Micro Investing comparison
Spaceship Voyager vs Vanguard Personal Investor
Spaceship Voyager and Vanguard Personal Investor both offer zero-brokerage investing, but they target completely different investors. Spaceship is a custodian-based micro-investing app focused on US shares and its own themed managed funds, while Vanguard gives you access to ASX-listed ETFs and shares plus Vanguard's own managed funds. The biggest practical difference: Spaceship is for small, hands-off investing in US markets; Vanguard is for building a diversified ASX portfolio with the option of joint, trust, SMSF and kids accounts.
Choose
Spaceship Voyager
if…
- ›You want to invest in US stocks and ETFs with zero brokerage and fractional shares from as little as $0
- ›You're happy with a custodian model and don't need a CHESS-sponsored HIN on the ASX
- ›You prefer a simple, app-first experience with themed managed funds (e.g. Spaceship's Universe, Earth portfolios)
- ›You want to start with literally no minimum deposit and no monthly fee if your balance is under $0 (though $3/month kicks in above that)
Choose
Vanguard Personal Investor
if…
- ›You want to invest in ASX-listed ETFs and direct shares with $0 brokerage on Vanguard ETF buys
- ›You need joint, company, trust, SMSF or kids account options — Vanguard supports all of them
- ›You want to automate your investing with a sophisticated multiple-level auto-invest feature
- ›You prefer a CHESS-custodian model with Sharesight/Navexa integration for tax reporting
- ›You're happy to start with a $200 minimum deposit and don't need US market access
Where they differ
| Fact | Spaceship Voyager | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| Markets available | US shares & ETFs only | ASX shares & ETFs only |
| Monthly platform fee | $3/month (after free trial) | $0/month |
| Account types | Individual only | Individual, Joint, Company, Trust, SMSF, Kids |
| Minimum initial deposit | $0 | $200 |
| Fractional shares | Yes (US stocks) | No |
Verdict
Choose Spaceship for cheap US exposure and micro-investing; choose Vanguard for a full ASX portfolio with serious account flexibility.
All data points side-by-side
Every verified fact for both platforms. Differences are highlighted.
| Field | Spaceship Voyager | Vanguard Personal Investor |
|---|---|---|
| account structure | ||
| CHESS sponsorship model | custodian | custodian |
| Individual HIN | — | No |
| Individual account | Yes | Yes |
| Joint account | No | Yes |
| Company account | No | 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 | Yes | No |
| US ETFs supported | Yes | No |
| Other markets supported | ||
| Fractional shares (ASX) | No | No |
| Fractional shares (US) | Yes | No |
| Options trading | No | No |
| CFDs supported | No | No |
| Managed funds | Yes | Yes |
| Bonds supported | No | No |
| IPO access | No | No |
| costs hidden | ||
| FX spread (AUD/USD) | 0.7% | — |
| Holds USD account | No | — |
| FX currency switch trick | No | — |
| Market data fees | $0/month | $0/month |
| Conditional order fees | $0 | $0 |
| Phone trade surcharge | $0 | — |
| Corporate action fees | Voyager: managed fund structure means corporate actions are handled inside the fund — no investor-level corporate action fees. US Investing: voting and mandatory corporate actions including dividends are free; Voluntary Corporate Actions (VCA) fee of US$100 per action processed. | 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 | $0 |
| ASX brokerage percentage | 0% | 0% |
| ASX free trade conditions | No brokerage applies to Voyager portfolios; investments are made via unit-trust managed funds with no transactional fees, regardless of order size. | $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. |
| US brokerage minimum | US$0 | — |
| US brokerage percentage | 0% | — |
| Monthly platform fee | $3/month | $0/month |
| Annual platform fee | $36/year | $0/year |
| Inactivity fee | $0 | $0 |
| Withdrawal fee (AUD) | $0 | $0 |
| Off-market transfer fee | $0 | $0 |
| identity and trust | ||
| Legal entity name | Spaceship Capital Limited | Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd |
| AFSL number | 501,605 | 227,263 |
| Year founded | 2,017 | 2,020 |
| Parent / ownership | eToro Group Limited (acquired Spaceship 2024, fully owned subsidiary) | The Vanguard Group, Inc. (US) - mutual structure owned by US-domiciled Vanguard fund investors |
| Country of incorporation | AU | AU |
| Public company status | public | private |
| money movement | ||
| Minimum initial deposit | $0 | $200 |
| Minimum subsequent purchase | $0 | $1 |
| Deposit methods | Direct debit, PayTo | BPAY, Direct credit (EFT), Direct debit |
| Settlement period | Voyager: T+1/T+2 unit pricing (managed fund). US Investing: T+1 (US standard). | T+2 (ASX) |
| Withdrawal time | 1-2 business days from redemption request to funds in available money balance; additional bank transfer time to external account. | 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 | No | No |
| Demo account | No | No |
| Free real-time market data | No | No |
| Free research reports | No | No |
| 2FA support | SMS + PIN | SMS |
| Customer support channels | Email, Phone, Live chat, In-app chat | Phone, Secure message (in-app) |
| Support hours (AU time) | Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm Sydney time (business days only) | Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm AET (phone) |
| Education content | basic articles | structured |
| tax and reporting | ||
| Australian tax statement | Yes | Yes |
| Distribution component breakdown | Yes | Yes |
| CGT calculator / report | Yes | Yes |
| Sharesight / Navexa integration | No | Yes |
| trading mechanics | ||
| Market orders | Yes | Yes |
| Limit orders | — | Yes |
| Stop loss orders | No | No |
| Conditional orders | No | No |
| Auto-invest / DCA | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-invest sophistication | weighted | multiple |
| DRP (dividend reinvestment) | No | No |
| After-hours / overnight trading | No | No |