Capital.com vs Pearler
Capital.com and Pearler are fundamentally different products. Capital.com is a CFD broker — you never own the underlying asset, you're speculating on price movements with leverage. Pearler is a real share broker that buys actual ASX and US stocks under your name, with CHESS sponsorship available for ASX holdings. One is for trading derivatives; the other is for building a long-term portfolio.
- ›You want to trade CFDs on global markets (US, UK, EU, HK, JP, AU) with leverage and short-selling capability
- ›You want zero brokerage and zero monthly fees — costs are embedded in the spread and FX conversion
- ›You want a demo account to practice strategies before risking real money
- ›You want 24/7 customer support and fast withdrawals (most processed within 5 minutes)
- ›You want to trade after hours or hold positions overnight (with applicable funding costs)
- ›You want to buy and hold real ASX or US shares under your own HIN with CHESS sponsorship
- ›You want to automate your investing with auto-invest and portfolio rebalancing features
- ›You need a tax statement with distribution component breakdown for your annual return
- ›You want fractional US shares, managed funds, and account types including SMSF, trust, joint, and kids accounts
- ›You prefer a low FX spread (0.005%) over Capital.com's 0.7% FX fee on every trade
Where they differ
| Fact | Capital.com | Pearler |
|---|---|---|
| What you actually buy | CFDs (contracts for difference) — you never own the underlying asset | Real shares and ETFs on ASX and US markets, held in your name |
| CHESS sponsorship / HIN | Custodian model — no individual HIN | Mixed model — individual HIN available for ASX holdings |
| ASX brokerage | $0 (cost embedded in spread) | $6.50 per trade |
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 0.7% | 0.005% |
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $500 |
Choose Capital.com for leveraged CFD speculation; choose Pearler for real, long-term share investing under your own HIN.
Common questions
How do Capital.com and Pearler compare on what you actually buy?
Capital.com: CFDs (contracts for difference) — you never own the underlying asset. Pearler: Real shares and ETFs on ASX and US markets, held in your name.
How do Capital.com and Pearler compare on chess sponsorship / hin?
Capital.com: Custodian model — no individual HIN. Pearler: Mixed model — individual HIN available for ASX holdings.
How do Capital.com and Pearler compare on asx brokerage?
Capital.com: $0 (cost embedded in spread). Pearler: $6.50 per trade.
When is Capital.com the better choice over Pearler?
Pick Capital.com if you want to trade CFDs on global markets (US, UK, EU, HK, JP, AU) with leverage and short-selling capability; you want zero brokerage and zero monthly fees — costs are embedded in the spread and FX conversion; you want a demo account to practice strategies before risking real money; or you want 24/7 customer support and fast withdrawals (most processed within 5 minutes).
When is Pearler the better choice over Capital.com?
Pick Pearler if you want to buy and hold real ASX or US shares under your own HIN with CHESS sponsorship; you want to automate your investing with auto-invest and portfolio rebalancing features; you need a tax statement with distribution component breakdown for your annual return; or you want fractional US shares, managed funds, and account types including SMSF, trust, joint, and kids accounts.
Capital.com or Pearler — what's the verdict?
Choose Capital.com for leveraged CFD speculation; choose Pearler for real, long-term share investing under your own HIN.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Capital.com | Pearler |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | — | mixed |
| Individual HIN | — | Yes |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | No | Yes |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | No | Yes |
| SMSF account | No | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | No | Yes |
| 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 | |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | Yes |
| Options trading | No | No |
| CFDs supported | Yes | No |
| Managed funds | No | Yes |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | No | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 70% | 0.5% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | 70% | — |
| Holds USD account | No | No |
| FX currency switch trick | No | No |
| Market data fees | $0/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $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. | — |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | — | $6.5 |
| US brokerage minimum | — | US$6.5 |
| Monthly platform fee | $0/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $0/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | — | $0 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd | Pearler Investments Pty Ltd |
| AFSL number | 513,393 | 337,927 |
| Year founded | 2,021 | 2,018 |
| 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 | Privately held (founder-led); backed by investors including AfterWork Ventures |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | private | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $500 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $20 | $0 |
| Deposit methods | PayID, bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, PayPal | PayID, Osko, Bank transfer, PayTo (direct debit replacement) |
| 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. | 1-2 business days |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | No |
| Demo account | Yes | No |
| Free real-time market data | Yes | No |
| Free research reports | Yes | No |
| 2FA support | authenticator | authenticator_app |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, live chat, WhatsApp | email, phone, in-app |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/7 English live chat and email; Melbourne-based phone support during AEST business hours | Mon-Fri 9am-5pm AET |
| Education content | video + courses | video_and_courses |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | Yes |
| CGT calculator / report | No | No |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | No |
| Conditional orders | Yes | No |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | Yes |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | rebalancing |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | Yes |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | No |