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