Share Trading comparison
Marketech Focus vs Plus500
Marketech Focus and Plus500 are fundamentally different products. Marketech Focus is a CHESS-sponsored ASX broker for buying and holding real Australian shares and ETFs, with a flat $20/month fee. Plus500 is a CFD provider — you never own the underlying asset, you're speculating on price movements with leverage. If you want to invest in real shares, only one of these qualifies.
Choose
Marketech Focus
if…
- ›You want to own real ASX shares and ETFs under your own HIN via CHESS sponsorship
- ›You plan to buy and hold for the long term and are comfortable paying $20/month instead of per-trade brokerage
- ›You need a CGT report, distribution breakdown, or Sharesight integration for tax time
- ›You're an SMSF looking for a low-cost ASX trading account
- ›You want dividend reinvestment (DRP) on your holdings
Choose
Plus500
if…
- ›You want to trade CFDs with leverage on indices, commodities, forex, and crypto — not real shares
- ›You prefer zero monthly fees and a low $100 minimum deposit to get started
- ›You want a demo account to practise before risking real money
- ›You need 24/7 customer support and a wide range of deposit methods including PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay
- ›You want after-hours trading capability and structured educational courses
Where they differ
| Fact | Marketech Focus | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| What you actually own | Real ASX shares and ETFs under your own HIN (CHESS-sponsored) | CFD contracts — you never own the underlying asset |
| Monthly fee | $20/month ($240/year) | $0/month |
| Minimum deposit | $500 | $100 |
| ASX share trading | Yes — real shares, 0.03% brokerage after $5 minimum | No — Plus500 does not offer real ASX shares |
| Tax & reporting | Australian tax statement, CGT report, distribution breakdown, Sharesight integration | None — no tax statements or CGT reports provided |
Verdict
Choose Marketech Focus for real ASX investing; choose Plus500 only if you want leveraged CFD speculation, not actual share ownership.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Marketech Focus | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | chess | — |
| Individual HIN | Yes | — |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | — | No |
| Company account | — | Yes |
| Trust account | — | No |
| SMSF account | Yes | No |
| Kids / minor account | — | No |
| asset coverage | ||
| ASX shares supported | Yes | No |
| ASX ETFs supported | Yes | No |
| US shares supported | No | No |
| US ETFs supported | No | No |
| Other markets supported | Cboe Australia, NSX (National Stock Exchange of Australia) | |
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | — | No |
| Options trading | No | Yes |
| CFDs supported | No | Yes |
| Managed funds | No | No |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | — | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | — | 70% |
| Holds USD account | No | No |
| Market data fees | $20/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Corporate action fees | — | Not applicable — Plus500 only offers CFDs, so users do not participate in real corporate actions (rights issues, SPPs, takeovers). Dividend adjustments on share CFDs are credited/debited to positions automatically. |
| costs visible | ||
| ASX brokerage minimum | $5 | — |
| ASX brokerage percentage | 3% | — |
| ASX brokerage threshold | $16,667 | — |
| Monthly platform fee | $20/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $240/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | — | $10 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Marketech Online Trading Pty Ltd | Plus500AU Pty Ltd |
| AFSL number | 337,927 | 417,727 |
| Year founded | 2,021 | 2,008 |
| Parent / ownership | Australian-owned private company; AFSL backing from Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd; trade execution via OpenMarkets Australia Limited | Plus500 Ltd (UK/Israel, LSE-listed parent) |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | private | public |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $500 | $100 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $0 | — |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer (to Macquarie CMA), Direct credit | BPAY, Bank transfer, Credit/debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay |
| Settlement period | T+2 | — |
| Withdrawal time | Same-day to 1 business day (via Macquarie CMA) | Typically 1-3 business days; same payment method as deposit (card, bank, e-wallet). |
| platform ux | ||
| iOS app | Yes | Yes |
| Android app | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop platform | Yes | No |
| Demo account | No | Yes |
| Free real-time market data | No | Yes |
| Free research reports | Yes | Yes |
| 2FA support | — | SMS only |
| Customer support channels | email, support portal | Live chat, Email, WhatsApp, Contact form |
| Support hours (AU time) | — | 24/7 live chat, email and WhatsApp support |
| Education content | basic articles | structured courses |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | Yes | No |
| Distribution component breakdown | Yes | No |
| CGT calculator / report | Yes | No |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | Yes | No |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | Yes | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional orders | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest / DCA | No | No |
| Auto-invest sophistication | none | none |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | Yes | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | No | Yes |