Share Trading comparison
Capital.com vs Vanguard Personal Investor
Capital.com and Vanguard Personal Investor are fundamentally different products. Capital.com is a CFD trading platform — you never own the underlying assets, and it doesn't support ASX shares, ETFs, or real US stocks at all. Vanguard Personal Investor is a genuine broker for ASX-listed shares and ETFs (especially Vanguard's own funds), with $0 brokerage on buys of Vanguard ETFs. The real choice here is whether you want to trade derivatives on global markets or invest in actual Australian-listed securities.
Choose
Capital.com
if…
- ›You want to trade CFDs on global markets (US, UK, EU, HK, JP, DE, FR, AU) rather than own real shares
- ›You want a low minimum deposit ($20) and multiple deposit methods including PayID, card, Apple Pay and PayPal
- ›You need 24/7 customer support, a demo account, and after-hours trading capabilities
- ›You're comfortable with FX conversion costs (0.7%) and overnight funding charges on leveraged positions
Choose
Vanguard Personal Investor
if…
- ›You want to buy and hold real ASX-listed shares and ETFs under a custodian model
- ›You're a Vanguard ETF investor — $0 brokerage on buys and $0 on sells via Auto Invest
- ›You need managed funds, joint accounts, SMSF accounts, or kids/minor accounts
- ›You want auto-invest/DCA with multiple schedule options, plus tax statements, CGT reports and Sharesight integration
Where they differ
| Fact | Capital.com | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| Asset type | CFDs only (no real shares or ETFs) | Real ASX shares, ETFs and managed funds |
| ASX shares supported | No | Yes |
| US shares supported | No (CFD exposure only) | No |
| Auto-invest / DCA | Not available | Yes, with multiple schedule options |
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $200 |
Verdict
Pick Capital.com for CFD trading on global markets; pick Vanguard Personal Investor for real ASX investing, especially Vanguard ETFs.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Capital.com | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | No | Yes |
| ASX ETFs supported | No | Yes |
| US shares supported | No | No |
| US ETFs supported | No | No |
| Other markets supported | US, UK, EU, HK, JP, DE, FR, AU | |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | No |
| 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% | — |
| FX spread (other currencies) | 70% | — |
| Holds USD account | No | — |
| 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. | Participation in voluntary corporate actions (rights issues, SPPs, takeovers) is NOT available through Vanguard Personal Investor for ETFs or direct shares - investors cannot participate. Mandatory corporate actions (e.g. dividends) flow through automatically. No corporate action fees disclosed. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | — | $0 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | — | 0% |
| ASX free trade conditions | — | $0 brokerage on all buys of Vanguard ETFs (Vanguard managed funds incur no brokerage at all). $0 brokerage on Vanguard ETFs/funds purchased via Auto Invest. Sells of Vanguard ETFs incur $9 flat. ASX direct (non-Vanguard) shares: $9 flat both ways. |
| 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 | Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd |
| AFSL number | 513,393 | 227,263 |
| Year founded | 2,021 | 2,020 |
| 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 | The Vanguard Group, Inc. (US) - mutual structure owned by US-domiciled Vanguard fund investors |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | private | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $200 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $20 | $1 |
| Deposit methods | PayID, bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, PayPal | BPAY, Direct credit (EFT), Direct debit |
| Settlement period | N/A (CFDs are not settled — positions are open contracts marked-to-market continuously) | T+2 (ASX) |
| 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. | Up to 3 business days from processing date (processed same day if requested before 4pm AET) |
| 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 | SMS |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, live chat, WhatsApp | Phone, Secure message (in-app) |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/7 English live chat and email; Melbourne-based phone support during AEST business hours | Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm AET (phone) |
| Education content | video + courses | structured |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | Yes |
| CGT calculator / report | No | Yes |
| 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 | multiple |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | No |