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.
- ›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
- ›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 |
Pick Capital.com for CFD trading on global markets; pick Vanguard Personal Investor for real ASX investing, especially Vanguard ETFs.
Common questions
How do Capital.com and Vanguard Personal Investor compare on asset type?
Capital.com: CFDs only (no real shares or ETFs). Vanguard Personal Investor: Real ASX shares, ETFs and managed funds.
How do Capital.com and Vanguard Personal Investor compare on asx shares supported?
Capital.com: No. Vanguard Personal Investor: Yes.
How do Capital.com and Vanguard Personal Investor compare on us shares supported?
Capital.com: No (CFD exposure only). Vanguard Personal Investor: No.
When is Capital.com the better choice over Vanguard Personal Investor?
Pick 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; or you're comfortable with FX conversion costs (0.7%) and overnight funding charges on leveraged positions.
When is Vanguard Personal Investor the better choice over Capital.com?
Pick 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; or you want auto-invest/DCA with multiple schedule options, plus tax statements, CGT reports and Sharesight integration.
Capital.com or Vanguard Personal Investor — what's the 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 |