Share Trading comparison
Capital.com vs Stake
Capital.com and Stake look similar on the surface — low fees, slick apps — but they are fundamentally different products. Capital.com is a CFD broker, not a share broker: you never own the underlying asset. Stake is a real share trading platform that buys and holds actual ASX and US stocks in your name (with CHESS sponsorship for ASX). That one distinction changes everything about how you trade, what you can own, and how you're taxed.
Choose
Capital.com
if…
- ›You want to speculate on price movements without buying the underlying shares — CFDs let you go long or short on thousands of global stocks, indices, forex and commodities
- ›You want zero brokerage and zero platform fees, and you're comfortable with costs being embedded in the spread (0.7% FX) and overnight funding on leveraged positions
- ›You want to trade with leverage — CFDs are margined products, so you can control a larger position with a smaller deposit
- ›You want a demo account to practise trading strategies before risking real money
- ›You want to trade markets beyond Australia and the US, including UK, European, Hong Kong, Japanese and German equities via CFDs
Choose
Stake
if…
- ›You want to own real shares on the ASX under your own HIN with CHESS sponsorship — your holdings are registered in your name, not held in a broker's nominee
- ›You want to buy US stocks and hold them in a USD account, paying a tiny FX spread of 0.0055% instead of 0.7%
- ›You want a CGT report and Sharesight integration at tax time — Stake provides tax statements and can sync with portfolio tracking tools
- ›You want to buy fractional US shares (e.g. $50 of Apple) without needing to afford a full share
- ›You want to hold a diversified portfolio of real ASX ETFs, US ETFs, and bonds, and receive dividends and corporate actions directly
Where they differ
| Fact | Capital.com | Stake |
|---|---|---|
| Product type | CFDs only — you never own the underlying asset | Real shares — you own the underlying asset (CHESS-sponsored for ASX) |
| ASX brokerage | $0 (cost in spread) | $3 per trade (or 0.01% above $30,000) |
| US FX spread | 0.7% | 0.0055% |
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $500 |
| Tax reporting | No Australian tax statement, no CGT report, no Sharesight integration | Australian tax statement, CGT report, Sharesight/Navexa integration |
Verdict
Choose Capital.com for leveraged CFD speculation; choose Stake if you want to own real shares with low US FX and proper tax reporting.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Capital.com | Stake |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | — | mixed |
| Individual HIN | — | Yes |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | No | No |
| Company account | Yes | Yes |
| Trust account | No | Yes |
| SMSF account | No | Yes |
| Kids / minor account | No | No |
| 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 | United States |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | No | Yes |
| Options trading | No | No |
| CFDs supported | Yes | No |
| Managed funds | No | No |
| Bonds supported | No | Yes |
| IPO access | No | — |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 70% | 0.55% |
| FX spread (other currencies) | 70% | — |
| Holds USD account | No | Yes |
| FX currency switch trick | No | Yes |
| 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. | Corporate actions (dividends, SPPs, rights issues, takeovers) are passed through where mandatory; Stake does not provide a DRP — investors must elect DRP directly with each company's share registry. No published per-event fee. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | — | $3 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | — | 0.01% |
| ASX brokerage threshold | — | $30,000 |
| ASX free trade conditions | — | No free-trade promotion ordinarily offered; brokerage waived for 12 months on transferred ASX holdings worth A$1,000+ |
| US brokerage minimum | — | US$3 |
| US brokerage percentage | — | 0.01% |
| 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 | Stakeshop Pty Ltd |
| AFSL number | 513,393 | 548,196 |
| Year founded | 2,021 | 2,017 |
| 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 | Privately held (Stakeshop AFSL Pty Ltd group); investors include AGL Energy's former CEO and various private investors |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | private | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $20 | $500 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $20 | $20 |
| Deposit methods | PayID, bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, PayPal | Bank transfer (Osko/PayID), Apple Pay, Google Pay, Debit card, Credit card |
| Settlement period | N/A (CFDs are not settled — positions are open contracts marked-to-market continuously) | T+2 for ASX; T+1 for US |
| 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 for AUD (Stake AUS); 2-3 US business days for USD (Stake Wall St) |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | No |
| Demo account | Yes | No |
| Free real-time market data | Yes | Yes |
| Free research reports | Yes | Yes |
| 2FA support | authenticator | authenticator app |
| Customer support channels | phone, email, live chat, WhatsApp | Email, In-app chat, Help centre |
| Support hours (AU time) | 24/7 English live chat and email; Melbourne-based phone support during AEST business hours | Business hours AEST/AEDT (approximately Mon-Fri); chat/email response varies |
| Education content | video + courses | structured courses |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | No | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | No | No |
| CGT calculator / report | No | Yes |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | No |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | No |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | none |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | Yes | Yes |