Capital.com vs SelfWealth
Capital.com and SelfWealth are fundamentally different products. Capital.com is a CFD broker — you never own the underlying asset, you're speculating on price movements with leverage. SelfWealth is a traditional CHESS-sponsored broker where you buy real ASX and US shares under your own HIN. The biggest practical difference: one is for trading derivatives, the other is for building a real portfolio.
- ›You want to trade leveraged CFDs on indices, forex, commodities or crypto — not own actual shares
- ›You're comfortable with the risk of leveraged positions and overnight funding costs
- ›You want to start with as little as $20 and use PayID, card or even PayPal to deposit
- ›You want 24/7 customer support and a demo account to practice before trading real money
- ›You trade global markets (UK, EU, HK, JP, DE, FR) beyond just the US and Australia
- ›You want to buy and hold real ASX shares or ETFs under your own HIN with CHESS sponsorship
- ›You need a joint account, trust account, SMSF or kids account — SelfWealth supports all of them
- ›You want dividend reinvestment (DRP) and auto-invest/DCA with multiple rule options
- ›You want a US dollar account to avoid paying FX conversion fees on every US trade
- ›You need an Australian tax statement and Sharesight integration for end-of-year reporting
Where they differ
| Fact | Capital.com | SelfWealth |
|---|---|---|
| What you actually own | CFD contracts — you never hold the underlying asset | Real shares under your own HIN (CHESS-sponsored) |
| ASX brokerage | $0 (cost embedded in spread) | $9.50 per trade |
| FX fee on US trades | 0.7% spread, no USD account | 0.6% spread, or $0 if you use the USD account |
| Minimum deposit | $20 | $500 |
| Account types | Individual and company only | Individual, joint, company, trust, SMSF and kids accounts |
Choose Capital.com for leveraged CFD speculation; choose SelfWealth for real, CHESS-sponsored share investing with proper account options.
Common questions
How do Capital.com and SelfWealth compare on what you actually own?
Capital.com: CFD contracts — you never hold the underlying asset. SelfWealth: Real shares under your own HIN (CHESS-sponsored). This is the fundamental difference between the two platforms.
How do Capital.com and SelfWealth compare on asx brokerage?
Capital.com: $0 (cost embedded in spread). SelfWealth: $9.50 per trade. Capital.com appears free but you pay via wider spreads and FX fees.
How do Capital.com and SelfWealth compare on fx fee on us trades?
Capital.com: 0.7% spread, no USD account. SelfWealth: 0.6% spread, or $0 if you use the USD account. SelfWealth is cheaper for frequent US trading.
When is Capital.com the better choice over SelfWealth?
Pick Capital.com if you want to trade leveraged CFDs on indices, forex, commodities or crypto — not own actual shares; you're comfortable with the risk of leveraged positions and overnight funding costs; you want to start with as little as $20 and use PayID, card or even PayPal to deposit; or you want 24/7 customer support and a demo account to practice before trading real money.
When is SelfWealth the better choice over Capital.com?
Pick SelfWealth if you want to buy and hold real ASX shares or ETFs under your own HIN with CHESS sponsorship; you need a joint account, trust account, SMSF or kids account — SelfWealth supports all of them; you want dividend reinvestment (DRP) and auto-invest/DCA with multiple rule options; or you want a US dollar account to avoid paying FX conversion fees on every US trade.
Capital.com or SelfWealth — what's the verdict?
Choose Capital.com for leveraged CFD speculation; choose SelfWealth for real, CHESS-sponsored share investing with proper account options.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Capital.com | SelfWealth |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | HK |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | No |
| Options trading | No | No |
| CFDs supported | Yes | No |
| Managed funds | No | No |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | No | — |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 70% | 60% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | 70% | — |
| 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. | — |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | — | $9.5 |
| ASX free trade conditions | — | Selfwealth Premium subscribers ($29/month or $240/year) receive 10 complimentary trades annually; otherwise no free-trade conditions. |
| US brokerage minimum | — | US$9.5 |
| 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 | — | $27.5 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd | SelfWealth Pty Ltd |
| AFSL number | 513,393 | 421,789 |
| Year founded | 2,021 | 2,012 |
| 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 | Syfe (Svava Pte Ltd, Singapore) |
| 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 | OSKO, BPAY, EFT/bank transfer |
| Settlement period | N/A (CFDs are not settled — positions are open contracts marked-to-market continuously) | T+2 |
| 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 | live chat, email, phone |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/7 English live chat and email; Melbourne-based phone support during AEST business hours | 10am-4pm AET, Monday-Friday (closed public holidays) |
| Education content | video + courses | basic articles |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | — |
| CGT calculator / report | No | No |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | Yes |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | multiple |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | Yes |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | Yes |