Australian Broker Fees, Verified
Brokerage and FX costs at nine major brokers, in one dated table — every figure checked against that broker's own pricing page, not another comparison site. Where a number moved, the changelog says when.
Key takeaways
- ·Every figure below was verified against the broker's own official pricing page in September 2026 — most comparison sites quote each other, which is how stale numbers spread.
- ·Four numbers changed in the last year: Superhero repriced to $2 flat, CommSec's US fee is US$5-or-0.12%, eToro publishes 0.75% for AUD (a discounted rate), and moomoo's '$0 FX' is a ~55-pip spread per its own FSG.
- ·The FX fee matters more than brokerage: on a A$10,000 US deposit, a 0.55% FX cost is A$55 while a US$3 trade is about A$4.60.
- ·Interactive Brokers' 0.08–0.20 bps FX (≈0.002%) is the cheapest conversion available to Australians — the trade-off is a professional platform and per-share pricing.
Brokerage & FX: all nine brokers
Figures are the broker's standard published rates as at the verification date. "—" means we haven't independently verified that cell this pass — follow the source link.
| Broker | ASX brokerage | US brokerage | FX cost (AUD↔USD) | CHESS | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stake | A$3 flat (0.01% above A$30k) | US$3 flat (0.01% above US$30k) | 0.55% per deposit | Yes (HIN) | Stake pricing |
| Superhero | $2 flat up to $20,000 (free ASX ETFs) | $2 flat up to $20,000 | 50bps (0.50%) | Yes (HIN) | Superhero pricing |
| Pearler | $6.50 (Prepay $5.50) | $6.50 (Prepay $5.50) | 50bps per conversion | Yes (HIN) | Pearler pricing |
| CommSec | $5 / $10 / $19.95 / $29.95 (0.12% above $25k) | US$5 or 0.12% (whichever greater) | 0.55% per conversion | Yes (HIN) | CommSec rates & fees |
| SelfWealth | $9.50 flat | US$9.50 flat | Not independently verified this pass | Yes (HIN) | SelfWealth fees |
| nabtrade | $9.95 / $14.95 / $19.95 (0.11% above $20k) | Same tiers, AUD-quoted | 0.50–0.80% spread + 1.5% buy buffer | Yes (HIN) | nabtrade pricing |
| moomoo | US$0.99 promo (A$2.49 standard) — see source | US$0.99 | No labelled fee — ~55-pip spread embedded in the exchange rate (per FSG), ≈0.85% effective | No (custody) | moomoo AU + FSG |
| eToro | Tiered by Club level — see source | $0 ETFs, ~$2 stocks | 0.75% published AUD↔USD rate (footnoted as a limited-time discount) | No (custody) | eToro fees |
| Interactive Brokers | Tiered — see source | US$0.005/share (min US$1) | 0.08–0.20 bps (≈0.002%) | No (custody) | IBKR pricing |
Stake's scale: brokerage steps up to 0.01% of trade value above A$30,000 / US$30,000 — that's where flat-fee comparisons cross over (see Stake vs SelfWealth for the ~A$95k example).
FX fees in detail: the number that matters most
Brokerage gets the headlines, but currency conversion is usually the bigger cost. Sorted cheapest first.
| Broker | Published rate | How it's charged | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | 0.08–0.20 bps (≈0.002%) | Commission per conversion | Cheapest by an order of magnitude — but a professional platform and per-share brokerage. |
| Stake | 0.55% | Charged once per deposit | Fund once, trade many times — the FX cost doesn't repeat per trade. |
| CommSec | 0.55% | Per conversion | Same headline rate as Stake; the difference is when it's charged, not how much. |
| Superhero | 50bps (0.50%) | Per trade | Slightly cheaper than Stake per conversion, but repeats with every trade. |
| Pearler | 50bps | Per conversion | Matches Superhero's rate on the official pricing page. |
| eToro | 0.75% published | Per conversion | Footnoted as a discounted rate "until Jun 30, 2026" — re-check before large conversions. |
| moomoo | ≈0.85% effective | Embedded ~55-pip spread | No labelled FX fee — the cost is inside the exchange rate, disclosed in moomoo's own FSG. |
| nabtrade | 0.50–0.80% + 1.5% buffer | Spread + buy-side buffer | The 1.5% buffer on buys is released after settlement — it inflates the upfront cost, not the final one. |
The per-deposit vs per-trade distinction matters: Stake's 0.55% applies once per deposit, so funding A$10,000 and making five US trades costs A$55 in FX regardless of trade count — while a per-trade FX charge repeats. The full mechanics are in FX Fees on US Stocks Explained.
Changelog: what moved and when
This is the part most comparison sites don't have. Each entry is a repricing or correction we caught by going to the source — including mistakes in our own earlier pages.
- September 21, 2026
Interactive Brokers FX corrected from "0.08–0.20%" to 0.08–0.20 bps (≈0.002%) — a basis-points/percent error in our own earlier table, caught by checking IBKR's commissions page.
- September 20, 2026
nabtrade entry corrected: nabtrade does offer US trading (NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX, AUD-quoted, 0.50–0.80% FX spread) — an earlier version of our comparison said otherwise.
- September 2026
eToro's published AUD↔USD conversion rate is 0.75%, footnoted as a discount "until Jun 30, 2026" — not the ~1.5% standard rate widely quoted in reviews (including our own earlier pages).
- September 2026
moomoo: confirmed via moomoo AU's FSG that "$0 FX" is a ~55-pip spread embedded in the exchange rate — roughly 0.85% effective at recent AUD/USD levels. Any comparison calling moomoo's FX free is quoting marketing, not cost.
- Mid-2026
Superhero repriced to $2 flat per trade up to $20,000 (with free ASX ETFs) and 50bps FX — older reviews (ours included) still showed its previous schedule.
- 2026
CommSec's US brokerage is US$5 or 0.12% of trade value (whichever is greater), and its ASX tiers are $5 / $10 / $19.95 / $29.95 — the "$9.95–$19.95" range many comparison sites print is stale.
How we verify
- Every figure is read from the broker's own pricing or fees page — never from another comparison site, blog, or review.
- Where a cost isn't labelled (FX spreads, buffers), we use the broker's FSG, help centre, or disclosure documents, and say so in the table.
- Effective costs are calculated at the prevailing AUD/USD rate at verification time and rounded conservatively.
- Each verification run is dated, and changes are recorded in the changelog — including corrections to our own earlier claims.
- Rates change without notice. Confirm any figure on the source page before a large conversion or trade.
Frequently asked questions
Interactive Brokers, by an order of magnitude — 0.08–0.20 bps (≈0.002%) per conversion. Among mainstream apps: Superhero and Pearler charge 50bps (0.50%), Stake and CommSec charge 0.55%, eToro publishes 0.75% for AUD, and moomoo embeds a ~55-pip spread in its rate (≈0.85% effective, per its FSG).
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