What is CHESS sponsorship and why does it matter?

CHESS sponsorship means your ASX holdings are registered directly on the ASX settlement system in your name, not held by the broker as a nominee. This gives you direct ownership of the shares. Most Australian brokers offer CHESS sponsorship, though some use a mixed model where certain holdings may be held under a custodian arrangement.

Which ASX broker has the cheapest brokerage?

It depends on your trade size. For trades under $1,000, CMC Invest offers free first buys per security per day. Webull charges $1 minimum for ASX shares and $0 for ASX ETFs. For large trades, moomoo caps at $9.99 and Pearler charges a flat $6.50. No single broker is cheapest for every scenario.

Does moomoo charge inactivity fees?

No, moomoo does not charge an inactivity fee. It also has no monthly platform fee. This makes it a good option for buy-and-hold investors who trade infrequently. CMC Invest, by contrast, charges $15 per month after 12 months of inactivity.

What hidden costs should I watch for when choosing a broker?

The main hidden costs are market data fees (Bell Direct $27.50/month, Webull $49.99/month), FX spreads on US trades (ranging from 0.006% at CMC to 0.6% at Bell Direct and SelfWealth), inactivity fees, and off-market transfer fees. These can easily exceed your brokerage costs.

Is Webull really free for ASX ETFs?

Yes. Webull charges $0 brokerage on all ASX ETF trades with no conditions. For ASX shares, the fee is $1 minimum or 0.03% (whichever is greater), capped at $30. This makes Webull a strong option for ETF-only investors who want zero trading costs.

Which broker has the best FX spread for US shares?

CMC Invest has the lowest FX spread at 0.006% on AUD/USD conversion. Most other brokers charge between 0.3% and 0.6%. On a $10,000 US trade, CMC costs $0.60 in FX spread while Bell Direct or SelfWealth would cost $60.

Guide · share trading

ASX brokerage fees explained: flat fee vs percentage, hidden costs, capped pricing

Every way Australian brokers charge for ASX trades, decoded. Flat-fee, percentage, capped, free-trade thresholds — plus the hidden costs that don't show up on the pricing page.

By Investmatch Research Team · Last updated 15 May 2026

What are you actually paying when you trade on the ASX?

If you have clicked on this guide, you have probably stared at a broker's pricing page and wondered whether a $3 trade is actually cheaper than a $9.50 trade. The short answer: it depends on how you trade, how often, and what you are buying. The longer answer is what follows.

Australian brokers use three main fee structures for ASX trades: flat-fee, percentage-based, and capped. Each suits a different kind of investor. And beneath the headline number, there are hidden costs that can quietly eat your returns.

Flat-fee brokerage: simple but not always cheap

Flat-fee brokers charge the same dollar amount regardless of trade size. This is the most transparent model. You know the cost before you click buy.

Pearler charges $6.50 per ASX trade. SelfWealth charges $9.50. CommSec charges $5 per trade if you link a Commonwealth Direct Investment Account (CDIA), but without that link the price jumps to $29.95 for trades under $10,000. Bell Direct starts at $5 per trade.

Flat fees work best for medium-to-large trades. If you buy $5,000 of VAS on Pearler, you pay $6.50, which is 0.13%. If you buy $500, you still pay $6.50, which is 1.3%. That is a big drag on a small investment.

Percentage-based brokerage: fair for large trades, punishing for small ones

Percentage brokers charge a fraction of the trade value. Bell Direct charges 0.1% for trades above $25,000. CommSec charges 0.12% above $25,000 (with CDIA linkage). Stake charges 0.01% above its $3 minimum.

Percentage models reward large trade sizes. A $50,000 trade on Bell Direct costs $50 (0.1%). On a flat-fee broker at $9.50, that same trade costs $9.50. The flat fee wins. But a $100,000 trade on Bell Direct costs $100. On Pearler it is still $6.50. The flat fee wins again.

Percentage models only become cheaper than flat fees when your trade is very small. A $200 trade on Bell Direct costs $5 (the minimum). On Pearler it costs $6.50. The percentage broker wins by $1.50.

