Share Trading comparison
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.
Choose
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
- ›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
Choose
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
- ›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 |
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 |