct credit | PayID, bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, PayPal |
| Settlement period | T+2 (ASX), T+1 (US) | N/A (CFDs are not settled — positions are open contracts marked-to-market continuously) |
| Withdrawal time | 1-2 business days | Within 1 business day for PayID and bank transfer; 3-5 business days for card/Apple Pay/PayPal. 91% of withdrawals processed within 5 minutes. |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | Yes |
| Demo account | — | Yes |
| Free real-time market data | No | Yes |
| Free research reports | Yes | Yes |
| 2FA support | SMS | authenticator |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, online forms | phone, email, live chat, WhatsApp |
| Support hours (AU time) | Business hours, AET (typically Mon-Fri market hours) | 24/7 English live chat and email; Melbourne-based phone support during AEST business hours |
| Education content | basic articles | video + courses |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | Yes | No |
| Distribution component breakdown | Yes | No |
| CGT calculator / report | Yes | No |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | Yes | No |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest / DCA | — | No |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | none |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | Yes | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | — | Yes |