Capped pricing: the middle ground

A handful of brokers cap the maximum you will pay per trade. Webull charges $1 minimum or 0.03% for ASX shares, with a maximum of $30. moomoo charges $3 minimum or 0.03%, capped at $9.99.

Capped pricing is hard to beat for large trades. A $100,000 trade on moomoo costs $9.99. On Pearler it costs $6.50, but on CommSec (without CDIA) it would cost $310. The cap protects you from the percentage model's worst-case scenario.

For very small trades, Webull's $1 minimum is the cheapest ASX share brokerage in Australia. But note: Webull charges $0 brokerage on ASX ETFs, with no conditions. That is a specific carve-out worth knowing if you are an ETF-only investor.

Free-trade thresholds: CMC's clever offer

CMC Invest offers $0 brokerage on the first ASX buy order per security per day, for trades up to $1,000. This is not a promotion. It is their standard pricing.

For a dollar-cost averaging strategy where you buy $1,000 of an ETF each week, CMC is free. No other broker offers this on an ongoing basis. SelfWealth gives 10 free trades per year to Premium subscribers ($29/month or $240/year), but that is a paid plan.

The catch with CMC: the free trade only applies to buys, not sells. And it is one buy per security per day. If you want to buy three different ETFs in one day, the second and third trades cost $11 each.

Hidden costs that change the real price

The headline brokerage number is only part of the story.

Market data fees. Bell Direct charges $27.50 per month for live ASX data. Webull charges $49.99 per month. If you pay for market data, your annual cost can exceed your brokerage. CMC, CommSec, moomoo, Pearler, SelfWealth, and Stake all offer free market data.

FX spread on US trades. If you trade US shares, the currency conversion cost often dwarfs the brokerage. Bell Direct charges 0.6% on AUD/USD conversion. SelfWealth also charges 0.6%. CMC charges just 0.006%. On a $10,000 US trade, Bell Direct costs $60 in FX spread. CMC costs $0.60. The difference is enormous.

Pearler charges 0.5%, Stake charges 0.55%, moomoo charges 0.3%, and Webull charges 0.5%. Only CMC is in a different league on FX.

Inactivity fees. CMC charges $15 per month if you do not trade for 12 months. Most other brokers on this list charge nothing. If you are a buy-and-hold investor, an inactivity fee can turn a cheap broker into an expensive one.

Off-market transfer fees. If you want to move your holdings to another broker (off-market transfer), most charge a fee. These are not always listed on the pricing page. Check the PDS before you sign up.

CHESS sponsorship vs custodian models. All brokers in this guide use CHESS sponsorship, meaning your holdings are registered on the ASX in your name. Pearler, SelfWealth, and Stake use a "mixed" model where some holdings may be held under a custodian arrangement. For most Australian investors, CHESS sponsorship is important because it means you own the shares directly, not through a nominee structure.

How to pick by trade size and frequency

There is no single cheapest broker. The right choice depends on your behaviour.

If you trade small amounts frequently (under $1,000): CMC for free first buys, or Webull at $1 minimum for ASX shares. For ETFs, Webull is free.

If you trade medium amounts ($1,000 to $10,000): moomoo at $3 minimum with a $9.99 cap, or Pearler at $6.50 flat. Stake at $3 minimum is also competitive.

If you trade large amounts ($10,000+): moomoo capped at $9.99 or Webull capped at $30. For very large trades, a flat-fee broker like Pearler at $6.50 is hard to beat.

If you trade US shares regularly: CMC has the lowest FX spread at 0.006%. The difference compounds quickly.

If you set and forget with auto-invest: Pearler offers rebalancing auto-invest. moomoo and SelfWealth offer multiple-asset auto-invest. CMC offers single-asset auto-invest.

If you want zero ongoing costs: Avoid Bell Direct and Webull if you do not want to pay for market data. Avoid CMC if you might go inactive for 12 months.

The cheapest broker is the one whose fee structure matches your trade size. Calculate your typical monthly brokerage across two or three platforms, add the hidden costs, and pick the one that leaves you with the most money invested.