Share Trading comparison
Capital.com vs IG Australia
Capital.com and IG Australia both offer commission-free trading, but they're fundamentally different products. Capital.com is a pure CFD provider — you never own the underlying asset, just a contract tracking its price. IG Australia offers both real share trading (ASX and international) and CFDs under the one login. If you want to actually own shares in your name, IG is the only real option here.
Choose
Capital.com
if…
- ›You want to trade CFDs exclusively with zero commission and no platform or inactivity fees
- ›You want a low $20 minimum deposit and fast withdrawals — 91% processed within 5 minutes
- ›You want 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, WhatsApp and email
- ›You want a demo account and free real-time market data to practise before committing real money
Choose
IG Australia
if…
- ›You want to actually own ASX and US shares and ETFs, not just trade CFDs
- ›You want a true multi-currency account that holds USD directly, avoiding FX conversion on US trades
- ›You need joint, trust or SMSF account structures — Capital.com doesn't offer these
- ›You want an Australian tax statement and CGT report at EOFY to simplify your tax return
- ›You want IPO access and a wider range of account types including corporate and trust structures
Where they differ
| Fact | Capital.com | IG Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | CFDs only — no real share ownership | Real shares + CFDs (both available) |
| ASX shares & ETFs | Not supported | Supported (commission-free) |
| FX spread on international trades | 0.7% | 0.007% |
| USD multi-currency account | No — FX conversion on every US trade | Yes — hold and trade USD directly |
| Account types | Individual and company only | Individual, joint, company, trust, SMSF |
Verdict
Pick IG Australia if you want to own real shares; pick Capital.com only if you're certain CFDs are what you're after.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Capital.com | IG Australia |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | — | custodian |
| Individual HIN | — | No |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | No | Yes |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | No | Yes |
| SMSF account | No | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | No | — |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | No | Yes |
| ASX ETFs supported | No | Yes |
| US shares supported | No | Yes |
| US ETFs supported | No | Yes |
| Other markets supported | US, UK, EU, HK, JP, DE, FR, AU | United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | No |
| Options trading | No | No |
| CFDs supported | Yes | Yes |
| Managed funds | No | No |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | No | Yes |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 70% | 0.7% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | 70% | 0.7% |
| Holds USD account | No | Yes |
| FX currency switch trick | No | — |
| Market data fees | $0/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Corporate action fees | 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. | Corporate actions (dividends, splits, rights issues, takeovers) for shares held in custody are processed by IG via Citicorp Nominees; cash dividends are credited net of withholding to client ledger. SPP/rights elections are limited under the custodial model and detailed fees are disclosed in the IG Share Trading Customer Agreement / FSG. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | — | $0 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | — | 0% |
| ASX brokerage threshold | — | $10,000 |
| ASX free trade conditions | — | $0 commission on all ASX shares and ETFs on the IG Share Trading account (no conditions/minimum trade count). A 0.25% p.a. platform fee on holdings value applies; 0.7% FX fee applies to international trades. |
| US brokerage minimum | — | US$0 |
| US brokerage percentage | — | 0% |
| Monthly platform fee | $0/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $0/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd | IG Australia Pty Ltd |
| AFSL number | 513,393 | 515,106 |
| Year founded | 2,021 | 2,002 |
| Parent / ownership | 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 | IG Group Holdings plc (LSE: IGG) |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | private | public |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $0 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $20 | — |
| Deposit methods | PayID, bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, PayPal | bank transfer, BPAY, debit card, credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay |
| Settlement period | N/A (CFDs are not settled — positions are open contracts marked-to-market continuously) | T+2 (ASX), T+1 (US) |
| Withdrawal time | 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. | 1-3 business days |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | Yes |
| Demo account | Yes | Yes |
| Free real-time market data | Yes | No |
| Free research reports | Yes | Yes |
| 2FA support | authenticator | authenticator app |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, live chat, WhatsApp | phone, email, live chat, social media |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/7 English live chat and email; Melbourne-based phone support during AEST business hours | 24/5 Monday to Friday (closed weekends) |
| Education content | video + courses | video + courses |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | — |
| CGT calculator / report | No | Yes |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | — |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | No |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | none |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | Yes |